The grand unifying theory of bright echoes in the fetal and neonatal brain.

The purpose of this presentation is to illustrate that the high-amplitude reflecting structures in the fetal and neonatal brain can be explained by the echogenicity of their leptomeningeal coverings or leptomeningeal origins. The leptomeninges, especially the pia mater, constitute the "grand unifying theory of bright reflectors" in the fetal and neonatal brain. Images from fetal and neonatal sonograms were selected to illustrate the objectives above.

Value of "minimum menstrual age" in determining early pregnancy failure.

Objectives: The purposes of this study were to assess a discriminatory "minimum menstrual age" (28 days + number of days elapsed between the first positive pregnancy test result and sonogram) for the diagnosis of early pregnancy failure when no embryonic/fetal heartbeat is seen and to compare minimum menstrual age dating with last menstrual period and sonographic dating.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective study of 338 initial first-trimester sonographic examinations among women with suspected early pregnancy failure. A minimum menstrual age for each was calculated, and pregnancy outcomes were assessed.

Screening in the dark: ethical considerations of providing screening tests to individuals when evidence is insufficient to support screening populations.

During the past decade, screening tests using computed tomography (CT) have disseminated into practice and been marketed to patients despite neither conclusive evidence nor professional agreement about their efficacy and cost-effectiveness at the population level. This phenomenon raises questions about physicians' professional roles and responsibilities within the setting of medical innovation, as well as the appropriate scope of patient autonomy and access to unproven screening technology. This article explores how physicians ought to respond when new screening examinations that lack conclusive evidence of overall population benefit emerge in the marketplace and are requested by individual patients.

The use of CT for screening: a national survey of radiologists' activities and attitudes.

Purpose: To investigate the activities, motivations, and attitudes of radiologists regarding specific computed tomographic (CT) screening examinations by using a survey.

Materials And Methods: All study activities were approved by the institutional review board. A self-administered, mailed survey was used to collect data on the practices and attitudes of U.

Safety of cerebral digital subtraction angiography in children: complication rate analysis in 241 consecutive diagnostic angiograms.

Background And Purpose: Catheter-based cerebral angiography remains an important diagnostic tool in the pediatric population, particularly considering the currently growing interest in diagnosing and treating cerebrovascular disorders in children. There are no recent estimates of the complication rate associated with modern diagnostic digital subtraction angiography (DSA) in the pediatric population. The purpose of this study was to estimate the rate of complications occurring during cerebral angiography in children.

Combined surgical and endovascular treatment of a spontaneous diploic arteriovenous fistula. Case report.

The authors report on the case of a 28-year-old woman presenting with an intraosseous arteriovenous fistula (AVF) located in the left parietal bone. The fistula was formed by direct arteriovenous shunts connecting branches of the left middle meningeal and superficial temporal arteries with a parietal diploic vein. Drainage occurred through both the external and internal jugular venous systems.

Phalangeal osteoid osteomas in the hand: a diagnostic problem.

Osteoid osteomas in the phalanges of the hand often present with atypical clinical and radiologic characteristics. These unusual presentations may cause a delay in diagnosis and treatment. In this study, seven cases (seven patients) of phalangeal osteoid osteomas in the hand were examined, six of which were misdiagnosed for long periods of time.