Facial fractures in children: unique patterns of injury observed by computed tomography.

Objective: To determine the patterns of facial fractures observed in pediatric patients after acute trauma.

Materials And Methods: The computed tomography studies of 338 patients (63% male, 37% female; 7 months to 18 years of age) performed after acute nonpenetrating facial trauma were retrospectively reviewed to evaluate for facial fractures and associated orbital hematomas or contiguous skull fractures. Fracture patterns were characterized as orbital roof, orbital floor, medial orbital wall, nasal bone, naso-orbital-ethmoid, zygomatic complex, isolated zygomatic arch, Le Fort type (I, II, or III), maxillary sagittal, alveolar ridge, or mandibular.

Improved detection and characterization of adrenal disease with PET-CT.

Positron emission tomography (PET)-computed tomography (CT) combines complementary modalities, thereby providing useful structural and functional information for the detection and characterization of a variety of conditions affecting the adrenal gland. The coregistered information provided by PET-CT is often superior to that provided by CT or PET owing to a variety of pitfalls inherent in the use of either modality alone. In addition, PET-CT can prove invaluable in the differentiation between benign and malignant adrenal disease.

Multidetector computed tomography of pediatric lateral condylar fractures.

Objective: The objective of this study was to compare lateral condylar fracture characterization using radiographs and multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) of the elbow and to evaluate outcomes in a group of children managed based on MDCT findings.

Methods: Unenhanced MDCT of the elbow with sagittal and coronal reformations was prospectively performed without sedation in 10 children between 1 and 16 years of age with lateral condylar fractures identified on frontal and lateral radiographs of the elbow. Two blinded readers reviewed all radiographs and MDCT images independently and in consensus.

16-MDCT of the posttraumatic pediatric elbow: optimum parameters and associated radiation dose.

Objective: Our objective was to investigate a low-radiation-dose protocol for 16-MDCT of the posttraumatic pediatric elbow using z-axis automatic tube-current modulation, based on optimum scanning parameters determined in a porcine fracture model, and to report the radiation dose from this technique in nine children with acute elbow trauma.

Conclusion: For the posttraumatic pediatric elbow, 16-MDCT using z-axis automatic tube-current modulation was optimal at 100 kVp with a noise index of 20 and a minimum amperage of 25 mA.

Multidetector computed tomography of fracture-separation of the distal humeral epiphysis.

A case of fracture-separation of the distal humeral epiphysis that was diagnosed using unenhanced multidetector computed tomography is reported. Fracture-separation of the distal humeral epiphysis is a rare injury of young children that is difficult to identify on routine radiographs and is frequently misdiagnosed at the time of initial evaluation.

Multidetector row CT in pediatric musculoskeletal imaging.

The proliferation of multidetector row CT (MDRCT) has had a significant effect on imaging of the musculoskeletal system. An increasing number of such examinations is being performed in children. We reviewed our experience using such examinations in children during a period of 20 months.

The pre-ossification center: normal CT and MRI findings in the trochlea.

The pre-ossification center represents the initial structural change in the development of the secondary ossification center. We report CT and MRI findings of a focus in the cartilaginous trochlea of an appropriately aged child compatible with the pre-ossification center.

Internal hernia through a defect in the broad ligament: a rare cause of intestinal obstruction.

Internal hernias through the broad ligament are an extremely rare cause of intestinal obstruction. Clinical symptoms and imaging are often nonspecific, making preoperative diagnosis difficult. The authors report a case in which multidetector computed tomography proved useful in the preoperative diagnosis.

CT of nontraumatic abdominal fluid collections after initial fluid resuscitation of patients with major burns.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to describe the presence and CT distribution of nontraumatic fluid collections and edema in the abdomen and pelvis after initial fluid resuscitation of patients with major (>/==" BORDER="0"> 25% total body surface area) thermal burns.

Conclusion: Awareness of the presence and expected CT distribution of nontraumatic fluid after initial fluid resuscitation in patients with major burns can assist the radiologist in differentiating such collections from those caused by mechanical trauma.