Diabetes mellitus is increasingly prevalent and results in various clinically important musculoskeletal disorders affecting the limbs, feet, and spine as well as in widely recognized end-organ complications such as neuropathy, nephropathy, and retinopathy. Diabetic muscle ischemia-a self-limited disorder-may be confused with infectious or inflammatory myositis, venous thrombosis, or compartment syndrome. The absence of fever and leukocytosis, combined with the presence of bilaterally distributed lesions in multiple and often noncontiguous muscles in the legs, including the thighs, is suggestive of ischemia; by contrast, the presence of well-defined intramuscular abscesses with rimlike enhancement favors a diagnosis of infectious pyomyositis. In the diabetic foot, an ulcer, sinus tract, or abscess with an adjacent region of abnormal signal intensity in bone marrow favors the diagnosis of pedal osteomyelitis over that of neuropathic arthropathy. Contrast material-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging is important when planning the treatment of foot infections in diabetic patients because it allows the differentiation of viable tissue from necrotic regions that require surgical débridement in addition to antibiotic therapy. Subtraction images are particularly useful for visualizing nonviable tissue. Dialysis-associated spondyloarthropathy characteristically occurs in diabetic patients with a long history of hemodialysis. Intervertebral disk space narrowing without T2 signal hyperintensity, extensive endplate erosions without endplate remodeling, and facet joint involvement are suggestive of spondyloarthropathy instead of infectious diskitis or degenerative disk disease. Although the clinical features of these conditions may overlap, knowledge of the patient's medical history, coupled with recognition of key imaging characteristics, allows the radiologist to make a prompt and correct diagnosis that leads to appropriate management.
Enterprise was easier to deploy and enabled treatment of additional aneurysms; however, there were more thromboembolic complications. On the basis of these findings, we prefer to use the Neuroform stent first and rely on the Enterprise stent as an easy-to-deliver backup for stent-assisted coiling.
Background: Meniscus root tears are increasingly being recognized. Meniscal extrusion has previously been associated with medial root tears; however, the relationship between secondary meniscal restraints, such as the meniscotibial (MT) ligament, extrusion, and root tears has yet to be formally evaluated. Purpose: To better understand the association between MT ligament competence, medial meniscal extrusion, and medial meniscus posterior root tears (MMPRTs) as well as to determine the progression of meniscal extrusion over time. Study Design: Case series; Level of evidence, 4. Methods: Serial magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans were reviewed for patients who showed evidence of medial meniscal extrusion and MMPRTs on at least 1 of ≥2 available MRI scans. All patients were symptomatic at the time of diagnosis. All MRI scans were analyzed independently by 2 board-certified musculoskeletal radiologists. MT ligament disruption, medial meniscal extrusion, and MMPRTs were recorded for each MRI scan. The time between MRI scans, presence of insufficiency fractures, and Outerbridge classification for the medial femur and tibia were also evaluated. Results: Overall, 27 knees in 26 patients were included in this study, with a total of 63 MRI scans analyzed (21 knees with 2 MRI scans, 3 with 3 MRI scans, and 3 with 4 MRI scans). All patients demonstrated clear medial meniscal extrusion and MT ligament disruption before the subsequent development of MMPRTs ( P < .001). Mean extrusion at the time of initial MRI was 3.3 ± 1.1 mm and increased significantly to 5.5 ± 1.8 mm at the time of first imaging with an identified MMPRT ( P < .001). The mean time between initial MRI and the first identification of an MMPRT on later MRI was 1.7 ± 1.6 years. Conclusion: In a sample of 27 symptomatic knees with serial MRI scans both before and after an MMPRT diagnosis, all patients demonstrated MT ligament disruption and associated meniscal extrusion before the development of subsequent medial meniscus root tears. These findings suggest that MT ligament disruption and medial meniscal extrusion represent early and predisposing events contributing to MMPRTs. Therefore, this provides a possible explanation of why meniscal extrusion is not corrected with medial meniscus root repair.
Pacinian corpuscles, the main touch receptors to pressure and vibration, are ubiquitous in the deep dermis and hypodermis of the fingers and palms. Nevertheless, their existence is largely unknown to most radiologists. We frequently noted hyperintense nodules in the palms of patients on water-sensitive MRI sequences, but were unable to explain their etiology. We recently encountered two patients who had Pacinian corpuscles identified at surgical exploration and pathological analysis. Pre-operative MRI examinations in these patients showed T2 hyperintense subcutaneous palmar nodules corresponding to these corpuscles in a pattern identical to those seen incidentally in other patients. Descriptions from the dermatopathological and orthopedic literature closely correspond to our MRI observations. Based on these data, we hypothesize that the MRI finding that we previously noted represents normal Pacinian corpuscles.
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