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History A 33-year-old nulliparous woman presented with pressure in the left abdomen of several weeks duration. Her medical history was remarkable for multiple resections of basal cell carcinomas. Pelvic sonography was performed and was followed by contrast material-enhanced (140 mL of ioversol [Optiray 320; Mallinckrodt, St Louis, Mo] and 500 mL of diatrizoate sodium [Hypaque; GE Healthcare, Princeton, NJj) computed tomography (CT) of the abdomen and pelvis.

ors of Current Literature – A Note of Thanks The Abstracts of Current Literature section of Radiology is made possible by the efforts of our dedicated abstractors, who search various medical journals for articles of interest to our readers. We take this opportunity to recognize these individuals who have provided abstracts published in 2000 and to thank them for providing this service for our Journal and our readers. Archives of Disease in Childhood Archives of Disease in Childhood, Fetal and Neonatal Edition Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine Paula W. Brill, MD New York Hospital–Cornell Medical Center New York, NY Stroke Stephen Chan, MD Columbia University New York, NY Annals of Thoracic Surgery Sheila D. Davis, MD New York Hospital–Cornell Medical Center New York, NY Urology Stanford M. Goldman, MD University of Texas Houston, Tex Journal of Vascular Surgery Daniel Picus, MD Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology St Louis, Mo American Journal of Cardiology Patricia A. Randall, MD SUNY Health Science Center Syracuse, NY Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, British Volume William W. Scott, Jr, MD The Johns Hopkins Hospital Baltimore, Md Journal of the American College of Cardiology Chest Robert M. Steiner, MD New York Methodist Hospital–Weill Medical College of Cornell University New York, NY Pediatrics Beverly P. Wood, MD University of Southern California School of Medicine Los Angeles, Calif

A microcomputer system has been developed and installed at the Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology to monitor the moment-to-moment activity in a radiology department. Data about department performances are collected, summarized, and displayed in graphs and tables on terminals at stations throughout the department. The system is currently used to monitor a wide variety of functions including patient waiting time, report production time, film-library operations, equipment maintenance, and room use. Since the displays are updated in real-time, it is possible to identify and address problems as they occur, thereby providing a method of evaluation that leads to improved performance as related to patient care.

A retrospective study of 169 percutaneous skeletal biopsies performed by radiologists at the Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology and Barnes Hospital between October 1974 and July 1980 showed an overall accuracy of 94%; a negative result had a predictive value of 92%. A review of the English-language literature revealed that nearly 10,000 aspiration or trephine musculoskeletal biopsies have been reported during the past 50 years; historical accuracy is approximately 80%, but this figure is probably an underestimate because true-negative cases may not have been well documented or tabulated. The authors believe that percutaneous skeletal biopsy should be considered a radiological procedure, and that radiologists could and should perform this procedure as part of a team effort.

Forty-two children with tumors of the sympathetic nervous system were treated at the St. Louis Children's Hospital and the Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology from 1949 through December 1963. Thirty-six cases were reviewed with particular attention given to the radiation therapy and any correlation between the clinical and pathologic aspects and the prognosis. The 6 patients excluded from the study included 4 who received their initial therapy elsewhere and 2 in whom no pathologic slides were available for review. Eighteen cases have been previously reported (20). Clinical Features Table I shows the age and sex distribution of the patients. The main clinical and laboratory findings are summarized in Table II. Five of the 36 patients presented with no symptoms referable to tumor. In 16 the symptoms were secondary to the primary tumor, i.e., abdominal pain, constipation, respiratory distress, etc., and in 7 the symptoms were secondary to metastatic disease. Primary masses or abdominal enlargement were noted...

Although several excellent roentgenologie and clinical papers have dealt with Ebstein's anomaly of the tricuspid valve (1–6), little attention has been given to the angiocardiographic appearance of the infundibulum or outflow tract of the right ventricle. In several cases of Ebstein's anomaly of the tricuspid valve recently studied, an unusual phenomenon in respect to the expansile nature of the right ventricular infundibulum was observed. So unique was this angiocardiographic finding that additional cases were reviewed to determine whether or not it was specific for Ebstein's anomaly of the tricuspid valve. The purpose of this paper is to describe the angiocardiographic findings relating directly to the right ventricular infundibulum in 12 cases of Ebstein's anomaly studied over the past three years. The source material for this paper is from The St. Louis Children's Hospital, and each case was studied in the Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, both institutions being within The Washington University Sc...

Ditriokon (Mallinckrodt) is an aqueous solution of diprotrizoate sodium (Miokon, 31.4 per cent) and diatrizoate sodium (Hypaque, 36.7 per cent), with a combined organic iodine content of 40 per cent (Table I). The greatest value of this new mixture lies in its low viscosity, which makes it possible to inject the contrast substance rapidly and at room temperature. Clinical experience with Ditriokon has been obtained in over 200 patients during the past year. Recently, “fortified” Ditriokon has been used in 21 patients. This compound contains 9.9 per cent sodium acetrizoate (Urokon) in addition to Miokon (31.4 per cent) and Hypaque (36.7 per cent). The many advantages of these new contrast agents over other commercially available media form the basis of this report. Method of Study Beginning on July 16, 1959, a detailed study was made of 72 consecutive patients, varying in age from two months to seventyfive years, who received injections of Ditriokon for intravenous angiocardiography. Whenever possible, a s...

The prognosis of children with neuroblastoma has shown remarkable improvement in recent years. All of the early reports emphasized the rapid course and fatal termination. Farber (5), in 1940, was the first to report that cures could be obtained. Despite the bizarre natural history of this neoplasm, which includes spontaneous regression (2, 7, 22) and maturation into a more differentiated benign form (11, 19, 25), we feel that the improved outlook is due chiefly to the intelligent use of x-ray therapy. Although surgical excision may be curative when no distant metastases are present (1, 10, 15), frequently the tumor is unresectable, so that only biopsy or partial removal is feasible (13, 18). Thus, one must rely in most instances upon radiation therapy as the chief therapeutic agent. During the interval from July 1949 to July 1955, 19 patients with neuroblastoma were treated at the Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology. All patients referred for radiotherapy were accepted for treatment, and in all the diagno...

THE widespread interest in the roentgenkymograph, and the fact that the apparatus has only recently become commercially available, lead us to describe a kymograph devised for the Edward Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology. The roentgenkymograph is an apparatus designed to record the functional movements of an organ or structure on a single x-ray film. The kymograph records simultaneously the movements of multiple small points on the border of the heart or any other structure radiographed. The points are usually spaced 12 mm. apart and correspond in area to the width of the slit in the grid, namely, 0.4 millimeter. The grid is a large sheet of lead, one-sixteenth of an inch thick, in which horizontal slits are cut (Fig. 1). In using the apparatus for cardiac kymography, the patient's chest is placed in contact with the grid in the postero-anterior position (Fig. 2). The radiographic tube is behind the patient at a 70 cm. target-film distance and during a single continuous exposure of one and one-half secon...

EXCRETORY urography, by way of intravenous administration of diodrast (Winthrop), hippuran (Mallinckrodt), or neo-iopax (Schering), is well established. It is receiving increased use by the roentgenologist, internist, pediatrician, general practitioner, and urologist. The usefulness of excretory urography can be extended by making the procedure available in cases in which intravenous administration is difficult or impractical; such as in infants and children, or in adults with buried or blocked veins. Diodrast (Winthrop), a 35 per cent solution of iopyracil, has been administered intramuscularly at the University of Nebraska and Nebraska Methodist Hospitals in a series of 18 patients, 10 of whom were children. Good visualization of renal pelves, calices, and ureters, almost equal to the concentration seen following intravenous administration, resulted in nearly all cases. No complications or untoward results have been noted in any patients. History Von Lichtenberg and Swick (14), in 1929, were the first t...

The radiology film storage and retrieval system (film library) of the Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology was studied by means of a computer simulation model. The current operation of the film library was studied and a model of the library was used to demonstrate which functions might be most susceptible to overloading and insufficiency. This is a valid technique for systematic study of a radiological film library and is also useful for many other complex administrative problems.

Conray is a new highly water-soluble, low-viscosity organic iodide contrast agent manufactured by Mallinckrodt Chemical Works. The generic name for the free acid is iothalamic acid and it has the following chemical structure Iothalamic acid contains 62 per cent iodine. The product is available in two forms: a 60 per cent solution of the N-methylglucamine salt, containing 28 per cent iodine, and an 80 per cent sodium salt solution, containing 48 per cent iodine. The latter solution has a viscosity of 8.4 cps at 37.5° C. The 60 per cent solution is also nonviscid and has been recommended for intravenous pyelography, direct and retrograde aortography, cerebrovascular and peripheral arteriography; whereas the 80 per cent solution was devised for intravenous and selective angiocardiography and aortography (1). This report deals with initial clinical trials in patients who received intravenous injections of Conray, 60 per cent, for urography and arterial injections for peripheral and cerebrovascular arteriograp...

THIS STUDY compares the effects of meglumine iothalamate 60 per cent (60 per cent Conray, Mallinckrodt) and 50 per cent sodium diatrizoate (50 per cent Hypaque, Winthrop) on arterial blood pressure during and after angiography. In a previous report, we noted briefly the observation of a difference in blood pressure changes following the intra-arterial administrations of meglumine iothalamate 60 per cent as compared to 50 per cent sodium diatrizoate in a limited number of cases (2). This investigation was carried out to study these differences more thoroughly. Material and Methods A total of 50 intra-arterial blood pressure measurements were made in 24 patients examined for cerebrovascular disease. The group was comprised of 19 males and 5 females, with an age range of forty to sixty-five years. Percutaneous retrograde brachial angiography was carried out in every case. Two 16-gauge Cournand needles were placed in the same brachial artery; the lower for the injection of contrast medium and the upper, 10 to...

The introduction by Swick (27) in 1929 of excretory urography as a procedure for roentgenographic visualization of the urinary tract has led to improved clinical evaluation of renal function and diagnosis of renal lesions. During the past twenty years many new substances have been used as contrast media for diagnostic roentgenologic technics. This paper reviews our experience with Urokon Sodium 70%, a new contrast medium for excretory urography recently developed in the research laboratory of the Mallinckrodt Chemical Works. Urokon Sodium 70% is a sodium salt of 3-acetylamino-2,4,6-triiodobenzoic acid. It is reported to have the following structural formula, and to contain 65.8 per cent iodine per molecule (32). A number of earlier reports on the clinical use of this substance for intravenous injection as a 30 per cent solution for excretory urography indicate a lower incidence of severe side reactions than encountered with other compounds now widely used for the procedure. Pyelograms obtained following t...