Gastric band slippage: a case-controlled study comparing new and old radiographic signs of this important surgical complication.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to compare the diagnostic performance of four radiographic signs of gastric band slippage: abnormal phi angle, the "O sign," inferior displacement of the superolateral gastric band margin, and presence of an air-fluid level above the gastric band.

Materials And Methods: A search of the electronic medical record identified 21 patients with a surgically proven slipped gastric band and 63 randomly-selected asymptomatic gastric band patients who had undergone barium swallow studies. These studies were evaluated for the four signs of band slippage by two independent radiologists who were blinded to clinical data.

Review of outside studies by radiology residents: national survey of chief residents.

The purpose of this study was to establish practice patterns of radiology residents in regards to interpretation and reporting of outside studies for transferred patients. We performed a national survey of radiology residency chief residents, administered by email through the Association of Program Directors in Radiology (APDR). There were 81 chief resident respondents, representing 42.

Injuries from ingesting wire bristles dislodged from grill-cleaning brushes--Providence, Rhode Island, 2009-2012.

Foreign object ingestion is a common reason for visiting an emergency department; however, wire grill-cleaning brush bristles are an uncommon foreign object. This report describes a series of twelve cases identified in a single hospital system from July 2009 through June 2012. Patients included six males and six females; ages ranged from 11 to 75 (mean: 47 years).

Prevalence and nature of excluded findings at reduced scan length CT angiography for pulmonary embolism.

Background: Scan length reduction effectively decreases radiation dose at CT pulmonary angiography (CTPA) for pulmonary embolism (PE) but may exclude important incidental scan findings.

Objective: We aimed to determine the prevalence and nature of excluded findings with the use of reduced scan length CTPA.

Methods: We reviewed 335 consecutive emergency department CTPA studies performed on 16- or 64-detector row scanners with the use of a standard scan range.

Do emergency physicians use serum D-dimer effectively to determine the need for CT when evaluating patients for pulmonary embolism? Review of 5,344 consecutive patients.

Objective: The purpose of our study was to investigate whether D-dimer screening is being used effectively to determine the need for MDCT in diagnosing acute pulmonary embolism (PE) in emergency department patients.

Materials And Methods: We performed a retrospective review of all patients who underwent D-dimer testing or MDCT in the emergency department from January 1, 2003, through October 31, 2005. A D-dimer value of > 0.

Utilization patterns and diagnostic yield of 3421 consecutive multidetector row computed tomography pulmonary angiograms in a busy emergency department.

Objective: To compare examination volume and diagnostic yield of computed tomography (CT) pulmonary angiography (CTPA) and ventilation-perfusion (V/Q) scintigraphy for detection of suspected pulmonary embolism (PE) in emergency department patients.

Methods: Every CTPA and V/Q scan result for emergency department patients between October 2001 and September 2005 were reviewed. Patients with prior PE and follow-up examinations were excluded.

Outcomes in 74 patients with an appendicolith who did not undergo surgery: is follow-up imaging necessary?

The objective of this study was to report the clinical outcome of patients with an appendicolith on computed tomography (CT) who did not undergo appendectomy on initial presentation. Reports from 45,901 abdominal CT examinations performed between March 2000-March 2004 containing the words "appendicolith" or "fecalith" were identified. Patients with appendicoliths not initially undergoing appendectomy were followed to assess re-presentation with abdominal pain ultimately requiring appendectomy.