Faculty Bibliography

PURPOSE: To conduct a pilot study to determine the feasibility of evaluating aortic valve morphology and motion on electrocardiogram-gated 64-slice cardiac MDCT. METHODS: Four-dimensional images of the aortic valve were reviewed in 20 consecutive patients who underwent computed tomography (CT) coronary angiography. A consensus reading of 3 readers was performed of valve visibility, number of leaflets, valve motion, and calcification. Visibility of the valve leaflets and visualization of opening and closing of the valve leaflets were graded as well seen or suboptimally seen. The number of valve leaflets (3 or 2) and presence of valvular calcification were noted. RESULTS: The aortic valve was well seen in all 20 patients. Three leaflets were identified in all cases, and no calcifications were seen. Valve movement with opening and closure of the leaflets during the cardiac cycle was also well seen in all cases. CONCLUSIONS: Visualization of the aortic valve and valvular motion during the cardiac cycle is feasible on CT studies performed for coronary angiography. CT has a potential role in the assessment of aortic valvular pathology

Traumatic bowel and mesenteric injuries are notoriously difficult to diagnose. CT has become the modality of choice for evaluating stable trauma patients for the presence of intra-abdominal injury. This article will summarize the CT findings useful for detecting bowel and mesenteric injury

The most common imaging appearance of the pancreas in cystic fibrosis is diffuse, complete fatty replacement. We present a case of complete fatty replacement of the pancreatic body and tail with total sparing of the pancreatic head. To our knowledge, this pattern of fatty sparing and its associated computed tomographic appearance have not been previously reported in cystic fibrosis

PURPOSE: To determine the sensitivity and specificity of computed tomographic (CT) criteria for differentiating benign from malignant stomach lesions in patients with a thickened gastric wall at CT. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A radiology department file search revealed 36 patients with a thickened gastric wall at CT who underwent double-contrast barium suspension upper gastrointestinal tract examinations within 6 weeks before or after CT. The authors reviewed the CT images without knowledge of the final radiologic, endoscopic, or pathologic findings to determine the degree of gastric wall thickening and the symmetry, distribution, and enhancement of the thickened wall. The sensitivity and specificity of these findings for detection of malignancy were calculated. RESULTS: Two of 36 patients had two gastric abnormalities each. The final diagnoses in the 38 cases were gastritis in 19, hiatal hernia in four, benign ulcer in three, benign (n = 3) or malignant (n = 8) gastric neoplasm in 11, and no gastric abnormality in one case. Mean wall thickness was 1.5 cm (range, 0.7-7.5 cm). The finding of gastric wall thickness of 1 cm or greater had a sensitivity of 100% but a specificity of only 42% for detection of malignant or potentially malignant stomach lesions. The finding of focal, eccentric, or enhancing wall thickening had a sensitivity of 93%, 71%, or 43%, respectively, and a specificity of 8%, 75%, or 88%, respectively, for detection of these lesions. Gastric wall thickening that was 1 cm or greater and was focal, eccentric, and enhancing had a specificity of 92% but a sensitivity of only 36% for detection of these lesions. CONCLUSION: Gastric wall thickness of 1 cm or greater at CT had a sensitivity of 100% but a specificity of less than 50% for detection of malignant or potentially malignant stomach lesions that necessitated further diagnostic evaluation

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of our study was to reassess the CT finding of pneumatosis in intestinal ischemia to determine whether it indicates transmural necrosis versus partial mural ischemia and also to determine whether other CT findings can be used to predict which patients with pneumatosis are likely to have viable bowel. CONCLUSION: The CT finding of pneumatosis does not always indicate transmural infarction of the bowel in intestinal ischemia. Patients with associated portomesenteric venous gas are more likely to have transmural infarction than those with pneumatosis alone.