Radiología
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Left aortic arch with aberrant right subclavian artery is the most common congenital vascular anomaly involving the aortic arch. In 60% of cases, the aberrant right subclavian artery arises from a dilated segment of the aortic arch called Kommerell's diverticulum. Aneurysm of the aberrant right subclavian artery is rare; this condition could remain clinically silent or it could originate nonspecific symptoms. ⋯ Although there are no exact criteria to indicate the treatment of this condition, repair of the aneurysm is recommended when symptoms occur or when it reaches a size of 30 mm to 50mm. The malformation can be suspected at plain-film X-ray examination, but magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or computed tomography (CT) are the imaging tests of choice for the diagnosis and for planning treatment. We present the case of a patient with an aberrant right subclavian artery with a small calcified aneurysm in a Kommerell's diverticulum that caused chest pain and dysphagia; the patient underwent a procedure combining endovascular and surgical treatment.
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Baastrup's disease is not usually considered among the possible causes of low back pain in children. Classically, Baastrup's disease is characterized by degenerative phenomena secondary to friction between adjacent spinous processes, with sclerosis of the margins and decrease in the interspinous space. ⋯ In children, Baastrup's disease can manifest in a different way, with increased interspinous spaces and bone remodeling. In this article, we present the cases of two patients with low back pain who were diagnosed with Baastrup's disease.
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Connective tissue diseases are often associated with lung diseases that lead to high morbidity and mortality, including interstitial disease, airway disease, pleural lesions, and vascular disease. High resolution CT has high sensitivity for detecting parenchymal disease and potentially reversible lesions, helping to guide treatment. This article emphasizes interstitial pneumonia in association with connective tissue disease and the characteristics that differentiate this entity from idiopathic types. Likewise, we review the most common pulmonary manifestations of each connective tissue disease with the aim of providing the radiologist with a practical approach to the diagnosis and management of these diseases in daily clinical practice.
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A clinical trial is an experimental study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of a treatment or diagnostic technique in human beings. To ensure the methodological quality of a clinical trial and the validity of its results, various checklists have been elaborated to identify biases that could invalidate its conclusions. This article focuses on the points we need to consider in the critical evaluation of a clinical trial. ⋯ Randomization, follow-up (or analysis of losses), blinding, and equivalence between groups (apart from the intervention itself) are some key aspects related to design. In the "results" section, we need to consider what measures of clinical efficacy were used (relative risk, odds ratio, or number needed to treat, among others) and the precision of the results (confidence intervals). Once we have confirmed that the clinical trial fulfills these criteria, we need to determine whether the results can be applied in our environment and whether the benefits obtained justify the risks and costs involved.
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Colovesical fistulas are the most common type of vesicointestinal fistula and the most prevalent of these are vesicosigmoid fistulas. In our environment, diverticulitis is the most common cause, accounting for approximately one half of all cases. The literature describes different methods for the diagnosis of colovesical fistula, with computed tomography and cystography being the most useful. We describe two cases of vesicosigmoid fistula secondary to diverticulitis diagnosed at our center using helical computed tomography and review the clinical and radiological findings for this entity.