Background Preliminary reports suggest a hypercoagulable state in COVID-19. Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) is perceived as a frequent finding in hospitalized COVID-19 patients, but data describing the prevalence of DVT are lacking. Objectives We aimed to report the prevalence of DVT in COVID-19 patients in general wards, blinded to symptoms/signs of disease, using lower extremities duplex ultrasound (LEDUS) in random patients. We tested the association of DVT with clinical, laboratory and inflammatory markers and also reported on the secondary endpoint of in-hospital mortality. Patients/Methods n = 263 COVID-19 patients were screened with LEDUS between March 01, 2020 and April 05, 2020 out of the overall n = 1012 admitted with COVID-19. Results DVT was detected in n = 67 screened patients (25.5%), n = 41 patients (15.6%) died during the index hospitalization. Multiple logistic regression demonstrated that only C-reactive protein (odds ratio 1.009, 95% CI 1.004-1.013, p < 0.001) was independently associated with the presence of DVT at LEDUS. Both age (odds ratio 1.101, 95% CI 1.054-1.150, p < 0.001) and C-reactive protein (odds ratio 1.012, 95% CI 1.006-1.018, p < 0.001) were instead significantly independently associated with in-hospital mortality. Conclusions The main study finding is that DVT prevalence in COVID-19 patients admitted to general wards is 25.5%, suggesting it may be reasonable to screen COVID-19 patients for this potentially severe but treatable complication, and that inflammation, measured with serum C-reactive protein, is the main variable associated with the presence of DVT, where all other clinical or laboratory variables, age or D-dimer included, are instead not independently associated with DVT.
CT-guided percutaneous drainage is a safe and effective procedure that allows minimally invasive treatment of abdominopelvic abscesses and fluid collections. This technique has become an alternative for surgery with lower morbility and mortality rates. In this pictorial essay, we aim at providing an overview of the technical approaches, the main clinical indications and complications of CT-guided percutaneous drainage, in order to provide a practical guide for interventional radiologists, with a review of the recent literature. The focus will be the CT-guidance, preferred when the interposition of viscera, vascular and skeletal structures, counteracts the ultrasound guidance.
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is the primary imaging tool for the evaluation of pituitary gland pathology. In the last decades, MRI with high-field scanners has become widely used in clinical practice, leading to significant improvements in image quality mainly thanks to a superior spatial resolution and signal intensity. Moreover, several advanced functional MRI sequences have been implemented for pituitary imaging, providing valuable information in diagnostic and presurgical planning of pituitary adenomas. Higher field strength presents however some technical pitfalls to be aware of. The purpose of this article is to review the state of the art of high-resolution MRI of the pituitary gland at 3 Tesla (3T), with a particular focus on the main benefits and the possible limitations of higher field imaging.
Detection of adrenal lesions, because of the widespread use of imaging and especially highresolution imaging procedures, is increased. Because of the importance to characterize those findings, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), in particular chemical shift imaging (CSI), is useful to distinguish whether a lesion is benignant or malignant and to avoid further diagnostic or surgical procedures. It represents the first choice of imaging in patient like children or pregnant women, and a valid complement to other imaging techniques like CT or PET/CT. In this review we analyze the role and characteristic of MRI and the imaging features of most common benignant (adenoma, hyperplasia, pheochromocytoma, hemorrhage, cyst, myelolipoma, teratoma, ganglioneuroma, cystic lymphangioma, hemangioma) and malignant [neuroblastoma, adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC), metastases, lymphoma] adrenal lesions.
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