Preoperative evaluation of the segmental artery of left upper lobe by thin-section CT and 3d-CTA.

Purpose: Understanding pulmonary artery (PA) branches and their variations is crucial for successful lung resection. We aimed to evaluate the segmental PA branching pattern of the left upper lobe (LUL) using thin-section computed tomography (TSCT) images and 3D-CT angiography (3D-CTA).

Materials And Methods: This study included 108 patients who underwent CTA and left upper lobectomy.

An analysis of the left top pulmonary vein and comparison with the right top pulmonary vein for lung resection by three-dimensional CT angiography and thin-section images.

Purpose: The right top pulmonary vein (RTPV) is defined as an anomalous branch of the right superior PV (SPV) draining into the PV or left atrium (LA). Several previous reports have described the RTPV, but only a few have mentioned the left top PV (LTPV). The present study aimed to evaluate the branching patterns of the RTPV and LTPV using thin-section CT images and three-dimensional CT angiography (3D-CTA).

An analysis of anatomical variations of the left pulmonary artery of the interlobar portion for lung resection by three-dimensional CT pulmonary angiography and thin-section images.

Purpose: The purpose of the present study was to analyze the left pulmonary artery (LPA) branching pattern of the interlobar portion using three-dimensional CT pulmonary angiography (3D-CTPA) and thin-section CT images, and to attempt to diagrammatize these patterns.

Materials And Methods: The study included 320 patients suspected of having lung cancer of the left upper/lower lobe who underwent CTPA. The number and origin of the LPA branches of the interlobar portion, A1 + 2c, A6, and lingular artery from pars interlobaris (PI), were identified meticulously using 3D-CTPA and thin-section images.

Preoperative Evaluation of the Right Upper Lobe Pulmonary Artery by 3D-CT Pulmonary Angiography vs. Thin-Section Multiplanar Reconstruction Images Obtained by Contrast-Enhanced Multidetector-Row CT.

We compared the effectiveness of 3-dimensional computed tomography pulmonary angiography (3D-CTPA) and thin-section multiplanar reconstruction (MPR) images obtained using contrast-enhanced multidetector row CT (MDCT), in the evaluation of pulmonary artery (PA) branches of the right upper lobe. We studied 127 patients suspected of having lung cancer of the right upper lobe who underwent contrast-enhanced MDCT scans and a right upper lobectomy. We compared the intraoperative findings of the PA branches of the right upper lobe obtained with 3D-CTPA and thin-section MPR images.

Comparison of chest computed tomography features in the acute phase of cardiogenic pulmonary edema and acute respiratory distress syndrome on arrival at the emergency department.

Purpose: Discriminating cardiogenic pulmonary edema (CPE) from acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a serious problem in emergency departments, and the ability of chest radiographs to differentiate between these 2 entities is limited. We compared the chest computed tomography (CT) findings in the acute phase of CPE with those of ARDS.

Materials And Methods: Outpatients with acute respiratory failure presenting to emergency departments with bilateral pulmonary opacities were enrolled.

Relationship between CT findings and the plasma levels of brain natriuretic peptide in 29 patients with acute cardiogenic pulmonary edema.

Rationale And Objectives: Brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) is a useful biomarker for the assessment of cardiogenic pulmonary edema. This study evaluated the relationship between computed tomography (CT) findings and plasma BNP levels in patients with cardiogenic pulmonary edema.

Materials And Methods: Twenty-nine consecutive outpatients with severe respiratory failure from cardiogenic edema presenting to emergency departments were enrolled.

[New parameters "average flow" and "acceleration wave": comparison with current parameters in the flow volume curve].

Aim: The flow volume curve is an essential test method for diagnosis and treatment of the respiratory diseases. However, this curve depends on patient's continuous effort toward optimal expiration and it has been reported that differences in this effort may possibly result in error in flow speed. To overcome the potential error, we devised the "average flow" and the "acceleration wave" that comprehends the overall data of the expiration flow speed, and have done comparative analysis with the current parameters.

CT assessment of subtypes of pulmonary emphysema in females.

We performed a retrospective study examining the prevalence and subtypes of pulmonary emphysema (PE) identified by computed tomography (CT) in females. We reviewed the records of 1,687 female subjects who had undergone CT. They were divided into the following 2 age groups:group A (＜50 years) and group B (≥50 years).

A novel method for determining adjacent lung segments with infrared thoracoscopy.

Objectives: We investigated a new technique for identifying the lung intersegmental line using infrared thoracoscopy with intravenous injection of indocyanine green.

Methods: This was an experimental animal study, and target segments were established preoperatively. Six adult beagle dogs underwent thoracotomy.

Evaluation of subsubsegmental pulmonary arteries of the posterior and anterior segments of the right upper lobe using multidetector row computed tomography with multiplanar reconstruction images.

Purpose: We evaluated the patterns of subsubsegmental pulmonary arteries of the right upper lobe (posterior segment: S2; anterior segment: S3) with multiplanar reconstruction (MPR) images by multidetector row computed tomography (MDCT).

Materials And Methods: A total of 64 patients who had undergone MDCT scans were included in the study. The subsubsegmental arteries were named by adding "i" or "ii" as the superior or the inferior branch, respectively, of the subsegmental arteries.

[18F]fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography imaging in a case of relapsing polychondritis.

Relapsing polychondritis is a rare multisystemic disease that is characterized by recurrent inflammation of the cartilaginous structures of the external ear, nose, joint, larynx, and tracheobronchial tree. Airway involvement is present in up to 50% of patients with the disease and is a major cause of morbidity and mortality. We describe a patient with relapsing polychondritis presenting with tracheal and bronchial abnormalities that were identified by an increased uptake on [18F]fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography.

Usefulness of 99mTc-Technegas and 133Xe dynamic SPECT in ventilatory impairment.

Aim: To assess the usefulness of SPECT images using (99m)Tc-Technegas (Technegas) and (133)Xe dynamic single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) (Xe gas) and high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT), as compared with pathological assessment in the detection of small-airway disease including pulmonary emphysema.

Methods: Seventeen patients with lung cancer were studied. All patients who had undergone both Technegas and Xe gas and CT prior to surgery were examined.

Comparative evaluation of 18F-FDG PET and 67Ga scintigraphy in patients with sarcoidosis.

Unlabelled: 67Ga scintigraphy has been used for years in sarcoidosis for diagnosis and the extent of the disease. However, little information is available on the comparison of 18F-FDG PET and 67Ga scintigraphy in the assessment of sarcoidosis. The purpose of this study was to compare the uptake of 18F-FDG and 67Ga in the evaluation of pulmonary and extrapulmonary involvement in patients with sarcoidosis.

Diagnostic value of kinetic analysis using dynamic FDG PET in immunocompetent patients with primary CNS lymphoma.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the accumulation of FDG in immunocompetent patients with primary central nervous system (CNS) lymphoma using qualitative and quantitative PET images and to compare baseline with follow-up PET after therapy.

Methods: Twelve immunocompetent patients with CNS lymphoma were examined. Dynamic emission data were acquired for 60 min immediately following injection of FDG.

Bifid intrathoracic rib: a case report and classification of intrathoracic ribs.

Bifid intrathoracic rib is a very rare anomaly of the ribs that is characterized by an osseous prominence of a rib into the thoracic cavity. We report a 21-year-old woman with bifid intrathoracic rib arising from the anterior-lateral portion of a depressed 4th rib, based on findings from chest radiography and computed tomography (CT). This is only the second reported case of this type of intrathoracic rib worldwide.

A case of non-hodgkin's lymphoma of the ovary: usefulness of 18F-FDG PET for staging and assessment of the therapeutic response.

Primary ovarian lymphoma as the initial manifestation is rare. A 27-year-old woman presented to our hospital with the symptoms of lower abdominal fullness and pollakisuria. CT scan and MRI revealed bilateral ovarian tumors, which showed heterogeneous masses.

Dual-time-point 18F-FDG PET for the evaluation of gallbladder carcinoma.

Unlabelled: Conventional imaging techniques such as ultrasonography, CT, and MRI are able to detect gallbladder abnormalities but are not always able to differentiate a malignancy from other disease processes such as cholecystitis. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the efficacy of dual-time-point (18)F-FDG PET for differentiating malignant from benign gallbladder disease.

Methods: The study evaluated 32 patients who were suspected of having gallbladder tumors.

A case of metastatic pulmonary calcification after transient acute renal failure.

We report a case of metastatic pulmonary calcification that appeared on high-resolution CT (HRCT) as multiple, lobular, ground-glass opacities sparing the perilobular area. Diffuse metastatic calcification such as that in our case was considered to be a result of postoperative transient acute renal failure. Decreasing alveolar air spaces due to both alveolar septal fibrosis and calcification caused the diffuse ground-glass opacities in the present case.

CT for acute stage of closed head injury.

Brain damage after head injury can be classified by its time course. Primary damage that includes acute subdural hematoma (SDH), acute epidural hematoma (EDH), and intraaxial lesions that include contusions, diffuse axonal injury (DAI), and intracranial hemorrhage (ICH), occurs at the moment of impact and is thought to be irreversible. Secondary damage that includes herniations, diffuse cerebral swelling, and secondary infarction and hemorrhage, evolves hours or days after injury as a consequence of systemic or intracranial complications.

Contribution of whole body FDG-PET to the detection of distant metastasis in pancreatic cancer.

Objective: Accurate baseline staging is necessary to appropriately treat pancreatic cancer. The present study was undertaken to evaluate the clinical contribution of whole body FDG-PET to the detection of distant metastasis in pancreatic cancer.

Methods: A total of consecutive 42 patients with previously untreated pancreatic cancer were examined.

Effect of gravitation for detection of bronchioloalveolar carcinoma on computed tomography.

A 64-year-old female was found to have localized ground-glass opacity (GGO) in the middle lobe on a chest computed tomography (CT) for screening. Middle lobectomy with video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) was undertaken, and pathological diagnosis was a bronchioloalveolar carcinoma (BAC) in stage IA. A follow-up CT a year following the surgery revealed localized GGO in area S6 of the left lung.

Multiple rheumatoid nodules with rapid thin-walled cavity formation producing pneumothorax.

We report a rare case of multiple rheumatoid nodules that on chest CT demonstrated peripheral location with thin-walled cavity formation, rapid increase in size within several months, and complicating pneumothorax, pneumomediastinum, and subcutaneous emphysema due to bronchopleural fistula formation.

[Chest radiography based on the interlobar fissures].

Recognition of which interlobar fissure in the right lung is major or minor is important in chest radiography. Based on assessment of the interlobar fissure, the location of diseases or the degree of expansion of the lobes is comprehensible. As a general rule, the major fissure is not seen in normal cases.

FDG PET as a procedure for detecting simultaneous tumours in head and neck cancer patients.

Aim: The presence of simultaneous primary tumours in other regions affects the prognosis and management decisions of head and neck cancer patients. Therefore, early detection of these tumours is necessary. Recent improvements in positron emission tomography (PET) have made it possible to examine the patient's whole body.

Superimposed dual-isotope SPECT using 99mTc-hydroxymethylene diphosphonate and 201Tl-chloride to assess cartilage invasion in laryngohypopharyngeal cancer.

Objective: Cartilage invasion in laryngohypopharyngeal cancer has a significant impact on the choice of treatment modality and outcome of the disease. We examined invasion of cartilage in laryngohypopharyngeal cancer by simultaneous bone and tumor dual-isotope SPECT using 99mTc-hydroxymethylene diphosphonate and 201Tl-chloride.

Methods: Early and delayed simultaneous bone and tumor dual-isotope SPECT were performed on 19 patients with laryngohypopharyngeal cancer.