Beyond appendicitis: ultrasound findings of acute bowel pathology.

Bowel pathology is a common unexpected finding on routine abdominal and pelvic ultrasound. However, radiologists are often unfamiliar with the ultrasound appearance of the gastrointestinal tract due to the underutilization of ultrasound for bowel evaluation in the USA. The purpose of this article is to familiarize radiologists with the characteristic ultrasound features of a variety of bowel pathologies.

Impact Analysis of the Routine Use of Dual-Energy Computed Tomography for Characterization of Incidental Renal Lesions.

Objective: The aim of this study was to quantify the prevalence of incidental, indeterminate renal lesions on routine contrast-enhanced abdominal computed tomography (CT) and the proportion of such lesions that could be exonerated by dual-energy CT (DECT) postprocessing as benign hyperdense cysts.

Methods: The reports for 2729 consecutive contrast-enhanced DECT scans in the emergency department setting were reviewed for the mention of any renal lesion. For scans with a reported lesion, images were reviewed to assess for the presence of an indeterminate lesion that could not be definitively characterized as benign.

Motion Artifact Reduction From High-Pitch Dual-Source Computed Tomography Pulmonary Angiography.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare quantitative and qualitative measures of aortic, cardiac, and respiratory motion artifact between high-pitch dual-source (DS) and single-source (SS) computed tomography pulmonary angiography (CTPA) protocols.

Methods: This institutional review board-approved, Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act-compliant study retrospectively reviewed 80 non-electrocardiogram-gated CTPA examinations acquired with a second-generation DS system at 100 kVp following 50 mL iodinated contrast injection - 40 consecutive SS and 40 consecutive DS studies. Quantitative measures of aortic, left ventricular, and diaphragmatic motion were recorded as the maximal excursion of a structure's "double image," and 3 independent readers performed qualitative motion assessments.

Dual-Energy CT for Abdominal and Pelvic Trauma.

Computed tomography (CT) is key to the assessment of hemodynamically stable patients with blunt or penetrating trauma to the abdomen and pelvis. Dual-energy (DE) CT is a technology that allows acquisition of data at both high and low kilovolt peaks, allowing materials that have different x-ray absorption behaviors as a function of kilovolt peak (such as iodine) to be differentiated and quantified. DE CT has a variety of postprocessing applications that may be helpful in abdominal and pelvic trauma, including iodine-selective imaging, virtual monenergetic imaging, and virtual noncalcium imaging.

Dual energy CT applications in pancreatic pathologies.

Dual energy CT (DECT) is a technology that is gaining widespread acceptance, particularly for its abdominopelvic applications. Pancreatic pathologies are an ideal application for the many advantages offered by dual energy post-processing. This article reviews the current literature on dual energy CT pancreatic imaging, specifically in the evaluation of pancreatic adenocarcinoma, other solid and cystic pancreatic neoplasms, and pancreatitis.

CT angiography for acute gastrointestinal bleeding: what the radiologist needs to know.

Acute gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding is a common cause of both emergency department visits and hospitalizations in the USA and can have a high morbidity and mortality if not treated rapidly. Imaging is playing an increasing role in both the diagnosis and management of GI bleeding. In particular, CT angiography (CTA) is a promising initial test for acute GI bleeding as it is universally available, can be performed rapidly and may provide diagnostic information to guide management.

Dual-Energy CT of Incidental Findings in the Abdomen: Can We Reduce the Need for Follow-Up Imaging?

Objective: The purpose of this article is to review the added value of dual-energy CT for characterization of incidental lesions discovered during routine abdominal CT.

Conclusion: Dual-energy CT allows acquisition of virtual unenhanced images, iodine maps, and virtual monochromatic images, all of which can aid in characterizing incidental lesions at the time of detection. Virtual unenhanced images and iodine maps are used for assessment of enhancement of incidental lesions, which can help differentiate suspicious enhancing lesions from benign nonenhancing lesions.

Use of Dual-Energy CT and Iodine Maps in Evaluation of Bowel Disease.

Dual-energy computed tomography (CT) relies on material-dependent x-ray absorption behavior from concurrently acquired high- and low-kilovolt peak data and has a range of imaging applications. This article focuses on use of dual-energy CT in assessment of bowel disease. After a summary of relevant dual-energy CT image acquisition and postprocessing principles, the authors describe dual-energy techniques of greatest utility in evaluation of benign and malignant pathologic conditions in the bowel, including neoplastic, vascular, infectious, and inflammatory disorders, as well as in assessment of abdominopelvic trauma.

BWH emergency radiology--surgical correlation: small-bowel GI stromal tumor perforation.

We present the radiological and intraoperative correlation of a large necrotic gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) with features of a tumor-bowel fistula and perforation in a 49-year-old woman presenting to the emergency department with a 4-day history of worsening abdominal pain, vomiting, and diarrhea. The patient underwent urgent exploratory laparotomy for partial resection of the small bowel, with primary anastomosis. The purpose of this article is to emphasize the importance for emergency radiologists to be familiar with this entity and its possible complications to help guide the surgeons in the patient's management.

Accuracy and reproducibility of automated, standardized coronary transluminal attenuation gradient measurements.

Coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) contrast opacification gradients, or transluminal attenuation gradients (TAG) offer incremental value to predict functionally significant lesions. This study introduces and evaluates an automated gradients software package that can potentially supplant current, labor-intensive manual TAG calculation methods. All 60 major coronary arteries in 20 patients who underwent a clinically indicated single heart beat 320 × 0.

Alcohol sclerosis of a giant liver cyst following failed deroofings.

Percutaneous alcohol sclerotherapy for simple liver cysts is an established and safe procedure. We report alcohol ablation of a very large (5.5 liters) liver cyst that had failed laparoscopic deroofing procedures twice.