Congenital Lung Malformations: A Pictorial Review of Imaging Findings and a Practical Guide for Diagnosis.

The term congenital lung malformation (CLM) is used to describe a wide range of pathological conditions with different imaging and clinical manifestations. These anomalies stem from abnormal embryological lung development, potentially occurring across various stages of prenatal life. Their natural history can be variable, presenting in a wide range of severity levels and encompassing asymptomatic individuals who remain so until adulthood, as well as those who experience respiratory distress in the neonatal period.

Clinical and Radiological Features of Interstitial Lung Diseases Associated with Polymyositis and Dermatomyositis.

Polymyositis and dermatomyositis are autoimmune idiopathic systemic inflammatory diseases, characterized by various degrees of muscle inflammation and typical cutaneous lesions-the latter found in dermatomyositis. The underlying pathogenesis is characterized by a high level of uncertainty, and recent studies suggest diseases may have different immunopathological mechanisms. In polymyositis, components of the cellular immune system are involved, whereas in dermatomyositis, the pathogenesis is mainly mediated by the humoral immune response.

Clinical and radiological features of lung disorders related to connective-tissue diseases: a pictorial essay.

Connective tissue diseases (CTDs) include a spectrum of disorders that affect the connective tissue of the human body; they include autoimmune disorders characterized by immune-mediated chronic inflammation and the development of fibrosis. Lung involvement can be misdiagnosed, since pulmonary alterations preceded osteo-articular manifestations only in 20% of cases and they have no clear clinical findings in the early phases. All pulmonary structures may be interested: pulmonary interstitium, airways, pleura and respiratory muscles.

Cystic Interstitial Lung Diseases: A Pictorial Review and a Practical Guide for the Radiologist.

A cyst is a round circumscribed area of low attenuation, surrounded by epithelial or fibrous wall. Cysts can frequently occur on chest computed tomography (CT) and high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT); multiple parenchymal cysts of the lungs are the most typical feature of cystic lung interstitial diseases, characterizing a wide spectrum of diseases-ranging from isolated lung disorders up to diffuse pulmonary diseases. The aim of this review is to analyze scientific literature about cystic lung interstitial diseases and to provide a practical guide for radiologists, focusing on the main morphological features of pulmonary cysts: size, shape, borders, wall, location, and distribution.

Cryptogenic Organizing Pneumonia: Evolution of Morphological Patterns Assessed by HRCT.

To evaluate the radiological findings in patients with cryptogenic organizing pneumonia (COP) before steroid treatment and their behavior after therapy, we retrospectively evaluated a total of 22 patients with a diagnosis of COP made by bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL), biopsy or clinical/radiological features, and the patients were followed between 2014 and 2018 at the hospital; the demographic data, symptoms, radiologic findings, diagnostic methods and treatment plans of patients were collected from patients' hospital records. At least two CT scans of 22 patients (16 female and six men) were evaluated, the first one before starting steroid therapy and the others after therapy. At baseline CT scans, the most common radiological finding was the presence of consolidations (18/22 patients, 81.

Morphological Patterns of Sarcoidosis and Clinical Outcome: Retrospective Analysis through a Multidisciplinary Approach.

The aim of this work was to verify the correlations between different pulmonary morphological patterns and functional outcomes in sarcoidosis patients, using a validated score for the comparison between the high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) of patients belonging to different imaging patterns. From the electronic database of the reference center for interstitial lung diseases of our University Hospital, we retrospectively selected 55 patients with a diagnosis of sarcoidosis according to the American Thoracic Society (ATS) criteria; we evaluated the initial HRCT examination and pulmonary function tests collected at baseline and after a year. Patients were divided into typical (48% of patients) and atypical (52%) HRCT patterns, and a computer tomography activity score (CTAS) was associated with each HRCT appearance detected; clinical history, impact of therapy, and extra-thoracic locations were also considered.

Chest imaging using signs, symbols, and naturalistic images: a practical guide for radiologists and non-radiologists.

Several imaging findings of thoracic diseases have been referred-on chest radiographs or CT scans-to signs, symbols, or naturalistic images. Most of these imaging findings include the air bronchogram sign, the air crescent sign, the arcade-like sign, the atoll sign, the cheerios sign, the crazy paving appearance, the comet-tail sign, the darkus bronchus sign, the doughnut sign, the pattern of eggshell calcifications, the feeding vessel sign, the finger-in-gloove sign, the galaxy sign, the ginkgo leaf sign, the Golden-S sign, the halo sign, the headcheese sign, the honeycombing appearance, the interface sign, the knuckle sign, the monod sign, the mosaic attenuation, the Oreo-cookie sign, the polo-mint sign, the presence of popcorn calcifications, the positive bronchus sign, the railway track appearance, the scimitar sign, the signet ring sign, the snowstorm sign, the sunburst sign, the tree-in-bud distribution, and the tram truck line appearance. These associations are very helpful for radiologists and non-radiologists and increase learning and assimilation of concepts.

Assessment of survival in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis using quantitative HRCT indexes.

Background: The assessment of Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF) using HRCT requires great experience and is limited by a significant inter-observer variability, even between trained radiologists. The evaluation of HRCT through automated quantitative analysis may hopefully solve this problem. The accuracy of CT-histogram derived indexes in the assessment of survival in IPF patients has been poorly studied.

Diffusion-MR in kidney transplant recipients: is diuretic stimulation a useful diagnostic tool for improving differentiation between functioning and non-functioning kidneys?

Objectives: To evaluate the effects of diuretic stimulation on Diffusion Weighted Imaging (DWI) and Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) techniques in transplanted kidneys.

Methods: 33 transplanted kidney recipients underwent DWI and DTI sequences before and after furosemide. Cortical and medullary Apparent Diffusion Coefficient (ADC) and Fractional Anisotropy (FA) values were calculated in transplanted kidneys.

The utilization of imaging features in the management of intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms.

Intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms (IPMNs) represent a group of cystic pancreatic neoplasms with large range of clinical behaviours, ranging from low-grade dysplasia or borderline lesions to invasive carcinomas. They can be grouped into lesions originating from the main pancreatic duct, main duct IPMNs (MD-IPMNs), and lesions which arise from secondary branches of parenchyma, denominated branch-duct IPMNs (BD-IPMNs). Management of these cystic lesions is essentially based on clinical and radiological features.

Clinical and radiological features of idiopathic interstitial pneumonias (IIPs): a pictorial review.

Objectives: To illustrate the clinical and radiological features of idiopathic interstitial pneumonias (IIPs), according to the American Thoracic Society (ATS)/European Respiratory Society (ERS) classification updated in 2013.

Methods: IIPs include a subset of diffuse and restrictive lung diseases, resulting from damage to the parenchyma characterised by inflammation and fibrosis of the interstitium. Classification into major and rare IIPs is based on the 2013 ATS/ERS committee.

Diffusion-weighted MRI in a liver protocol: its role in focal lesion detection.

Aim: To evaluate the role of diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) in the detection of focal liver lesions (FLLs), using a conventional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) protocol.

Methods: Fifty-two patients (22 males, average age 55.6 years, range: 25-82 years), studied using a 1.

Diagnosis of ruptured superior mesenteric artery aneurysm mimicking a pancreatic mass.

Aneurysms and pseudoaneurysms of the superior mesenteric artery are potentially lethal and should be treated as urgently as possible. In a 52-year-old man with occasional epigastric pain, we accidentally discovered a superior mesenteric artery aneurysm that was ruptured with spontaneous tamponade in the uncinate process and in the head of the pancreas. The ruptured aneurysm had a heterogeneous appearance due to its thrombotic and hemorrhagic content, and it simulated a voluminous mass in the head and uncinate process of the pancreas, associated with mild dilatation of the main pancreatic duct.