Faculty Bibliography

In the management of epithelial ovarian cancers, imaging is used for cancer detection and staging, both before and after initial treatment. The decision of whether to pursue initial cytoreductive surgery for ovarian cancer depends in part on accurate staging. Contrast-enhanced CT of the abdomen and pelvis (and chest where indicated) is the current imaging modality of choice for the initial staging evaluation of ovarian cancer. Fluorine-18-2-fluoro-2-deoxy-d-glucose PET/CT and MRI may be appropriate for problem-solving purposes, particularly when lesions are present on CT but considered indeterminate. In patients who achieve remission, clinical suspicion for relapse after treatment prompts imaging evaluation for recurrence. Contrast-enhanced CT is the modality of choice to assess the extent of recurrent disease, and fluorine-18-2-fluoro-2-deoxy-d-glucose PET/CT is also usually appropriate, as small metastatic foci may be identified. If imaging or clinical examination confirms a recurrence, the extent of disease and timing of disease recurrence then determines the choice of treatments, including surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy. The American College of Radiology Appropriateness Criteria are evidence-based guidelines for specific clinical conditions that are reviewed annually by a multidisciplinary expert panel. The guideline development and revision include an extensive analysis of current medical literature from peer reviewed journals and the application of well-established methodologies (RAND/UCLA Appropriateness Method and Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation or GRADE) to rate the appropriateness of imaging and treatment procedures for specific clinical scenarios. In those instances where evidence is lacking or equivocal, expert opinion may supplement the available evidence to recommend imaging or treatment.

Women with twin or higher-order pregnancies will typically have more ultrasound examinations than women with a singleton pregnancy. Most women will have at minimum a first trimester scan, a nuchal translucency evaluation scan, fetal anatomy scan at 18 to 22 weeks, and one or more scans in the third trimester to evaluate growth. Multiple gestations are at higher risk for preterm delivery, congenital anomalies, fetal growth restriction, placenta previa, vasa previa, and velamentous cord insertion. Chorionicity and amnionicity should be determined as early as possible when a twin pregnancy is identified to permit triage of the monochorionic group into a closer surveillance model. Screening for congenital heart disease is warranted in monochorionic twins because they have an increased rate of congenital cardiac anomalies. In addition, monochorionic twins have a higher risk of developing cardiac abnormalities in later gestation related to right ventricular outflow obstruction, in particular the subgroups with twin-twin transfusion syndrome or selective intrauterine growth restriction. Monochorionic twins have unique complications including twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome, twin embolization syndrome, and acardius, or twin-reversed arterial perfusion sequence. The American College of Radiology Appropriateness Criteria are evidence-based guidelines for specific clinical conditions that are reviewed annually by a multidisciplinary expert panel. The guideline development and revision include an extensive analysis of current medical literature from peer reviewed journals and the application of well-established methodologies (RAND/UCLA Appropriateness Method and Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation or GRADE) to rate the appropriateness of imaging and treatment procedures for specific clinical scenarios. In those instances where evidence is lacking or equivocal, expert opinion may supplement the available evidence to recommend imaging or treatment.

There has been much interest in the identification of a successful ovarian cancer screening test, in particular, one that can detect ovarian cancer at an early stage and improve survival. We reviewed the currently available data from randomized and observational trials that examine the role of imaging for ovarian cancer screening in average-risk and high-risk women. We found insufficient evidence to recommend ovarian cancer screening, when considering the imaging modality (pelvic ultrasound) and population (average-risk postmenopausal women) for which there is the greatest available published evidence; randomized controlled trials have not demonstrated a mortality benefit in this setting. Screening high-risk women using pelvic ultrasound may be appropriate in some clinical situations; however, related data are limited because large, randomized trials have not been performed in this setting. The American College of Radiology Appropriateness Criteria are evidence-based guidelines for specific clinical conditions that are reviewed annually by a multidisciplinary expert panel. The guideline development and revision include an extensive analysis of current medical literature from peer reviewed journals and the application of well-established methodologies (RAND/UCLA Appropriateness Method and Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation or GRADE) to rate the appropriateness of imaging and treatment procedures for specific clinical scenarios. In those instances where evidence is lacking or equivocal, expert opinion may supplement the available evidence to recommend imaging or treatment.

Although there is limited evidence that antepartum testing decreases the risk for fetal death in low-risk pregnancies, women with high-risk factors for stillbirth should undergo antenatal fetal surveillance. The strongest evidence supporting antepartum testing pertains to pregnancies complicated by intrauterine fetal growth restriction secondary to uteroplacental insufficiency. The main ultrasound-based modalities to determine fetal health are the biophysical profile, modified biophysical profile, and duplex Doppler velocimetry. In patients at risk for cardiovascular compromise, fetal echocardiography may also be indicated to ensure fetal well-being. Although no single antenatal test has been shown to be superior, all have high negative predictive values. Weekly or twice-weekly fetal testing has become the standard practice in high-risk pregnancies. The timing for the initiation of assessments of fetal well-being should be tailored on the basis of the risk for stillbirth and the likelihood of survival with intervention. The ACR Appropriateness Criteria are evidence-based guidelines for specific clinical conditions that are reviewed annually by a multidisciplinary expert panel. The guideline development and revision include an extensive analysis of current medical literature from peer-reviewed journals and the application of well-established methodologies (the RAND/UCLA Appropriateness Method and the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation or GRADE) to rate the appropriateness of imaging and treatment procedures for specific clinical scenarios. In those instances in which evidence is lacking or equivocal, expert opinion may supplement the available evidence to recommend imaging or treatment.

Maternal cardiopulmonary arrest (MCPA) is a catastrophic event that can cause significant morbidity and mortality. A prepared, multidisciplinary team is necessary to perform basic and advanced cardiac life support specific to the anatomic and physiologic changes of pregnancy. MCPA is a challenging clinical scenario for any provider. Overall, it is an infrequent occurrence that involves 2 patients. However, key clinical intervention performed concurrently can save the life of both mother and baby.

Acute pelvic pain in premenopausal women frequently poses a diagnostic dilemma. These patients may exhibit nonspecific signs and symptoms such as nausea, vomiting and leukocytosis. The cause of pelvic pain includes a myriad of diagnostic possibilities such as obstetric, gynecologic, urologic, gastrointestinal, and vascular etiologies. The choice of the imaging modality is usually determined by a suspected clinical differential diagnosis. Thus the patient should undergo careful evaluation and the suspected differential diagnosis should be narrowed before an optimal imaging modality is chosen. Transvaginal and transabdominal pelvic sonography is the modality of choice, to assess for pelvic pain, when an obstetric or gynecologic etiology is suspected and computed tomography is often more useful when gastrointestinal or genitourinary pathology is thought to be more likely. Magnetic resonance imaging, when available in the acute setting, is favored over computed tomography for assessing pregnant patients for nongynecologic etiologies owing to its lack of ionizing radiation.The American College of Radiology Appropriateness Criteria(R) are evidence-based guidelines for specific clinical conditions that are reviewed every three years by a multidisciplinary expert panel. The guideline development and review include an extensive analysis of current medical literature from peer reviewed journals and the application of a well-established consensus methodology (modified Delphi) to rate the appropriateness of imaging and treatment procedures by the panel. In those instances where evidence is lacking or not definitive, expert opinion may be used to recommend imaging or treatment.

This is the first scientific statement from the American Heart Association on maternal resuscitation. This document will provide readers with up-to-date and comprehensive information, guidelines, and recommendations for all aspects of maternal resuscitation. Maternal resuscitation is an acute event that involves many subspecialties and allied health providers; this document will be relevant to all healthcare providers who are involved in resuscitation and specifically maternal resuscitation.

BACKGROUND: Cardio-pulmonary resuscitation guidelines during pregnancy recommend placing the hands 2-3 cm higher on the sternum than in non-pregnant individuals. This recommendation is based on the presumption that the heart is displaced superiorly by the diaphragm during the third trimester. Whether there is true cardiac displacement due to the expanding uterus in pregnancy remains unknown. OBJECTIVE: To determine if there is vertical displacement of the heart during pregnancy using cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR). STUDY DESIGN: A total of 34 healthy female volunteers aged 18 to 35 years were prospectively enrolled between 2010-2012 at two tertiary care centres. All participants were evaluated using CMR in the half left lateral decubitus position during the third trimester of pregnancy and again at a minimum of 3 months post-partum (surrogate for the non-pregnant state). Superior displacement of the heart was determined by measuring the distance between the inferior aspect of the clavicular heads and the coronary sinus at both time points. RESULTS: The study population included 34 females (mean age 29 +/- 3 years, BMI of 24 +/- 4 kg/m2). The mean gestational age at third trimester imaging was 237 +/- 16 days (34 weeks +/- 16 days) and mean number of days for postpartum imaging (baseline) was 107 +/- 25 days (16 weeks +/- 25 days). There was no statistical difference between the cardiac position at baseline (10.1 +/- 1.2 cm) and during the third trimester (10.3 +/- 1.1 cm) (p = 0.22). CONCLUSION: Contrary to popular assumption, there is no significant vertical displacement of the heart in the third trimester of pregnancy relative to the non-pregnant state. Accordingly, there is no need to alter hand placement for chest compressions during CPR in pregnancy.