La Radiologia medica
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La Radiologia medica · Oct 1995
Comparative Study[Magnetic resonance and computerized tomography of posterior cranial fossa tumors in childhood. Differential diagnosis and assessment of lesion extent].
In the last thirty years much progress has been made in the treatment of brain tumors in children, thanks to modern diagnostic imaging techniques, together with neurosurgery and radiotherapy, for the diagnosis and follow-up of these lesions. MRI and paramagnetic contrast agents have revolutionized the imaging of intracranial conditions, especially in the posterior cranial fossa. The superiority of MRI over CT is well known and reported in the literature, but the adequacy of the two methods has rarely been compared. ⋯ In the clinical suspicion of brain tumors of the posterior cranial fossa in children, MRI--if available--should be the examination of choice if the patient's clinical status does not prevent its use. CT should be used only in emergency cases (acute intracranial hypertension) to identify hydrocephalus and intratumoral hemorrhages. Unenhanced CT also yields useful pieces of information for lesion "histology" and may be used to integrate MR findings in selected cases.
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La Radiologia medica · Sep 1995
[The role of the radiological hemithorax examination in closed trauma of the chest].
January, 1992, to September, 1994, a hundred and seventy-eight blunt chest trauma patients were examined with plain chest films and detailed rib studies. The patients were subdivided into three groups according to: a) the presence/absence of rib fractures correlated with clinical data; b) the depiction of rib fractures and/or thoracic complications; c) treatment customization in the presence/absence of rib fractures. In our series of patients the clinical data and the presence of rib fractures were poorly correlated. ⋯ Plain chest films most frequently depicted the complications requiring conservative or surgical management and gave the indication for further imaging investigations. The detailed rib studies of the involved hemithorax yielded no further information useful to therapy except in few cases: and should therefore be limited to the cases exhibiting complications on chest films, which may benefit from surgical fixation. The accurate study of rib fractures is paramount in the cases where legal action may be undertaken.
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La Radiologia medica · Sep 1995
Comparative Study[The tissue characterization of focal liver lesions with magnetic resonance imaging].
This study was aimed at assessing the accuracy of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) in the characterization of focal liver masses. We prospectively examined 51 patients with focal liver masses: the morphological features were investigated with different pulse sequences and the functional characteristics were studied after the i.v. administration of Gd-DTPA (2 mmol/kg). MR findings were compared with those of gold standard methods, i.e., percutaneous biopsy, surgery or, for hemangiomas, 99mTc-labelled blood cell liver scintigraphy. ⋯ Metastases presented a uniform pattern, i.e., they were hypointense on T1-weighted and hyperintense on T2-weighted images in 12/13 cases (92%). A central hypointense area on T2-weighted images is indicative of coagulative necrosis. A lesion with these morphological features and hypovascular signal is suggestive of metastasis.
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La Radiologia medica · Sep 1995
Comparative Study[High-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) versus bronchoscopy in predicting the need for bronchial embolization in hemoptysis].
September, 1992, through May, 1994, thirty patients with hemoptysis were examined with CT, HRCT and bronchoscopy. Our study was aimed at comparing CT and HRCT with fiberoptic bronchoscopy in the identification and assessment of hemoptysis causes and of lesion shape and extent. These data are of basic importance for the interventional radiologist when an intravascular treatment is scheduled. ⋯ In 97% of patients, CT and HRCT allowed the diagnosis of lesion type, extent and site, while bronchoscopy did the same in only 35% of patients, because of its lack of accuracy in identifying and characterizing peripheral lesions. Our results suggest that CT and HRCT should be performed after bronchoscopy and before bronchial embolization. Confirming literature data, our study proves CT and HRCT to play a basic role in the diagnosis of the inflammatory conditions causing hemoptysis.