Optimization of single injection liver arterial phase gadolinium enhanced MRI using bolus track real-time imaging.

Purpose: To measure contrast agent enhancement kinetics in the liver and to further evaluate and develop an optimized gadolinium enhanced MRI using a single injection real-time bolus-tracking method for reproducible imaging of the transient arterial-phase.

Materials And Methods: A total of 18 subjects with hypervascular liver lesions were imaged with four dimensional (4D) perfusion scans to measure time-to-peak (TTP) delays of arterial (aorta-celiac axis), liver parenchyma, liver lesion, portal, and hepatic veins. Time delays were calculated from the TTP-aorta signal, and then related to the gradient echo (GRE) k-space acquisition design, to determine optimized timing for real-time bolus-track triggering methodology.

Individual kidney blood flow measured with contrast-enhanced first-pass perfusion MR imaging.

Unlabelled: The study design was HIPAA-compliant and approved by the Institutional Review Board, with all participants providing signed informed consent prior to the study. The purpose of this study was to prospectively evaluate the feasibility of determining renal blood flow (RBF) by using a technique based on intravenous administration of gadolinium chelate and evaluation of first-pass gadolinium chelate perfusion by using highly accelerated three-dimensional (3D) gradient-echo magnetic resonance (MR) imaging of the kidney in freely breathing subjects. Flow is determined with Kety-Schmidt formalism by modeling the uptake of gadolinium chelate in the kidney prior to its leaving through the venous system.

Postoperative outcome of patients with narcolepsy. A retrospective analysis.

Study Objective: To determine the postoperative outcome of narcolepsy patients, a population that may be at increased risk of perioperative complications, including postoperative hypersomnia, prolonged emergence after general anesthesia, and apnea.

Design: Retrospective chart review.

Setting: Academic medical center.

Do anaesthetized patients recover better after Bispectral Index Monitoring?

Could Bispectral Index (BIS) monitoring during anaesthesia improve the recovery characteristics of patients? Previous studies have shown conflicting results. To eliminate bias, a control group of 75 cases anaesthetized by the authors was compared to a reference group of 141 cases anaesthetized by other anaesthetists. A study group of 71 cases was then anaesthetized by the authors titrating to BIS 40-50 and this was compared with the control group.

Review of efficiencies and patient satisfaction in Australian and New Zealand day surgery units: a pilot study.

A pilot study was performed in eight Australasian day surgery facilities with a purpose of identifying common trends and differences. A prospective study was designed in which information was collected on 826 patients over a two-week period. Patients were well matched for age, anaesthetic type and mean surgical time.

Flow-sensitive MR imaging of ventriculoperitoneal shunts: in vitro findings, clinical applications, and pitfalls.

To determine ventriculoperitoneal shunt patency during routine MR imaging of the head, 23 patients were studied with T1-weighted fast-field-echo scans. Without knowledge of the results of previous MR/CT studies or of the patients' clinical history, we reviewed the fast-field-echo studies and divided them according to those judged to have shunt flow (18) and those judged not to have flow (five). Fast-field-echo sequences showed high signal intensity, consistent with CSF flow and shunt patency in 17 medium-pressure systems and one high-pressure system.

Early experience in the Queensland Orthotopic Liver Transplantation Programme.

The cases of the first nine patients to receive orthotopic liver transplants in the Queensland Liver Transplant Programme are reported. Problems peculiar to this type of operation are discussed generally and in the light of this experience. The anaesthetic technique employed is described.

The patient's view of anaesthesia in an Australian teaching hospital.

One hundred and thirty-nine patients undergoing routine surgical procedures over a five-day period at Royal Brisbane Hospital were interviewed after operation. 66.2% of patients were aware that an anaesthetist needed a medical qualification.