AJR. American journal of roentgenology
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AJR Am J Roentgenol · Feb 2010
Do additional views improve the diagnostic performance of cervical spine radiography in pediatric trauma?
The aims of this study were to measure the diagnostic performances of lateral views alone and multiple radiographic views of the cervical spine in comparison with MDCT scans in pediatric trauma and to determine whether evaluation of additional views, in relation to lateral views alone, improves the performance of radiography. ⋯ Lateral view radiographs had a borderline acceptable sensitivity to cervical spine abnormalities in pediatric patients compared with MDCT. The addition of other radiographic views did not seem to improve the diagnostic performance of radiography.
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AJR Am J Roentgenol · Feb 2010
Percutaneous abscess drainage in patients with perforated acute appendicitis: effectiveness, safety, and prediction of outcome.
The purposes of this study were to retrospectively investigate the effectiveness and safety of CT-guided percutaneous drainage in the treatment of patients with acute appendicitis complicated by perforation and to identify CT findings and procedure-related factors predictive of clinical and procedure outcome. ⋯ CT-guided percutaneous drainage is both effective and safe in the treatment of patients with acute appendicitis complicated by perforation and abscess. The clinical and technical success rates are high.
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AJR Am J Roentgenol · Feb 2010
Success of a safe and simple algorithm to reduce use of CT pulmonary angiography in the emergency department.
The purpose of our study was to determine whether the radiation exposure to patients with suspected pulmonary embolism (PE) could be decreased by safely increasing the use of ventilation-perfusion (V/Q) scanning and decreasing the use of CT pulmonary angiography (CTPA) through an educational intervention. ⋯ The practice patterns of physicians changed in response to an educational intervention, resulting in a reduction in radiation exposure to emergency department patients with suspected PE without compromising patient safety.
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AJR Am J Roentgenol · Jan 2010
Multicenter StudyNeuroendocrine cell hyperplasia of infancy: diagnosis with high-resolution CT.
Neuroendocrine cell hyperplasia of infancy is a form of childhood interstitial lung disease originally reported as persistent tachypnea of infancy. Reports of small series of cases and anecdotal experience have suggested that this disorder may have a consistent CT pattern. The purpose of this study was to review the CT findings in children with neuroendocrine cell hyperplasia of infancy to determine the findings at high-resolution CT, the diagnostic accuracy of CT compared with biopsy, and interrater reliability. ⋯ Neuroendocrine cell hyperplasia of infancy can have a characteristic appearance on high-resolution CT scans, the imaging findings being useful in differentiating neuroendocrine cell hyperplasia of infancy from other types of childhood interstitial lung disease. The appearance aids radiologists in suggesting a specific diagnosis but does not exclude this diagnosis; in 17-22% of cases, the readers in this study did not suggest the diagnosis of neuroendocrine cell hyperplasia of infancy when it was present.
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AJR Am J Roentgenol · Jan 2010
Comparative StudyDual-energy CT angiography in the evaluation of intracranial aneurysms: image quality, radiation dose, and comparison with 3D rotational digital subtraction angiography.
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the image quality, radiation dose, and diagnostic accuracy of dual-energy CT angiography (CTA) compared with 3D rotational digital subtraction angiography (DSA) in the detection of intracranial aneurysms. ⋯ On the basis of the findings in the small series of patients evaluated, contrast-enhanced dual-energy CTA had diagnostic image quality at a lower radiation dose than digital subtraction CTA and high diagnostic accuracy compared with 3D DSA in the detection of intracranial aneurysms.