Computed tomography of primary aortocaval fistula.

Spontaneous aortocaval fistula is a rare but documented complication of arteriosclerotic abdominal aortic aneurysm. Most cases reported have presented clinically with a palpable aneurysm, abdominal bruit, and high output congestive heart failure. A diagnosis in such cases requires active demonstration of findings secondary to arteriovenous shunting, which can be optimized utilizing proper CT bolus technique and dynamic scanning.

Intramural hemorrhage simulating gastric neoplasm.

We report a case of benign gastric ulcer with secondary extensive intramural hemorrhage causing a radiographic appearance consistent with a large ulcerated gastric neoplasm. This is the second such case reported and the first studied with sonography and computed tomographic scan. A brief review of the literature on intramural gastric hematoma is presented.

Platelike cutaneous osteoma.

Platelike osteoma cutis is a rare lesion that is most often congenital. An 85-year-old man developed a plate, or sheet, of subcutaneous bone in an area previously affected by morphea. The sheet of bone was visualized with a variety of imaging technics, including xerography, computed tomography, and radionuclide bone scans.

Multiple lung cavities in a 12-year-old girl with bubonic plague, sepsis, and secondary pneumonia.

After one week of nonspecific symptoms, pneumonia and an extremely tender and enlarged cervical lymph node developed in a 12-year-old girl who lived in an area of New Mexico known to have plague-infected rodents. Cultures from an aspirate of the node, her sputum, and blood all showed growth of Yersinia pestis. She was treated successfully with aminoglycosides and tetracycline.

CT appearance of a surgically retained towel (gossypiboma).

A case of a surgically retained towel within the peritoneal space is reported. Computed tomography demonstrated an unusual appearance not unlike that previously described for retained surgical sponges. Computed tomography of the gastrointestinal tract served as a useful adjunct to barium radiography in this case, suggesting the correct diagnosis of foreign body.