Improvement in Disease Activity in Refractory Juvenile Dermatomyositis Following Abatacept Therapy.

Objective: This open-label, 24-week study was conducted to evaluate the safety and efficacy of abatacept in patients with refractory juvenile dermatomyositis (DM).

Methods: Ten patients ≥7 years of age with moderate disease activity were enrolled in a 24-week study to examine the safety of subcutaneous abatacept and patient responses to the treatment. The primary endpoint was the International Myositis Assessment and Clinical Studies (IMACS) group Definition Of Improvement (DOI).

Atypical Clinical Presentation of Rapidly Progressing Femoral Head Avascular Necrosis.

A 51-year-old man presented to an urgent care facility 2 weeks after onset of left lateral hip and buttock pain. Radiographs were noncontributory. An orthopaedist referred him to physical therapy, but due to the worsening clinical presentation, he was referred back to the orthopaedist for additional evaluation.

Inferior vena cava size is not associated with shock following injury.

Background: The inferior vena cava (IVC) collapses with shock but may also be collapsed in volume-depleted patients in the absence of shock. The speed and availability of computed tomography (CT) make IVC measurement an attractive diagnostic modality for shock. The purpose of this study was to determine if IVC size following injury is associated with shock.

Migrated Essure permanent birth control device: sonographic findings.

We report a case of a migrated Essure permanent birth control device. The correct diagnosis was made on conventional two-dimensional and three-dimensional pelvic sonography 7 years after placement of the device when the patient presented with persistent right-sided pain. The 3-month post placement hysterosalpingogram had shown an appropriately occluded right fallopian tube but had overlooked the abnormal position of the right Essure device, which was too proximal and extending slightly in the uterine cavity.

Average chest wall thickness at two anatomic locations in trauma patients.

Background: Needle thoracostomy is the emergent treatment for tension pneumothorax. This procedure is commonly done using a 4.5cm catheter, and the optimal site for chest wall puncture is controversial.

Multimodality imaging of intrauterine devices with an emphasis on the emerging role of 3-dimensional ultrasound.

The intrauterine contraceptive device (IUD) is one of the most widely used reversible contraception methods throughout the world. With advancing technology, it has rapidly gained acceptance through its increased effectiveness and practicality compared with more invasive means such as laparoscopic tubal ligation. This pictorial essay will present the IUDs most commonly used today.

The unicornuate uterus and its variants: clinical presentation, imaging findings, and associated complications.

This article will describe the different variants of the unicornuate uterus, their clinical presentation and imaging findings, as well their associated complications. We will also review the associated renal anomalies. Patients' symptoms and their imaging findings will vary depending on the unicornuate subtype.

Multimodality imaging of the essure permanent birth control device: emphasis on commonly overlooked abnormalities.

Objective: The purpose of this pictorial essay is to review the imaging findings of normally and abnormally positioned Essure permanent birth control devices across the different imaging techniques and to show common sites of device migration.

Conclusion: The Essure device is easily visualized on all imaging techniques, and radiologists should be familiar with its appearance and be able to identify cases of device migration on ultrasound and hysterosalpingography that would suggest malfunction.

Intra-articular knee mass in a 51-year-old woman.

A 51-year-old woman presented with moderate knee pain refractory to conservative measures. Radiographs revealed a well-defined, but irregularly-shaped ovoid soft tissue density at the posterior superior aspect of the infrapatellar fat pad of Hoffa. On magnetic resonance imaging, the mass was mildly heterogeneous and had intermediate signal in the proton density series and mixed signal intensity on the T2-weighted images.

Correlation of magnetic resonance imaging to arthroscopic findings of stability in juvenile osteochondritis dissecans.

Purpose: To determine the ability of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to characterize the stability of osteochondritis dissecans (OCD) fragments in juveniles.

Methods: Twenty-eight consecutive patients underwent surgery for OCD between 2004 and 2008. Of these, 23 patients had adequate preoperative imaging.

Goals and objectives for an integrated, graduated curriculum in abdominal radiology.

The Residency Review Committee of the American Council of Graduate Medical Education has designated abdominal radiology as one of the subspecialty areas required for radiology residency training. Because it spans both gastrointestinal and genitourinary organ systems and multiple modalities, a graduated, integrated abdominal radiology curriculum, which is based on the General Competencies, was developed.

Magnetic resonance imaging of the idiopathic inflammatory myopathies: structural and clinical aspects.

Idiopathic inflammatory myopathies are chronic diseases clinically characterized by symmetrical proximal muscle weakness. MRI has assumed a major role in the evaluation and management of these conditions. It is sensitive to the presence of inflammation and edema, especially with incorporation of fat suppression sequences, so it is a useful tool for establishing an early diagnosis, for evaluating the extent and number of lesions, and for determining the right site for biopsy.

MRI for assessing erosion and joint space narrowing in inflammatory arthropathies.

The superior soft tissue contrast and multiplanar capability of magnetic resonance imaging has contributed to earlier diagnosis and implementation of effective treatment for a variety of arthropathies. Owing to overlapping clinical signs and symptoms, MRI plays a role in delineating the features and stages of these conditions. With the advent of disease-modifying therapies, it is important to diagnose inflammatory arthropathy as early as possible.

Fracture complicating the bone marrow edema syndrome.

Bone marrow edema syndrome (BMES), also known as transient regional osteoporosis, is a rare and poorly understood disease process. We present a case of an elderly patient with the BMES who had a relapsing and remitting course complicated by a hip fracture which presented the unique and a previously unreported opportunity to examine the bony architecture pathologically. The patient responded well to calcitonin and bisphosphonate therapy after surgical repair of his fracture.

Physeal changes and range-of-motion differences in the dominant shoulders of skeletally immature baseball players.

The purpose of this study was to document range-of-motion differences and radiographic changes in the dominant shoulder of skeletally immature throwers and to determine how pain associated with throwing may relate to these changes. Seventy-nine male youth baseball players (aged 8-15 years) completed a questionnaire, a shoulder examination, and a series of radiographs to determine physeal changes and humeral retroversion. Radiographs were reviewed and interpreted by a blinded musculoskeletal radiologist.