Rapid and accurate testing for urinary tract infection: new clothes for the emperor.

SUMMARYUrinary tract infection (UTI) is among the most common infections in clinical practice. In some cases, if left untreated, it can lead to pyelonephritis and urosepsis. In other cases, UTI resolves without treatment.

Assessing the Performance of Models from the 2022 RSNA Cervical Spine Fracture Detection Competition at a Level I Trauma Center.

Purpose To evaluate the performance of the top models from the RSNA 2022 Cervical Spine Fracture Detection challenge on a clinical test dataset of both noncontrast and contrast-enhanced CT scans acquired at a level I trauma center. Materials and Methods Seven top-performing models in the RSNA 2022 Cervical Spine Fracture Detection challenge were retrospectively evaluated on a clinical test set of 1828 CT scans (from 1829 series: 130 positive for fracture, 1699 negative for fracture; 1308 noncontrast, 521 contrast enhanced) from 1779 patients (mean age, 55.8 years ± 22.

Vision Transformer-based Decision Support for Neurosurgical Intervention in Acute Traumatic Brain Injury: Automated Surgical Intervention Support Tool.

Purpose To develop an automated triage tool to predict neurosurgical intervention for patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI). Materials and Methods A provincial trauma registry was reviewed to retrospectively identify patients with TBI from 2005 to 2022 treated at a specialized Canadian trauma center. Model training, validation, and testing were performed using head CT scans with binary reference standard patient-level labels corresponding to whether the patient received neurosurgical intervention.

Machine Learning Detection and Characterization of Splenic Injuries on Abdominal Computed Tomography.

Background: Multi-detector contrast-enhanced abdominal computed tomography (CT) allows for the accurate detection and classification of traumatic splenic injuries, leading to improved patient management. Their effective use requires rapid study interpretation, which can be a challenge on busy emergency radiology services. A machine learning system has the potential to automate the process, potentially leading to a faster clinical response.

Machine Learning Classification of Body Part, Imaging Axis, and Intravenous Contrast Enhancement on CT Imaging.

The development and evaluation of machine learning models that automatically identify the body part(s) imaged, axis of imaging, and the presence of intravenous contrast material of a CT series of images. This retrospective study included 6955 series from 1198 studies (501 female, 697 males, mean age 56.5 years) obtained between January 2010 and September 2021.

Augmentation of the RSNA Pulmonary Embolism CT Dataset with Bounding Box Annotations and Anatomic Localization of Pulmonary Emboli.

. CT, Pulmonary Arteries, Embolism/Thrombosis, Feature Detection © RSNA, 2023.

Understanding Ballistic Injuries.

Understanding the pathophysiology of a disease allows physicians to make a diagnosis, alter its natural course, and develop and implement appropriate preventative and management strategies. With ballistic injuries, an understanding of how the mechanism of injury translates to the injuries observed makes it possible to make sense of what can, at times be a complex imaging appearance and mitigate against the long-term complications of gunshot wounds. In this article, the authors describe the different types of ballistic projectiles, their mechanism of injury as well as the injury patterns they cause.

Impact of atrial fibrillation on the risk of major adverse cardiac events following coronary revascularisation.

Objective: Atrial fibrillation (AF) remains a highly prevalent arrhythmia with significant burden on morbidity and mortality. The impact of AF in the revascularised population remains incompletely described. Given the high prevalence of AF in the revascularised population, we sought to evaluate the incidence and prognosis in patients with pre-existing and new-onset AF following revascularisation.

Student Perspectives on Implementing Stop the Bleed Training into Medical School Curriculum.

Background: Following the Hartford Consensus guidelines and recommendations, third-year medical students from a single institution were offered an optional Stop the Bleed (STB) training course in August 2018. The aim of this study was to assess medical students' confidence in performing bleeding control techniques and teaching others after completing the STB course. The secondary goal was to assess student perception on integrating mandatory STB training into the medical school curriculum.

Performance of Plasma Adenosine as a Biomarker for Predicting Cardiovascular Risk.

Adenosine boasts promising preclinical and clinical data supporting a vital role in modulating vascular homeostasis. Its widespread use as a diagnostic and therapeutic agent have been limited by its short half-life and complex biology, though adenosine-modulators have shown promise in improving vascular healing. Moreover, circulating adenosine has shown promise in predicting cardiovascular (CV) events.

Physician prediction of 1-year mortality in the cardiac catheterization laboratory: comparison to a validated risk score.

Background: Physician perception of procedural risk and clinical outcome can affect revascularization decision making. Public reporting of percutaneous coronary intervention outcomes accentuates the need for accuracy in risk prediction in order to avoid a treatment paradox of undertreating the highest risk patients. Our study compares a validated risk score to physician prediction (PP) of 1-year mortality based on clinical impression at the time of invasive angiography.

Evaluation of plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 as a biomarker of unplanned revascularization and major adverse cardiac events in coronary angiography and percutaneous coronary intervention.

Background: The stented coronary artery remains at high-risk of complications, particularly in the form of stent thrombosis and in-stent restenosis. Improving our ability to identify patients at high-risk for these complications may provide opportunities for intervention. PAI-1 has been implicated in the pathophysiology of stent complications in preclinical studies, suggesting it may be a clinically valuable biomarker to predict adverse events following percutaneous coronary intervention.

Female Authorship in Preclinical Cardiovascular Research: Temporal Trends and Influence on Experimental Design.

In this analysis of 3,396 preclinical cardiovascular studies, women were first, senior, and both first and senior authors in 41.3%, 20.7%, and 11.

Detrusor contractility to parasympathetic mediators is differentially altered in the compensated and decompensated states of diabetic bladder dysfunction.

Diabetic bladder dysfunction (DBD) affects up to 50% of all patients with diabetes, characterized by symptoms of both overactive and underactive bladder. Although most diabetic bladder dysfunction studies have been performed using models with type 1 diabetes, few have been performed in models of type 2 diabetes, which accounts for ~90% of all diabetic cases. In a type 2 rat model using a high-fat diet (HFD) and two low doses of streptozotocin (STZ), we examined voiding measurements and functional experiments in urothelium-denuded bladder strips to establish a timeline of disease progression.

Performance of plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 as a biomarker in patients undergoing coronary angiography: Analytical and biological considerations.

Introduction And Objective: Target lesion failure continues to limit the efficacy of percutaneous coronary intervention despite advancements in stent design and medical therapy. Identification of biomarkers to risk stratify patients after percutaneous coronary intervention has the potential to focus therapies on cohorts with increased benefits. Plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 has been identified as a candidate biomarker.

Photoplethysmography using a smartphone application for assessment of ulnar artery patency: a randomized clinical trial.

Background: Radial artery access is commonly performed for coronary angiography and invasive hemodynamic monitoring. Despite limitations in diagnostic accuracy, the modified Allen test (manual occlusion of radial and ulnar arteries followed by release of the latter and assessment of palmar blush) is used routinely to evaluate the collateral circulation to the hand and, therefore, to determine patient eligibility for radial artery access. We sought to evaluate whether a smartphone application may provide a superior alternative to the modified Allen test.

Utility of MRI to Differentiate Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma Adrenal Metastases From Adrenal Adenomas.

Objective: The purpose of this study is to compare MRI features of clear cell renal cell carcinoma (RCC) adrenal metastases and adenomas.

Materials And Methods: Fifteen clear cell RCC adrenal metastases imaged with MRI were compared to 29 consecutive adenomas between 2006 and 2015. Two blinded radiologists assessed homogeneity (homogeneous vs heterogeneous), signal intensity (SI) decrease on chemical-shift MRI, and T2-weighted SI (isointense, mildly hyperintense, or markedly hyperintense) relative to muscle.

Methodological Rigor in Preclinical Cardiovascular Studies: Targets to Enhance Reproducibility and Promote Research Translation.

Rationale: Methodological sources of bias and suboptimal reporting contribute to irreproducibility in preclinical science and may negatively affect research translation. Randomization, blinding, sample size estimation, and considering sex as a biological variable are deemed crucial study design elements to maximize the quality and predictive value of preclinical experiments.

Objective: To examine the prevalence and temporal patterns of recommended study design element implementation in preclinical cardiovascular research.

Corrigendum: Sustained Contraction in Vascular Smooth Muscle by Activation of L-type Ca Channels Does Not Involve Ca Sensitization or Caldesmon.

[This corrects the article on p. 516 in vol. 7, PMID: 28082901.

Sustained Contraction in Vascular Smooth Muscle by Activation of L-type Ca Channels Does Not Involve Ca Sensitization or Caldesmon.

Vascular smooth muscle (VSM) is unique in its ability to maintain an intrinsic level of contractile force, known as tone. Vascular tone is believed to arise from the constitutive activity of membrane-bound L-type Ca channels (LTCC). This study used a pharmacological agonist of LTCC, Bay K8644, to elicit a sustained, sub-maximal contraction in VSM that mimics tone.

Regulation of mitogen-activated protein kinase by protein kinase C and mitogen-activated protein kinase phosphatase-1 in vascular smooth muscle.

Vascular smooth muscle contraction is primarily regulated by phosphorylation of myosin light chain. There are also modulatory pathways that control the final level of force development. We tested the hypothesis that protein kinase C (PKC) and mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase modulate vascular smooth muscle activity via effects on MAP kinase phosphatase-1 (MKP-1).