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A focused hip MRI (FHMR) for the detection of radiographically occult hip fractures was implemented in our emergency department (ED) in 2013. The goal of this study was to assess the clinical utility of this protocol. We retrospectively reviewed radiology reports of 262 unique patients who underwent 263 FHMR (coronal T1, coronal STIR, axial T2 fat saturated) for suspected hip fracture in the ED from October 2013 to March 2020. Electronic medical records were reviewed for the ED course, follow-up imaging, and clinical management within 90 days. Seventy-one patients had one or more fractures identified by FHMR: one-third had proximal femoral fractures; two-third had pelvic fractures. Of these 71 patients, 53 (74%) had radiographically occult fractures, including 14 (20%) with occult proximal femoral fractures; 4 patients had fractures occult on CT. Nineteen patients with a suspected fracture on radiography were found to have no fracture on FHMR. Four fractures not reported on FHMR were later seen on follow-up imaging: these included 1 isolated greater trochanter, 1 additional ischial tuberosity, 1 additional superior pubic ramus, and 1 additional sacrum. All four fractures were treated non-operatively. Muscle/tendon injury was the most common type of injury, seen in 50% (130/262) patients with the most commonly torn tendons being the hamstring (44%; 15/34) followed by gluteus medius tendon (18%; 6/34). A full-hip or pelvis MRI was done after FHMR in only 5 patients, primarily for the purpose of better characterizing findings already identified on FHMR (2 for fracture, 2 for tendon injury, 1 for soft tissue metastasis). Only one of these five studies provided new information: ruling out a previously questioned fracture. Clinical management of the vast majority of patients was based solely on findings from the FHMR. FHMR offers reliable identification of radiographically occult hip fractures and muscle/tendon injuries. The protocol is well trusted in guiding patient management in our ED.

Prompt identification of traumatic pelvic fractures in the elderly is critical to guide clinical management; however, the accuracy of pelvic radiographs is often compromised by multiple factors. The purpose of this study is to examine the diagnostic accuracy of radiographs for the detection of pelvic fractures, with CT as the standard of reference.A retrospective review was performed of patients ≥ 65 years with traumatic pelvic fractures evaluated with both pelvic radiography and computed tomography (CT) from May 2016 to October 2019. Pelvic fractures were classified into fractures of the pubis, ilium, ischium, sacrum, and acetabulum. All pelvic radiographs were independently reviewed by two emergency radiologists. Original CT reports were utilized for the reference standard.177 patients were included, with a total of 555 fractures. The mean age was 81 years and 68% were female. The most common mechanism of injury was fall (62%), followed by motor vehicle accidents (18%). The most fractured bone was the pubis (314/555 fractures). Global pooled sensitivity for pelvic radiographs in detecting pelvic fractures compared to CT was 48%, with a specificity of 93%. Sensitivity for the detection of pelvic fractures is classified by the following types: pubis 61%, acetabulum 60%, ilium 41%, sacrum 20%, and ischium 17%. Eighteen patients (10%) required surgical fixation. Mortality was 8%.Pelvic radiographs have low sensitivity in detecting traumatic pelvic fractures. These radiographically occult fractures may be clinically significant as a cause of long-term pain and may require orthopedic consultation and possible surgical management.

The purpose of this study was to demonstrate the ability of a custom window blending algorithm to depict multicompartmental disease processes of the maxillofacial region in a single image, using routine computed tomography (CT) DICOM data. Five cases were selected from case files demonstrating trauma, infection, and malignancy of the maxillofacial region on routine CT examinations. Images were processed with a modified Relative Attenuation-Dependent Image Overlay (RADIO) window-blending algorithm in Adobe Photoshop controlled by ExtendScript. The modified RADIO algorithm was able to demonstrate pertinent multicompartmental imaging findings in each of the examinations, allowing simultaneous visualization of clinically relevant bone and soft tissue findings in a single image, without needing to change window and level settings. A custom window blending algorithm can demonstrate a range of multicompartmental pathology in the maxillofacial region in a single image.

A focused hip MRI (FHMR) for the detection of radiographically occult hip fractures was implemented in our emergency department (ED) in 2013. The goal of this study was to assess the clinical utility of this protocol.We retrospectively reviewed radiology reports of 262 unique patients who underwent 263 FHMR (coronal T1, coronal STIR, axial T2 fat saturated) for suspected hip fracture in the ED from October 2013 to March 2020. Electronic medical records were reviewed for the ED course, follow-up imaging, and clinical management within 90 days.Seventy-one patients had one or more fractures identified by FHMR: one-third had proximal femoral fractures; two-third had pelvic fractures. Of these 71 patients, 53 (74%) had radiographically occult fractures, including 14 (20%) with occult proximal femoral fractures; 4 patients had fractures occult on CT. Nineteen patients with a suspected fracture on radiography were found to have no fracture on FHMR. Four fractures not reported on FHMR were later seen on follow-up imaging: these included 1 isolated greater trochanter, 1 additional ischial tuberosity, 1 additional superior pubic ramus, and 1 additional sacrum. All four fractures were treated non-operatively. Muscle/tendon injury was the most common type of injury, seen in 50% (130/262) patients with the most commonly torn tendons being the hamstring (44%; 15/34) followed by gluteus medius tendon (18%; 6/34). A full-hip or pelvis MRI was done after FHMR in only 5 patients, primarily for the purpose of better characterizing findings already identified on FHMR (2 for fracture, 2 for tendon injury, 1 for soft tissue metastasis). Only one of these five studies provided new information: ruling out a previously questioned fracture. Clinical management of the vast majority of patients was based solely on findings from the FHMR.FHMR offers reliable identification of radiographically occult hip fractures and muscle/tendon injuries. The protocol is well trusted in guiding patient management in our ED.

To demonstrate the effect of teaching a simplified treatment-based classification of proximal femoral fractures on the accuracy, confidence, and inter-reader agreement of radiology residents. The authors hypothesize that these measures will improve after viewing an educational presentation. Three radiology residents independently classified 100 operative proximal femoral fractures, both before and after viewing a 45-min educational video describing the simplified classification scheme, with a washout period of at least 12 weeks between sessions. Based on the gold standard established by consensus of two radiologists and an orthopedic trauma surgeon utilizing intraoperative fluoroscopic imaging, operative reports, and pre-procedural imaging, accuracy of classification was calculated for each reader before and after viewing the educational video. Reader confidence was recorded on a 0–10 scale, and inter-reader agreement was calculated with Fleiss’s kappa. McNemar’s test was used to compare accuracy, a paired t test was used to compare confidence, and the Z-test was used to compare kappa values after bootstrapping to determine the standard error of the mean. The study cohort included 60/100 females, with a mean age of 76.6 years. The pooled classification accuracy was initially 65%, which improved to 80% in the second reading session after viewing the educational video (p

To explore clinical applications of a novel conventional computed tomography (CT) color post-processing algorithm to increase conspicuity of nondisplaced trabecular fractures. The algorithm was created in Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Extendscript, utilizing DICOM images from conventional CT as source images. A total of six representative cases were selected and processed. No statistical analyses were performed. A total of six cases are demonstrated, five with MRI correlation demonstrating corresponding fractures and bone marrow edema, including a case of sacral insufficiency fracture, two cases of vertebral body fracture, two cases of nondisplaced hip fracture, and a knee bone marrow edema lesion (without MRI correlate). All cases were processed successfully without error. A conventional CT color post-processing algorithm may be clinically useful in increasing conspicuity of nondisplaced fractures and bone marrow edema. A potential pitfall is the presence of subchondral or marrow sclerosis, which may mimic edema. Future prospective studies will be necessary to evaluate diagnostic performance.

The purpose of this study was to demonstrate the diagnostic performance and effect on reader confidence of a custom computed tomography (CT) color postprocessing algorithm for assessment of nondisplaced proximal femoral fractures. Four radiologists, including two PGY-3 radiology residents and two emergency radiologists, independently interpreted 30 CT examinations of the hip and/or pelvis performed for trauma, consisting of a total of 15 cases positive for nondisplaced hip fracture and 15 age and sex-matched controls. Images were reviewed first with conventional CT images and after at least 8 weeks, all images were reviewed again with the addition of coronal color postprocessed images. Sensitivity and specificity were compared with McNemar’s test, and diagnostic confidence was compared with paired t tests. There was no significant difference in diagnostic performance between conventional and postprocessed images, although there was nominally increased sensitivity and decreased specificity with the postprocessed images: for all readers, the sensitivity and specificity for conventional images was 88.3 and 95.0%, compared to 93.3% (p = 0.25) and 88.3% (p = 0.14) for postprocessed images. Three of four readers (including both attending radiologists) reported an increase in confidence with postprocessed images for cases negative for fracture (10-point confidence scale of 7.25 for conventional images, compared to 8.2 for postprocessed images for all readers, p = 0.0053). There was no difference in diagnostic confidence for cases positive for fracture. A custom color CT postprocessing algorithm did not demonstrate a significant difference in diagnostic performance for assessment of nondisplaced proximal femoral fractures within the limitations of a relatively small sample size; however, postprocessing increases confidence of experienced readers in cases negative for fracture.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic performance of CT for assessment of occult fractures of the proximal femur, pelvis, and sacrum. A retrospective review was performed on patients who received a CT of the hip or pelvis for suspected occult fracture after negative or equivocal radiographs performed within 24 h. The official radiology report was utilized for the determination of CT findings and calculation of sensitivity and specificity. Surgical reports, MRI reports, and clinical follow-up were used as the standard of reference. Sensitivity and specificity were calculated with 95% confidence intervals. Seventy-four patients received CT of the hip or pelvis for clinical concern for occult fracture after negative or equivocal radiographs. By the reference standard, a total of 40 fractures were present in 25/74 (33.8%) patients, including 35 conservatively treated fractures of the greater trochanter, pelvis, and sacrum, and 5 operatively treated proximal femoral fractures. A total of 14/74 (18.9%) of patients had an MRI within 1 day of CT. MRI identified an operatively treated femoral neck fracture not seen on CT and an operatively treated intertrochanteric fracture, which CT described as a greater trochanteric fracture. There were two false negative conservatively treated pelvic fractures not seen on CT but diagnosed on MRI. On a per-patient basis, CT had an overall sensitivity of 88% (22/25; 95% confidence intervals 69–97%), specificity of 98% (48/49; 95% confidence intervals 89–100%), and negative predictive value of 94%. For the five operative proximal femoral fractures, the sensitivity of CT was 60% (3/5; 95% confidence intervals 15–95%), specificity was 99% (68/69; 95% confidence intervals 92–100%), and negative predictive value was 97%. In the clinical setting of suspected occult fracture, the sensitivity of clinical CT reports for detection of any type of fracture of the proximal femur, pelvis, or sacrum was 88%. For the small number of operatively treated proximal femoral fractures seen in the study, sensitivity of CT was 60% (3/5) and negative predictive value was 97%, although the relatively few patients needing fixation precludes statistical analysis.