Initial Triple Combination Therapy Including Intravenous Prostaglandin I for the Treatment of Patients with Severe Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension.

Upfront combination therapy including intravenous prostaglandin I (PGI-IV) is recognized as the most appropriate treatment for patients with severe pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). This retrospective study aimed to determine reasons why this therapy is not used for some patients with severe PAH and describe the hemodynamic and clinical prognoses of patients receiving initial combination treatment with (PGI-IV+) or without (PGI-IV-) PGI-IV.Data for patients with severe PAH (World Health Organization Functional Class III/IV and mean pulmonary arterial pressure [mPAP] ≥ 40 mmHg) were extracted from the Japan Pulmonary Hypertension Registry.

Matching the perforating branch of the internal thoracic artery and the deep inferior epigastric artery for breast reconstruction using multi-detector row computed tomography.

Purpose: Matching the diameter of the deep inferior epigastric artery (DIEA) and perforating branch (PB) of the internal thoracic artery (ITA) is important for arterial anastomosis during breast reconstruction using the DIEA flap. An anatomic investigation of these arteries was performed using multidetector row computed tomography (MDCT).

Patients And Methods: Contrast-enhanced MDCT data of 50 women (aged 18-90 years) covering the neck to the groin were analyzed.

Clinical Utility of the Candy-Plug Technique Using an Excluder Aortic Extender.

: To describe the clinical utility and technical aspects of the candy-plug technique using an Excluder aortic extender (Ex-cuff) for false lumen (FL) occlusion in chronic aortic dissection. : This is a retrospective study analyzing seven consecutive patients (mean age, 63 years; range, 44-78 years; 6 men) with aneurysmal dilatation or rupture in chronic aortic dissection. All patients had undergone thoracic endovascular aortic repair with FL occlusion using this technique.

Overall assessment system of combined mammography and ultrasound for breast cancer screening in Japan.

Mammography is the only screening method with evidence in support of reduced breast cancer mortality, but yields poor accuracy outcomes in women with dense breast tissue. The Japan Strategic Anti-cancer Randomized Trial (J-START) was conducted as part of the measures implemented to deal with women with dense breast tissue. Although the sensitivity was increased, the specificity was significantly lower in the intervention group because further examination was required in all positive cases classified by either mammography or ultrasound in the J-START.

Basic Consideration for Facial Aging: Analyses of the Superficial Musculoaponeurotic System Based on Anatomy.

Background: The superficial musculoaponeurotic system (SMAS) is an important structure to understand for face-lift surgeries. However, the detailed distribution and imaging findings of the SMAS have not been established yet.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to establish the accurate distribution and computed tomography (CT) imaging findings of the SMAS based on cadaveric studies.

Predictive Value of VIBE using Subtraction to Evaluate Idiopathic Facial Palsy after Starting Therapy.

Purpose:  To determine the predictive value of 3-dimensional spoiled gradient-echo volumetric interpolated breath-hold examination (VIBE) using subtraction to evaluate the short-term effect of therapy for facial palsy.

Materials And Methods:  We included 97 patients with idiopathic facial palsy (52 male, 45 female; aged 50.7 ± 19.

Predictors of Long-term Outcomes in Patients With Connective Tissue Disease Associated With Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension.

Background/objective: Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a progressive disease characterized by increased pulmonary arterial pressure and pulmonary vascular resistance that can lead to right-sided heart failure. Connective tissue disease-associated PAH (CTD-PAH) often has poorer outcomes than idiopathic or hereditary PAH, suggesting the presence of non-PAH factors that could affect the prognoses. This cohort study aimed to identify prognostic factors for CTD-PAH management.

Comparison of diagnostic precision for bone metastasis of primary breast cancer between BONENAVI version 1 and BONENAVI version 2.

Objective: The aim of this study was to compare the diagnostic precision of bone scintigraphy with BONENAVI version 1 and BONENAVI version 2 in bone metastasis of primary breast cancer.

Methods: The subjects were 56 consecutive patients (all women, mean age 59 ± 12.7 years) who underwent bone scintigraphy with Tc-MDP and were diagnosed with bone metastasis of primary breast cancer from January 2012 to November 2014.

Prone "computed tomography hernia study" for the diagnosis of inguinal hernia.

Purpose: To improve diagnostic accuracy in cases of a suspected inguinal hernia, we perform a "CT hernia study," with the patient lying prone to allow decompression of the structures in the inguinal region.

Methods: We reviewed the records of 914 patients with a suspected inguinal hernia who underwent prone non-contrast lower abdominal CT with two rolled-up towels, 20 cm in diameter, placed transversely beneath them, at the umbilicus and hips, respectively.

Results: The CT hernia study yielded a diagnosis of inguinal hernia in 861 (94.

A low perfusion-metabolic mismatch in Tl and I-BMIPP scintigraphy predicts poor prognosis in systemic sclerosis patients with asymptomatic cardiac involvement.

Aim: This study investigated the prognostic factors of cardiac death or cardiac failure using cardiac scintigraphy, echocardiography (UCG), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in asymptomatic systemic sclerosis (SSc) patients.

Methods: We retrospectively evaluated SSc patients who had undergone cardiac scintigraphy using thallium ( Tl) and I-β-methyl-P-iodophenyl-pentadecanoic acid ( I-BMIPP), UCG, and cardiac MRI. We calculated the mismatch score in scintigraphy by subtracting the uptake of I-BMIPP from that of Tl.

The Association Between Bronchial Wall CT Attenuation and Spirometry in Patients with Bronchial Asthma.

Rationale And Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the correlation between generation-based bronchial wall attenuation on thin-section computed tomography (CT) scans and airflow limitation in patients with bronchial asthma.

Materials And Methods: This study included 28 bronchial asthma patients (13 men, 15 women; age range, 23-89 years) who underwent both chest CT and spirometry. On CT, the mean values of peak wall attenuation, wall area percentage, and luminal area were measured in the segmental, subsegmental, and sub-subsegmental bronchi of the right B1 and B10 bronchi.

Three-dimensional computed tomographic angiography with computed tomographic colonography for laparoscopic colorectal surgery.

Purpose: To prospectively correlate the preoperative vessel anatomy in three-dimensional computed tomographic angiography with computed tomographic colonography (3D-CTA with CTC) with that in laparoscopic surgery for colorectal cancer.

Methods: The study protocol was approved by our institutional review board. The study population consisted of 101 patients with colon cancer who underwent 3D-CTA with CTC between June 2016 and January 2018.

Early and Mid-Term Results of Endovascular Aortic Repair Using a Crossed-Limb Technique for Patients with Severely Splayed Iliac Angulation.

: We evaluated early and mid-term results of endovascular aortic repair (EVAR) using crossed-limb and non-crossed-limb techniques. : From December 2011 to October 2013, 37 patients (31 men; mean age 75.4 years) were treated with EVAR (crossed-limb, 21 and non-crossed-limb, 16).

Correction to: Global and Japanese regional variations in radiologist potential workload for computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging examinations.

In Results of Abstract, the first sentence should read as: The radiologist potential workload in Japan was 2.78-4.17 times higher than those in other countries.

Comparison of detectability of breast cancer by abbreviated breast MRI based on diffusion-weighted images and postcontrast MRI.

Purpose: To compare the detectability of unenhanced abbreviated magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) based on diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) and abbreviated postcontrast MRI for breast cancer.

Methods: The study population consisted of 87 patients undergoing breast MRI between December 2016 and March 2017 in a clinical setting. All breast MRIs were performed using a 1.

Selective venous sampling supports localization of adenoma in primary hyperparathyroidism.

Background: Selective venous sampling (SVS) is an invasive localization study for persistent or recurrent hyperparathyroidism.

Purpose: To assess the role of SVS in addition to non-invasive imaging for primary hyperparathyroidism (pHPT).

Material And Methods: This study was approved by the institutional review board and included 14 patients who underwent SVS and subsequent parathyroidectomy between January 2014 and April 2017 following a clinical diagnosis of pHPT.

Factors associated with pericolic fat stranding of colon cancer on computed tomography colonography.

Background: Pericolic fat stranding on computed tomography (CT) scans has been an important feature for staging colon cancer. However, the factors associated with pericolic fat stranding have not been elucidated to date.

Purpose: To determine factors associated with pericolic fat stranding of colon cancer on CT colonography (CTC).

Global and Japanese regional variations in radiologist potential workload for computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging examinations.

Purpose: To investigate the global variation in radiologist potential workload for CT and MRI examinations, and the regional variation in potential workload and extent of radiologists' involvement in CT and MRI examinations in Japan.

Methods: "Radiologist potential workload" was defined as the annual number of CT plus MRI examinations divided by the total number of diagnostic radiologists. The extent of radiologists' involvement was measured as the proportion of CT and MRI examinations to which "Added-fees for Radiological Managements on Imaging-studies (ARMIs)" were applied among eligible examinations.

Grading System to Categorize Breast MRI in BI-RADS 5th Edition: A Multivariate Study of Breast Mass Descriptors in Terms of Probability of Malignancy.

Objective: The purpose of this study is to analyze the association between the probability of malignancy and breast mass descriptors in the BI-RADS 5th edition and to devise criteria for grading mass lesions, including subcategorization of category 4 lesions with or without apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values.

Materials And Methods: A total of 519 breast masses in 499 patients were selected. Breast MRI was performed with a 1.

Quantitative CT Evaluation of Small Pulmonary Vessels in Patients with Acute Pulmonary Embolism.

Rationale And Objectives: The objective of this study was to investigate the correlation between the computed tomography (CT) cross-sectional area (CSA) of small pulmonary vessels and the CT obstruction index in patients with acute pulmonary embolism (PE) and the correlation between the changes in these measurements after anticoagulant therapy.

Materials And Methods: Fifty-two patients with acute PE were selected for this study. We measured the CSA less than 5 mm on coronal reconstructed images to obtain the percentage of the CSA (%CSA < 5).

Grading system to categorize breast MRI using BI-RADS 5th edition: a statistical study of non-mass enhancement descriptors in terms of probability of malignancy.

Purpose: To analyze the association of breast non-mass enhancement descriptors in the BI-RADS 5th edition with malignancy, and to establish a grading system and categorization of descriptors.

Materials And Methods: This study was approved by our institutional review board. A total of 213 patients were enrolled.

Correlation between heart size and emphysema in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: CT-based analysis using inspiratory and expiratory scans.

The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between the extent of emphysema and heart size in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) using inspiratory and expiratory chest computed tomography (CT). This retrospective study was approved by the institutional review board and informed consent was waived. We measured lung volume (LV), low attenuation area percent (%LAA; less than or equal to -950 HU), maximum cardiac area, and maximum transverse cardiac diameter on inspiratory/expiratory chest CT in 60 patients with COPD.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging of a Urethral Caruncle and the Pathologic Correlation: A Report of 3 Cases.

A urethral caruncle is the most common disease of the urethra in postmenopausal women. A definitive diagnosis can usually be reached based on physical examination. Cross-sectional imaging is performed when malignant urethral tumor is suspected, such as a urethral carcinoma.

The Significance of Lactate and Lipid Peaks for Predicting Primary Neuroepithelial Tumor Grade with Proton MR Spectroscopy.

Purpose: H-MRS is a non-invasive technique used to assess the metabolic activity of brain tumors. The technique is useful for the preoperative prediction of tumor grade, which is important for treatment planning and accurate prognosis. We used H-MRS to study the lactate peak, which appears in various conditions, including hyperglycemia, ischemia, and hypoxia and lipid peak, which is associated with necrotic cells.