J. M. Cho

Spiral CT for the detection of hepatocellular carcinomas: relative value of arterial- and late-phase scanning

AbstractBackground: Spiral computed tomography (CT) can image the liver during arterial and late phases of contrast and optimize the evaluation of hypervascular tumor. The objective of this study was to evaluate the relative value of arterial- and late-phase spiral CT in the detection of hepatocellular carcinomas. Methods: Fifty-eight patients with hepatocellular carcinomas underwent two-phase spiral CT examination with 10-mm collimation at 10 mm/s table speed (Siemens Somatom Plus S), and 120 mL of contrast material (36 g iodine) was injected at the rate of 3 mL/s. CT images of hepatic arterial and late phases were obtained with a 35-s and 180-s delay, respectively. Results: In 58 patients, 111 hepatocellular carcinoma lesions were seen. The arterial phase detected 93 (84%) and the late phase 75 (68%) lesions (p<0.01). The arterial phase detected more lesions in 11 patients, and the late phase detected more in two patients and an equal number in 45 patients. If lesions larger than 2 cm are excluded, the arterial phase detected 40 (74%) and the late phase 21 (39%) of 54 lesions (p<0.001). Conclusion: The arterial phase of spiral CT greatly improves the detection of hepatocellular carcinoma when compared with the late phase.

SUrvey of Guideline Adherence for Treatment of Systolic Heart Failure in Real World (SUGAR): A Multi-Center, Retrospective, Observational Study

Background Clinical practice guidelines have been slowly and inconsistently applied in clinical practice, and certain evidence-based, guideline-driven therapies for heart failure (HF) have been significantly underused. The purpose of this study was to survey guideline compliance and its effect on clinical outcomes in the treatment of systolic HF in Korea. Method and Results The SUrvey of Guideline Adherence for Treatment of Systolic Heart Failure in Real World (SUGAR) trial was a multi-center, retrospective, observational study on subjects with systolic HF (ejection fraction <45%) admitted to 23 university hospitals. The guideline adherence indicator (GAI) was defined as a performance measure on the basis of 3 pharmacological classes: angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor (ACEI) or angiotensin receptor II blocker (ARB), beta-blocker (BB), and aldosterone antagonist (AA). Based on the overall adherence percentage, subjects were divided into 2 groups: those with good guideline adherence (GAI ≥50%) and poor guideline adherence (GAI <50%). We included 1319 regional participants as representatives of the standard population from the Korean national census in 2008. Adherence to drugs at discharge was as follows: ACEI or ARB, 89.7%; BB, 69.2%; and AA, 65.9%. Overall, 82.7% of the patients had good guideline adherence. Overall mortality and re-hospitalization rates at 1 year were 6.2% and 37.4%, respectively. Survival analysis by log-rank test showed a significant difference in event-free survival rate of mortality (94.7% vs. 89.8%, p = 0.003) and re-hospitalization (62.3% vs. 56.4%, p = 0.041) between the good and poor guideline-adherence groups. Conclusions Among patients with systolic HF in Korea, adherence to pharmacologic treatment guidelines as determined by performance measures, including prescription of ACEI/ARB and BB at discharge, was associated with improved clinical outcomes.

CALCIFIED BLADDER TUMORS CT features

CT scans of the pelvis in 132 patients with bladder tumor were reviewed. Calcifications in the bladder tumor were found in 11 men (8%) including transitional cell carcinoma (n = 6), mucinous adenocarcinoma (n = 4), and malignant mixed mesodermal tumor (n = 1). Calcifications in transitional cell carcinoma were located on the surface of the tumor in all 6 cases: they were nodular in 4 cases, nodular and arched in one, and plaque-like massive calcification in one. In mucinous adenocarcinoma multiple fine punctate calcifications were scattered within the mass in all 4 cases. The CT appearance of calcifications in bladder tumors may be helpful in predicting the histologic type of the tumor.

Cystic peripheral cholangiocarcinoma: sonography and CT

A case of cystic peripheral cholangiocarcinoma is presented. Both sonography and computed tomography (CT) demonstrated a large intrahepatic cystic neoplasm containing an enhancing solid portion. Despite the very rare incidence of this tumor, we believe that cystic degeneration of peripheral cholangiocarcinoma should be considered with these radiologic findings.

Calcified bladder tumors

CT scans of the pelvis in 132 patients with bladder tumor were reviewed. Calcifications in the bladder tumor were found in 11 men (8%) including transitional cell carcinoma (n = 6), mucinous adenocarcinoma (n = 4), and malignant mixed mesodermal tumor (n = 1). Calcifications in transitional cell carcinoma were located on the surface of the tumor in all 6 cases: they were nodular in 4 cases, nodular and arched in one, and plaque-like massive calcification in one. in mucinous adenocarcinoma multiple fine punctate calcifications were scattered within the mass in all 4 cases. the CT appearance of calcifications in bladder tumors may be helpful in predicting the histologic type of the tumor

A Prospective, Randomized Comparison of Promus Everolimus-Eluting and TAXUS Liberte Paclitaxel-Eluting Stent Systems in Patients with Coronary Artery Disease Eligible for Percutaneous Coronary Intervention: The PROMISE Study

We aimed comparing two-year clinical outcomes of the Everolimus-Eluting Promus and Paclitaxel-Eluting TAXUS Liberte stents used in routine clinical practice. Patients with objective evidence of ischemia and coronary artery disease eligible for PCI were prospectively randomized to everolimus-eluting stent (EES) or paclitaxel-eluting stent (PES) groups. The primary end-point was ischemia-driven target vessel revascularization (TVR) at 2 yr after intervention, and the secondary end-point was a major adverse cardiac event (MACE), such as death, myocardial infarction (MI), target lesion revascularization (TLR), TVR or stent thrombosis. A total of 850 patients with 1,039 lesions was randomized to the EES (n=425) and PES (n=425) groups. Ischemic-driven TVR at 2 yr was 3.8% in the PES and 1.2% in the EES group (P for non-inferiority=0.021). MACE rates were significantly different; 5.6% in PES and 2.5% in EES (P = 0.027). Rates of MI (0.8% in PES vs 0.2% in EES, P = 0.308), all deaths (1.5% in PES vs 1.2% in EES, P = 0.739) and stent thrombosis (0.3% in PES vs 0.7% in EES, P = 0.325) were similar. The clinical outcomes of EES are superior to PES, mainly due to a reduction in the rate of ischemia-driven TVR.