Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to T C Demos.
A patient with a rare cystic hamartoma of the lung had diagnoses of tuberculosis, bronchiectasis, pneumonia, and neoplasm during the 23 years prior to resection of the lesion. The hamartoma had vascular elements which led to intermittent hemoptysis and, finally, to gross hemorrhage into the lung.
Atypical mycobacterial infections of bone are rare. A patient with systemic lupus erythematosus treated with steroids developed an M. intracellulare infection of the shoulder and spine. These infections are insidious and diagnosis is difficult. Marked involvement of one joint, large effusion, or aspirated small synovial fragments suggest an atypical tuberculous joint infection.
The nephrogram is a sensitive indicator of renovascular compromise. An infrequently reported but characteristic nephrographic abnormality is the cortical rim nephrogram. This "rim sign" refers to a thin nephrographic rim outlining a kidney with an otherwise faint nephrogram. We report 2 patients with this nephrographic appearance due to acute renal artery insult. The rim nephrogram is a reliable sign of underperfusion of the kidney. It is dependent on collateral capsular vessels supplying the outer renal cortex. Underperfusion can be due to a primary renal artery problem or secondary to compromise of renal artery perfusion because of elevated interstitial or tubular pressure in the kidney. The sign has not been described with systemic circulatory problems.
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Computed tomography (CT) of the torso combined with simultaneous intravenous bolus injection of contrast media was used in sixteen patients suspected of having dissected their aorta. All patients had subsequent correlative percutaneous aortography within 24 h of the CT examination. Four patients proved to be normal, one had an aneurysm of the thoracic aorta, and eleven had aortic dissection (five type I, six type III dissection). All eleven patients with aortic dissections were diagnosed by CT and angiography; nine had spontaneous dissections and two had iatrogenic injuries to the aorta. Limitations of this imaging procedure include; inability to detect aortic valvular dysfunction and failure to provide an adequate perspective of aortic branch involvement. Potential benefits include: avoidance of aortogram in some cases, relative non-invasiveness, rapidity and ease of procedure, and less expense, radiation, contrast media, and discomfort to the patient. Early experience with CT-enhancement technique has reliably demonstrated normal as well as abnormal aortic wall morphology. It may have a place as an alternative to the conventional aortogram.
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Chronic inflammatory bowel disease, diverticulitis, and appendicitis may be complicated by genitourinary tract problems. Patients with these diseases occasionally present with a genitourinary problem as an initial complaint prior to diagnosis of the underlying primary bowel disease. The correct diagnosis in these difficult cases will be arrived at sooner if the genitourinary manifestations of inflammatory diseases of the bowel are actively considered.
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Medial displacement of the liver was observed in 35 cases of ascites using plain radiographs, total-body opacification, tomography, radionuclide imaging, peritoneography, and/or ultrasonography. In 16 cases the displaces liver was seen on plain radiographs. Separation of the liver and kidney was seen on ultrasonograms in every case; it was increased by addition of increments of fluid in patients undergoing peritoneal dialysis. Since the liver is surrounded by fluid, an interface between it and the extraperitoneal fat cannot account for the displacement seen on plain radiographs: rather, this is the result of a difference in density between liver and fluid.
The incidence of iatrogenic cardiovascular foreign bodies is increasing. The most common source is a fragment of an in-dwelling venous catheter. These objects have resulted in severe sequelae and death in many instances. Most should be removed. Percutaneous extraction is the method of choice. Surgery should be reserved for cases with failed percutaneous extraction.
The postoperative chest radiographs of 173 patients who underwent median sternternal line. A total of 52 (30%) showed a thin lucent line one or more days after the operation. Clinical dehiscence developed in 4 patients, of whom 2 had a midsternal stripe and 2 did not. The authors feel that the presence of a sternal stripe is of little value in the radiographic diagnosis of sternal dehiscence.
A patient with gastrointestinal bleeding due to amyloidosis-related factor X deficiency had extensive calcified retroperitoneal amyloid deposition that was visible on plain radiographs and then localized by computed tomography. The radiologic findings were important in arriving at the proper diagnosis despite negative biopsies.
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