Utilizing advanced practice providers in the paracentesis/thoracentesis clinic.

In an era of increasing radiology volumes, including image-guided procedures, as well as decreased reimbursements, radiology practices are seeking ways to become more efficient to prevent radiologist burnout. One such strategy involves the employment of advanced practice providers to perform certain procedures. We describe steps departments can pursue to involve advanced practice providers within the radiology workforce, specifically in implementing an advance practice provider-driven paracentesis and thoracentesis clinic.

Incidences of acute kidney injury, dialysis, and graft loss following intravenous administration of low-osmolality iodinated contrast in patients with kidney transplants.

Purpose: To determine the incidence of acute kidney injury (AKI), need for emergent dialysis, and renal graft loss in patients with kidney transplants, who underwent CT examinations with low-osmolality iodine-based contrast material (IBCM).

Materials And Methods: Our institutional review board approved this retrospective Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act compliant study. From January 2005 to April 2015, a total of 224 CT examinations were performed using low-osmolality IBCM in patients with kidney transplants.

Sonographic Evaluation of Clinically Significant Perigraft Hematomas in Kidney Transplant Recipients.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to assess the sensitivity of ultrasound in evaluating peritransplant hematomas that require surgical evacuation in recipients of kidney transplants.

Materials And Methods: Thirty-four patients who underwent 37 hematoma evacuations underwent ultrasound examinations in the 24 hours before surgical evacuation. The operative reports were evaluated for presence and size of collection, presence of active bleeding at operation, and composition of the hematoma.

Utility of MRI in the Characterization of Indeterminate Small Renal Lesions Previously Seen on Screening CT Scans of Potential Renal Donor Patients.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine whether MRI could more confidently characterize indeterminate small renal lesions (< 15 mm) previously seen on CT scans of potential renal donor patients and whether such characterization could impact surgical management and donor candidate status.

Materials And Methods: After dedicated contrast-enhanced renal CT examinations of a population of renal donor patients identified indeterminate small renal lesions (< 15 mm), dedicated renal MRI examinations were performed for 55 of those patients. Two radiologists used consensus reading of established MRI characteristics to characterize indeterminate small lesions as simple cysts, hemorrhagic cysts, angiomyolipomas, or solid renal masses.

Sonographic appearance of a dermoid cyst (mature cystic teratoma) of the spleen.

Splenic dermoids are rare, with few published case reports and no ultrasound images in the English literature. We report the case of a 57-year-old woman with that diagnosis and illustrate it with ultrasound, CT, and pathology images. We discuss the differential diagnosis of solid splenic lesions.

A primer for fetal cardiac imaging: a stepwise approach for 2-dimensional imaging.

Detection of congenital heart disease (CHD) remains problematic, even with advances in imaging. Imaging modalities, such as magnetic resonance imaging, have been helpful in better understanding certain abnormalities, such as the fetal central nervous system. However, because of cardiac motion, screening and detection of CHD are best performed by sonography.