Prospective comparative study of negative oral contrast agents for magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to compare prospectively the image quality of magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP) using manganese chloride tetrahydrate (Bothdel Oral Solution 10) (MCT), a new negative oral contrast agent; ferric ammonium citrate (FerriSeltz powder 20%) (FAC); and no agent.

Materials And Methods: MRCP images (TE 970 ms) of patients administered MCT (n = 19) or FAC (n = 20) at random, and 18 patients without an agent were evaluated. The subjective image quality of the overall, extrahepatic bile duct, and pancreatic duct and the degree of elimination of gastrointestinal fluid scored by two radiologists blinded to information regarding the agent were compared using Mann-Whitney's U-test.

Hyperattenuating signs at unenhanced CT indicating acute vascular disease.

When a vascular disease is suspected, the focus is usually on morphologic features seen at contrast material-enhanced multidetector computed tomography (CT). However, unenhanced CT also plays an important role in revealing so-called hyperattenuating signs, which represent a slight increase in the focal attenuation of a vessel. Hyperattenuating signs are occasionally observed when an acute clot has formed in a vessel and can be seen in various vascular diseases, including acute arterial occlusion, acute arterial dissection, aneurysm rupture, and acute venous thrombosis.

Defining juxtapapillary diverticulum with 3D segmented trueFISP MRCP: comparison with conventional MRCP sequences with an oral negative contrast agent.

Purpose: To compare three-dimensional segmented true fast imaging with steady-state precession magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (3D-trueFISP-MRCP) to conventional MRCP sequences with an oral negative contrast agent for diagnosing juxtapapillary diverticulum.

Materials And Methods: A total of 42 patients with (n = 21) and without (n = 21) juxtapapillary diverticulum confirmed by endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) were evaluated. Three MRCP sequences, 3D-trueFISP-MRCP, two-dimensional rapid acquisition with relaxation enhancement MRCP (2D-RARE-MRCP), and 3D T(2)-weighted turbo spin-echo MRCP (3D-TSE-MRCP), obtained after administering an oral negative contrast agent (FerriSeltz; Otsuka Pharmaceutical, Tokushima, Japan) were compared.

Comparison of SPACE and 3D TSE MRCP at 1.5T focusing on difference in echo spacing.

Purpose: We compared the image quality of SPACE (sampling perfection with application optimized contrasts using different flip angle evolutions) and conventional 3D turbo spin echo (TSE) magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP) at 1.5 tesla with regard to difference in echo spacing.

Methods: Twenty healthy volunteers prospectively underwent navigator-triggered SPACE and 3D TSE MRCP at 1.

Feasibility of diffusion-weighted MRI for defining placental invasion.

The purpose of this clinical note is to describe the feasibility of using diffusion-weighted imaging for diagnosing placental invasion with a case of placenta increta and six cases without it. Diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) at a b-value of 1000 sec/mm(2) can clearly define the border between the placenta and myometrium because only the placenta shows very high signal intensity. The corresponding image at a b-value of 0 sec/mm(2) shows the myometrium with high signal intensity compared with the surrounding fat.

Navigator-triggered prospective acquisition correction (PACE) technique vs. conventional respiratory-triggered technique for free-breathing 3D MRCP: an initial prospective comparative study using healthy volunteers.

Purpose: To confirm the superiority of the navigator-triggered prospective acquisition correction (PACE) technique over the conventional respiratory-triggered (RESP) technique, something that has been perceived experimentally but without definite evidence, for free-breathing three-dimensional (3D) magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP) using healthy volunteers.

Materials And Methods: Free-breathing 3D turbo spin-echo MRCP using both PACE and RESP techniques were prospectively performed on 25 healthy volunteers. Quantitative analyses of acquisition time, signal-to-noise ratio, contrast-to-noise ratio, and contour sharpness index of each segment of the pancreaticobiliary tree were compared using the paired t-test.

Unruptured pseudoaneurysm of the cystic artery with acute calculous cholecystitis incidentally detected by computed tomography.

Pseudoaneurysm of the cystic artery is rare; to our knowledge, fewer than 30 cases have been reported worldwide. We report the first case of an unruptured pseudoaneurysm of the cystic artery with concurrent acute calculous cholecystitis. We incidentally detected the aneurysm by contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT) in the edematous, thickened wall of the gallbladder neck in a 71-year-old man, whereas in most of the reported cases the disease presented as hemobilia.

Compression belt for navigator-triggered trueFISP whole-heart coronary magnetic resonance angiography: study in healthy volunteers.

Purpose: To evaluate in healthy volunteers the usefulness of an abdominal compression belt in reducing acquisition time by stabilizing respiratory motion during whole-heart coronary magnetic resonance angiography (WHCMRA) using conventional navigator triggering.

Methods: In 10 healthy volunteers, we performed free-breathing 3-dimensional segmented true fast imaging with steady-state precession (trueFISP) WHCMRA using conventional navigator triggering without motion-adapted gating. We acquired images with the abdominal compression belt rolled tightly around the upper abdomen and without the belt.

Stent-graft to treat intrahepatic portosystemic venous shunt causing encephalopathy.

Spontaneous intrahepatic portosystemic venous shunts (IPSVS) are rare, and angiographic intervention to treat IPSVS has been limited. To our knowledge, we present the first case of an IPSVS between the right portal vein and inferior vena cava accompanied by intractable encephalopathy that was successfully obliterated using a stent-graft deployed in the inferior vena cava to disconnect the portal and systemic venous circulation. Our patient, a 58-year-old woman, has shown no evidence of recurrent portosystemic venous shunt or encephalopathy for 30 months.

Frequency of common bile duct motion artifacts caused by inferior vena cava pulsation on magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography.

Purpose: We assessed the frequency of common bile duct (CBD) motion artifacts caused by inferior vena cava (IVC) pulsation on magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP).

Methods: We retrospectively evaluated CBD motion artifacts in 4 MRCP sequences from each of 115 consecutive patients.

Results: We observed 37 (32.

Prospective trial of a navigator setting under left hepatic lobe on magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography using a free-breathing prospective acquisition correction technique.

Purpose: To prospectively compare the image acquisition time and image quality obtained by navigator setting under the left hepatic lobe vs. on the right diaphragm on magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP) using a free-breathing navigator-triggered prospective acquisition correction technique (PACE).

Materials And Methods: Fifty consecutive patients prospectively underwent three-dimensional T2-weighted turbo spin-echo MRCP using PACE with the navigator randomly set either under the left hepatic lobe or on top of the right diaphragm.

Spermatic cord abscess with concurrent prostatic abscess involving the seminal vesicle.

Prostatic abscess involving the seminal vesicle has become rare following the development of effective antibiotic treatments. To our knowledge, we report the first case in the English-language literature of a patient with a spermatic cord abscess and a concurrent prostatic abscess. We examined an 81-year-old man for swelling and pain in the left inguinal region and performed computed tomography (CT) that later confirmed the suspected diagnosis of left inguinal hernial strangulation.

Computed tomographic appearance of urachal carcinoma associated with urachal diverticulum misdiagnosed by cystoscopy.

Urachal carcinoma associated with the urachal diverticulum is rare. We present a surgical case of this condition that was initially diagnosed as bladder urothelial carcinoma by cystoscopy, but was then correctly diagnosed by computed tomography (CT). Whereas the CT appearance mimicked that of bladder cancer, accurate localization of the lesion and identification of the median umbilical ligament clarified diagnosis.

Computed tomographic findings of syphilitic aortitis.

We describe the computerized tomographic (CT) findings of the aortic wall in a case of acute-phase syphilitic arteritis. The delayed phase of the contrast-enhanced CT shows a double-ring configuration of the thick thoracic aortic wall, which is similar to CT findings previously reported for Takayasu arteritis. We speculate that the resemblance of the CT findings for these two diseases accounts for their similar histopathological features.

A trial to measure local lung volume changes during respiration with CT.

Purpose: To evaluate changes in volume and the CT attenuation value of the pulmonary lobes and peripheral small lung tissue at full inspiration and expiration.

Materials And Methods: We designated (1000+CT insp)/(1000+CT exp)(1000+CT insp)/(1000+CT exp) as CT volume ratio, a new parameter to represent volume changes in lung tissue, and V insp/V exp as actual volume ratio: CT insp, exp: CT attenuation value of measured lung at inspiration and expiration; V insp, exp: actual lung volume measured with CT at inspiration and expiration. Ten normal healthy volunteers were investigated with 5 mm collimation CT in the supine position.

Helical CT features of arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy.

Arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC), also known as arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia, is a disorder of the heart muscle of unknown origin. It is characterized by electrical instability of the heart as a result of replacement of the right ventricular myocardium with fatty or fibrous fatty tissue. Dilatation of the right ventricle; fatty tissue in conspicuous trabeculae of the right ventricle, especially in the anterior wall, apex, and inferior (diaphragmatic) wall; and a scalloped appearance (bulging) of the right ventricular wall are characteristic findings at helical computed tomography (CT) that may be used to diagnose ARVC.