Objectives The purpose of this study was to investigate the efficacy of sonography in the detection of plantar fasciitis (PF) compared with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings in subjects with inferior heel pain. Methods Seventy‐seven patients with unilateral (n = 9) and bilateral (n = 68) heel pain were studied. Seventy‐seven age‐ and sex‐matched asymptomatic subjects served as a control group. Magnetic resonance imaging was used to establish a diagnosis of PF with sagittal T1‐weighted, T2‐weighted, and short tau inversion recovery sequences. The sonographic appearances of PF were compared with MRI findings. Plantar fascia and heel pad thickness were also measured on both imaging modalities. Results Compared with MRI, sonography showed 80% sensitivity and 88.5% specificity in assessing PF. A strong correlation was found between plantar fascia and fat pad thickness measurements done by sonography (P < .001; r = 0.854) and MRI (P < .001; r = 0.798). Compared with the asymptomatic volunteers, patients with PF had significant increases in plantar fascia and heel pad thicknesses, weight, and body mass index (P = .0001). Heel pad thickness was also significantly increased with pain duration (P = .021). Conclusions Although MRI is the modality of choice in the morphologic assessment of different plantar fascia lesions, sonography can also serve as an effective tool and may substitute MRI in the diagnosis of PF.

Musculoskeletal infections consist of different clinical conditions that are commonly encountered in daily clinical settings. As clinical findings and even laboratory tests cannot always be specific, imaging plays a crucial role in the diagnosis and treatment of these cases. Musculoskeletal infections most commonly occur secondary to direct inoculation into the skin involuntarily affected by trauma, microorganism, foreign bodies, or in diabetic ulcers; direct infections can also occur from voluntary causes due to surgery, vaccinations, or other iatrogenic procedures. Hematogenous spread of infection from a remote focus can also be a cause for musculoskeletal infections. Risk factors for soft tissue and bone infections include immunosuppression, old age, corticosteroid use, systemic illnesses, malnutrition, obesity, and burns. Most literature discusses musculoskeletal infections according to the diagnostic tools or forms of infection seen in different soft tissue anatomical planes or bones. This review article aims to evaluate musculoskeletal infections that occur due to direct inoculation to the musculoskeletal tissues, by focusing on the traumatic mechanism with emphasis on the radiological findings.

The aim of this study is to evaluate the performance of contrast-enhanced mammography (CEM) and dynamic breast MRI techniques for diagnosing breast lesions, assess the diagnostic accuracy of CEM’s using histopathological findings, and compare lesion size measurements obtained from both methods with pathological size.Materials and methods: This prospective study included 120 lesions, of which 70 were malignant, in 104 patients who underwent CEM and MRI within a week. Two radiologists independently evaluated the MR and CEM images in separate sessions, using the BI-RADS classification system. Additionally, the maximum sizes of lesion were measured. Diagnostic accuracy parameters and the receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curves were constructed for the two modalities. The correlation between the maximum diameter of breast lesions observed in MRI, CEM, and pathology was analyzed.Results: The overall diagnostic values for MRI were as follows: sensitivity 97.1%, specificity 60%, positive predictive value (PPV) 77.3%, negative predictive value (NPV) 93.8%, and accuracy 81.7%. Correspondingly, for CEM, the sensitivity, accuracy, specificity, PPV, and NPV were 97.14%, 81.67%, 60%, 77.27%, and 93.75%, respectively. The ROC analysis of CEM revealed an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.907 for observer 1 and 0.857 for observer 2, whereas MRI exhibited an AUC of 0.910 for observer 1 and 0.914 for observer 2. Notably, CEM showed the highest correlation with pathological lesion size (r = 0.660 for observer 1 and r = 0.693 for observer 2, p < 0.001 for both).Conclusion: CEM can be used with high sensitivity and similar diagnostic performance comparable to MRI for diagnosing breast cancer. CEM proves to be a successful diagnostic method for precisely determining tumor size.

Objectives: The study aimed to evaluate stiffness and the cross-sectional area (CSA) of the tibial nerve (TN) using shear wave elastography (SWE) and ultrasound (US) and investigate the relationship of these with disease activity, quality of life, and severity of neuropathic pain in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc). Patients and methods: This cross-sectional study included 28 SSc patients (1 male, 27 females; mean age: 50±11 years; range, 28 to 67 years) and 22 age- and sex-matched healthy controls (4 males, 18 females; mean age: 48±6 years; range, 37 to 66 years) between March and April 2022. US and SWE were performed on the TN, and CSA and nerve stiffness were measured. The TN was examined by a radiologist, 4 cm proximal to the medial malleolus. A few days later, an evaluation was performed in the second session by a second observer to investigate inter-and intraobserver agreement. Interobserver agreement was evaluated using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). The Scleroderma Health Assessment Questionnaire, European League Against Rheumatism European Scleroderma Trial and Research (EUSTAR) group activity index, and Douleur-Neuropathique 4 scores of the patients were evaluated. Correlations between the questionnaires and measurements of nerve stiffness and CSA were assessed. Results: Patients with SSc had significantly higher stiffness and CSA values of the right TN compared to healthy controls (p

Purpose: To investigate the etiology of spontaneous percutaneous nephrostomy (PCN) catheter dislodgements and evaluate factors potentially associated with these dislodgements, including muscle-to-fat composition and tissue characteristics of catheter traces. Materials and methods: Data from 92 patients (63 males, 29 females; mean age 63.9 ± 11.4 years, range 28–88) undergoing 151 PCN catheter replacements between January 2016 and June 2021 were analyzed. Patients were divided into Group 1 (prophylactic replacements every 3 months, n = 41) and Group 2 (at least one spontaneous dislodgement, n = 51). Associations were evaluated for factors including intraabdominal visceral adipose tissue index (IAVATI), subcutaneous adipose tissue index (SATI), and abdominal perimeter. Other variables assessed were Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status scores, psoas muscle index (PMI), renal size, renal parenchymal thickness, renal cortex-to-skin distance, posterolateral abdominal wall muscle thickness, and PCN replacement frequency. Results: No significant differences were identified between Group 1 and Group 2 in IAVATI, SATI, or abdominal perimeter values (p = 0.210–0.412). A significant difference in ECOG performance status scores (p = 0.0001), PMI (p = 0.04) and lower renal size, renal parenchymal thickness, renal cortex-to-skin distance, and posterolateral abdominal muscle thickness (p = 0.0001–0.039) were observed in Group 2. PCN replacements were significantly more frequent in Group 2 (p = 0.0001). Multivariate regression identified renal parenchymal thickness and abdominal wall muscle thickness as significant independent predictors (p = 0.0001, p = 0.02). ROC analysis yielded an AUC of 0.843 (95% CI: 0.769–0.917) for renal parenchymal thickness and 0.694 (95% CI: 0.610–0.778) for abdominal wall muscle thickness. Sensitivity and specificity rates were 73.1% and 96.4% for a 16 mm cutoff in renal parenchymal thickness, and 50.7% and 79.8% for an 8 mm cutoff in abdominal wall muscle thickness. Conclusion: A significant association was identified between spontaneous PCN catheter dislodgement and both the psoas muscle index and ECOG performance status scores, while no notable relationship was observed with abdominal visceral or subcutaneous fat tissue volumes or abdominal perimeter. The risk of dislodgement was found to increase with reduced renal parenchymal and abdominal wall muscle thickness, as well as with more frequent nephrostomy replacements, suggesting these parameters may serve as useful markers for identifying patients at higher risk. Graphical