Ultrasound quarterly
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Ultrasound quarterly · Sep 2020
ReviewGuidelines for Ultrasound in the Radiology Department During the COVID-19 Pandemic.
The coronavirus disease 2019 is caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. The virus can be spread by close person-to-person contact primarily by respiratory droplets. ⋯ Methods covered in this article include modified workflow, close scrutiny and prioritization of imaging orders, and design of targeted ultrasound protocols. These guidelines summarize the personal experience and insight of multiple colleagues who lead ultrasound sections or are experts in the field.
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Ultrasound quarterly · Jun 2020
Observational StudyLung Ultrasonography as an Accurate Diagnostic Method for the Diagnosis of Community-Acquired Pneumonia in the Elderly Population.
Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is one of the most common causes of both hospitalization and death in elderly patients. The chest x-ray (CXR) is nowadays still the imaging method of choice for patients suspected of having pneumonia. However, the sensitivity of CXR, particularly bedside chest radiography, is relatively low. ⋯ Sensitivity and specificity of LUS in pneumonia diagnosis were, respectively, 99% and 98.7%, whereas CXR sensitivity and specificity were 56.5% and 100%, respectively. The positive and negative predictive values of LUS were 99% and 98.7%, whereas, for CXR, they were 100% and 60.3%, respectively. Lung ultrasonography proved to be more effective at revealing pulmonary inflammatory lesions as compared with CXR in elderly patients suspected of pneumonia.
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Ultrasound quarterly · Jun 2020
Thyroid Nodule Malignancy Risk Stratification Using a Convolutional Neural Network.
This study evaluates the performance of convolutional neural networks (CNNs) in risk stratifying the malignant potential of thyroid nodules alongside traditional methods such as American College of Radiology Thyroid Imaging Reporting and Data System (ACR TIRADS). The data set consisted of 651 pathology-proven thyroid nodules (500 benign, 151 malignant) from 571 patients collected at a single tertiary academic medical center. Each thyroid nodule consisted of two orthogonal views (sagittal and transverse) for a total of 1,302 grayscale images. ⋯ Convolutional neural network malignancy scores correlated well with TIRADS levels, as malignancy scores ranged from 0.194 for TR1 nodules and 0.519 for TR5 nodules. Convolutional neural networks can be trained to generate accurate malignancy risk scores for thyroid nodules. These predictive models can aid in risk stratifying thyroid nodules alongside traditional professional guidelines such as TIRADS and can function as an adjunct tool for the radiologist when identifying those patients requiring further histopathologic workup.
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Ultrasound quarterly · Mar 2020
Shear Wave Elastography Evaluation of Testes in Patients With Varicocele.
We aimed to determine histological damage in patients with varicocele by comparing the elasticity of their affected testes with that of their normal contralateral testes as well as normal testes of control subjects without varicocele using shear wave elastography (SWE). In total, 48 patients with varicocele (96 testes) and 52 control subjects (104 testes) were included in this study. Shear wave elastography values were measured in the longitudinal plane using an oval region of interest that covered as much of the testicular contours as possible. ⋯ The SWE values were significantly higher in group A than in groups B and C (P < 0.001). No significant correlation was observed between the testicular volume and SWE values in any of the groups. Our results showed that SWE can be used as an effective technique to assess testicular stiffness in patients with varicocele to predict interstitial fibrosis and the severity of histological damage.
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Ultrasound quarterly · Jun 2019
Review Meta AnalysisLung Ultrasonography in the Diagnosis of Pneumonia in Children-A Metaanalysis and a Review of Pediatric Lung Imaging.
Pneumonia is one of the most frequent widespread and severe infectious diseases in pediatric patients worldwide. Pneumonia is characterized by high incidence and possibility of complications in the course of the disease in pediatric patients. For this reason, there is a need to have a rapid and safe diagnostic method to recognize it. Imaging diagnostic tools, such as x-ray examinations, necessitate caution while using these methods. To date, there have been lots of studies with the aim to determine the role of lung ultrasonography (LUS) in the diagnosis of inflammatory lesions in children. Our aim was to assess the accuracy of the LUS as diagnostic method of pneumonia in children by making a systematic research of literature. ⋯ As a result of the analysis, a significant advantage of the ultrasound examination in comparison with the x-ray study was demonstrated. Lung ultrasound could be a safe diagnostic method for this reason.