[Diagnostic value of transthoracic ultrasound compared to chest radiography in the detection of a post-interventional pneumothorax].

Purpose: Chest radiography is standard for the diagnosis of a pneumothorax. However, also ultrasound of the chest has considerable value in the detection of a pneumothorax. A typical sonographic feature is the lack of the lung gliding sign.

Quantification of perfusion of liver tissue and metastases using a multivessel model for replenishment kinetics of ultrasound contrast agents.

Low-MI (mechanical index) ultrasound allows real-time observation of replenishment kinetics after destruction ("flash") of ultrasound contrast agents (USCA). We developed an examination protocol and a mathematical model to quantify perfusion of liver tissue and hepatic metastases. Using a modified multivessel model, we attempted a consistent, physiological description of microbubble replenishment in liver tissue.

[MRT, CT and sonography in the preoperative assessment of the primary tumor spread in malignant pleural mesothelioma].

Purpose: Evaluation of the diagnostic value of the imaging modalities computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and thoracic sonography in the preoperative staging of malignant pleural mesothelioma.

Materials And Methods: The diagnostic accuracy of CT (n = 41), MRI (n = 24), and thoracic sonography (n = 37) were evaluated in 51 patients with histologically proven diffuse malignant pleural mesothelioma. Values of sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values, and accuracy were calculated for the assessment of the diaphragm, lung, thoracic wall, pericardial wall, myocardium, and (retro)peritoneal space.

[Mediastinal actinomycosis with formation of an esophagotracheal fistula. A case report].

Before antibiotics were available, actinomycosis was the most commonly diagnosed "fungal disease" of the lung because of its morphological similarity to true fungi. At that time actinomycosis presented a fairly typical clinical picture of empyema thoracis and sinus tracts in the chest wall. Nowadays it has become a rare infectious disease that is usually caused by the bacterium Actinomyces israelii and is amenable to treatment by most antibiotics available today.

[Computerized tomography findings in rare malignant processes of the thorax].

The CT findings in 21 patients with rare malignant space-occupying growths in the thorax were evaluated retrospectively under morphological aspects. The possibility of rare malignant thoracic space-occupying growths should be considered mainly 1) in patients who are either very young or of very old age, 2) if risk factors are absent, especially abuse of nicotine, 3) if there are large inhomogeneous growths, possibly with calcareous areas or necrotic zones and sharp marginal delineation in the node status, 4) if the tumour localisation is atypical of bronchial carcinoma.