Song Luo

Monoenergetic Imaging of Dual-energy CT Reduces Artifacts from Implanted Metal Orthopedic Devices in Patients with Factures

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES The purpose of this study was to optimize photon energy setting to reduce metal artifact of computed tomography (CT) images from implanted metal orthopedic devices in patients with fractures with monoenergetic imaging of dual-energy CT. MATERIALS AND METHODS This study included 47 patients with factures who underwent metal orthopedic device implanting. After dual-energy CT scan, monoenergetic software was used to postprocess with the following six photon energies: 40 kiloelectron-voltage (keV), 70 keV, 100 keV, 130 keV, 160 keV, and 190 keV. Two radiologists evaluated and rated the reformatted images with six different photon energies and average weighted 120 kVp images according to 4-score scale. The Wilcoxon rank-sum test was used to compare image quality scores for total, internal, and external metal orthopedic devices. Interreader agreement for image quality scoring was calculated. RESULTS Monoenergetic imaging of dual-energy CT improved the quality of CT images in the fracture patients with metal orthopedic devices compared to the average weighted 120 kVp images for the total, external, and internal metal orthopedic devices (all P values < .01). Optimal keV setting with the lowest metal artifact was 130 keV for total, internal, and external metal orthopedic devices. Good interreader agreement was found for the evaluation of image quality for total, internal, and external metal orthopedic devices. CONCLUSIONS Monoenergetic imaging of dual-energy CT improves quality of CT images in patients with metal orthopedic devices after fracture. Reformatted images at 130 keV have the optimal quality for total, internal, and external metal orthopedic devices.

Digital Subtraction CT Angiography for Detection of Intracranial Aneurysms: Comparison with Three-dimensional Digital Subtraction Angiography

PURPOSE To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of digital subtraction computed tomographic (CT) angiography in the detection of intracranial aneurysms compared with three-dimensional (3D) rotational digital subtraction angiography (DSA), as reference standard, in a large cohort in a single center. MATERIALS AND METHODS The study was waived by the institutional review board because of its retrospective nature. A total of 513 patients clinically suspected of having or with known intracranial aneurysms and other cerebral vascular diseases underwent both digital subtraction CT angiography with a dual-source CT scanner and 3D DSA, with a median interval of 1 day; 436 patients (84.9%) had acute subarachnoid hemorrhage at presentation. The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of digital subtraction CT angiography in depicting aneurysm were analyzed on a per-patient and per-aneurysm basis, with 3D DSA as the reference standard. The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of digital subtraction CT angiography in depicting aneurysms of different diameter (ie, <3 mm, 3-5 mm, 5-10 mm, and >10 mm) and of aneurysms at different locations in the anterior and posterior circulation were calculated. Kappa statistics were calculated to quantify inter- and intrareader variability in detecting aneurysms by using digital subtraction CT angiography for 100 patients. RESULTS Of 513 patients, 106 (20.7%) had no aneurysms, while 407 patients (79.3%) had 459 aneurysms at 3D DSA. Digital subtraction CT angiography correctly depicted 456 (99.3%) of the 459 aneurysms. By using 3D DSA as the standard of reference, the sensitivity and specificity of depicting intracranial aneurysms were 97.8% (398 of 407) and 88.7% (94 of 106), respectively, on a per-patient basis, and 96.5% (443 of 459) and 87.8% (94 of 107), respectively, on a per-aneurysm basis. Digital subtraction CT angiography had sensitivities of 91.3% (42 of 46), 94.0% (140 of 149), 98.4% (186 of 189), and 100% (75 of 75) in depicting aneurysms of less than 3 mm, between 3 mm but less than 5 mm, between 5 mm but less than 10 mm, and 10 mm or greater, respectively, and of 95.8% (276 of 288) and 97.7% (167 of 171) in depicting anterior circulation and posterior circulation aneurysms, respectively. Excellent inter- and intrareader agreement was found on a per-patient (κ=0.900 and 0.939, both P<.001) and per-aneurysm basis (κ=0.846 and 0.921, both P<.001) for the detection of intracranial aneurysms with digital subtraction CT angiography. CONCLUSION Digital subtraction CT angiography has a high sensitivity and specificity in depicting intracranial aneurysms with different sizes and at different locations, compared with 3D DSA.

Diffuse Interstitial Brain Edema in Patients With End-stage Renal Disease Undergoing Hemodialysis: A Tract-based Spatial Statistics Study

AbstractTo investigate white matter (WM) alterations and their correlation with cognition function in end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients undergoing hemodialysis (HD) using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) with tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS) approach.This prospective HIPAA-complaint study was approved by our institutional review board. Eighty HD ESRD patients and 80 sex- and age-matched healthy controls were included. Neuropsychological (NP) tests and laboratory tests, including serum creatinine and urea, were performed. DTI data were processed to obtain fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity (MD) maps with TBSS. FA and MD difference between the 2 groups were compared. We also explored the associations of FA values in WM regions of lower FA with ages, NP tests, disease, and dialysis durations, serum creatinine and urea levels of ESRD patients.Compared with controls, HD ESRD patients had lower FA value in the corpus callosum, bilateral corona radiate, posterior thalamic radiation, left superior longitudinal fasciculus, and right cingulum (P < 0.05, FWE corrected). Almost all WM regions had increased MD in HD ESRD patients compared with controls (P < 0.05, FWE corrected). In some regions with lower FA, FA values showed moderate correlations with ages, NP tests, and serum urea levels. There was no correlation between FA values and HD durations, disease durations, and serum creatinine levels of ESRD patients (all P > 0.05).Diffuse interstitial brain edema and moderate WM integrity disruption occurring in HD ESRD patients, which correlated with cognitive dysfunction, and serum urea levels might be a risk factor for these WM changes.

Takayasu arteritis: imaging spectrum at multidetector CT angiography

Takayasu arteritis is a chronic, idiopathic, inflammatory disease that primarily affects large vessels, such as the aorta and its major branches and the pulmonary and coronary arteries. The non-specific inflammation of involved vessels usually leads to concentric wall thickening, fibrosis and thrombus formation. Diseased arteries become stenotic or occluded, undergo vascular remodelling or develop aneurysms. According to the involvement of arteries, six types of Takayasu arteritis are documented. The purpose of this pictorial review is to illustrate the various multidetector CT angiography appearances of Takayasu arteritis and to discuss the differential diagnosis.

Evaluation of Pulmonary Embolism in Pediatric Patients with Nephrotic Syndrome with Dual Energy CT Pulmonary Angiography

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES The purposes of this study were to evaluate the prevalence of pulmonary embolism (PE) and renal vein thrombosis in pediatric patients with nephrotic syndrome using combined dual-energy (DE) computed tomographic (CT) pulmonary angiography (CTPA) and renal CT venography and to evaluate whether DE CTPA can improve the detection of PE in these children. MATERIALS AND METHODS Thirty-two children (aged ≤ 18 years) were included in this study. All children underwent contrast-enhanced DE CTPA and renal CT venography; seven also underwent follow-up DE CTPA and renal CT venography. The presence of PE was determined by (1) CTPA derived from the average weighted 120-kVp images and (2) DE CTPA using dedicated DE software (syngo DE Lung PBV and syngo DE Lung Vessels), which can extract the iodine contents in lung parenchyma and pulmonary arteries. The prevalence and anatomic distribution of PE on CTPA from the average weighted 120-kVp images and DE CTPA and of renal vein thrombosis on CT venography were recorded by two radiologists in consensus; χ(2) tests were used to compare the difference in the detection rate of PE between DE CTPA and conventional CTPA. RESULTS Of 32 children, nine (28.1%) had PE on the basis of the comprehensive DE CT pulmonary angiographic evaluation (CTPA from average weighted 120-kVp images and perfusion images and vascular images generated using the DE CT software). PE was localized in the lobar pulmonary artery in five patients (55.6%), the segmental pulmonary artery in six (66.7%), and the subsegmental pulmonary artery in five (55.6%). PE was distributed in the right upper lobe in two patients (22.2%), the right middle lobe in two (22.2%), the right lower lobe in five (55.6%), and the left lower lobe in six (66.7%). Compared to the CTPA derived from average weighted 120-kVp data, comprehensive DE CTPA showed solitary subsegmental PE in one additional patient (nine vs eight patients), one additional segmental (11 vs 10 segments), and four additional subsegmental pulmonary emboli (two vs six subsegmental pulmonary emboli) (P > .05 for all). Eight children (25%) had renal vein thrombosis extending to the inferior vena cava (n = 5). CONCLUSIONS The prevalence of PE was 28.1% and that of renal vein thrombosis 25.0% in the pediatric population with nephrotic syndrome on the basis of our small cohort. DE CTPA has the potential to improve the detection of PE in the pediatric population.

Diagnostic accuracy of three-dimensional contrast-enhanced MR angiography at 3-T for acute pulmonary embolism detection: Comparison with multidetector CT angiography☆

BACKGROUND Three-dimensional contrast-enhanced MR pulmonary angiography (MRPA) is a suitable option for pulmonary embolism (PE) detection. However, there have been few reports on the diagnostic accuracy of MRPA for PE detection in a 3-T MR system. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of MRPA in a 3-T MR system to detect acute PE with multidetector CT pulmonary angiography (CTPA) as reference standard. METHODS Twenty-seven patients (18 males and 9 females, mean age 38.9±14.4 years) underwent both MRPA and CTPA within 3 days (range, 0-3 days) for evaluating PE. Pulmonary emboli in MRPA were independently analyzed on a per-patient and per-lobe basis by two radiologists. CTPA was regarded as reference standard, which was evaluated by another two radiologists in consensus. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV), and accuracy for PE detection were calculated. Weighted κ values were calculated to evaluate agreement between readers. RESULTS Twenty-four patients had PE in 55 lung lobes in CTPA, while 3 patients had no PE detected. Readers 1 and 2 correctly detected 47 and 46 lung lobes having clots in 24 and 23 patients, corresponding to sensitivities, specificities, PPV, NPV, and accuracies of 100%, 100%, 100%, 100%, 100%; 100%, 66.7%, 96.0%, 100%, 96.4% on a per-patient basis and 85.5%, 100%, 100%, 90.9%, 94.1%; 83.6%, 93.7%, 90.2%, 89.2%, 89.6% on a per-lobe basis; respectively. Excellent inter-reader agreement (κ values=1.00 and 0.934; both P<0.001) were found for detecting PE on a per-patient and per-lobe analysis. CONCLUSION Three-dimensional contrast-enhanced MRPA with a 3-T MR system is a suitable alternative modality to CTPA to detect PE on a per-patient basis based on this small cohort study.

70-kVp High-pitch Computed Tomography Pulmonary Angiography with 40 mL Contrast Agent: Initial Experience.

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES To assess image quality, radiation dose, and diagnostic accuracy of 70-kVp high-pitch computed tomography pulmonary angiography (CTPA) using 40 mL contrast agent and sinogram affirmed iterative reconstruction (SAFIRE) compared to 100-kVp CTPA using 60 mL contrast agent and filtered back projection. MATERIALS AND METHODS Eighty patients underwent CTPA at either 70 kVp (group A, n = 40; 3.2 pitch, 40 mL contrast medium, and SAFIRE) or 100 kVp (group B, n = 40; 1.2 pitch, 60 mL contrast medium, and filtered back projection). Signal-to-noise ratio and contrast-to-noise ratio were calculated. Subjective image quality was evaluated using a five-grade scale, and diagnostic accuracy was assessed. Radiation doses were compared. RESULTS Computed tomography values, signal-to-noise ratio, and contrast-to-noise ratio of pulmonary arteries were higher in group A compared to group B (all P < 0.001). Subjective image quality showed no difference between the two groups (P = 0.559) with good interobserver agreement (κ = 0.647). No difference was found regarding diagnostic accuracy between the two groups (P > 0.05). The effective dose for group A was lower by 80% compared to group B (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS 70-kVp high-pitch CTPA with reduced contrast media and SAFIRE provides comparable image quality and substantial radiation dose savings compared to a routine CTPA protocol.

Default mode network functional connectivity: a promising biomarker for diagnosing minimal hepatic encephalopathy: CONSORT-compliant article.

AbstractTo investigate the contribution of brain default mode network (DMN) in the early diagnosis of the minimal hepatic encephalopathy (MHE), the mildest form of HE from cirrhotic patients by using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI).This study was approved by the local ethical committee, and a written informed consent was obtained from each participant. A total of 103 cirrhotic patients (34 MHE, 69 non-HE) and 103 matched healthy controls underwent rs-fMRI scanning. The DMN correlation map was acquired by using unbiased seed-based functional connectivity analysis and compared among MHE patients, non-HE patients, and healthy controls with analysis of variance tests. Pearson correlation analysis was performed between the abnormal DMN connectivity and neuropsychological performances. Receiver operator characteristic (ROC) analysis was used to evaluate the contribution of DMN connectivity strength in the differential diagnosis between MHE and non-HE.Compared with the healthy controls, MHE and non-HE patients showed decreased DMN connectivity in medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC), left superior frontal gyrus (SFG), left temporal lobe, and bilateral middle temporal gyri (MTG). The MHE patients showed even more decreased connectivity in MPFC, left SFG, and right MTG when compared with non-HE patients. Pearson correlation analyses revealed that the decreased connectivity strength of some DMN regions correlated with patients’ neuropsychological tests scores. Connectivity strength of the MPFC, right MTG, and left SFG could differentiate MHE from non-HE, of which the MPFC had the highest effectiveness (sensitivity = 81.5%, specificity = 70.4%).Cirrhotic patients had gradually reduced DMN functional connectivty from non-HE patients to MHE patients. DMN function, especially the MPFC, might be a useful imaging marker for differentiating MHE from cirrhotic patients.

Abnormal Intrinsic Brain Activity Patterns in Patients with End-Stage Renal Disease Undergoing Peritoneal Dialysis: A Resting-State Functional MR Imaging Study

PURPOSE To analyze the spontaneous brain activity patterns in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) undergoing peritoneal dialysis (PD) by using resting-state functional magnetic resonance (MR) imaging with an amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFF) algorithm. MATERIALS AND METHODS This study received institutional review board approval, and all subjects gave informed consent. Forty-four patients with ESRD, 24 of whom were undergoing PD (PD group; eight women; mean age, 34 years ± 8) and 20 who were not undergoing PD or hemodialysis (nondialysis group; six women; mean age, 37 years ± 9) and 24 healthy control subjects (eight women; mean age, 32 years ± 9 years) were included. All subjects underwent neuropsychologic tests, and patients with ESRD underwent laboratory testing. ALFF values were compared among the three groups. The relationship between ALFF values and clinical markers was investigated by using multiple regression analysis. RESULTS Patients in both the PD and nondialysis groups showed lower ALFF values in default mode network regions than did healthy control subjects (P < .01, false discovery rate corrected). Patients in the PD group showed lower ALFF values than did those in the nondialysis group in the left superior parietal lobe (1.51 ± 0.21 vs 2.01 ± 0.40), left inferior parietal lobe (0.99 ± 0.16 vs 1.13 ± 0.22) and left precuneus (1.45 ± 0.39 vs 1.77 ± 0.41) (P < .01, corrected with simulation software). In patients in the PD group, neuropsychologic test scores correlated with ALFF values of the middle temporal gyrus and the parietal and occipital lobe, serum urea and creatinine levels negatively correlated with ALFF in some default mode network regions, and hemoglobin positively correlated with ALFF in the bilateral precuneus, precentral, and supplementary motor areas (P < .01 corrected). CONCLUSION Patients with ESRD who were undergoing PD showed more severe spontaneous brain activity abnormalities that correlate with cognitive impairments than did patients who were not undergoing dialysis. Elevated serum urea, creatinine, and lowered hemoglobin levels affect spontaneous brain activity in patients with ESRD.

Role of local and distant functional connectivity density in the development of minimal hepatic encephalopathy.

The progression of functional connectivity (FC) patterns from non-hepatic encephalopathy (non-HE) to minimal HE (MHE) is not well known. This resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) study investigated the evolution of intrinsic FC patterns from non-HE to MHE. A total of 103 cirrhotic patients (MHE, n = 34 and non-HE, n = 69) and 103 healthy controls underwent rs-fMRI scanning. Maps of distant and local FC density (dFCD and lFCD, respectively) were compared among MHE, non-HE, and healthy control groups. Decreased lFCD in anterior cingulate cortex, pre- and postcentral gyri, cuneus, lingual gyrus, and putamen was observed in both MHE and non-HE patients relative to controls. There was no difference in lFCD between MHE and non-HE groups. The latter showed decreased dFCD in inferior parietal lobule, cuneus, and medial frontal cortex relative to controls; however, MHE patients showed decreased dFCD in frontal and parietal cortices as well as increased dFCD in thalamus and caudate head relative to control and non-HE groups. Abnormal FCD values in some regions correlated with MHE patients’ neuropsychological performance. In conclusion, lFCD and dFCD were perturbed in MHE. Impaired dFCD in regions within the cortico-striato-thalamic circuit may be more closely associated with the development of MHE.