Evaluation of Local Tumor Outcomes Following Microwave Ablation of Colorectal Liver Metastases Using CT Imaging: A Comparison of Visual versus Quantitative Methods.

Purpose To compare visual versus quantitative ablation confirmation for identifying local tumor progression and residual tumor following microwave ablation (MWA) of colorectal liver metastases (CRLM). Materials and Methods This retrospective study included patients undergoing MWA of CRLM from October 2014 to February 2018. Two independent readers visually assessed pre- and postprocedure images and semiquantitatively scored for incomplete ablation, using a six-point Likert scale, and extracted quantitative imaging metrics of minimal ablative margin (MAM) and percentage of tumor outside of the ablation zone, using both rigid and deformable registration.

Antigen 43 associated with membrane vesicles contributes to bacterial cell association and biofilm formation.

Bacterial membrane vesicles (MVs) are produced by all bacteria and contribute to numerous bacterial functions due to their ability to package and transfer bacterial cargo. In doing so, MVs have been shown to facilitate horizontal gene transfer, mediate antimicrobial activity, and promote biofilm formation. Uropathogenic is a pathogenic Gram-negative organism that persists in the urinary tract of its host due to its ability to form persistent, antibiotic-resistant biofilms.

Bolus-Tracked Biphasic Contrast-Enhanced CT Imaging Following Microwave Liver Ablation Improves Ablation Zone Conspicuity and Semi-automatic Segmentation Quality.

Purpose: Contrast-enhanced CT (CECT) may be performed immediately following microwave liver ablation for assessment of ablative margins. However, practices and protocols vary among institutions. Here, we compare a standardized bolus-tracked biphasic CECT protocol and compare this with a single venous phase fixed delay protocol for ablation zone (AZ) assessment.