Bridging the gap between bench and clinic: the importance of understanding the mechanism of iodinated contrast media hypersensitivity.

Since the advent of CT, iodinated contract media (ICM) has become one of the most regularly administered intravenous medications in clinical settings. Although considered generally safe, ICM is one of the most common causes of adverse drug reactions in clinical practice, accounting for more than 2 million adverse reactions worldwide. Currently, there are few useful tools to diagnose patient hypersensitivity, with the major limitation being the lack of consensus regarding the mechanisms of hypersensitivity to ICM.

Resection of a Large Hemorrhagic Mediastinal Lymphangioma in an Adult Patient: A Radiologic-Pathologic Correlation.

Lymphangiomas are rare benign lesions resulting from abnormal proliferation and sequestration of lymphatic tissues that are disconnected from the rest of the lymphatic system. This is a case of a 50-year-old woman with an unusually large mediastinal lymphangioma complicated by hemorrhage. The substantial mass effect and unstable clinical status necessitated urgent operative management.

rospective Clinical Trial Comparing IV Esmolol to IV Metoprolol in CT Coronary Angiography: Effect on Hemodynamic, Technical Parameters and Cost.

Background: Intravenous [IV] esmolol, an alternative to IV metoprolol for coronary computed tomography angiography [CCTA], has shorter half-life that decreases the risk of prolonged hypotension. The primary aim was to prospectively compare IV esmolol alone to IV metoprolol alone for effectiveness in achieving heart rate [HR] of 60 beats per minute[bpm] during CCTA. The secondary aim was to compare hemodynamic response, image quality, radiation dose and cost.

Histogram-based models on non-thin section chest CT predict invasiveness of primary lung adenocarcinoma subsolid nodules.

109 pathologically proven subsolid nodules (SSN) were segmented by 2 readers on non-thin section chest CT with a lung nodule analysis software followed by extraction of CT attenuation histogram and geometric features. Functional data analysis of histograms provided data driven features (FPC1,2,3) used in further model building. Nodules were classified as pre-invasive (P1, atypical adenomatous hyperplasia and adenocarcinoma in situ), minimally invasive (P2) and invasive adenocarcinomas (P3).

Follow Up of Incidental High-Risk Pulmonary Nodules on Computed Tomography Pulmonary Angiography at Care Transitions.

Background: Computed tomography pulmonary angiography (CTPA) detects incidental findings that require follow-up. In just over 50% of cases, those incidental findings are pulmonary nodules. Fleischner guidelines recommend that patients with nodules that have a high risk of malignancy should undergo CT follow-up within 3-12 months.

Enhanced pneumothorax visualization in ICU patients using portable chest radiography.

Objective: Pneumothorax development can cause precipitous deterioration in ICU patients, therefore quick and accurate detection is vital. Portable chest radiography is commonly performed to exclude pneumothoraces but is hampered by supine patient position and overlying internal and external material. Also, the initial evaluation of the chest radiograph may be performed by a relatively inexperienced physician.

Metachronous or synchronous primary lung cancer in the era of computed tomography surveillance.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to determine the frequency, characteristics, and survival of second primary lung cancer initially identified as an indeterminate lesion on the original computed tomography scan and then diagnosed during the surveillance period in a prospective study.

Methods: A prospective database of 271 patients enrolled in a surveillance study was updated. Indeterminate lesions present on the original computed tomography at the time of initial primary lung cancer diagnosis that subsequently grew and were diagnosed as cancer were termed "synchronous primary lung cancer.

Optimization of Computed Tomography Coronary Angiography for Improved Plaque Detection.

Objective: The study aims to optimize visualization of the coronary wall during computed tomography coronary angiography.

Methods: A coronary plaque phantom was scanned on a wide-volume computed tomography scanner. Spatial resolution, contrast resolution, and vessel wall thickness were measured at different x-ray tube currents and voltages.

Chest CT scans are frequently abnormal in asymptomatic patients with newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia.

Chest computed tomography (CT) findings of nodules, ground glass opacities, and consolidations are often interpreted as representing invasive fungal infection in individuals with febrile neutropenia. We assessed whether these CT findings were present in asymptomatic individuals with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) at low risk of invasive fungal disease. A retrospective study of consecutive asymptomatic adult patients with newly diagnosed AML over a 2-year period was performed at a tertiary care oncology center.

Randomized controlled trial of relaxation music to reduce heart rate in patients undergoing cardiac CT.

Objectives: To evaluate the heart rate lowering effect of relaxation music in patients undergoing coronary CT angiography (CCTA), pulmonary vein CT (PVCT) and coronary calcium score CT (CCS).

Methods: Patients were randomised to a control group (i.e.

Safety and Efficacy of Modified Preoperative Lung Nodule Microcoil Localization Without Pleural Marking: A Pilot Study.

Purpose: The purpose of this pilot study was to evaluate the safety and efficacy of preoperative computed tomography (CT)-guided percutaneous microcoil lung nodule localization without pleural marking compared with the established technique with pleural marking.

Materials And Methods: Sixty-three consecutive patients (66.7% female, mean age 61.

Low-dose computed tomography volumetry for subtyping chronic lung allograft dysfunction.

Background: The long-term success of lung transplantation is challenged by the development of chronic lung allograft dysfunction (CLAD) and its distinct subtypes of bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome (BOS) and restrictive allograft syndrome (RAS). However, the current diagnostic criteria for CLAD subtypes rely on total lung capacity (TLC), which is not always measured during routine post-transplant assessment. Our aim was to investigate the utility of low-dose 3-dimensional computed tomography (CT) lung volumetry for differentiating RAS from BOS.

State of the Art: Iterative CT Reconstruction Techniques.

Owing to recent advances in computing power, iterative reconstruction (IR) algorithms have become a clinically viable option in computed tomographic (CT) imaging. Substantial evidence is accumulating about the advantages of IR algorithms over established analytical methods, such as filtered back projection. IR improves image quality through cyclic image processing.

Accelerated Compressed Sensing Based CT Image Reconstruction.

In X-ray computed tomography (CT) an important objective is to reduce the radiation dose without significantly degrading the image quality. Compressed sensing (CS) enables the radiation dose to be reduced by producing diagnostic images from a limited number of projections. However, conventional CS-based algorithms are computationally intensive and time-consuming.

Adaptively Tuned Iterative Low Dose CT Image Denoising.

Improving image quality is a critical objective in low dose computed tomography (CT) imaging and is the primary focus of CT image denoising. State-of-the-art CT denoising algorithms are mainly based on iterative minimization of an objective function, in which the performance is controlled by regularization parameters. To achieve the best results, these should be chosen carefully.

Use of Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Imaging Based Measurements of Inferior Vena Cava Cross-Sectional Area in the Diagnosis of Pericardial Constriction.

Purpose: To evaluate the value of cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-based measurements of inferior vena cava (IVC) cross-sectional area in the diagnosis of pericardial constriction.

Methods: Patients who had undergone cardiac MRI for evaluation of clinically suspected pericardial constriction were identified retrospectively. The diagnosis of pericardial constriction was established by clinical history, echocardiography, cardiac catheterization, intraoperative findings, and/or histopathology.

Non-local total variation based low-dose Computed Tomography denoising.

Radiation dose of X-ray Computed Tomography (CT) imaging has raised a worldwide health concern. Therefore, low-dose CT imaging has been of a huge interest in the last decade. However, lowering the radiation dose degrades the image quality by increasing the noise level, which may reduce the diagnostic performance of the images.

Cardiovascular CT in the diagnosis of pericardial constriction: predictive value of inferior vena cava cross-sectional area.

Background: The diagnosis of pericardial constriction remains challenging.

Purpose: We sought to evaluate the predictive value of cardiovascular CT-based measurements of inferior vena cava (IVC) parameters in the diagnosis of pericardial constriction.

Methods: Forty-two consecutive patients referred for assessment of pericardial constriction by 64-slice CT were evaluated.

Optimal image reconstruction for detection and characterization of small pulmonary nodules during low-dose CT.

Objectives: To optimize the slice thickness/overlap parameters for image reconstruction and to study the effect of iterative reconstruction (IR) on detectability and characterization of small non-calcified pulmonary nodules during low-dose thoracic CT.

Materials And Methods: Data was obtained from computer simulations, phantom, and patient CTs. Simulations and phantom CTs were performed with 9 nodules (5, 8, and 10 mm with 100, -630, and -800 HU).

Minimal-dose computed tomography is superior to chest x-ray for the follow-up and treatment of patients with resected lung cancer.

Objectives: A minimal-dose computed tomography scan of the thorax (MnDCT) delivers a radiation dose comparable with a chest x-ray (CXR). We hypothesized that in patients with completely resected lung cancer, surveillance with MnDCT, when compared with CXR, leads to earlier detection and a higher rate of treatment of new or recurrent lung cancer.

Methods: After lung cancer resection, patients prospectively were enrolled for surveillance with MnDCT and CXR at 3, 6, 12, 18, 24, 36, 48, and 60 months.

Beyond lung cancer: a strategic approach to interpreting screening computed tomography scans on the basis of mortality data from the National Lung Screening Trial.

Low-dose computed tomography screening in older patients with a heavy-smoking history can be viewed as an opportunity to screen for smoking-related illnesses and not just for lung cancer. Within the National Lung Screening Trial, 24.1% of all deaths were attributed to lung cancer, but there were significant competing causes of mortality in this patient population.

How influential is the duration of contrast material bolus injection in perfusion CT? evaluation in a swine model.

Purpose: To analyze the effect of the duration of contrast material bolus injection on perfusion values in a swine model by using the maximum slope method.

Materials And Methods: This study was approved by the institutional animal care committee. Twenty pigs (weight range, 63-77 kg) underwent dynamic volume computed tomography (CT) of the kidneys during suspended respiration.

Image quality and radiation dose of pulmonary CT angiography performed using 100 and 120 kVp.

Objective: The objective of our study was to compare image quality and radiation dose of pulmonary CT angiography (CTA) performed in the same patient cohort using tube potentials of 100 and 120 kVp.

Materials And Methods: The study group for this retrospective study was 32 patients (22 women, 10 men) with a mean age of 57 years (age range, 28-83 years; body weight < 100 kg). Patients underwent pulmonary CTA studies performed using 120 and 100 kVp while other scanning parameters were kept constant.