Preregistration for Mar 2018 courses is now available. Dates will become available later in 2017 when Royal College of Radiologists announce examiantion dates for 2018.
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Only 1-2 places left on Written and Rapid Reporting Courses. 2 day Courses including overflow date fully booked.
2 day original course dates (viva) all fully booked. If you are interested in a potential overflow date on 23-24 Sep please email vlahos@grayscalecourses.com
Limited availability for written 1 day course (Sep 11) and Rapid Reporting 1 day courses (Sep 20) remains. This is changing literally by the minute today, but as of 8pm on 14-4-17 this is the current availability.
Radiology Level: FRCR, FRCS, MRCP, ABR, EDiR, Radiology Senior +++
An interesting case to analyse. The abdominal radiograph demonstrates extensive areas of intrabdominal calcification. These do not conform to any intrabdominal organ, nor the bowel to suggest bowel contents. Therefore, these findings are likely peritoneal in nature. There are not many causes of peritoneal calcification. Intuitively, tuberculosis and peritoneal mesothelioma may come to mind. However, in the former calcification is unusual and limited and localised when present. Calcification is even rarer within peritoneal mesothelioma even if pleural plaques are calcified in the same patient. So it is important to consider other conditions. Pseudomyxoma peritonei can be associated with small areas of focal punctate or linear calcification. In these cases the bowel would be expected to be centrally displaced by the gelatinous soft tissue filling the peritoneum. This is not present in this case. Two conditions should be considered with extensive calcifications of this type. These are psammomatous calcifications in ovarian malignancy and the calcifications of sclerosing peritonitis. These two types of calcifications can be differentiated by their morphology. Psammoma bodies are usually fluffy calcifications that appear almost to be forming ossified bodies. In distinction the calcfications of sclerosing peritonitis are usually linear or sheet like. Therefore, in this case the calcifications are typical of sclerosing (or encapsulated) peritonitis. This is a calcification pattern that develops in patients on peritoneal dialysis. The appearances are often referred to as a "cocoon abdomen". The presence of the calcifications and peritoneal loculations impairs the ability to perform peritoneal dialysis effectively by reducing the peritoneal surface accessible to the dialysate fluid. When identifying features of one disease it is also important to look for further features that may corroborate the process. What about the bones, are they normal? The bone density is diffusely increased, the trabeculae are ill-defined, there is alternate sclerosis and lucency of the vertebral bodies ("rugger jersey spine"). These are features of renal osteodystrophy. The sacro-iliac joints are also ill-defined and widened. This is a feature of the hyperparathyroidism component of renal osteodystrophy resulting in subperiosteal bone resorption. Finally, vascular calcifications are present. These are less specific and seen not only in renal impairment but also in diabetes and elderly patients with atherosclerosis. The surgical clips in the pelvis are not related to a prior transplant as suggested by some, but rather due to sterilisation clips. Unrelated clips in the upper abdomen are due to unrelated surgery. Always look at all elements of a case. The bones, the soft tissues, the gas pattern, they may all assist in confirming a diagnosis and finding all its manifestations. March FRCR Grayscale Courses coming up soon. Registrants are already undertaking remote emailed cases. Written course long cases being sent out this week too.
But if you would like to hear me lecture, or come and say hello, some of my upcoming lectures are at: European Congress of Radiology: March 2nd, Vienna, Austria London Pulmonary Hypertension Day: March 10th, London, UK American Roentgen Ray Society: May 2017, New Orleans, USA World Thoracic Congress: Jun 20 2017, Boston, USA Grand Rounds, Visiting Professor MD Anderson: July 2017, Houston, USA EDiR Course: Nov 6th, Vienna, Austria RSNA: Nov-Dec 2017, Chicago, USA Radiology Level: FRCR, FRCS, MRCP, ABR, EDiR, Radiology Senior +++
Ignore upper abdominal surgical clips. Radiology Level: FRCR, FRCS, MRCP, ABR, EDiR, Radiology Challenge ++++
A much trickier case! The images provided from the initial Liver/MRCP examination are a T1 fat suppressed non-contrast image (top left), a FIESTA image (T2 equivalent bright blood sequence, top right), and two post contrast T1 fat suppressed images following intravenous gadolinium (second row). Thin and thick slab heavily T2 weighted MRCP images are provided on the third row. The final row demonstrates a post contrast T1 weighted fat suppressed image at 3 months. The FIESTA image has some degradation due to artefact from the lung parenchymal air affecting the right liver lobe. The original imaging demonstrates a left liver lobe T1 hypointense and heterogenously T2 hyperintense lesion. The lesion demonstrates both peripheral enhancement but also internal extensive reticular enhancement. In addition the contrast enhanced images demonstrate that there is a tubular low T1 abnormality with peripheral enhancement in the central right liver lobe. The MRCP images demonstrate that there are normal appearances of the gallbladder, common bile duct and pancreatic duct but that the intrahepatic ducts demonstrate small clusters of focal subsegmental duct dilatation. At 3 months, without any reported therapy the lesion has regressed to a smaller nodule of enhancement with some retraction of the liver capsule. The tubular low T1 abnormality and the associated enhancement are less conspicuous. The appearances of the tubular abnormality in conjunction with the MRCP images indicate intrahepatic duct dilatation. However, the intrahepatic duct dilatation is discontinuous and not secondary to any obstructive stones or stricture. One could consider the possibility of primary sclerosing cholangitis, however, no typical beading is demonstrated. Additionally the dilatation demonstrates enhancement. This is a feature that indicates inflammation or possibly infection. What about the enhancing lesion? Well the appearance of this abnormality could indicate a malignant lesion. One could then consider perhaps a case of cholangiocarcinoma with metastases, but again the non-contiguous nature of duct dilatation would not make sense and with regards to the lesion itself it is difficult to believe a malignant lesion regressed with no specific treatment. These appearances and the regression are typical of infectious processes, in particular recurrent pyogenic cholangitis. The focal lesion is termed an inflammatory pseudotumour and often demonstrates this avid and reticular enhancement. Regression can be spontaneous or in response to antibiotics and recurrence of lesions is common. Healing can result in focal scarring as in this case. Recurrent pyogenic cholangitis was previously referred to as oriental cholangiohepatitis and clinically is often associated with recurrent pyogenic episodes, although may be asymptomatic in the elderly. Intrahepatic marked ductal dilatation with intrahepatic duct stones can develop (hepatolithiasis). The stones are typically calcium bilirubinate. Infection of the bile with E Coli, Clonorchis sinensis or Ascaris Lumbricoides has been postulated as a cause. The condition remains more common in the far east although is not limited to that population. Long term complications include cholangiocarcinoma and intraductal papilloma formation. Radiology Level: FRCR, FRCS, MRCP, ABR, EDiR, Radiology Junior + The initial images are from an MRCP (magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography) examination. The images on the left are T2 axial images, the images on the right from a FIESTA sequence (equivalent to FISP/TRUEFISP sequence, T2 predominant-although actually ratio of T2/T1- fat suppressed, bright blood sequence) demonstrating that the gallbladder is completely packed with low signal abnormalities consistent with stones. There is no apparent gallbladder wall thickening, oedema or pericholecystic inflammation. These appearances indicate chronic gallstone disease.
It is important, however, to carefully review the remainder of the biliary tree. Hopefully, on such a review you would have also assessed the common bile duct which can be seen in the head of the pancreas (short narrow). This is mildly dilated but additionally on both the images dependent low signal abnormality can be identified consistent with bile duct stones i.e. choledocholithiasis. The presence of gallstones within the bile duct is an important parameter to indicate prior to laparoscopic surgery to ensure that the duct is cleared. The appearances are very evident on the oblique T2-weighted radial ray projection (left). In this image it is perhaps easy to not see the gallbladder due to the loss of high T2 signal caused by multiple gallstones (long narrow). In this instance the choledocholithiasis is easily appreciated (short narrow). These are also appreciated on coronal SSFSE (single shot fast spin echo) acquired through the gallbladder and the lower biliary tree. In identifying extrahepatic duct choledocholithiasis, particularly single stones, it is important to exclude artefact related to flow. Flow artefacts do appear central and are not consistent whereas choledocholithiasis is typically dependent and reproducible on more than one sequence. A typical site for flow artefacts is also at the crossover of the right hepatic artery over the common hepatic duct near the hepatic duct confluence. |
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