Brian Gorman

Assessment of Liver Viscoelasticity by Using Shear Waves Induced by Ultrasound Radiation Force

PURPOSE To investigate the value of viscosity measured with ultrasonographic (US) elastography in liver fibrosis staging and to determine whether the use of a viscoelastic model to estimate liver elasticity can improve its accuracy in fibrosis staging. MATERIALS AND METHODS The study, which was performed from February 2010 to March 2011, was compliant with HIPAA and approved by the institutional review board. Written informed consent was obtained from each subject. Ten healthy volunteers (eight women and two men aged 27-55 years) and 35 patients with liver disease (17 women and 18 men aged 19-74 years) were studied by using US elasticity measurements of the liver (within 6 months of liver biopsy). US data were analyzed with the shear wave dispersion ultrasound vibrometry (SDUV) method, in which elasticity and viscosity are measured by evaluating dispersion of shear wave propagation speed, as well as with the time-to-peak (TTP) method, where tissue viscosity was neglected and only elasticity was estimated from the effective shear wave speed. The hepatic fibrosis stage was assessed histologically by using the METAVIR scoring system. The correlation of elasticity and viscosity was assessed with the Pearson correlation coefficient. The performances of SDUV and TTP were evaluated with receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. RESULTS The authors found significant correlations between elasticity and viscosity measured with SDUV (r = 0.80) and elasticity measured with SDUV and TTP (r = 0.94). The area under the ROC curve for differentiating between grade F0-F1 fibrosis and grade F2-F4 fibrosis was 0.98 for elasticity measured with SDUV, 0.86 for viscosity measured with SDUV, and 0.95 for elasticity measured with TTP. CONCLUSION The results suggest that elasticity and viscosity measured between 95 Hz and 380 Hz by using SDUV are correlated and that elasticity measurements from SDUV and TTP showed substantially similar performance in liver fibrosis staging, although elasticity calculated from SDUV provided a better area under the ROC curve.

Stress Management and Resiliency Training (SMART) Program among Department of Radiology Faculty: A Pilot Randomized Clinical Trial

OBJECTIVE To test the efficacy of a Stress Management and Resiliency Training (SMART) program for decreasing stress and anxiety and improving resilience and quality of life among Department of Radiology physicians. MATERIALS AND METHODS The study was approved by the institutional review board. A total of 26 Department of Radiology physicians were randomized in a single-blind trial to either the SMART program or a wait-list control arm for 12 weeks. The program involved a single 90-min group session in the SMART training with two follow-up phone calls. Primary outcomes measured at baseline and week 12 included the Perceived Stress Scale, Linear Analog Self-Assessment Scale, Mindful Attention Awareness Scale, and Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale. RESULTS A total of 22 physicians completed the study. A statistically significant improvement in perceived stress, anxiety, quality of life, and mindfulness at 12 weeks was observed in the study arm compared to the wait-list control arm; resilience also improved in the active arm, but the changes were not statistically significant when compared to the control arm. CONCLUSIONS A single session to decrease stress among radiologists using the SMART program is feasible. Furthermore, the intervention afforded statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in anxiety, stress, quality of life, and mindful attention. Further studies including larger sample size and longer follow-up are warranted.

Melanoma Brain Metastases and Vemurafenib: Need for Further Investigation

Brain metastases are a major cause of morbidity and mortality in patients with advanced melanoma. With the development of targeted agents for the treatment of metastatic melanoma, a great deal of interest has focused on whether selective BRAF inhibitors may play a role in the treatment of brain metastases in lieu of or in addition to surgery and/or radiation therapy. However, relatively little is known about the intracranial effectiveness of vemurafenib, the only US Food and Drug Administration-approved selective BRAF V600E inhibitor, because patients with brain metastases have historically been excluded from vemurafenib clinical trials. We describe 3 patients with BRAF V600E mutation metastatic melanoma in whom treatment with vemurafenib resulted in prompt extracranial disease response but progression of metastatic disease in the brain. Further, we discuss possible mechanisms responsible for the suboptimal central nervous system response observed in these patients and alternative therapies for patients with melanoma metastatic to the brain.

Chemotherapy-related hepatotoxicity causing imaging findings resembling cirrhosis.

In this article, we describe three women in whom changes in the liver resembling cirrhosis occurred during systemic chemotherapy for metastatic breast carcinoma. All three patients were treated with tamoxifen as part of their chemotherapeutic regimen. Abnormalities of biochemical liver tests were associated with the development of a cirrhosis-like appearance of the liver on computed tomography. In two of the patients, hepatic metastases were proved at biopsy. The third patient had no radiologic evidence of metastatic disease. Chemotherapy for metastatic breast carcinoma may cause striking morphologic changes in the liver that resemble cirrhosis. Of importance, these changes should not be mistaken for the development or progression of liver metastases. Alternatively, because of the changes produced by chemotherapeutic agents, detection of metastases on computed tomography alone may be more difficult. Supplementary magnetic resonance imaging may be helpful in selected cases.

Imaging of gastrointestinal neuroendocrine tumors

Gastrointestinal neuroendocrine tumors are rare neoplasms that cause classic clinical syndromes because of the excess secretion of specific gastrointestinal hormones. The two most important tumors clinically are insulinomas and gastrinomas. The clinical management of patients with these disorders usually involves the localization and surgical removal of the responsible tumor. Many radiological techniques can be used for tumor localization, including preoperative and intraoperative ultrasound, endoscopic ultrasound, CT, MRI, radionuclide scanning, angiography, and venous sampling. However, there are conflicting claims as to the relative accuracy of these procedures, and many of these investigations are difficult to justify because of their high cost, degree of invasiveness, or lack of precise anatomic information that is obtained. If surgical resection of a neuroendocrine tumor is planned, intraoperative sonography should always be used to detect occult nonpalpable tumors and to discern the relationship of the tumor to vital adjacent pancreatic ductal anatomy. The choice of preoperative imaging is more controversial, and depends on the clinical problem, local expertise, and availability of imaging techniques. Sonography and contrast-enhanced helical CT are the most commonly used preoperative imaging methods, because of their relatively low cost and widespread availability. Radionuclide scanning with a somatostatin analogue, which is a relatively new procedure, may be valuable in patients with symptoms of tumor recurrence.

Benign and Malignant Epididymal Masses Evaluated With Scrotal Sonography Clinical and Pathologic Review of 85 Patients

Objective. The purpose of this study was to determine whether the clinical history and sonographic appearance of solid epididymal masses could aid in distinguishing benign and malignant disease. Methods. We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of all patients who had solid epididymal masses evaluated by scrotal sonography at our institution between 1996 and 2004. We evaluated multiple clinical and sonographic variables, including lesion size, location, echogenicity, color Doppler characteristics, and calcifications. Results. Of the 85 patients included in the study, 25 (29%) underwent surgical intervention, and 5 (6%) had malignant disease. A mass size of greater than 1.5 cm and the presence of color Doppler flow were statistically significant markers for malignancy (P < .05). Combining these 2 variables as a test for malignancy yielded sensitivity of 100%, specificity of 80%, a positive predictive value of 24%, and a negative predictive value of 100%. Conclusions. Most solid epididymal masses (94%) are benign. A size of greater than 1.5 cm and the presence of color Doppler flow may help identify possible malignant masses.

Renal involvement in patients with autoimmune pancreatitis: Ultrasound findings

OBJECTIVE The purpose of our study was to retrospectively evaluate the ultrasound findings of renal involvement in patients with autoimmune pancreatitis. METHODS 15 patients with autoimmune pancreatitis (15 male, 0 female, mean age 66 years old, range 44-85) who had renal involvement documented on CT or MR and had abdominal ultrasound within 1 month were included. Ultrasound images were retrospectively reviewed for presence or absence of renal involvement. Shape and echogenicity of the renal lesions were recorded. RESULTS In 8 out of 15 patients, at least one renal lesion was identified on ultrasound with a total of 9 kidneys. In 7 kidneys, lesions appeared as ill-defined, non-mass like areas of decreased echogenicity. Three lesions showed associated irregular lobular thickening of the renal parenchyma with bulging contour and 1 showed focal area of parenchymal loss. In 2 kidneys, the lesions were seen as solitary or multiple hypoechoic mass-like areas. Ill-defined, non-mass like lesions on ultrasound corresponded to well-circumscribed wedge-shaped lesions in all but one case on CT or MR. Mass-like lesions on ultrasound corresponded to well-circumscribed round lesions on CT or MR. CONCLUSION Most common ultrasound findings of renal involvement in patients with autoimmune pancreatitis were ill-defined area of decreased echogenicity.

Ultrasonography, CT, MRI of the Thyroid Gland

Ultrasonography, CT, and MRI may all be used to study the anatomy and pathology of the thyroid gland. Of these, however, ultrasonography is the main technique used in clinical practice for thyroid imaging, because it is noninvasive, relatively inexpensive, and very sensitive in detecting thyroid lesions. Therefore, this chapter focuses mainly on ultrasonographic imaging.