Beyond visualizing the bird beak: esophagram, timed barium esophagram and manometry in achalasia and its 3 subtypes.

Achalasia is a rare esophageal motility disorder characterized by lack of primary peristalsis and a poorly relaxing lower esophageal sphincter. This disease process can be examined several ways and these evaluations can offer complementary information. There are three manometric subtypes of achalasia, with differing appearances on esophagram.

Esophagopericardial Fistula Causing Pyopneumopericardium.

An esophagopericardial fistula is a rare complication of esophageal malignancy, trauma, or surgery. Imaging is a cornerstone of diagnosis, with detection of pneumopericardium or hydropneumopericardium at imaging raising suspicion for pyopneumopericardium and prompting immediate search for the causative pathologic process. Given the high associated mortality rate of over 50% for patients with esophagopericardial fistulas, early diagnosis and intervention are vital.

Eosinophilic esophagitis: imaging features with endoscopic and pathologic correlation.

Objective: We aim to review the imaging features of eosinophilic esophagitis on fluoroscopy and present how they can correlate with endoscopic and pathologic findings.

Results: Eosinophilic esophagitis is a chronic immune-mediated disease that results in esophageal dysfunction. Upper esophagogastroduodenoscopy is high yield and required for biopsies to demonstrate the hallmark histologic findings of eosinophil-predominant inflammation.

Writing Good True-False Questions: A Brief Guide for Radiologists.

This guide provides a brief how-to compilation of widely accepted recommendations for creating good true-false questions for self-assessment continuing medical education exercises.

Hands-on Physics Education of Residents in Diagnostic Radiology.

Rationale And Objectives: The American Board of Radiology Core Examination integrates assessment of physics knowledge into its overall testing of clinical radiology, with an emphasis on understanding image quality and artifacts, radiation dose, and patient safety for each modality or subspecialty organ system. Accordingly, achieving a holistic approach to physics education of radiology residents is a huge challenge. The traditional teaching of radiological physics-simply through didactic lectures-was not designed for such a holistic approach.

Consensus Statement of Society of Abdominal Radiology Disease-Focused Panel on Barium Esophagography in Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease.

Objective: The Society of Abdominal Radiology established a panel to prepare a consensus statement on the role of barium esophagography in gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), as well as recommended techniques for performing the fluoroscopic examination and the gamut of findings associated with this condition.

Conclusion: Because it is an inexpensive, noninvasive, and widely available study that requires no sedation, barium esophagography may be performed as the initial test for GERD or in conjunction with other tests such as endoscopy.