Clinical radiology
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To assess the impact of the introduction of the Birmingham Children's Hospital (BCH) head injury computed tomography (CT) guidelines, when compared with the National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) guidelines, on the number of children with head injuries referred from the Emergency Department (ED) undergoing a CT examination of the head. ⋯ Adherence to the NICE head injury guidelines would have resulted in a three-fold increase in the total number of CT examinations of the head. The BCH head injury guidelines are both safe and appropriate in the setting of a large children's hospital experienced in the management of children with head injuries.
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Comparative Study
Magnetic resonance portal venography: use of fast-acquisition true FISP imaging in the detection of portal vein thrombosis.
To determine the accuracy of true fast imaging with steady-state precession (true FISP) in the diagnosis of portal vein thrombosis in patients with cirrhosis and compare it to contrast-enhanced three-dimensional (3D) magnetic resonance (MR) angiography, the reference standard. ⋯ The results of the present study show that the true FISP sequence is useful in diagnosing portal vein thrombosis. It could be employed as an adjunct to contrast-enhanced MR angiography in the severely debilitated patient where respiratory motion may degrade the images or in patients where the use of intravenous contrast medium is not possible due to poor venous access.
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To describe the clinical presentation, procedure and outcome in patients treated with computed tomography (CT)-guided sacroplasty as a treatment for sacral insufficiency fractures. ⋯ CT-guided sacroplasty represents an alternative treatment for sacral insufficiency fractures that are resistant to conservative treatment. The symptomatic relief the procedure produces seems to be excellent both in this small series and in described cases in the literature.