Objectives There is scarce data available on the prognostic application of chest CT. The main purpose of this study was to evaluate the performance of a semi-quantitative CT severity score in identifying the risk of mortality in COVID-19 patients. Methods This retrospective cohort study was performed on 262 hospitalized COVID-19 patients. The CT severity score was assessed by two independent radiologists using a method previously used to score the severity of acute respiratory distress syndrome on thin slice lung CT. Results Multivariate regression analysis showed increasing odds of in-hospital death associated with older age, and the presence of coronary artery disease at the time of admission. The mean CT severity score was 7.5 in the survivor group and 14.5 in the deceased group. Overall, the lower zones were the most frequently affected sites in COVID-19. There was significant difference between the survivor and deceased groups regarding CT severity scores. Multivariate regression analysis showed increasing odds of in-hospital death associated with higher CT severity score at admission. Conclusions Our results show that mortality was significantly higher in patients with higher CT severity score even after adjustment for clinical, demographics and laboratory parameters. However, this study is performed retrospectively and needs to be validated in a prospective study.

Acute bowel ischemia (ABI) can be life threatening with high mortality rate. In spite of the advances made in diagnosis and treatment of ABI, no significant change has occurred in the mortality over the past decade. ABI is potentially reversible with prompt diagnosis. The radiologist plays a central role in the initial diagnosis and preventing progression to irreversible intestinal ischemic injury or bowel necrosis. The most single imaging findings described in the literature are either non-specific or only present in the late stages of ABI, urging the use of a constellation of features to reach a more confident diagnosis. While ABI has been traditionally categorized based on the etiology with a wide spectrum of imaging findings overlapped with each other, the final decision for patient’s management is usually made on the stage of the ABI with respect to the underlying pathophysiology. In this review, we first discuss the pathologic stages of ischemia and then summarize the various imaging signs and causes of ABI. We also emphasize on the correlation of imaging findings and pathological staging of the disease. Finally, a management approach is proposed using combined clinical and radiological findings to determine whether the patient may benefit from surgery or not.

Hydatid disease (HD), also known as echinococcal disease or echinococcosis, is a worldwide zoonosis with a wide geographic distribution. It can be found in almost all parts of the body and usually remains silent for a long period of time. Clinical history can be varied based on the location, size, host immune response, and complications.The most common imaging modalities used for diagnosis and further evaluations of HD are ultrasound, computed tomography (CT), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Although conventional radiography may be the first used tool, rarely can lead to a definite judgment. Clinical indications and cyst location may alter the choice of imaging. MRI and CT would be useful when the involved area is inaccessible for ultrasound or surgical treatment is required. CT is particularly valuable for osseous organ involvements and the presence of calcifications in the cyst and also demonstrates the size, number, and local complications. MRI can differentiate HD from neoplasms in cases with an unusual appearance on imaging. Moreover, it is preferable in biliary or neural involvements. Besides, more detailed images of MRI and CT could help to resolve the diagnostic uncertainty.Imaging is the main stem for HD diagnosis. Brain, orbit, muscle, bone, and vascular structures are less commonly involved areas. Familiarity with typical clinical presentation, CT scan and MR imaging findings of HD in this sites facilitate the radiologic diagnosis and guiding appropriate treatment.

The possibility of changing the intracranial vasculature computed tomography (CT) attenuation under the influence of variable factors is a long-held unestablished belief. The purpose of this study is to evaluate factors affecting dural sinus density in non-contrast computed tomography of the brain. Patients presented with acute neurologic symptoms to the emergency department were candidates to be enrolled in this study. A region of interest (ROI) measuring 1–2-mm 2 recorder (base on sinus size) used to measure the attenuation of each sinus in Hounsfield Unit (HU) and then mean density calculated. CBC, BUN and Cr were extracted from patients’ records. Chi-square test, correlation analyze, independent sample unpaired student t-test and one-way ANOVA test and Multivariate logistic regression were used. Positive significant correlation (0.48) was found between the hematocrit level (HCT) and average attenuation in the four sinus segments (P value < 0.0001) and between the HCT and basilar artery attenuation (P value < 0.0001). There was no significant correlation between the age and average attenuation. There was a significant and negative correlation between the BUN/Cr and average attenuation. Using a multivariate analysis on a large sample volume, we conclude that Hgb and HCT are the only factors that have a significant correlation with average sinus attenuation. This correlation is relatively stronger for Hgb in comparison to HCT.

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Our study questioned whether the outcome of postoperative early oral feeding is different from traditional postoperative feeding in children with Hirschsprung's disease who underwent transanal endorectal pull-through.This was an observational and comparative study. Patients were allocated into 2 groups. Age, gender, fever, surgery-related infectious, abdominal distension, bowel obstruction, need for reoperation, peritonitis, anastomosis leak, and abscess formation were assessed. IV fluids and antibiotics usage were recorded. A Chi-square test, independent sample unpaired Student t test and Mann–Whitney test were used. P-value < .05 was considered statistically significant.Infections occurred in no patient in group 1 and 1 patient in group 2. Stenosis occurred in 3 patients in group 1 and 2 patients in group 2. Abdominal distension occurred in 4 patients in group 1 and 3 patients in group 2. Fever occurred in 2 patients in group 1 and 1 patient in group 2 within the first 24 hours and it occurred in 13 and 17 patients, respectively, within 48 hours. All patients of group 1 (n = 15) were treated with antibiotics and intravenous fluid administration; 1 patient for 24 hours, 12 patients for 48 hours, and 1 for 72 hours, respectively. All patients of group 2 (n = 18) were treated with antibiotics and intravenous fluid administration for 5 days. We noted a significant difference regarding the duration of antibiotic treatment and intravenous fluid administration after 72 hours.This study showed that there was no difference between the outcomes of early and traditional postoperative feeding. Due to a significant difference in the antibiotics and IV fluid administration intervals between these 2 groups which cause a prolonged hospital stay and higher costs, it seems that early postoperative feeding is superior to traditional strategy.

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Introduction: Despite the studies performed to characterize the clot’s features in the acute phase in non-contrast computed tomography (NCCT), no study has been conducted to evaluate the non-acute phase and the threshold density that warrants further evaluation. Herein, we assessed the temporal changes of sinus density in patients with acute CVST.Methods: In this cross-sectional study, we searched our Picture Archiving and Communicating System (PACS) of our hospital between January 2015 and September 2021. Inclusion criteria were patients older than 18-year-old with acute CVST, with available Contrast-enhanced Magnetic Resonance Venography (CE-MRV) as the gold standard for confirming the presence and location of thrombosis. The readers were asked to assess the images regarding any subjective abnormal hyper- or hypo-attenuation within the venous sinus structures. Changes in the Hounsfield Unit (HU) of each venous segment during the time-course of the disease and the HU difference of affected sinus with other sinus segments were evaluated.Results: Out of 89 CT scan evaluations, 21 cases (23.6%) were performed in the acute, 38 (42.7%) presented in the subacute, and 30 (33.7%) presented in the chronic stage. In all involved venous sinuses, the mean blood density of various phases was a statistically significant difference. The agreement of the two radiologists to report the hypodense sinus sign was reported to be 0.7.(p-value <0.001).Conclusions: The results of our study suggest that quantitative measurement and qualitative findings of the hypodense sinus sign help to diagnose non-acute CVST better.