Relationship of Arterial Changes in Acute Pancreatitis on CT Angiography with Modified CT Severity Index

Purpose To evaluate the prevalence of arterial changes in patients with acute pancreatitis (AP) on computed tomography angiography (CTA) and determine their association with etiology of AP, presence of necrosis, collections and severity of AP. Materials and Methods A total of 50 patients (20 women, 30 men; mean age: 43.04 ± 13.98; age range: 18–77 years) with AP underwent contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CECT) scan and CTA of abdomen, which was evaluated for necrosis and fluid collection (s). On CTA, splanchnic arterial structures were assessed for vascular complications. Association between vascular changes and presence of necrosis, fluid collections, etiology of AP and severity of AP (as assessed by modified computed tomography severity index CTSI) was determined. Results Arterial complications were seen in 28 percent (14/50). The most frequently involved artery was superior pancreaticoduodenal artery (12 percent), followed by splenic artery (8 percent) and right gastric artery (8 percent; Fig. 1). No significant association was seen between arterial changes and gallstone or alcohol-induced AP. Arterial changes showed a significant association with presence of acute necrotizing pancreatitis (ANP), presence of collections and severe AP (CTSI 8–10) (p < 0.05 for each). Conclusion Arterial changes on CTA are frequently seen in patients of AP having ANP. There is a significant association between arterial changes and presence of necrosis, collections and severe AP.

CT Appearances in Treated Abdominal Tuberculosis: A Radiologist's Dilemma

Objective To study the CT appearances of the abdomen after completion of antitubercular therapy (ATT) in adult patients. Methods Multidetector CT scan abdomen was done in 20 adults within 1 month of completing ATT. CT appearances were compared with pretreatment scans which were available in 7 cases. Results We found that residual ileocecal wall thickening and enhancement was significant (p < 0.05) after treatment in cases of ileocecal tuberculosis (TB). Mild decrease in wall thickness and diameter of the involved dilated small bowel loops was seen. Numerous large, matted nodes with necrosis persisted in the mesentery and retroperitoneum in treated TB, but reduction in the size of nodes was appreciated. Conclusion Our results help to fill the vacuum in the database of CT appearances in treated abdominal TB. Persistence of bowel changes and lymph nodes should not be mistaken for recurrence of TB or residual disease.

Role of Advanced MRI Techniques in the Quantitative Assessment of Liver Fat—A Multimodality-Based Comparative Study of Diagnostic Performance in a Tertiary Care Institute

Objective To evaluate the accuracy of noninvasive imaging methods including gray-scale ultrasound, ultrasound shear wave elastography, unenhanced computed tomography (CT), and proton density fat fraction (PDFF) on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) using three-dimensional (3D) multiecho multipoint chemical shift–encoded spoiled gradient echo (q-DIXON) sequence in the quantification of hepatic steatosis, with proton MR spectroscopy (H1-MRS) as the reference standard in Indian population. Methods Our study included 100 consecutive adult patients referred to the department of radiology in our hospital for imaging of liver. Fat content of liver was recorded using MRI (H1-MRS and q-DIXON), unenhanced CT (average liver attenuation [ALI] and liver attenuation index [LAI]) and ultrasonography (USG) (gray-scale grading and shear wave elastography [SWE]). Data were analyzed by linear regression and Bland–Altman analysis for each technique compared with H1-MRS. The diagnostic performances of all the methods were compared using DeLong test, for detection of mild and moderate-to-severe hepatic steatosis, separately. Results MRI q-DIXON PDFF showed excellent correlation (r = 0.917, r2 = 0.840) and strong agreement (1.48 ±3.01) with H1-MRS-derived PDFF measurements. Unenhanced CT-based methods showed moderate correlation with modest agreement (r = −0.826, r2 = 0.681, −40.18 ± 16.05 for ALI and r = −0.858, r2 = 0.735, 13.4 ± 15.3 for LAI) whereas USG gray-scale assessment showed low correlation (weighted Kappa value 0.366) with H1-MRS PDFF. No correlation was found between USG-SWE results and PDFF measured with H1-MRS. Comparison of areas under curve (AUCs) using DeLong test revealed that MRI q-DIXON method performed the best for diagnosis of hepatic steatosis compared with rest. For moderate to severe steatosis, MRI q-DIXON and unenhanced CT-based methods had comparable diagnostic performance with AUCs not showing statistically significant differences. Conclusion MRI q-DIXON shows strongest correlation with MRS and should be preferred for estimation of hepatic fat, especially when MRS is not available. Unenhanced CT shows limited diagnostic performance in detecting mild steatosis; however, it certainly has a role in diagnosing moderate-to-severe hepatic steatosis, such as evaluating donor candidates for living donor liver transplantation. USG, using both the traditional four-grade visual assessment and elastography in the present form, appears to have limited role in liver fat quantification.

Imaging of Gastric Carcinoma. Part One: Diagnosis and Staging

Gastric cancer is one of the leading causes of death from malignancy. Despite the enormous advancement in medical oncology over the past decade, surgical resection of early tumors remains the most effective treatment. Accurate interpretation of radiologic imaging studies is crucial for staging local disease spread, predicting possible lymphatic involvement, and identifying metastatic disease, thereby guiding management plans. This article reviews imaging patterns of the normal stomach along with appearances of gastric cancer, its local spread patterns and distant metastasis, and also describes key features pertaining to preoperative staging.

Mass-Like Extreme Wall Thickening of the Entire Common Bile Duct in a Case of Portal Cavernoma Cholangiopathy

Portal cavernoma cholangiopathy (PCC) refers to the cholangiographic abnormalities that occur in patients with portal cavernoma. These abnormalities may be either due to chronic portal vein thrombosis or extrahepatic portal vein occlusion. These abnormalities occur due to enlargement of the bridging tortuous paracholedochal, epicholedochal, and cholecystic veins exerting pressure on the bile ducts. Ischemic changes can also occur in the bile duct due to portal vein thrombosis, which affects the microvascular circulation or associated hepatic artery thrombosis. These may be either reversible with shunt procedures such as transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) or irreversible in the advanced stage, leading to recurrent episodes of biliary pain, cholangitis, and cholestasis. Occasionally it may present as mass-like diffuse common bile duct (CBD) wall thickening, which may be confused with mimickers like primary CBD lymphoma, immunoglobulin G4-related sclerosing cholangitis, and even cholangiocarcinoma on imaging. Thus, we need to be aware of the mass-forming PCC imaging findings to avoid unnecessary invasive procedures like biopsy or surgical intervention. Here, we present a case of PCC, which presented as mass-like diffuse CBD wall thickening with patent lumen on ultrasound that led to further workup with contrast-enhanced computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging. The wall thickening showed persistent delayed enhancement, no significant diffusion restriction, and there was also associated superior mesenteric vein thrombosis with multiple mesenteric collaterals. A positron emission tomography-CT scan also ruled out malignant disease as there was no uptake. Finally, a diagnosis of mass-forming PCC was made by combining imaging features and excluding other causes.

A Case Series of Budd-Chiari Syndrome in Nigerian Patients: Diagnosis, Associations, Management, and Outcomes

Budd-Chiari syndrome (BCS) is defined as hepatic outflow obstruction regardless of the cause or level of obstruction—from small hepatic veins to the opening of the inferior vena cava in the right atrium. BCS could be primary or secondary. Very few cases of this syndrome have been reported in Nigeria and there is no local clinical series documenting the noninvasive and invasive imaging findings and importance of interventional radiology techniques in its diagnosis and management.We report three cases of patients diagnosed with BCS in Lagos, Nigeria. We hope this work will raise awareness about the condition and its associations and show that much can be done to establish diagnosis and care with minimally invasive techniques in our resource-limited environment.

Imaging of Portal Gastroduodenopathy

Portal hypertension is characterized by elevated pressure in portal venous system due to portal resistance due to various causes. The etiologies are either pre-hepatic, hepatic, or post-hepatic. Elevated portal pressure results in varices at various sites some of which are difficult to identify on endoscopy alone. Other manifestations of elevated portal pressure include portal gastropathy, enteropathy, colopathy, gastric antral vascular ectasia, and ascites. Imaging plays an essential role in diagnosis and imaging of various manifestations of portal hypertension by determining the locations of varices and plan the management for same. Endoscopy helps in visualizing mucosal varices but newer imaging modalities give a panoramic extent of the disease in the entire gastrointestinal tract with great specificity and sensitivity. Initially, Barium study was used to determine esophageal or gastric varices, computed tomography provides detailed anatomic information which can be used to plan management. Due to advancement in imaging and interventional techniques, treatment for varices has seen advent of multiple minimally invasive interventional radiological techniques. A brief outlook on anatomical aspect of varices and various recent advances in management of the same has been provided. Overall knowledge of the various imaging manifestations of portal hypertension can be helpful to evaluate prognosis and plan proper management.

Imaging of Subcutaneous Ovarian Transposition and Its Rare Complications—A Pictorial Assay

Ovarian transposition, as the name implies, is transpositioning the ovary from its normal anatomical position to another location. This procedure is usually done to preserve the ovarian function. The most common indication of ovarian transposition is early cervical cancer in young premenopausal women to preserve fertility. Subcutaneous ovarian transposition can also be done for benign conditions such as adenomyosis and severe endometriosis in young premenopausal women. We discuss our experience with ovarian transposition in 9 cases, normal ultrasound and CT imaging findings in transposed ovaries, and rare complications which occurred in 2 cases.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Giant Perianal Epidermoid

Perianal epidermoid cyst is a rare entity and is commonly diagnosed late owing to its slow-growing nature. Imaging plays a vital role in diagnosis and differentiation from other cysts such as dermoid, tailgut, and rectal duplication cysts. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is the preferred modality as uncomplicated cases show typical signal changes. Diffusion-weighted imaging has a definite additional role. We report a case of a giant perianal epidermoid diagnosed on MRI and successfully managed surgically.