Objective: Kidney damage caused by type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) can reduce renal elasticity. Limited number of data exist indicating whether early kidney damage causes stiffening of renal tissue. This comparative study aims to assess kidney elasticity in T2DM patients with or without moderate albuminuria, using ultrasound-based two-dimensional shear wave velocity (2D-SWV) measurements. Methods: Fifty-seven cases (40 T2D patients with stage 1 or 2 chronic kidney disease and 17 age- and sex-matched healthy controls) were included in this single-center prospective study. The T2DM patients were divided into those with moderate albuminuria (n=22) and those without albuminuria (n=18). Bilateral renal parenchymal 2D-SWV values were measured (separately) in the upper, middle, and lower kidney regions. Group data were compared using the t-test or Mann-Whitney-U test (whichever appropriate). Inter-observer agreement was assessed by deriving the intra-class correlation coefficient. Results: There was no difference between the T2DM and control groups in terms of the median age [55.5 (50-62) vs. 55 (48.5-59.5) years, p=0.48] and sex ratio [18 (45%) males vs. 10 (58.8%) females, p=0.34]. The average regional 2D-SWV values were all similar between the groups (all p>0.05). The average 2D-SWV values were similar between the subgroups with and without albuminuria. The inter-observer agreement was good (intra-class correlation coefficient=0.66, 95% CI 0.19-0.88, p=0.006). Conclusion: Kidney elasticity does not seem to be compromised in patients with diabetes and preserved estimated glomerular filtration rate with or without moderate albuminuria

Childhood pneumonia is a common entity, and chest x-rays are widely used as an initial diagnostic step. To avoid radiation exposure in the pediatric age group, we assessed whether the diagnostic accuracy of ultrasound (US) imaging is sufficient in the diagnosis. One hundred thirty-three children with pneumonia (72 girls/61 boys) were participated to study between 2019 and 2021. All participants had a chest x-ray. Radiologists who perform the US scans and interpret the x-rays were blinded to each other. A comparative analysis was also done to assess US findings on pneumonia for different age groups. We compare the diagnostic accuracy of US and x-rays by McNemar test and receiver operating characteristic curves. Intraclass correlation coefficient values were calculated for the assessment of interobserver agreement of x-ray evaluation. The participants’ ages ranged from 1 month to 17 years and 8 months with a median age of 24 months (Q ₁ : 8 and Q ₃ : 66 months). Hospital stay lengths were longer, consolidation depths were greater, and presence of air bronchogram or pleural effusion was more frequent in school-age children. The proportion of consolidation seen on chest x-ray and transthoracic US scan was significantly different ( P < 0.001). The area under the curve was greater in the US than in the chest x-ray (area under the curve, 0.94 and 0.76 respectively). There was a good agreement between the 2 interpreters on chest x-ray assessment ( κ = 0.661). The thoracic US can be used as a safe and efficient imaging tool in the diagnosis of pediatric pneumonia.

Background: Fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (PET)–computed tomography (CT) is preferred for pretreatment staging and treatment planning in patients with lymphoma. This study aims to train and validate the neural networks (NN) for predicting lymphoma types using low-dose CT radiomics. Results: Few radiomics features were stable in intraclass correlation coefficient and coefficient of variation analysis (n = 119). High collinear ones with variance inflation factor were eliminated (n = 56). Twenty-four features were selected with the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator regression for network training. NN had 75.76% predictive accuracy in the validation set and has 0.73 (95% CI 0.55–0.91) area under the curve (AUC) to differentiate Hodgkin lymphoma from non-Hodgkin lymphoma. NN which was used to differentiate B-cell lymphoma from T-cell lymphoma had 78.79% predictive accuracy and has 0.81 (95% CI 0.63–0.99) AUC. Conclusions: In this study, in which we used low-dose CT images of PET–CT scans, predictions of the neural network were near acceptable lower bound for Hodgkin and non-Hodgkin lymphoma discrimination, and B-cell and T-cell lymphoma differentiation.

Renal parenchymal changes are seen in chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, and its disease diagnosis should be confirmed by renal biopsy, which is an invasive technique. Apparent-T1 mapping magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is an established imaging technique that assesses subclinical tissue injury without using a contrast agent. To investigate the early stage subclinical renal changes without apparent renal dysfunction in patients with chronic HBV infection by renal apparent-T1 mapping MRI. A cross-sectional study. This study included 45 participants with normal kidney function, wherein 25 have biopsy-proven chronic HBV hepatitis and 20 are healthy individuals. Liver and kidney biochemical tests were performed within 1 month before the MRI scan, and the estimated glomerular filtration rate was calculated by diet modification in renal disease formula. Breath-hold, electrocardiogram-gated Modified Look-Locker Imaging sequence was acquired in the coronal plane without contrast agent administration. Apparent-T1 mapping value was measured by manually drawing a region of interest in six points for both kidneys by two observers. Apparent-T1 mapping values were compared between the two groups. The mean apparent-T1 mapping values of the kidneys were significantly higher in patients with chronic HBV infection compared to the control group (1445 ± 129 ms vs. 1306 ± 115 ms, P = 0.003). Inter-class correlation coefficient measurement analysis showed excellent agreement. Renal apparent-T1 mapping MRI may help show the early stage of renal parenchymal disease without apparent renal dysfunction in chronic HBV infection.

PURPOSE In this case-control study, we aimed to evaluate how muscle volume affects pelvic floor function by analyzing the levator ani muscle (LAM) using volumetric segmentation in addition to standard magnetic resonance (MR) defecography assessments. METHODS We enrolled 85 patients with varying degrees of pelvic floor dysfunction (PFD) and 85 age- and gender-matched controls in this retrospective study. All patients had MR defecography images, while all controls had pelvic MR images obtained for other reasons. Group comparisons were performed using independent samples t-tests and Mann-Whitney U tests. The receiver operating curve (ROC) was constructed to establish a cut-off value for a normal LAM volume. Interrater reliability was assessed by calculating the intraclass correlation coefficient. A P value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS Volumetric measurements revealed that the control group had higher LAM volumes, and the ROC curve analysis indicated a cut-off value of 38934.3 mm 3 with a sensitivity of 0.812 and specificity of 0.8 for PFD assessment using LAM volumetric measurement. Gender did not significantly affect LAM volume in the control group. CONCLUSION Alongside the useful structural and functional information acquired from MR defecography images, volumetric analysis, and three-dimensional reconstructions of LAM may help to improve the accuracy of the diagnosis.

Background and Objectives: The objective of this research is to make a comparative evaluation of the correlation between the volumetric examination of subcortical cerebral regions and white matter hyperintensities classified according to the Fazekas scoring system. Materials and Methods: A total of 236 cases with cranial MRI studies were retrospectively analyzed. This study included patients aged over 45 years who had white matter hyperintensities and who did not have a prior stroke diagnosis. White matter hyperintensities were evaluated in axial FLAIR images according to Fazekas’s grading scale. Patients with Fazekas 0 and 1 were grouped in group 1 and the patients with Fazekas 2 and 3 were grouped in group 2. MRI data processing and subcortical volumetric analyses were performed using the volBrain MRI brain volumetry system. Results: There were statistically significant differences between groups 1 and 2 in terms of cerebrospinal fluid total brain white and gray matter (p < 0.001), total brain white and gray matter (p = 0.009), total cerebrum (p < 0.001), accumbens (p < 0.001), thalamus (p < 0.001), frontal lobe (p < 0.001), parietal lobe (p < 0.001), and lateral ventricle (p < 0.001) volumes. Conclusions: Our study finds a strong link between white matter hyperintensity burden and brain atrophy. This includes volume reductions in total brain white and gray matter, frontal and parietal lobe atrophy, increased cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), and atrophy in specific brain regions such as the accumbens and thalamus.