Background Degenerative change in articular cartilage is one of the most important factors in the development of osteoarthritis. Shear wave elastography can be used to identify pathologic cartilage. Purpose To evaluate distal femoral cartilage by shear wave elastography in patients with symptomatic knee osteoarthritis. Material and methods Twenty patients with bilateral knee osteoarthritis (study group) and 20 volunteers with the same demographic characteristics but without symptomatic knee pain (control group) were included in the study. A total of 80 knee joints of 40 individuals were evaluated. At the medial, intercondylar, and lateral condylar levels distal femoral cartilage thickness was measured by B-mode ultrasonography and stiffness was measured by shear wave elastography. Results The medial, intercondylar, and lateral cartilage thickness measurements were similar between the two groups and no statistically significant difference was observed ( P = 0.711, P = 0.766, and P = 0.575, respectively). The shear wave velocity values in the medial and intercondylar cartilage were significantly higher in the study group ( P = 0.002). Shear wave velocity values measured from lateral cartilage were higher in the study group and the difference between the groups had a borderline statistical significance ( P = 0.053). Conclusion Shear wave elastography seems to be a reliable, non-invasive, and acceptable method for the assessment of pathologic cartilage.

Background X-rays are defined as ionizing radiation and hydrolyze the water, causing free radical formation. Oxidative stress is the damage that occurs in cells due to the lack of antioxidants, which detoxifies them, with the increased production of free radicals that occur during normal cellular metabolism. Purpose To examine the acute effects of computed tomography (CT), i.e. ionizing radiation, on oxidative stress and antioxidant defense mechanisms. Material and Methods The study included a total of 53 patients that were selected among the patients that underwent non-contrast full-body CT. Malondialdehyde (MDA) and reduced glutathione (GSH) levels and superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) activities were investigated in blood samples taken from patients. Results The post-scan levels of MDA increased significantly while the post-scan levels of GSH, SOD, and CAT decreased significantly compared to their pre-scan levels. Conclusion CT, which is a widely used X-ray imaging technique and has numerous known side effects, was found to increase the levels of MDA, which is an indicator of oxidative stress, and to decrease the levels of some antioxidants including GSH, SOD, and CAT.

ObjectivesTo determine the prevalence and determinants of acute pancreatitis in patients with acute brucellosis.MethodsAdult patients with brucellosis were retrospectively recruited. Brucellosis and acute pancreatitis were diagnosed according to standard criteria. Laboratory analyses included Wright agglutination titre, serum biochemical parameters and blood count.ResultsPatients with acute pancreatitis (n = 21) had significantly higher Wright agglutination titres, alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase, γ-glutamyl transpeptidase, amylase, lipase and serum glucose concentrations, and significantly lower haemoglobin concentrations and haematocrit than patients with brucellosis alone (n = 326).ConclusionsHyperglycaemia, anaemia, and liver transaminase and cholestatic enzyme concentrations may represent new approaches for assessing disease severity in patients with brucellosis and acute pancreatitis.

Background Idiopathic granulomatous mastitis (IGM) is a chronic, unpleasant autoimmune inflammatory condition and is clinically and radiologically often confused with breast malignancy. Purpose To investigate the contributions of qualitative and quantitative aspects of acoustic radiation force impulse (ARFI) elastography to the differential diagnosis between IGM and invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC) in the breast. Material and Methods Ninety-four women with IDC and 39 with IGM were included in the study. Shear wave velocity (SWV) was calculated for all lesions using quantitative elastography. Next, each lesion’s correspondence on qualitative elastographic images to those on the B-mode images was evaluated: pattern 1, no findings on elastography images; pattern 2, lesions that were bright inside; pattern 3, lesions that contained both bright and dark areas; and pattern 4, lesions that were dark inside. Pattern 4 was subdivided into 4a (dark area same size as lesion) and 4b (dark area larger than lesion size). Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and diagnostic accuracy were calculated. Results The mean SWV based on ARFI elastography was 3.78 ± 1.26 m/s for IGM and 5.34 ± 1.43 m/s for IDC lesions ( P < 0.05). Based on qualitative ARFI elastography, IDC lesions were mostly classified as pattern 4b, while IGM lesions were mostly classified as pattern 1 or 2 ( P = 0.01). Evaluation of both the qualitative and quantitative aspects of ARFI elastography yielded a sensitivity of 89% and specificity of 84%. Conclusion ARFI elastography may facilitate the differential diagnosis between IGM and IDC.

There are many methods in the diagnosis of coronary artery diseases, and the reference method is catheter angiography. Coronary computed tomography angiography (c-CTA) is more valuable in the diagnosis of coronary artery and cardiac anomalies, plaques in the coronary artery wall, aortic dissection, myocardial bridges, osteal pathologies and coronary fistulas. In this study, we investigated the diversity and frequency of coronary artery anomalies and variations in c-CTA examinations performed in our unit. We included 700 patients who underwent c-CTA in the study. The c-CTA images and reports of the patients were retrospectively evaluated, and the diversity and frequency of coronary artery anomalies and variations were investigated. The axial images, multiplanar reconstruction, maximum intensity projection and 3D volume rendering images were examined together and coronary artery stenosis, anomalies and variations were evaluated. We detected intermediate artery in 126 patients and myocardial bridging in 87 patients. LMCA was not observed in 11 patients. Single coronary artery was observed in 3 patients. RCA showed an interarterial course between aorta and pulmonary artery in 1 patient. C-CTA is an effective method in detecting coronary artery diseases, variations and anomalies. There are studies indicating that c-CTA is superior to catheter angiography in the diagnosis of coronary artery anomalies. Coronary artery anomalies are the uncommon category of cardiac diseases. Their incidence in the community is 1-2%. Our study supports that c-CTA is an imaging method that is used in the diagnosis of coronary artery anomalies and variations and provides detailed information.