CT colonography: the value of this method in the view of specialists

Abdominal vascular syndromes: characteristic imaging findings

Abdominal vascular syndromes are rare diseases. Although such syndromes vary widely in terms of symptoms and etiologies, certain imaging findings are characteristic. Depending on their etiology, they can be categorized as congenital-including blue rubber bleb nevus syndrome, Klippel-Trenaunay syndrome, and hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (Rendu-Osler-Weber syndrome)-or compressive-including "nutcracker" syndrome, median arcuate ligament syndrome, Cockett syndrome (also known as May-Thurner syndrome), and superior mesenteric artery syndrome. In this article, we aimed to illustrate imaging findings that are characteristic of these syndromes, through studies conducted at our institution, as well as to perform a brief review of the literature on this topic.

Defecography by digital radiography: experience in clinical practice

Objective

The objective of this study was to profile patients who undergo defecography, by age and gender, as well as to describe the main imaging and diagnostic findings in this population.

Materials and Methods

This was a retrospective, descriptive study of 39 patients, conducted between January 2012 and February 2014. The patients were evaluated in terms of age, gender, and diagnosis. They were stratified by age, and continuous variables are expressed as mean ± standard deviation. All possible quantitative defecography variables were evaluated, including rectal evacuation, perineal descent, and measures of the anal canal.

Results

The majority (95%) of the patients were female. Patient ages ranged from 18 to 82 years (mean age, 52 ± 13 years): 10 patients were under 40 years of age; 18 were between 40 and 60 years of age; and 11 were over 60 years of age. All 39 of the patients evaluated had abnormal radiological findings. The most prevalent diagnoses were rectocele (in 77%) and enterocele (in 38%). Less prevalent diagnoses were vaginal prolapse, uterine prolapse, and Meckel's diverticulum (in 2%, for all).

Conclusion

Although defecography is performed more often in women, both genders can benefit from the test. Defecography can be performed in order to detect complex disorders such as uterine and rectal prolapse, as well as to detect basic clinical conditions such as rectocele or enterocele.

Application of CT virtual endoscopy in diagnosis of colorectal diseases

Colorectal diseases are a group of common diseases. In recent years, extensive attention has been paid to the application of computed tomography virtual endoscopy (CTVE) in the diagnosis of colorectal diseases. Through the literature search, combined with the author's experience, we explore the technical principle, bowel preparation and inspection method of CTVE, making a summary of the value of CTVE in the diagnosis of colorectal diseases. CTVE can fully observe morphological characteristics of colorectal cancer, polyps, and inflammatory disease. CTVE can not only determine the lesion location, shape, and size, but also confirm the extent of invasion into the colorectal wall, surrounding tissue and distant metastasis. However, the main limitation is that the detected lesion cannot be biopsied or treated during CTVE. Therefore, CTVE is a new, rapid, convenient, safe, non-invasive, and effective method for colorectal examination, which can be used for screening of colorectal diseases.