Hydatid cyst caused by the larval form of Echinococcus is a worldwide zoonosis. The lungs and liver are the most common sites involved. While the lung parenchyma is the most common site within the thorax, it may develop in any extrapulmonary region including the pleural cavity, fissures, mediastinum, heart, vascular structures, chest wall, and diaphragm. Imaging plays a pivotal role not only in the diagnosis of hydatid cyst, but also in the visualization of the extent of involvement and complications. The aim of this pictorial review was to comprehensively describe the imaging findings of thoracic hydatid cyst including pulmonary and very unusual extrapulmonary involvements. An outline is also given for the findings of complications and differential diagnosis of thoracic hydatid cyst.

The advantages of the percutaneous treatment are its minimal invasive nature, short hospitalization duration, and its ability to preserve splenic tissue and function. As the catheterization technique is associated with higher abscess risk, we suggest that the PAIR procedure should be the first percutaneous treatment option for splenic CE.

Background Low-profile, self-expandable stents are used to treat wide-neck aneurysms located on the smaller distal intracranial arteries. This study aimed to assess the usefulness of time-of-flight (TOF) and contrast-enhanced (CE) magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) for follow-up after LEO Baby stent (LBS)-assisted coil embolization. Methods Twenty-four aneurysms treated with LBS-assisted coil embolization were evaluated. Researchers reviewed TOF MRA and CE MRA images in terms of occlusion and stent patency. Aneurysm occlusion was graded according to Raymond–Roy classification as follows: total occlusion (grade 1), residual neck (grade 2), and residual aneurysm (grade 3). Stent patency was scored as follows: occlusion (1), stenosis (2), and normal (3). Interobserver and intermodality agreement values were determined by weighted kappa (κ) statistics. Results Intermodality and interobserver values of TOF MRA and CE MRA with digital subtraction angiography (DSA) were perfect (κ = 1.00, p < 0.001) in terms of aneurysm occlusion. Rate of stent occlusion and stenosis in DSA, TOF, and MRA, respectively, were as follows: 0 and 12.5%, 16.6 and 70.8%, and 0 and 62.5%. Intermodality agreement values of TOF MRA and CE MRA with DSA were insignificant in terms of stent patency (κ = 0.065, p = 0.27; κ = 0.158, p = 0.15, respectively). Interobserver agreement was substantial in both TOF MRA (κ = 0.71, p < 0.001) and CE MRA (κ = 0.64, p = 0.001). Conclusions Both TOF and CE MRA techniques have strong concordance with DSA for the detection of aneurysm occlusion status. CE MRA can be used as a first-line noninvasive imaging modality due to its superiority to TOF MRA with respect to the visualization of in-stent signals.

Masses or mass-like lesions located in proximity to mitral valve encompass a wide range of differential diagnoses including neoplasias, abscesses, thrombi, and rarely caseous calcification of mitral annulus. Due to asymptomatic presentation, its diagnosis is usually incidental. Echocardiography is the first choice of imaging in evaluation. Cardiac computed tomography (CT) is helpful in establishing diagnosis by showing dense calcifications while cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is used primarily as a problem solving tool. Imaging in evaluation of mitral annulus caseous calcification is essential in order to prevent unnecessary operations.

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