Balloon-occluded retrograde transvenous obliteration is a feasible alternative to a transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt for patients with large gastrorenal shunts or hepatic encephalopathy (or both).

Dynamic MR indexes were useful in the differentiation between SPNs that necessitated further evaluation or treatment (malignancy and active infection) and SPNs that did not necessitate further evaluation or treatment (benign nodules).

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of cardiac synchronized magnetic resonance angiography [electrocardiographically (ECG) Index terms: lung cancer; magnetic resonance (MR); magnetic resonance angiography (MRA); neoplasm; pulmonary artery; pulmonary vein THE ACCURACY of computed tomography (CT) in evaluating hilar and mediastinal invasion of bronchogenic carcinoma has been investigated extensively. Sensitivity for assessment of mediastinal invasion by CT ranged from 40% to 84%. Specificity for assessment of mediastinal invasion by CT ranged from 57% to 94% (1-10). Although CT is faster and has better resolution since technical improvements have occurred in this modality, improved methods of imaging are still need clinically to evaluate for hilar and mediastinal invasion.-On the other hand, a radiologic diagnostic oncology group reported that there was no difference between CT and MRI in distinguishing T3-T4 tumors from T0 -T2 tumors or in the ability to detect lymph node metastasis and chest wall invasion. However, MRI was significantly more accurate than CT in the diagnosis of mediastinal invasion (11,12).Recently, MR angiography (MRA) has been proposed as a new technique for assessing tumor invasion of great vessels and pulmonary vessels (13). However, cardiac motion artifact reduces quality of images and makes assessment of invasion more difficult.To increase the temporal resolution, k-space interpolation schemes can be used that substantially decrease the image time for single three-dimensional (3D) data sets (14). In addition, current high-performance gradient systems allow the use of short repetition times that enable fast multiphase acquisitions of 3D data sets with k-space segmentation by using cardiac triggering. The application of cardiac triggering improves the quality of cardiac MRI and coronary MRA. It also improves the quality of pulmonary MRA without decreasing temporal resolution. Therefore, diagnostic accuracy for detecting tumor invasions of the great vessel and pulmonary vessel will also be improved. The first purpose of the current study was to compare the quality of images between electrocardiographically (ECG)-triggered 3D contrast-enhanced MRA and conventional 3D contrast-enhanced MRA (conventional MRA). A second purpose was to evaluate the usefulness of ECG-triggered MRA in detecting tumor invasions of hilar and mediastinal structures. MATERIALS AND METHODS PatientsFifty patients with non-small cell bronchogenic carcinoma suspected of pulmonary vascular invasion by