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Twelve patients and a foetus with congenital bile duct cysts suggested in the majority of cases at routine upper abdominal sonography were examined by two or more of the following investigations: ultrasonorgaphy (10 patients), computed tomography (5 patients), CT-cholangiography (2 patients), oral cholecystography (7 patients), intravenous cholangiography (4 patients), endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) (6 patients) and cholescintigraphy (2 patients). the sensitivity of each investigation for the diagnosis of bile duct cysts was: ultrasound 40 per cent, computed tomography 20 per cent, CT-cholangiography 100 per cent, oral cholecystography 17 per cent, intravenous cholangiography 75 per cent, ERCP 83 per cent and cholescintigraphy 50 per cent. When a bile duct cyst has been suggested by ultrasonography or other examinations, without a conclusive diagnosis being made, CT-cholangiography is recommended as the next examination. in patients with impaired biliary excretion of contrast medium, ERCP may be required to achieve the diagnosis

A double-blind urographic and angiographic study was done with the ionic contrast medium meglumine metrizoate and the non-ionic iohexol in 90 patients with diabetes mellitus. Twenty patients were insulin dependent, and 70 non-insulin dependent diabetics. Diabetic patients with decreased as well as normal renal function prior to the examination sustained a reversible and small increase in the plasma creatinine level postexamination. The small increase caused by meglumine metrizoate was significantly higher than the increase caused by iohexol. There was also a significantly higher increase in plasma creatinine among the patients with diabetic nephropathy compared with those without nephropathy.

In order to assess the potential of computed tomography (CT) of the mediastinum and mediastinoscopy in the staging of lung cancer, 125 patients were examined. Of these, 104 underwent thoracotomy, at which there was no evidence of mediastinal tumour involvement in 79 while 25 patients had signs of tumour spread. The sensitivity and specificity of CT were 87.0 per cent and 95.8 per cent, respectively, in the detection of direct tumour extension with a mediastinal mass. When lymph node enlargement was the sole finding, CT did not provide any differentiation between benign and malignant lymphadenopathy. The mediastinal involvement was inaccessible on mediastinoscopy in 18 cases (72%). Despite the surperior sensitivity of CT it was often difficult to determine whether direct tumour infiltratin of mediastinal structures had occurred. It was concluded that CT is necessary for screening the entire mediastinum and, when it reveals no evidence of mediastinal tumour spread, mediastinoscopy will yield no further information. Mediastinoscopy will help to correctly identify accessible mediastinal lymph node involvement of the superior mediastinum and to define the mediastinal tumour invasion in doubtful cases.

The purpose of the study was to find out how reliably benign and malignant adrenal tumours can be differentiated on the basis of CT characteristics. The material included 86 adrenal tumours with the following confirmed diagnoses: 48 primary adrenal tumours (8 carcinomas, 1 neuroblastoma, 4 pheochromocytomas, 31 adenomas, 3 cysts, 1 haemangioma) and 38 metastases. The size, density, homogeneity, enhancement and growth of the tumours were evaluated. No specific CT findings could separate benign from malignant tumours. Coexistence of cancer and bilateral non-homogeneous adrenal masses is probably sufficient for the diagnosis of adrenal metastases. In cases of coincidental small (<3 cm), homogeneous and relatively hypodense masses with no signs of hormonal activity, a follow-up examination of the lesion within three months is recommended. Other masses may indicate further diagnostic procedures.