Publications by authors named "Benjamin M Mervak"

Article Synopsis
  • - Immediate hypersensitivity reactions to iodinated and gadolinium-based contrast media can be seriously dangerous and potentially life-threatening.
  • - While corticosteroid premedication and switching agents may help reduce risk, evidence supporting their efficacy is mostly indirect and increasingly challenged by recent studies.
  • - Identifying "high-risk" patients is complicated, but a history of previous reactions to the same type of contrast media is the most significant risk factor.
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Artificial intelligence (AI) has been a topic of substantial interest for radiologists in recent years. Although many of the first clinical applications were in the neuro, cardiothoracic, and breast imaging subspecialties, the number of investigated and real-world applications of body imaging has been increasing, with more than 30 FDA-approved algorithms now available for applications in the abdomen and pelvis. In this manuscript, we explore some of the fundamentals of artificial intelligence and machine learning, review major functions that AI algorithms may perform, introduce current and potential future applications of AI in abdominal imaging, provide a basic understanding of the pathways by which AI algorithms can receive FDA approval, and explore some of the challenges with the implementation of AI in clinical practice.

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Pancreatic transplantation is a complex surgical procedure performed for patients with chronic severe diabetes, often performed in combination with renal transplantation. Vascular and exocrine drainage anatomy varies depending on the surgical technique. Radiology plays a critical role in the diagnosis of postoperative complications, requiring an understanding of grayscale/Doppler ultrasound as well as computed tomography and MR imaging.

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Our aim was to determine the effect of wearing a surgical mask on the number and type of dictation errors in unedited radiology reports. IRB review was waived for this prospective matched-pairs study in which no patient data was used. Model radiology reports (n = 40) simulated those typical for an academic medical center.

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Basal cell carcinoma is the most common malignancy in the United States. However, metastasis of basal cell carcinoma is exceedingly rare, with incidence estimates of 0.0028-0.

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Appendicitis is the most common cause of acute abdominal pain resulting in surgery. While historically ultrasound (US) and computed tomography (CT) have been used to evaluate for appendicitis and its related complications, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has become a highly accurate and increasingly utilized modality in the last two decades, particularly in the pediatric and pregnant patient populations in whom ionizing radiation is used reluctantly. This article discusses the advantages and disadvantages of MRI as a modality to evaluate for acute appendicitis, summarizes studies of the diagnostic performance relative to CT and US, provides a standard MR protocol, and describes MRI findings typical of acute appendicitis, common complications, and other differential diagnoses.

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There is a constantly evolving knowledgebase regarding the safety of MRI in pregnant patients, as well as the safety of gadolinium administration, given potential fetal risks. This review provides an overview of national and international recommendations for patient screening and safety by trimester, evaluates the most recent literature regarding administration of gadolinium in pregnant patients, and discusses technical requirements when imaging pregnant patients. A protocol for imaging pregnant patients is provided, and multiple common indications for MRI in pregnancy are discussed.

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Purpose: The aim of this study was to determine the severity of breakthrough reactions to gadobenate dimeglumine in patients premedicated with a 13-hour premedication regimen.

Methods: Institutional review board approval was obtained and informed consent waived for this Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act-compliant retrospective cohort study. All acute allergic-like reactions to gadobenate dimeglumine from 11/1/2008 to 1/31/2016 were identified.

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Purpose To determine if the allergic-like breakthrough reaction rate of intravenous corticosteroid prophylaxis administered 5 hours before contrast material-enhanced computed tomography (CT) is noninferior to that of a traditional 13-hour oral regimen. Materials and Methods Institutional review board approval was obtained and informed consent waived for this retrospective noninferiority cohort study. Subjects (n = 202) who completed an accelerated 5-hour intravenous corticosteroid premedication regimen before low-osmolality contrast-enhanced CT for a prior allergic-like or unknown-type reaction to iodine-based contrast material from June 1, 2008, to June 30, 2016, were identified.

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Purpose: With the development of patient portals, the opportunity exists to identify gaps in practice by analyzing priorities patients place on the receipt and comprehension of radiology reports. Our purpose was to describe the nature of radiology-specific patient information requests by analysis of patient-initiated messages submitted through a web-based electronic patient portal.

Methods: Institutional review board approval was obtained and informed consent waived for this HIPAA-compliant retrospective cross-sectional study.

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Rationale And Objectives: This study aimed to determine whether uterine leiomyoma can be distinguished from uterine leiomyosarcoma on ultrasound (US), computed tomography (CT), and/or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) without diffusion-weighted imaging.

Materials And Methods: Institutional review board approval was obtained and informed consent was waived for this Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act-compliant retrospective case-control diagnostic accuracy study. All subjects with resected uterine leiomyosarcoma diagnosed over a 17-year period (1998-2014) at a single institution for whom pre-resection US (n = 10), CT (n = 11), or MRI (n = 7) was available were matched by tumor size and imaging modality with 28 subjects with resected uterine leiomyoma.

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Purpose: To estimate the effect of an oral 13-hour inpatient corticosteroid premedication regimen on length of stay, hospital cost, and hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) by using a combination of real and hypothetical study populations.

Materials And Methods: Institutional review board approval was obtained and informed consent waived for this HIPAA-compliant retrospective study. Inpatients who received an oral 13-hour corticosteroid premedication regimen before contrast material-enhanced CT (n = 1424) from 2008 to 2013 were matched by age, sex, and year when CT was performed to a control cohort (n = 1425) of patients who underwent contrast-enhanced CT without premedication and who had similar rates of 13 comorbid diseases.

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Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the rate of allergiclike breakthrough reactions among inpatients at high risk receiving premedication before undergoing CT with IV iodinated low-osmolality contrast material (LOCM).

Materials And Methods: Inpatients (n = 1051) completing a 13-hour corticosteroid and diphenhydramine premedication regimen before LOCM-enhanced CT from January 1, 2010, through December 31, 2013, were included in the study. Breakthrough reaction rates were compared with the ordinary allergiclike reaction rate in the general population (0.

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This retrospective study demonstrates the sonographic appearance paralabral cysts of the hip with magnetic resonance (MR) arthrography as the reference standard. Consensus review by 2 musculoskeletal radiologists was used to assess the paralabral cysts and determine their characteristics. The 3 paralabral cysts seen on sonography and confirmed with MR arthrography in this study were anechoic or hypoechoic, lobulated, and filled with contrast on MR imaging.

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Background: Pulmonary hypertension and right ventricular failure are major contributors to morbidity and mortality in chronic lung disease. Therefore, large animal models of pulmonary hypertension and right ventricular hypertrophy are needed to study underlying disease mechanisms and test new treatment modalities. The objective of this study was to create a low-mortality model of chronic pulmonary hypertension and right ventricular hypertrophy in sheep.

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