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Background: Administration of gadolinium-contrast can cause problems in cardiac amyloidosis (CA) patients with impaired renal function.Purpose: To compare patterns of cardiovascular magnetic resonance tissue tracking (CMR-TT) for CA and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) and to assess the feasibility of CMR-TT to distinguish between these diseases without administration of gadolinium-contrast.Material and Methods: Included were 54 patients with biopsy-proven CA, 40 patients with HCM, and 30 healthy people. We calculated strain ratio of apex to base (SRAB) in the left ventricle (LV) using radial (R), circumferential (C), and longitudinal (L) strain from CMR-TT. The LV ejection fraction (LVEF) and the ratio of septal to posterior wall at basal level were also calculated. Late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) image analysis was performed for differential diagnosis. Area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) comparisons were used.Results: All SRAB values were significantly different between CA and HCM (all P < 0.001). AUC values for parameters were 0.806 for LVEF, 0.815 for ratio of wall thickness, 0.944 for the LGE pattern, 0.898 for SRABR, 0.880 for SRABC, and 0.805 for SRABL. AUCs for the LGE pattern were significantly higher than for LVEF, ratio of wall thickness and SRABL (all P < 0.008). No significant differences were seen between AUCs for the LGE pattern, SRABR, and SRABC (all P > 0.109).Conclusion: SRABR and SRABC were reliable parameters for distinguishing between CA and HCM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Although several studies have examined the value of thyroid nodule size as a malignancy predictor, the results are conflicting. Purpose: To investigate the relationship between nodule size and malignancy risk and to evaluate the impact of nodule size on the false-negative rate of fine needle aspiration or core needle biopsy according to the histological type of thyroid cancer. Material and Methods: From January 2013 to December 2013, 3970 thyroid nodules that underwent ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration or core needle biopsy were retrospectively reviewed. We assessed the relationship between nodule size and malignancy risk according to histological type of thyroid cancer. In addition, we compared the false-negative rate by thyroid nodule size category. Results: Of 3970 thyroid nodules, 1170 nodules were malignant. For papillary thyroid carcinoma, nodule size was inversely related to malignancy risk, whereas in nodules of follicular carcinoma and follicular variant papillary thyroid carcinoma, nodule size was positively related to malignancy risk (P < 0.001). The false-negative rate tended to increase as nodule size increased (P = 0.002) for all nodules and the overall false-negative rate was 2.3%. Conclusion: Overall, nodule size does not correlate with risk of malignancy, but the relationship between nodule size and malignancy risk depends on the histological type of thyroid cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Pain control is needed during radiofrequency ablation in musculoskeletal tumor. The effect of radiofrequency ablation can be modulated by lidocaine injection. Purpose: To evaluate the effects of injectable electrodes with intralesional lidocaine injection and compare its ablation performance with that of non-injectable electrodes in ex vivo pork sirloin. Material and Methods: Five specimen groups were used to investigate the effects of fluid injection before radiofrequency ablation using injectable and non-injectable electrodes: three injectable electrode comparison groups with 2% lidocaine (group A); 1% lidocaine (group B); 0.9% sodium chloride (group C); injectable electrode reference group without fluid (group D); and non-injectable electrode control group (group E). The injectable and non-injectable electrodes were 17-gauge electrodes each having a 1-cm active tip. Technical parameters, ablation size, and volumes were compared between the five groups. Results: Mean energies and currents during radiofrequency ablation were significantly lower for the four injectable electrode groups compared to group E (all P < 0.005). Two transverse diameters, vertical diameter, and volumes in the four injectable electrode groups were significantly smaller than those in group E (all P < 0.05). Among the injectable electrode groups, volumes and two transverse diameters were significantly smaller in group A than in group D (all P < 0.05). Conclusions: A slightly smaller ablation zone is obtained when lidocaine injection is performed before radiofrequency ablation using an injectable electrode compared to a non-injectable electrode. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background There currently remains a debate over the use of core needle biopsy (CNB) or fine needle aspiration (FNA) for diagnosis of thyroid nodules. The major drawbacks of previous CNB studies include heterogeneity of the study population, variable techniques, devices, and operator experience affecting the outcome of the procedure. Purpose To assess the diagnostic performance and safety of CNB of thyroid nodules performed by a single experienced operator in consecutive patients. Material and Methods From January 2012 to December 2012, 538 thyroid nodules that underwent CNB were retrospectively evaluated. All CNB procedures were performed by a single operator with 18 years of experience. The histopathology of the surgical specimens was considered as the standard reference for malignancy. A final diagnosis of benignity was made by surgery, one benign lesion on FNA and/or CNB with no change on follow-up examinations (>1 year) or benign lesion on ≥2 FNA and/or CNB. The diagnostic performance, incidence of technical failure, unnecessary surgery, and complication were evaluated. Results The diagnostic accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity of CNB for malignancy were 92.0%, 85.3%, and 100%, respectively. The non-diagnostic result rate of CNB was 4.8% (26/538) and the inconclusive result rate was 24.3% (131/538). The incidence of technical failure was 0.6% (3/541) and unnecessary surgery was 0.6%. The complication rate was 0.2%, without life-threatening complications. The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy were 85.3% (156/183), 100.0% (154/154), and 92.0% (310/337), respectively. Conclusion CNB shows a high diagnostic performance for detection of thyroid malignancy and follicular neoplasm, with low rates of technical failure and complications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Although there are many well-known prognostic predictors of medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC), the ultrasonography (US) findings of MTC have not been sufficiently validated in this regard. Purpose To investigate the US findings of MTC and their relationship with the biological behavior of MTC. Material and Methods The US findings and clinical and pathology records of 123 MTC nodules from 108 patients were retrospectively analyzed at two tertiary referral hospitals. MTCs were classified according to US findings, i.e. MTC with benign (B-MTC) and malignant US findings (M-MTC). We then compared the clinical and pathology findings between the two groups. Results Eighty-two M-MTCs (66.7%) and 41 B-MTCs (33.3%) were identified. M-MTCs showed a significantly higher prevalence of lateral lymph node metastases as well as extrathyroidal and extranodal extension (all P < 0.05). M-MTCs larger than 1 cm showed a significantly higher prevalence of multifocality, recurrence, extrathyroidal and extranodal extension than B-MTCs larger than 1 cm in the largest dimension (all P < 0.05). Tumors > 1 cm were more likely to be B-MTC and one-third of all MTCs had benign US features. The common findings of B-MTC included a solid, ovoid to round shape, with a smooth margin, hypoechogenicity, and without calcification. Conclusion The biological behavior of M-MTCs results in poorer outcomes than that of B-MTCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]