Quantitative computed tomographic coronary angiography: does it predict functionally significant coronary stenoses?

Background: Coronary lesions with a diameter narrowing ≥50% on visual computed tomographic coronary angiography (CTCA) are generally considered for referral to invasive coronary angiography. However, similar to invasive coronary angiography, visual CTCA is often inaccurate in detecting functionally significant coronary lesions. We sought to compare the diagnostic performance of quantitative CTCA with visual CTCA for the detection of functionally significant coronary lesions using fractional flow reserve (FFR) as the reference standard.

Ascending aortic diameters in congenital aortic stenosis: cardiac magnetic resonance versus transthoracic echocardiography.

Objectives/background: Congenital aortic stenosis (AS) is the most common obstructive left heart lesion in the young adult population and often complicated by aortic dilatation. Our objective was to evaluate accuracy of aortic imaging with transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) compared with cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR).

Methods: Aortic diameters were measured at 4 levels by CMR and TTE.

Diffusion-weighted MRI in a liver protocol: its role in focal lesion detection.

Aim: To evaluate the role of diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) in the detection of focal liver lesions (FLLs), using a conventional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) protocol.

Methods: Fifty-two patients (22 males, average age 55.6 years, range: 25-82 years), studied using a 1.