Comparative ultrasonographic, magnetic resonance sialographic, and videoendoscopic assessment of salivary duct disorders.

Objectives: Salivary duct disorders are the second most common cause of obstruction after calculi. Magnetic resonance sialography has been recently proposed as a means of diagnosing a heterogeneous group of salivary disorders, and so we compared it with sialoendoscopy in evaluating stenoses and sialectasia in 24 patients with obstructive symptoms and ultrasonographic results negative for calculi or masses.

Methods: All of the patients (19 of whom had recurrent unilateral or bilateral swollen parotid glands and 5 of whom also had recurrent swollen submandibular glands) underwent dynamic color Doppler ultrasonography and dynamic magnetic resonance sialography with lemon juice stimulation of saliva; 18 patients also underwent diagnostic sialoendoscopy.

[Percutaneous transluminal angioplasty of supra-aortic vessels. Presentation of 16 cases].

Sixteen cases are reported of dilatation of supra-aortic vessels; in 14/16 patients the vessel involved was either the subclavian artery or the brachiocephalich trunk. Special attention is paid to the choice of patients--the ideal one presenting with a single uncalcified lesion, with stenosis more than 50% of diameter; the symptoms have recently appeared, with a significant difference (more than 20 mmHg) in the pressure of the two arms. The technical aspects of the angioplastic procedure are discussed, especially in order to preserve the intracranial circulation and to limit possible complications.

[Digital angiography: a new method for the study of the left ventricle].

30 patients with a previous myocardial infarction who had undergone diagnostic conventional left ventriculography and coronary arteriography had left ventriculography also performed by digital subtraction angiography after intravenous injection of contrast medium; the mean interval between the two investigations was 2.3 days. The conventional and the digital subtracted left ventricular images were computer-processed; global ejection fraction (obtained by the volumes calculated with the Dodge method) and segmental wall motion (from a quantitative analysis performed according to the Stanford method) were compared.

[Selective bronchial arteriography in broncho-pulmonary pathology].

104 selective bronchial arteriographies were performed in 25 patients with bronchopulmonary neoplasia, 11 with mediastinal tumours, 15 with bronchopulmonary inflammation, and 53 with haemoptysis. An assessment is made of the diagnostic value of the information obtained. It is felt that this form of examination is particularly useful in detecting the site of bleeding cases of haemoptysis, and in the provision of treatment by means of embolisation.