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Biomedical subjects

P J Fultz

Publications and source records attributed to P J Fultz.

26 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Worsening right flank pain over a 24-hr period.

AML is a benign renal tumor composed of variable quantities of mature vascular, smooth muscle and fatty elements. They occur as an isolated finding, classically in middle-aged females, or in association with tuberous sclerosis. When symptomatic, they typically present with flank pain secondary to hemorrhage. CT is the diagnostic imaging modality of choice. The diagnosis can usually be made based on the recognition of fat within the lesion. When discovered, asymptomatic lesions are generally monitored by follow-up imaging studies, and if they remain stable, no intervention is required. Arterial embolization has become the recommended treatment of choice in some instances, particularly in cases with associated hemorrhage.

Adult↗

Computed tomography of pyonephrosis.

Computed tomographic (CT) findings of 17 pyonephrotic and 20 uninfected hydronephrotic kidneys were reviewed. Parameters evaluated included: renal pelvic wall thickness (none; grade 1, < or = 2 mm; grade 2, 3-5 mm; and grade 3, > 5 mm), renal pelvic contents, parenchymal, and perirenal findings. All patients underwent subsequent percutaneous nephrostomy within 1 week of CT. Common CT findings suggesting pyonephrosis include increased pelvic wall thickness and more severe perirenal fat changes than are seen in uninfected hydronephrosis. However, for any one patient, these findings are often not diagnostic. The presence of clinical signs of infection with hydronephrosis on CT is a more sensitive indicator of pyonephrosis than most CT findings.

Adult↗

Differential diagnosis of fat-containing lesions with abdominal and pelvic CT.

Recognition of fat within an organ or lesion on abdominal and pelvic computed tomographic scans is an important clue to guiding a differential diagnosis. A systematic approach to these lesions, including a patient's age and clinical history, along with the appearance and location of the lesion often allows a specific differential diagnosis. The anatomic sites of origin for these lesions are the gastrointestinal tract, genitourinary system, and retroperitoneum. Some of the more common entities include various forms of fatty change in the liver, fibrofatty mesenteric proliferation in Crohn disease, ovarian dermoids, and herniations of abdominal fat. In addition, pitfalls such as pathologic processes engulfing normal fat (eg, perirenal abscess) and iatrogenic incorporation of normal fat (eg, omental packing in liver lacerations) should also be included in the differential diagnosis. Familiarity with certain benign occurrences, such as focal fat in the liver adjacent to the falciform ligament and lipomatous infiltration of the ileocecal valve, obviates invasive diagnostic procedures.

Abdominal Neoplasms↗

CT in upper gastrointestinal tract perforations secondary to peptic ulcer disease.

Computed tomographic (CT) scans of 11 patients with perforations of the stomach or duodenum were reviewed to determine the variety and relative conspicuity of findings. Five patients had de novo presentation due to perforation of peptic ulcers, two had perforations at ulcer repair sites, and the remaining four patients had ulcer perforations following unrelated surgery. CT allowed recognition of at least one component of bowel perforation, such as extra-gastrointestinal gas and/or contrast, in most patients. In only three patients (27%), however, could these findings be specifically related to a perforation of the stomach or duodenum from the CT scans alone.

Adult↗

Comparative imaging of gallbladder cancer.

We reviewed various imaging approaches in 22 patients with gallbladder cancer. Nineteen had had ultrasonography and nine computed tomography performed. A gallbladder mass or diffuse wall thickening was seen by ultrasonography in 42% and computed tomography in 33% of patients. A significant number of patients had no gallbladder wall abnormality detected by ultrasonography (37%) or computed tomography (56%). Performing both ultrasonography and computed tomography improved the diagnostic rate; in this subgroup the detection rate was 51%. Cholelithiasis, dilated biliary ducts, the liver metastases were associated findings. Percutaneous cholangiography in jaundiced patients revealed the level of bile duct occlusion and often suggested the diagnosis. Radionuclide hepatobiliary imaging simply revealed non-visualization of the gallbladder.

Adult↗

Delayed computed tomographic characterization of renal masses: preliminary experience.

BACKGROUND: To evaluate the performance of delayed contrast enhanced computed tomography (DCT) in characterizing renal masses. METHODS: Twenty-four patients with suspected renal masses or indeterminate renal masses on previous imaging studies were prospectively evaluated with preintravenous contrast imaging, conventional contrast-enhanced computed tomography (imaging initiated 2 min after intravenous contrast injection), and DCT (imaging initiated 13 min after injection of intravenous contrast). Only lesions larger than 1.0 cm were evaluated, with scanning parameters kept constant across the three scans. RESULTS: All pathologically confirmed renal cell carcinomas (n = 6) were detected on DCT using a threshold attenuation decrease of 10 Hounsfield units (HU). A significant decrease (p = 0.031) in attenuation occurred in renal cell carcinomas (mean = 29.6 +/- 23.6 HU) compared with the attenuation change (mean decrease = 1.1 +/- 7.1 HU), which occurred in non-neoplastic renal cysts (n = 34). Non-neoplastic renal cysts were correctly classified by DCT 32 of 34 times (94%). CONCLUSIONS: In this study, DCT distinguished renal cell carcinomas from non-neoplastic cysts in a vast majority of cases and may aid in characterizing incidentally discovered renal lesions on postcontrast CT.

Adenoma↗