Search

Introduction: Over the past two decades, there has been a shift toward non-operative treatment of patients undergoing a solid organ injury, thus requiring an increasing number of imaging studies to monitor the healing of lesions, which were performed by computed tomography (CT). In consideration of the use of ionizing radiation and contrast media, nowadays there is a trend toward the use contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) in the follow-up of blunt abdominal trauma. However CEUS has some limits, especially in the assessments of small lesions and in the evaluation of urinary tract lesions and vascular complications. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a useful alternative, since its lack of use of ionizing radiation, its panoramicity, the possibility to avoid contrast media and the ability to properly evaluate even small lesions. The aim of this study is to evaluate the usefulness and the feasibility of MRI in the follow-up of patients with low-grade blunt abdominal trauma., Materials and Methods: We performed a retrospective review of a cohort including 270 consecutive patients with a history of blunt abdominal trauma; among them, 118 underwent a high-energy trauma, and 152 a low-energy trauma. 124 patients had findings of abdominal injuries at the contrast-enhanced multidetector CT (CE-MDCT), including 68 from the group of major trauma and 56 from the group of minor trauma. 39 patients were operated for incoming lesions. The remaining 85 patients were treated conservatively. Eight patients underwent surgery later for delayed bleeding. The remaining 77 underwent the full follow-up protocol. Follow-up protocol included CEUS at 24 and 72 h and CEUS and MRI at 1 month after trauma; only MRI was performed until the complete resolution., Results: CEUS at 24-h and at 72-h from trauma showed a very good correlation with onset CE-MDCT in lesions staging. With respect to onset CE-MDCT, CEUS did not identified 2 adrenal injuries and 2 lesions of urinary tract, an intrinsic limit of this technique. CEUS performed at 1 month did not show traumatic lesions in 49/77 of patients. In the remaining 28/77 cases, CEUS demonstrated reduction of the size of the lesions ranging from 25 to 50%. MRI performed at 1 month from trauma did not show traumatic injuries in 37/77 patients; it demonstrated persistence of organ lesion in 40/77 patients. Therefore, in 12/77 patients MRI performed at 1-month demonstrated the persistence of minimal or moderate organ injury, while CEUS was completely negative. In addition, MRI allowed to enhance the persistence of adrenal lesions in 2 cases and the integrity of urinary tract in 2. In the remaining 28 patients, in which both CEUS and MRI showed disease persistence, MRI, however, allowed a better definition of injury extension with respect to CEUS, in terms of dimensions, edges, and morphological evolution., Discussion and Conclusions: MRI allowed to make a better assessment of injuries than CEUS, allowing also a temporal stage of lesions. Infact, there are different evolution stages corresponding to accurate imaging findings. To our knowledge, this is the first study that describes the evolution of blood collection in parenchymal abdominal organs. Therefore, in patients who underwent abdominal traumatic injuries conservatively treated, the follow-up at 1 month can be made by MRI, due to its panoramicity and its high contrast resolution, which allow a better morphological and temporal trauma staging respect to the CEUS.

Introduction: Localized low-energy abdominal trauma is very frequent in the pediatric population. The findings of several studies have shown that ultrasonography (US) can represent a useful and cost-effective tool in the evaluation of blunt abdominal trauma both in adults and children. However, many parenchymal injuries are not correctly visualized at baseline US examination. The introduction of specific US contrast agents contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) has enabled a better identification of traumatic organ injuries. The correct use of CEUS could therefore identify and select the children who need further diagnostic investigation computed tomography (CT), avoiding unnecessary radiation and iodinated contrast medium exposure. The purpose of our study was to assess the sensibility and feasibility of CEUS in the assessment of low-energy abdominal trauma compared to baseline US in pediatric patients, using contrast-enhanced MDCT as the reference standard., Materials and Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 73 children (51 M and 22 F; mean age 8.7 ± 2.8 years) who presented in our Emergency Department between October 2012 and October 2013, with history of minor abdominal trauma according to the Abbreviated Injury Scale and who underwent US, CEUS, and CE-MDCT. Inclusion criteria were: male or female, aged 0-16, hemodynamically stable patients with a history of minor blunt abdominal trauma. Exclusion criteria were adulthood, hemodynamical instability, history of major trauma. Sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV, and accuracy were determined for US and CEUS compared to MDCT., Results: 6/73 patients were negative at US, CEUS, and MDCT for the presence of organ injuries. In the remaining 67 patients, US depicted 26/67 parenchymal lesions. CEUS identified 67/67 patients (67/67) with parenchymal lesions: 21 lesions of the liver (28.8 %), 26 lesions of the spleen (35.6 %), 7 lesions of right kidney (9.6 %), 13 lesions of left kidney. MDCT confirmed all parenchymal lesions (67/67). Thus, the diagnostic performance of CEUS was better than that of US, as sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV, and accuracy were 100, 100, 100, 100, and 100 % for CEUS and 38.8, 100, 100, 12.8, and 44 % for US. In some patients CEUS identified also prognostic factors as parenchymal active bleeding in 8 cases, partial devascularization in 1 case; no cases of vascular bleeding, no cases of urinoma. MDCT confirmed all parenchymal lesions. Parenchymal active bleeding was identified in 16 cases, vascular bleeding in 2 cases, urinoma in 2 cases, partial devascularization in 1 case., Conclusions: CEUS is more sensitive and accurate than baseline US and almost as sensitive as CT in the identification and characterization of solid organs lesions in blunt abdominal trauma. CT is more sensitive and accurate than CEUS in identifying prognostic indicators, as active bleeding and urinoma. CEUS should be considered as a useful tool in the assessment and monitoring of blunt abdominal trauma in children.

Introduction: Uterine leiomyomas are benign tumours; recently they have been managed with embolization of the uterine arteries. We analysed the technical feasibility, safety and efficacy of this treatment performed via an innovative transbrachial approach, rather than the traditional transfemoral approach., Materials and Methods: Between 2009 and 2013, 115 patients were treated with embolization of the uterine arteries for one or more symptomatic leiomyomas. In 20 of these 115 patients, a transbrachial approach was used. Under ultrasound guidance, the left brachial artery was punctured. After having placed the tip of the angiography catheter at the level of L4 to check the aortic bifurcation, the uterine arteries were catheterised and embolized with calibrated particles. Data concerning exposure to radiation and the duration of the intervention were recorded for comparison between the two groups of subjects. Clinical controls and magnetic resonance imaging were complemented with echo-colour Doppler of the brachial artery to confirm the integrity and function of the vessel., Results: The uterine arteries were catheterised easily in a mean time of 25″, compared to 72″ using the femoral approach. As far as exposure to radiation was concerned, the mean fluoroscopy time for the femoral approach was 21.7' [range 14.4-42.7'] compared to 17.6' [range 7.7-25.5'] for the transbrachial approach. The time of occupation of the angiography suite was 118' (range 95-155') with the femoral approach, compared to 92' (range 65-123') with the transbrachial approach. No immediate complications involving the brachial artery were recorded., Discussion: In the treatment of symptomatic uterine fibromas, embolization of the uterine arteries performed via a transbrachial approach was shown to be safe and technically valid with regard to reducing the overall time of the intervention, ease of selective catheterisation, and shorter times spent in hospital, as well as being better accepted by patients.

Purpose: This study was undertaken to evaluate the accuracy of contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) in the detection and grading of abdominal traumatic lesions in patients with low-energy isolated abdominal trauma in comparison with baseline ultrasound (US) and contrast-enhanced multidetector computed tomography (CE-MDCT), considered the gold standard., Materials and Methods: A total of 256 consecutive patients who arrived in our Emergency Department between January 2006 and December 2012 (159 males and 97 females aged 7-82 years; mean age 41 years), with a history of low-energy isolated abdominal trauma were retrospectively analysed. All patients underwent US, CEUS with the use of a second-generation contrast agent (Sonovue, Bracco, Milan, Italy) and MDCT. Sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values (PPV and NPV) and overall accuracy for the detection of lesions and free peritoneal fluid on US and CEUS, and sensitivity for the grading of lesions on CEUS were calculated compared with the CT findings, in accordance with the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma criteria., Results: CE-MDCT identified 84 abdominal traumatic lesions (liver = 28, spleen = 35, kidney = 21) and 45 cases of free intraperitoneal fluid. US depicted 50/84 traumatic lesions and 41/45 cases of free peritoneal fluid; CEUS identified 81/84 traumatic lesions and 41/45 free peritoneal fluid. The sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV and overall accuracy for the identification of traumatic abdominal lesions were 59, 99, 98, 83 and 86 %, respectively, for US and 96, 99, 98, 98 and 98 %, respectively, for CEUS. The values for the identification of haemoperitoneum were 91, 99, 95, 98 and 97 %, respectively, for US and 95, 99, 95, 99 and 98 %, respectively, for CEUS. CEUS successfully staged 72/81 traumatic lesions with a sensitivity of 88 %., Conclusions: In patients with low-energy isolated abdominal trauma US should be replaced by CEUS as the first-line approach, as it shows a high sensitivity both in lesion detection and grading. CE-MDCT must always be performed in CEUS-positive patients to exclude active bleeding and urinomas.

Purpose: Combined clinical examination and supine chest radiography have shown low accuracy in the assessment of pneumothorax in unstable patients with major chest trauma during the primary survey in the emergency room. The aim of our study was to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of extended-focused assessment with sonography in trauma (e-FAST), in the diagnosis of pneumothorax, compared with the results of multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) and of invasive interventions (thoracostomy tube placement)., Materials and Methods: This was a retrospective case series involving 368 consecutive unstable adult patients (273 men and 95 women; average age, 25 years; range, 16-68 years) admitted to our hospital's emergency department between January 2011 and December 2012 for major trauma (Injury Severity Score ≥ 15). We evaluated the accuracy of thoracic ultrasound in the detection of pneumothorax compared with the results of MDCT and invasive interventions (thoracostomy tube placement). Institutional review board approval was obtained prior to commencement of this study., Results: Among the 736 lung fields included in the study, 87 pneumothoraces were detected with thoracic CT scans (23.6%). e-FAST detected 67/87 and missed 20 pneumothoraces (17 mild, 3 moderate). The diagnostic performance of ultrasound was: sensitivity 77% (74% in 2011 and 80% in 2012), specificity 99.8%, positive predictive value 98.5%, negative predictive value 97%, accuracy 97.2% (67 true positive; 668 true negative; 1 false positive; 20 false negative); 17 missed mild pneumothoraces were not immediately life-threatening (thickness less than 5 mm)., Conclusions: Thoracic ultrasound (e-FAST) is a rapid and accurate first-line, bedside diagnostic modality for the diagnosis of pneumothorax in unstable patients with major chest trauma during the primary survey in the emergency room.