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OBJECTIVE. The purpose of this study was to analyze the timing of major bleeding complications after renal transplant biopsy in the context of a standardized 1-hour postprocedure observation protocol. MATERIALS AND METHODS. We retrospectively reviewed the electronic medical records for consecutive patients who underwent ultrasound-guided renal transplant biopsies between January 1, 2012, and December 31, 2017, and were observed according to a newly implemented 1-hour postprocedure observation protocol. The development of a major bleeding complication (Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events class 3 or higher) was recorded along with all available details regarding the time course of patient symptoms and presentation. Complications were grouped into one of four categories according to onset time after biopsy: 2 hours or less (timing category 1), more than 2 hours but 4 hours or less (timing category 2), more than 4 hours but 8 hours or less (timing category 3), and more than 8 hours (timing category 4). RESULTS. In 1824 patients (769 women, 1055 men) who underwent 4519 consecutive ultrasound-guided renal transplant biopsies during the study period, 11 class 3 complications were found (11/4519 [0.2%]). Four of the 11 patients (36.4%) had symptoms during the 1-hour observation period. Of these four patients, three (3/11 [27.3%]) had substantial symptoms related to major bleeding and were classified as timing category 1, and one (1/11 [9.1%]) had initially minor symptoms that increased in severity more than 2 hours but within 4 hours and was classified as timing category 2. Seven of the 11 patients (63.6%) did not have any symptoms at 1 hour of observation and were discharged; three (27.3%) were classified as timing category 3, and four (36.4%) were classified as category 4. CONCLUSION. Major bleeding complications following ultrasound-guided renal transplant biopsy are rare (0.2% of patients in this study). In our study, more than half were not clinically apparent within 4 hours of biopsy. A 1-hour postprocedure recovery period can be safely used after renal transplant biopsy.

Objective: The objective of our study was to describe the "waist" sign as a feature of hydrosalpinx and to calculate the likelihood ratio of sonographic findings for predicting that a cystic adnexal mass is a hydrosalpinx., Materials and Methods: Consecutive institutional records were reviewed to identify patients with surgically excised cystic adnexal masses and preoperative sonograms that had been used to identify the mass. Two radiologists blinded to outcome reviewed the sonograms and recorded the presence of five specific sonographic findings: incomplete septation, short linear projection, small round projection, tubular shape, and presence of a waist. The likelihood ratios of these signs and combinations of signs for the diagnosis of hydrosalpinx were calculated., Results: There were 55 patients with 67 cystic adnexal masses. Of the 67 cystic adnexal masses, there were 26 hydrosalpinges (39%), 36 cystic ovarian neoplasms (54%), and five paraovarian masses (7%). The likelihood ratios for the sonographic findings were as follows: incomplete septation, 2.1; short linear projection, 3.5; small round projection, 2.7; tubular shape, 10.5; and waist sign, 20.5. The waist sign in combination with tubular shape was found in 12 hydrosalpinges and no other masses (likelihood ratio of between 18.9 and infinity). Small round projection combined with tubular shape was found in 14 hydrosalpinges and one other mass (likelihood ratio of 22.1)., Conclusion: Hydrosalpinx can be diagnosed with the highest likelihood when a tubular mass with the waist sign or a tubular mass with small round projections is encountered. Incomplete septations and short linear projections are less discriminating findings of hydrosalpinx.

The effect of cancer treatment by ultrasound-induced hyperthermia in domestic pets was evaluated by computed tomography (CT) regarding changes in tumor volume and x-ray attenuation after intravenous contrast material. CT scanning is more accurate in measuring tumor volume than estimates after surface measurements. A decrease inn tumor volume and x-ray attenuation after contrast medium seems to be a valuable index of tumor response to hyperthermia.

Previous work in our laboratory has shown that an IV-administered emulsion of perfluorooctylbromide, an agent known to localize in functioning macrophages in the reticuloendothelial system, can be detected in the liver and spleen by using fluorine-19 (19F) MR imaging. In mice that have received a single radiation dose of 1300 rad (13 Gy) (250 kVp) to the abdomen, relatively diminished uptake of perfluorooctylbromide emulsion in the spleen is seen as few as 12 days after irradiation when using 19F MR. When a GE NMR CSI 2-T spectroscopy/imaging system was used, 19F MR images were obtained in 2-16 min, and the postirradiation changes in the spleen were shown. This approach is the first that allows detection of acute postirradiation damage in the spleen in as few as 12 days and potentially allows assessment of macrophage dysfunction in vivo.

A retrospective study was undertaken to evaluate the role of computed tomography (CT) in increasing the specificity of the abnormal radiocolloid liver-spleen scan. During a 12-month period, 124 patients with focal abnormalities on hepatic scintiscans were identified out of 523 consecutive radionuclide studies. Of these 124 patients, 38 had subsequent CT examination(s) of the liver. Of this group, 11 patients with suspected metastatic disease with focal defects on hepatic scintiscans had normal hepatic CT scans and subsequent negative follow-up for hepatic disease. False-positive radionuclide scan abnormalities, related either to anatomic variation in liver configuration or adjacent extrahepatic structures influencing the radiocolloid scan, are readily recognized and explained on the basis of CT examination.

One hundred twenty-one patients with newly diagnosed, previously untreated Hodgkin disease underwent abdominal and pelvic computed tomographic (CT) scanning and bipedal lymphography. These studies were followed by staging laparotomy, which included biopsy of the liver, retroperitoneal and mesenteric lymph nodes, and splenectomy. Correlation of the results of the imaging studies with the histopathologic diagnoses revealed a small--but significant--increased accuracy of lymphography compared with CT in assessing the retroperitoneal lymph nodes. The theoretical advantages of CT scanning in detecting lymphomatous deposits in lymph nodes about the celiac axis and the mesentery, or in the liver and spleen, were not confirmed. In part this was due to the relative incidence and the small size of individual lesions at these sites in patients with Hodgkin disease at the time of initial diagnosis and staging.

Fluorocarbons have been used for years as propellants in aerosol sprays. Because of their ability to transport oxygen, perfluorocarbon compounds have been more recently used in artificial fluid respiration. Monobrominated perfluorocarbon compounds are radiopaque and have low enough vapor pressures to be tolerated in biologic systems. Microemulsions of these compounds have been detected in mouse and rat neoplasms and appear to be located within macrophages. In this study of the potential usefulness of these compounds for radiographic contrast enhancement, rabbits with V2 carcinoma thigh implants received either a high-dose (10--12 ml/kg) or a low-dose (2 ml/kg) emulsion of perfluoroctylbromide intravenously. Dense contrast enhancement of some of the V2 carcinomas was demonstrated by both computed tomography and conventional radiography. Four of the five rabbits in the high-dose group died within 9 days but all six rabbits in the low-dose group survived beyond 9 days. Death in the high-dose group was associated with pulmonary consolidation and anesthesia although some animals had extensive V2 metastases. These compounds have some interesting potential applications in imaging, pending further study of their toxicity.