Faculty Bibliography

In the background of chronic liver disease, hepatocellular carcinoma develops via a complex, multistep process called hepatocarcinogenesis. This article reviews the causes contributing to the process. Emphasis is made on the imaging manifestations of the pathologic changes seen at many stages of hepatocarcinogenesis, from regenerative nodules to dysplastic nodules and then to hepatocellular carcinoma.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVE:To assess visceral (VAT), subcutaneous (SAT), and total adipose tissue (TAT) estimates at abdominopelvic CT in COVID-19 patients with different severity, and analyze Body Mass Index (BMI) and CT estimates of fat content in patients requiring hospitalization. METHODS:to discriminate hospitalized patients from outpatients. RESULTS:in hospitalized patients compared to the outpatients (all p < 0.05). Area under the curve (AUC) of the clinical + CT model was higher compared to the clinical model (AUC 0.847 versus 0.750) for identifying patients requiring hospitalization. CONCLUSION/CONCLUSIONS:to the clinical model improved AUC in discriminating hospitalized from outpatients in this preliminary study.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVE:With clinical volumes decreased, radiologists volunteered to participate virtually in daily clinical rounds and provide communication between frontline physicians and patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and their families affected by restrictive hospital visitation policies. The purpose of this survey-based assessment was to demonstrate the beneficial effects of radiologist engagement during this pandemic and potentially in future crises if needed. METHODS:After the program's completion, a survey consisting of 13 multiple-choice and open-ended questions was distributed to the 69 radiologists who volunteered for a minimum of 7 days. The survey focused on how the experience would change future practice, the nature of interaction with medical students, and the motivation for volunteering. The electronic medical record system identified the patients who tested positive for or were suspected of having COVID-19 and the number of notes documenting family communication. RESULTS:In all, 69 radiologists signed or cosigned 7,027 notes. Of the 69 radiologists, 60 (87.0%) responded to the survey. All found the experience increased their understanding of COVID-19 and its effect on the health care system. Overall, 59.6% agreed that participation would result in future change in communication with patients and their families. Nearly all (98.1%) who worked with medical students agreed that their experience with medical students was rewarding. A majority (82.7%) chose to participate as a way to provide service to the patient population. CONCLUSION/CONCLUSIONS:This program provided support to frontline inpatient teams while also positively affecting the radiologist participants. If a similar situation arises in the future, this communication tool could be redeployed, especially with the collaboration of medical students.

Cavernous hemangiomas are among the most common liver lesions encountered in abdominal imaging. While classical imaging characteristics usually aid the radiologist in confidently arriving at its diagnosis, atypical hemangiomas can prove to be difficult to distinguish from other more worrisome hepatic lesions such as metastases and hepatocellular carcinoma. Furthermore, some malignant lesions can display features that simulate hemangiomas. The radiologist must be aware of these pitfalls to make an accurate diagnosis, when possible.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVE:To evaluate the effect of English proficiency on abdominal MRI imaging quality. METHODS:Three equal-sized cohorts of patients undergoing 3T abdominal MRI were identified based on English proficiency as documented in the EMR: Primary language of English; English as a second language (ESL)/no translator needed; or ESL, translator needed (42 patients per cohort for total study size of 126 patients). Three radiologists independently used a 1-5 Likert scale to assess respiratory motion and image quality on turbo spin-echo T2WI and post-contrast T1WI. Groups were compared using Kruskal-Wallis tests. RESULTS:For T2WI respiratory motion, all three readers scored the Translator group significantly worse than the English and ESL/no-Translator groups (mean scores across readers of 2.98 vs. 3.58 and 3.51; p values < 0.001-0.008). For T2WI overall image quality, all three readers also scored the Translator group significantly worse than the English and ESL/no-Translator groups (2.77 vs. 3.28 and 3.31; p values 0.002-0.005). For T1WI respiratory motion, mean scores were not significantly different between groups (English: 4.14, ESL/no-Translator: 4.02, Translator: 3.94; p values 0.398-0.597). For T1WI overall image quality, mean scores also were not significantly different (4.09, 3.99, and 3.95, respectively; p values 0.369-0.831). CONCLUSION/CONCLUSIONS:Abdominal MR examinations show significantly worse T2WI respiratory motion and overall image quality when requiring a translator, even compared with non-translator exams in non-English primary language patients. Strategies are warranted to improve coordination among MR technologists, translators, and non-English speaking patients undergoing abdominal MR, to ensure robust image quality in this vulnerable patient population.

The visceral organs of the male pelvis have complex anatomic relationships with the surrounding extraperitoneal spaces, supplying arteries and adjacent pelvic musculature. Since various neoplastic, vascular, and traumatic pathologies can often involve multiple organs and spread into adjacent pelvic spaces, a keen understanding of this intricate anatomy can help radiologists to accurately characterize findings and improve recognition of the routes in which these conditions can spread. The purpose of this review is to examine the relationships between the anatomic compartments of the pelvic extraperitoneal space, summarize the pelvic arterial anatomy, and identify the pelvic muscles that support normal genitourinary function.

Endometriosis is a common gynecologic disorder characterized by the presence of ectopic endometrial tissue outside the endometrial cavity. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) has become a mainstay for diagnosis and staging of this disease. In the literature, significant heterogeneity exists in the descriptions of imaging findings and anatomic sites of involvement. The Society of Abdominal Radiology's Endometriosis Disease-Focused Panel presents this consensus document to establish an MRI lexicon for endometriosis MRI evaluation and anatomic localization.

Endometriosis is a chronic, multifocal disease, which can lead to pain or subfertility. Treatments are tailored toward the therapeutic goals of the individual patient; either to improve a specific pain symptom or optimize fertility. Management of endometriosis is complex, and best implemented by a comprehensive, multidisciplinary team of physicians and health care providers. The role of the radiologist in the management of endometriosis is becoming increasingly important as more centers move toward utilizing female pelvic MR studies to diagnose, delineate or follow endometriosis lesions. The radiologist must communicate pertinent, actionable findings from these studies in a manner that is clear and concise. Structured radiologic reports (SRR) add value in that they provide organized, clear, and comprehensive information from imaging studies, ensuring reports include essential items required for decision-making. In this paper, we review our MR imaging protocol and present the structured radiologic report implemented at our institution by our multidisciplinary endometriosis care team. Imaging features of endometriosis at each site specified in the structured report are summarized. The importance of each element included in the structured report from a management perspective is highlighted.

Endometriosis is a common entity causing chronic pain and infertility in women. The gold standard method for diagnosis is diagnostic laparoscopy, which is invasive and costly. MRI has shown promise in its ability to diagnose endometriosis and its efficacy for preoperative planning. The Society of Abdominal Radiology established a Disease-Focused Panel (DFP) to improve patient care for patients with endometriosis. In this article, the DFP performs a literature review and uses its own experience to provide technical recommendations on optimizing MRI Pelvis for the evaluation of endometriosis.

Adverse event (AE) reporting is a key component of patient safety and physicians are known to underreport. The authors hypothesized that integrating AE reporting into a mobile application used in daily physician workflow would increase physician reporting of AEs. After integrating AE reporting into a free-text mobile application used for daily workflow, the change in AE reporting by physicians was analyzed using Mann-Whitney U tests. AE reporting by physicians increased more than 37-fold (21 to 806; U = 7.5, P < .0001). AE reporting by physicians as a proportion of all AE reports received increased 120-fold (from 0.1% to 12% of all reports, U = 10, P < .0001). Integrating AE reporting into a free-text mobile application used in daily physician workflow markedly increased their reporting of AEs. This approach shifted time burden from physicians to quality officers. Implementation should be coupled with physician education about identifying AEs and content to include in reports.