Relative efficacy of different MRI signs in diagnosing active Crohn's disease, compared against a histological gold standard.

Introduction: There has been growing interest in the use of MRI in assessing Crohn's disease because of its lack of ionising radiation. Many MRI signs have been described in the literature, but their relative utility is unknown.

Methods: The MRIs of the bowel performed at 1.

Endoscopic ultrasound guided fine needle aspiration (EUS-FNA) of mediastinal lesions.

Background: Mediastinal endoscopic ultrasound guided fine needle aspiration (EUS-FNA) is a recognized diagnostic and staging procedure for non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC). The aim of this study was to report the experience of mediastinal EUS in an Australian tertiary hospital.

Methods: A retrospective review was conducted on all patients undergoing mediastinal EUS from February 2002 until August 2007 at St Vincent's Hospital, Melbourne.

Endoscopic ultrasound of pancreatic cystic lesions.

Background: The impact of endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS) on the management of pancreatic cystic lesions remains unclear, and there are no published studies of the Australian experience in this area. The aim of this study was to review the experience of EUS for such lesions within our institution.

Methods: A retrospective review was undertaken of data collected prospectively over a two-year period within the EUS database of St.

Endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration when combined with positron emission tomography improves specificity and overall diagnostic accuracy in unexplained mediastinal lymphadenopathy and staging of non-small-cell lung cancer.

Background: The aim of this study was to assess the incremental value of endoscopic ultrasound (EUS)-guided fine-needle aspiration (FNA) to positron emission tomography (PET) in the diagnosis of unexplained mediastinal lymphadenopathy and staging of non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Methods: Patients who had both EUS-guided FNA and PET were retrospectively identified from an EUS database at a tertiary hospital. All EUS-guided FNA were carried out by one endoscopist between August 2002 and April 2005, either for the diagnosis of unexplained mediastinal lymphadenopathy or for the staging of NSCLC.

Diagnosis of solid pancreatic masses by endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration.

Background: Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) with fine-needle aspiration (FNA) is increasingly being used in the staging algorithm for pancreatic carcinoma. This allows for a tissue diagnosis, which was previously difficult to obtain. The aim of this study is to assess the utility of EUS-FNA in establishing the diagnosis of solid pancreatic mass lesions in an Australian population.