The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health B Reader Certification Program-An Update Report (1987 to 2018) and Future Directions.

Objective: The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) B Reader Program provides the opportunity for physicians to demonstrate proficiency in the International Labour Office (ILO) system for classifying radiographs of pneumoconioses. We summarize trends in participation and examinee attributes and performance during 1987 to 2018.

Methods: Since 1987, NIOSH has maintained details of examinees and examinations.

Severe lung disease characterized by lymphocytic bronchiolitis, alveolar ductitis, and emphysema (BADE) in industrial machine-manufacturing workers.

Background: A cluster of severe lung disease occurred at a manufacturing facility making industrial machines. We aimed to describe disease features and workplace exposures.

Methods: Clinical, functional, radiologic, and histopathologic features were characterized.

Computed Tomography Assessment for Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement.

Transcatheter aortic valve replacement has become a mainstream therapeutic option for patients with severe aortic stenosis who are at intermediate risk or high risk for surgical valve replacement. Computed tomography (CT) is now the standard imaging modality for preoperative vascular access planning an aortic annular sizing. This article reviews the established and potential future roles of CT in transcatheter aortic valve replacement.

Pericardioesophageal fistula following left atrial ablation procedure.

We present a case of pericardioesophageal fistula formation in a 40 year old male who 23 days after undergoing a repeat ablation procedure for atrial fibrillation developed chest pressure, chills and diaphoresis. After initial labs and tests that demonstrated no evidence for acute myocardial ischemia, the patient underwent CT angiography of the chest. The study revealed pneumopericardium and a pericardial effusion.

Indium lung disease.

Background: Reports of pulmonary fibrosis, emphysema, and, more recently, pulmonary alveolar proteinosis (PAP) in indium workers suggested that workplace exposure to indium compounds caused several different lung diseases.

Methods: To better understand the pathogenesis and natural history of indium lung disease, a detailed, systematic, multidisciplinary analysis of clinical, histopathologic, radiologic, and epidemiologic data for all reported cases and workplaces was undertaken.

Results: Ten men (median age, 35 years) who produced, used, or reclaimed indium compounds were diagnosed with interstitial lung disease 4-13 years after first exposure (n = 7) or PAP 1-2 years after first exposure (n = 3).

"Extracaval shepherd's crook" sign: a characteristic radiographic sign of central venous catheter placement in the right internal thoracic vein.

Inaccurate positioning is a well-known and documented complication of central venous catheterization. Inadvertent placement of a central venous catheter into the right internal thoracic vein has been reported in the literature; however, the characteristic radiographic appearance for this complication has yet to be described. We report 3 cases that demonstrate central venous catheters improperly terminating in the right internal jugular vein.

Thymic hyperplasia after adjuvant chemotherapy in breast cancer.

We report 2 patients with breast cancer who were treated with surgery and adjuvant chemotherapy for stage IIa and stage I breast cancers. Follow-up CT scans showed an anterior mediastinal mass, raising concern for tumor recurrence. Thymectomy performed on the first patient, and close follow-up with radiographic studies on the second patient, revealed benign thymic enlargement.

MR imaging of the chest using a contrast-enhanced breath-hold modified three-dimensional gradient-echo technique: comparison with two-dimensional gradient-echo technique and multidetector CT.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to assess the feasibility of performing MR imaging of the chest using a fat-suppressed gadolinium-enhanced modified three-dimensional (3D) gradient-echo technique with a volumetric interpolated breath-hold (VIB) sequence compared with using a standard two-dimensional (2D) breath-hold gradient-echo technique. MR images obtained using both techniques were compared with multidetector CT (MDCT) scans.

Subjects And Methods: Paired gadolinium-enhanced 2D gradient-echo and 3D gradient-echo VIB images were acquired in 15 consecutive patients with suspected intrathoracic abnormalities.