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In a prospective double blind study, acetylcysteine, a local and systemic respiratory tract mucolytic agent, or a placebo, were given to 100 patients prior to a double contrast barium meal to decrease the gastric mucus viscosity and to make the mucus layer thinner, in order to permit barium to outline the furrows surrounding the areae gastricae instead of the overlying thick mucus. However, acetylcysteine failed to improve either visualization of the areae gastricae or the general quality of the double contrast barium meal.

With the patient supine the long axis of the kidney has an average 16 deg. (SD 5,8 deg.) distal ventral inclination to the horizontal table top plane. A 100 cm long wedge shaped pad with a 16 deg. angle to be placed under the patient's shoulders and back during urography to bring the long axis of the kidney parallel to the horizontal plane is described. This method gives simultaneous good visualization of both the upper and lower outlines of the kidneys on a single tomographic cut.

A double curve catheter for the left axillary artery approach to aortofemoral, selective renal and visceral angiography is described. The catheter shape enables a fast and easy catheterization of the abdominal aorta. Up till now no complications have been encountered.

Image quality in radiography of middle face trauma was compared within and outside office hours on the basis of the visibility of diagnostically important structures, and an evaluation of the major patient- and technician-related factors influencing image quality. Image quality was statistically significantly better within than outside office hours. This was due to the technician-related factors of patient positioning, X-ray beam limiting and centering. Since the analysis of variance revealed that alcohol intoxication (three times more common outside than within office hours) had no statistically significant effect on image quality, the difference must have been due to the only remaining variable--radiologist supervision, which was present only within office hours.

Six patients received beer preparation prior to double contrast barium enema. The beer group scored slightly better (though not statistically significantly) both in the cleanliness and in the mucosal coating of the bowel than the control group with standard preparation. The fluid balance was unaltered. The patients in the beer group felt surprisingly well, likely due to the good fluid and energy balance provided by the beer. The beer preparation could be used in cases, when the patients are ready to intake beer and want to maintain a good nutritional status.

A double-blind, completely randomized study was carried out on 169 patients to compare the analgesic efficacy and tolerability of diflunisal with that of Veralgin after surgical removal of impacted third molars. One group received 1000 mg diflunisal (Donobid, MSD) 2 h preoperatively and then 500 mg twice daily for 2.5 days, and the other group Veralgin (aminophenazon. 286 mg, barbital. 114 mg, aethylmorph. hydrochlorid. 20 mg, Orion), a fixed combination widely used in Finland, 1 tablet twice daily beginning 2 h prior to operation. Visual analogue scales were used to estimate pain. Diflunisal was found to be superior in relieving pain in the early postoperative period, the associated frequency of adverse clinical experiences was lower and the final evaluation of analgesic efficacy by both the patients and the investigators, was in its favour. The study confirms that postoperative pain after third molar surgery can be controlled well without the use of mainly centrally acting combination analgesics.

The radiographic pattern of the areae gastricae is produced by barium lying in the intersecting grooves of the gastric mucosal surface. However, if the mucus layer on the gastric mucosa is thick, it interferes with the barium coating of the areae gastricae. As S-carboxy-methyl-L-cysteine has been shown to be an effective respiratory tract mucolytic when administered by mouth and, may also render the gastric mucus layer thinner, it was tested as a pretreatment agent in a routine double contrast upper-gastrointestinal study to improve the visualization of the areae gastricae. In a double-blind study 53 of 103 patients took S-carboxy-methyl-L-cysteine in a dosage of 750 mg three times daily for three days before the examination. Results of the present study show that mucolysis induced by the administered doses of S-carboxy-methyl-L-cysteine did not significantly affect micromucosal visualization during double-contrast barium meal.

An angiography of the hand was performed on a pianist suffering from symptoms of an ulnar nerve entrapment syndrome. The examination revealed in the hand a rare anomalous arterial pattern, which explains the patient's symptoms.

The radiographic pattern of the areae gastricae is produced by barium lying in the intersecting furrows of the gastric mucosal surface. However, if the mucus layer on the gastric mucosa is thick, it interferes with the barium coating of the areae gastricae during double contrast barium meal. As sodium bicarbonate decreases the viscosity of mucus and thus may make the gastric mucus layer thinner, it was evaluated as a pretreatment agent in a routine double contrast upper-gastrointestinal study to improve the visualization of the areae gastricae. In a single blind study, 53 of 106 patients took sodium bicarbonate water mixtures at bedtime the day before and on the morning of the examination. According to the results of the present study mucolysis induced by the used doses of sodium bicarbonate does not significantly affect micromucosal visualization during double-contrast barium meal.

The non-ionic low-osmolar contrast medium Omnipaque was compared with the conventional ionic high-osmolar contrast medium Gastrografin in a randomized, double blind study comprising 71 consecutive gastrointestinal follow-through examinations performed because of suspected ileus or anastomosis control. The patients' reaction were confined to nausea, emesis and diarrhoe being very similar in both groups and related to the patients' illnesses. The taste of Gastrografin was more often judged unpleasant, but the difference was not significant. Omniplaque scored significantly better for contrast medium density and diagnostic visualisation in the small bowel, otherwise the differences were negligible. There were no significant differences in the transit time into the caecum. The high price of Omnipaque restricts its routine use. It may be diagnostically indicated in selected cases where greater accuracy in the delineation of pathologic anatomical details in the small bowel is desired.

To determine the effect of clinical information on the radiological diagnostic performance in middle-face injury, the medical records and radiographs of 618 patients with middle-face injury were reviewed. The information value of clinical data given in each x-ray requisition was evaluated. The radiological diagnoses were compared with the final clinical diagnoses both retrospectively and prospectively (with and without clinical data). Knowledge of clinical data with statistical significance changed the reader's decision threshold towards improved sensitivity but poorer specificity. Clinical data did not improve the radiologists' performance. Clinical data may be helpful in diagnostic tasks rather by increasing the sensitivity than the specificity.

The features of a patient with arteriomegaly of thoracic and abdominal aorta, common and external iliac, and femoral arteries are described.

The value of cylindrical panoramic radiography (using one rotational axis), a modification of orthopantomography (using three rotational axes), in radiographic examination of maxillo-facial skeleton was estimated by evaluating the visualization of anatomical structures of the facial skeleton on cylindrical panoramic and linear tomographic radiographs of 51 patients examined with both methods. The radiographs were independently reviewed by four radiologists. The visualization of the lateral wall of the orbit and maxillary sinus, nasal septum, alveolar process and zygomatic corpus was better on cylindrical panoramic radiographs. Linear tomography visualized the media wall of orbit better. In visualizing the frontal sinus, orbital floor, medial wall of maxillary sinus and hard palate there were no significant differences between linear tomography and panoramic zonography.