Gd-DTPA-enhanced MR in thoracic disc herniations

Summary The Gd-DTPA-enhanced magnetic resonance findings in two patients with herniated thoracic intervertebral discs are reported. The first patient was a 56-year-old woman with a small subligamentous T6-7 disc herniation, slightly lateralized to the right. The second patient was a 51-year-old man with a central and right posterolateral disc herniation, including a large calcified fragment, at the T8-9 level. The nonenhanced MR examination revealed the presence of an extradural mass lesion in both patients, impinging upon the dural sac and compressing and displacing the spinal cord posteriorly. The lesion was slightly hypointense on both T1- and T2-weighted spin echo sequences. Following intravenous injection of Gd-DTPA in a dosage of 0.1 mmol/kg body weight, enhancement of the posterior longitudinal ligament was noted and triangular areas of contrast uptake were seen to occur in the epidural space above and below the herniated disc. At surgery, they were found to correspond to dilated and congested epidural veins.     

颅面部螺旋CT扫描技术及图像的质控

颅面部的 CT扫描检查主要包括颅脑面部上、下颌骨、中耳、内耳、鼻窦、眼眍、眼球及颞骨茎突等部位的扫描检查 ,上述部位的扫描检查的位置的摆法 ,层面的厚度、间距 ,扫描时间及螺距等参数的选择及扫描后图像的后处理工作对检查结果的诊断至关重要。上述参数任意一个选择不当及     

小剂量米非司酮用于紧急避孕临床观察

目的 观察一次性小剂量米非司酮用于紧急避孕的效果。方法征集无保护性交或避孕失败后72小时内就诊并符合条件的健康妇女100例，单次口服米非司酮10mg。结果失败1例，按照Dixon方法计算，避孕有效率为89．55％；受试的月经周期无明显改变且未出现明显副作用。结论小剂量米非司酮单次口服用于紧急避孕简单、有效、安全。     

拉米夫定阻断乙型肝炎病毒宫内传播的临床探讨

【目的】研究拉米夫定对HBsAg阳性孕妇的乙肝病毒 (HBV)宫内阻断作用。【方法】拉米夫定组 43例 ,孕 2 8周起口服拉米夫定 ,每天 10 0mg至产后 30d。对照组 5 2例 ,未予用药。两组孕妇均于孕 2 8周、分娩前 ,其新生儿于生后 2 4h内免疫接种前抽静脉血检测HBsAg、HBeAg及HBV的定量。【结果】拉米夫定组孕妇HBV的DNA水平显著下降 (P <0 0 5 ) ,其新生儿宫内感染率 (16 3% )明显低于对照组 (32 7% ) ,P <0 0 5。两组孕妇及其新生儿未发现有不良反应。【结论】携带HBV孕妇产前服用拉米夫定可有效减少HBV宫内感染发生率。     

云南省边境地区疟疾防治资源分配分析

目的 分析云南省边境地区疟疾资源分配状况与疟疾传播的关系，为合理分配疟疾资源提供依据。方法 收集中老、中缅、中越边境地区有关疟疾统计资料，研究导致疟疾流行的危险因素。结果 结果表明来自国外和国内的波及效应数值和强度效应综合反映了这些边境县所面临的潜在疟疾传播危险因素。结论 该地区的疟疾防治资源分配不合理，有待进一步改善。     

Efficacy evaluation of gadoteridol for MR angiography of intracranial vascular lesions

A phase III multicenter study was conducted in 89 patients with known intracranial vascular lesions to evaluate an extracellular gadolinium contrast agent, gadoteridol, for intracranial magnetic resonance (MR) angiography. The pre- and postcontrast MR angiograms of 82 patients were evaluated by the unblinded investigators and by two blinded readers (A and B) for visualization of lesions; arterial and venous anatomy; extent, size, and number of lesions; and disease classification. The unblinded readers indicated that lesions were visualized better on postcontrast images in the following categories: venous anatomy, 87 (81%) of 107 lesions; arterial anatomy, 43 lesions (40%); and extent or size of lesions, 38 lesions (36%). In 29 (35%) of 82 patients, the unblinded readers determined that enhanced MR angiography provided more diagnostic information than unenhanced MR angiography. The blinded readers determined that enhanced MR angiography provided more information for visualization of vascular anatomy in more than 60% of cases. The additional information provided with gadoteridol would have changed the diagnosis in nine (8%) of 107 lesions seen by the unblinded readers, 11 (12%) of 90 lesions seen by reader A, and three (3%) of 93 lesions seen by reader B. The results confirm that the use of gadoteridol improves the visualization of intracranial vascular lesions with MR angiography. The authors conclude that development of new postprocessing algorithms will improve the utility of contrast-enhanced MR angiography.     

Yucatan Pig: An Optimal Hairless Model for a True Random Cutaneous Flap

Porcine models have been used extensively for skin flap research because of the established similarity between the cutaneous blood supply of the swine and humans. The Yucatan minipig provides an excellent model for researching the properties of random cutaneous flaps, offering several advantages over other breeds of swine. In this study, a total of 67 random cutaneous dorsal flank flaps measuring 4 × 14 cm were raised on nine Yucatan minipigs. The mean survival length (10.03 ± 1.60 cm) of the nondelayed flaps was greater than others reported in the literature. The well-defined plane between the subcutaneous tissue and the panniculus carnosus facilitated flap elevation consistently above the level of the panniculus carnosus thereby ensuring the creation of a true random cutaneous flap. Furthermore, the hairless nature of the skin, particularly beneficial in studying chemical peels, permits easy visualization and monitoring of any external skin changes. These advantages make the Yucatan minipig a more desirable alternative to other breeds of swine for use in skin flap research.     

Phase-derivative analysis in MR angiography: Reduced Venc dependency and improved vessel wall detection in laminar and disturbed flow

A problem of current MRA techniques is the inability to accurately depict the vascular anatomy, particularly in areas of disturbed flow. Various reasons, such as intravoxel phase dispersion, saturation, temporal variations, and maximum intensity projection (MIP) nonlinearity, cause a wrong delineation of vessel boundaries. A phase contrast (PC)-based postprocessing operation, the phase derivative (PhD), is introduced to detect phase fluctuations indicating flow. Two-dimensional and three-dimensional angiographic reconstruction algorithms are presented. Mathematical formulas are derived to predict the effect of sampling to flow profiles and the effect on the PhD of these profiles. Numerical, phantom, and preliminary in vivo experiments demonstrate that PhD images do not suffer from phase wraps and allow a velocity dynamic range extension only limited by a differential phase change. It is also shown that PhD MIPs produce higher signal-to-noise ratios than conventional PC angiograms and give a better impression of the anatomy of (stenotic) vessels and of their diameters for both laminar and disturbed flow.     

Velocity and flow quantitation in the superior sagittal sinus with ungated and cine (gated) phase-contrast MR imaging

Normal blood flow and velocity in the superior sagittal sinus were measured in 30 patients. A fast two-dimensional ungated phase-contrast (PC) pulse sequence was compared with a peripherally gated cine PC technique for velocity and flow quantitation. The same imaging parameters were used for both methods. Measured values for mean velocity and flow obtained with the two methods were compared by using regression analysis and t testing. For blood flow, the correlation coefficient was 0.976. For velocity measurements, r was 0.950. Mean flow was 285 mL/min ± 19 with the ungated PC method and 281 mL/min ± 19 with the cine PC method. The mean velocities measured with the two methods were 12.94 cm/sec ± 1.1 and 13.59 cm/sec ± 1.1, respectively. There was no significant difference (paired t test) between the methods for mean flow or velocity data. This was true even though flow in the superior sagittal sinus is moderately pulsatile, as shown with the cine PC technique. The ungated PC method provided these data in 13 seconds versus 3.5 minutes for the cine PC method.