Current Problems in Diagnostic Radiology

The purpose is to evaluate the trends in MR arthrogram utilization at a tertiary care academic institution and to determine if there are factors that can be implicated in the utilization trends. Number of MR arthrograms of the shoulder, hip, and elbow from 2013-2020 at our institution were identified (n = 1882). Patient demographics including age, sex, sports participation, history of prior surgery, and physician referral were obtained. Descriptive statistics were performed to determine the prevalence of MR arthrograms...

As noted in the Gallop employee engagement survey, friendships are a vitally important part of work-place productivity, engagement, and satisfaction. The recent "Great Resignation" across many industries, including medicine, has underscored the importance of friendship at work. In this manuscript, we will recount aspects of the life of noted author, Dr. Sanford Greenberg, in which remarkable friends and loved ones gave of themselves to help him overcome significant challenges. Dr. Greenberg, who became blind during college, ultimately persevered to pursue scholarship and philanthropy...

OBJECTIVE: To create our own survey to identify the most recent ways in which the global radiology community is using social media specifically for radiology education. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We created a 30-question survey on SurveyMonkey, promoted it on our CTisus Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, as well as Reddit accounts, and to our newsletter subscribers, sharing it from March 15 to April 5, 2022. The survey requested demographic information, and asked respondents to clarify their role in radiology and how they participated in each social media platform for radiology education...

Sarcomas of the head and neck carry a poor prognosis as diagnosis is often delayed until a late stage of the disease. Accordingly, it is essential to be familiar with the clinical and imaging features of sarcomas to suggest an appropriate differential diagnosis for collaborating surgeons and pathologists. However, as there are only 1000-1500 cases in the United States annually, many radiologists lack experience with pertinent imaging findings of sarcoma and lack knowledge of both treatment and necessary follow-up...

Chondrogenic tumors are typically well recognized on radiographs, but differentiation between benign and malignant cartilaginous lesions can be difficult both for the radiologist and for the pathologist. Diagnosis is based on a combination of clinical, radiological and histological findings. While treatment of benign lesions does not require surgery, the only curative treatment for chondrosarcoma is resection. This article (1) emphasizes the update of the WHO classification and its diagnostic and clinical effects; (2) describes the imaging features of the various types of cartilaginous tumors, highlighting findings that can help differentiate benign from malignant lesions; (3) presents differential diagnoses; and (4) provides pathologic correlation...

For over 20 years, the Lenke classification has been used as a standard to describe and classify scoliosis patterns in patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS). Based on this classification, patients are given a treatment recommendation, which is usually surgical. The Lenke classification has proven to be a reliable and reproducible classification for patients with AIS; however, it still proves to be complex in daily clinical practice. This study presents a simple approach to the Lenke classification for AIS patients that is easier to understand and to apply...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

Vascular tumors of the breast are rare, and most can be classified as either hemangiomas or angiosarcomas. Breast hemangiomas are benign vascular tumors that are often found incidentally at pathologic examination. Breast hemangiomas may mimic low grade angiosarcomas, which are malignant vascular tumors. This article illustrates the imaging characteristics of breast hemangiomas and breast angiosarcomas across multiple imaging modalities.

Nonphysician providers (NPPs) place in medicine continues to evolve regardless of controversy. NPPs presence in academic and private practices continues to grow in all fields. Despite their growth, there remains Contention and debate about the capability, safety, efficiency, and aptitude of NPP's abilities for proper image ordering, image interpretation, and performing radiology-related tasks. NNPs role in healthcare across the United States continues to grow in all facets of healthcare, including radiology and radiologist related procedures...

Eosinophilic gastrointestinal (GI) disorders are a group of conditions marked by pathologic eosinophilic infiltration of one or multiple locations in the GI tract. Conditions include eosinophilic esophagitis, eosinophilic gastritis, eosinophilic enteritis, and eosinophilic colitis. The site and depth of eosinophilic infiltration of the GI tract usually determines clinical presentation. These conditions should be considered in the differential diagnosis for several GI symptoms, such as food impaction or dysphagia...

Angular pregnancy is an exceedingly rare diagnosis, with less than 100 reported cases. Angular pregnancy is important to distinguish from ectopic pregnancies due to the fact that they have the potential to be viable while true ectopic pregnancies do not. As such, angular pregnancy requires starkly different management. Inappropriate use of the terms angular, interstitial, and cornual indicates a general misunderstanding of what makes these diagnoses unique. Misunderstanding leads to misdiagnosis and consequent mismanagement...

Pseudoaneurysms arising from the saphenous venous graft (SVGs) are an uncommon complication of the coronary artery bypass graft (CABG). Although angiography is the gold standard, computed tomography angiography (CTA) of the coronary arteries is the most efficient modality to diagnose these cases and their associated complications. Among numerous possible complications of SVG pseudoaneurysms, local mass effect on the cardiac chambers, adjacent pulmonary vasculature or coronary arteries/bypass grafts have been described...

BACKGROUND: Words can convey subtle cultural stereotypes and perpetuate subconscious gender biases. Wording in job advertisements that appeals to 1 gender and deters others may unintentionally skew the applicant pool and affect the early phase of the recruitment process. "Masculine" tone can lead to decreased interest among women applicants while 'feminine' wording may not affect a man's decision to apply for the job. In this study, we evaluated the presence and extent of subtle gender bias in job advertisements for radiology faculty positions...

OBJECTIVES: The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the delivery of preventative care and management of acute diseases. This study assesses the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on coronary calcium score and coronary CT angiography imaging volume. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A single institution retrospective review of consecutive patients presenting for coronary calcium score or coronary CT angiography examinations between January 1, 2020 to January 4, 2022 was performed. The weekly volume of calcium score and coronary CT angiogram exams were compared...

Our objective was to evaluate the impact of recent public health crises on radiology CT services in Puerto Rico. We gathered and analyzed CT statistics from 2 of Puerto Rico's major private hospital groups and obtained monthly data from January 2016 to March 2021. We quantified short- and long-term impacts of Hurricane Maria (September 2016-August 2017, September 2017-August 2018, September 2018-August 2019) and COVID-19 (April 2019-March 2020, April 2020-March 2021) by calculating month-to-month and year-to-year percentage differences for each hospital and all hospitals combined for the dates leading up to, in the immediate aftermath, and following these major events...

Dysphagia, or a disorder of swallowing, is very common and is reported in 1 out of 25 adults with approximately 1 million new cases per year in the United States alone. This also disproportionately impacts elderly patients, with a prevalence of 17%. Patients with dysphagia may have severe clinical complications such as starvation, dehydration, and airway obstruction- which may further increase mortality. Hence, timely and accurate diagnosis of dysphagia is hence crucial in management considerations. The gold standard for evaluating and diagnosing dysphagia is a modified barium swallow study (MBSS)...

OBJECTIVE: To assess emergency department (ED) abdominopelvic computed tomography (CT) imaging utilization and findings in patients with known human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) positive status. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective chart review of imaging, clinical, and laboratory data was performed for HIV positive patients who demonstrated HIV-related findings on abdominopelvic CT imaging performed within the ED. RESULTS: One hundred and eighty-eight patients with 522 CT scans of the abdomen and/or pelvis were reviewed...

Clinical trials play a vital role in advancing technology and novel therapies in the healthcare world. However, the increasing scale of trials and the complexity of the regulatory approval process is often a barrier for those interested in conducting research. Contract research organizations (CROs) aim to address this problem by offering their infrastructure and expertise to bring a therapy from conception to approval without the need for in-house staff. Clinical trial imaging often plays an essential role in this process, creating a need for radiologists and a unique opportunity to provide irreplaceable value in their ability to interpret and analyze the imaging outcomes of therapies in question...

Thyroid nodules (TNs) are common incidental findings  on imaging and TN reporting practices are variable among radiologists, leading to unnecessary or inadequate investigations. We aimed to document current literature adherence for TN reporting practices on thoracic CTs and assess the variability in TN reporting across radiology subspecialties. This is a 2-parts retrospective study. First part was an audit study including all adult patients with thoracic CTs in January 2020. Patients with prior thyroidectomy and/or lack of TN were excluded...

During medicolegal proceedings in cases of suspected child abuse it is sometimes argued that skull fractures could be sequelae from complications at birth or resulted from a prior witnessed accidental trauma that may have preceded the suspected abusive event. There is paucity of scientific evidence indicating timing for skull fracture healing in children up to 36 months old. Objective of this study was to assess the average time to imaging documentation of skull fracture healing in children up to 36 months old...