Hideo Furuya

Evaluation of pericardial effusion with computed tomography.

Evaluation of pericardial effusion was attempted with computed tomography in 11 patients. The volume and distribution of pericardial fluid were assessed with satisfactory resolution and the nature of the fluid was estimated by the difference in x-ray transparency (CT numbers). The volume of pericardial fluid calculated by tomographic methods ranged from 25 ml. to 585 ml. and agreed well with the surgically drained fluid volume. The CT numbers of the pericardial effusion due to renal or heart failure, acute viral pericarditis, hypothyroidism, and hemopericardium were +12 to +13, +20, +28 to +30, and +26 to +40, respectively. Therefore the volume and gross nature of the pericardial fluid could be estimated noninvasively with computed tomography.

Evaluation of left ventricular thrombus with computed tomography

Abstract In 21 patients with myocardial infarction left ventricular thrombi were evaluated with a third generation computed tomographic system. In three patients, thrombus was delineated with computed tomography and confirmed with the conventional echocardiographic and angiographic methods. In one patient the thrombus was not detected with two dimensional echocardiography. This experience indicates that identification of left ventricular thrombus with computed tomography is possible.