Previous studies have reported slightly higher stroke rates in Takotsubo Syndrome compared to acute myocardial infarction. Our goal was to evaluate the temporal course of stroke rates and left ventricular recovery in patients with Takotsubo Syndrome. We retrospectively examined the clinical and imaging data of 72 patients with Takotsubo Syndrome. The data collected came from January 2005 to March 2017. Left ventricular performance was evaluated by cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in all patients during the acute phase of Takotsubo Syndrome and in a follow-up scan 2 months later. Acute stroke and major adverse clinical events, such as myocardial infarction or recurrence of Takotsubo Syndrome and death, were also determined for each patient at 30 days and 12 months after initial presentation. The MRI scans performed during the acute phase of Takotsubo Syndrome demonstrated apical ballooning with anterior wall motion dysfunction in 65 (90%) patients. Imaging performed 2 months later demonstrated resolution of this in 97% of those patients. Median left ventricular ejection fraction also significantly increased between both scans (49.5% vs. 64.0%, P < 0.001). We observed 9 (12%) events in the study population within 12 months of the initial diagnosis of Takotsubo Syndrome. Stroke had an event rate of 2.8% after 30 days and 4.2% after 12 months. Apical ballooning was found in the majority of our Takotsubo Syndrome patients on the MRI scans performed at presentation. This finding was subsequently associated with higher than expected stroke rates within 30 days of diagnosis and with rapid recovery of left ventricular function within 2 months of diagnosis. This suggests that rapid improvement in left ventricular morphology and function may facilitate the formation of cardiac emboli and consequently increase stroke rates in Takotsubo Syndrome. Although no guidelines currently exist for the treatment of Takotsubo Syndrome, these results may point to a potential role for temporary oral anticoagulation in high-risk patients. Future studies should examine if stroke rates after Takotsubo Syndrome have been underestimated.

Purpose: To describe the outcomes of a survey on the provision of interventional radiology procedures for the treatment of acute pulmonary embolism (PE) in Europe and beyond. Methods: An online survey with 14 structured items was designed by the authors and was sent to 7116 CIRSE members via email. The anonymous online survey collected data for eight weeks; only complete responses were statistically analysed. Results: The survey was completed by 373 members (5.24%). Among these, 75.1% worked at centres offering catheter-directed thrombolysis or thrombectomy, in which 89.3% (250) personally perform endovascular treatment techniques for pulmonary embolism and the IR department is primarily responsible for the endovascular treatment techniques of PE in 83.2% of cases. The most frequently used endovascular techniques were (large bore) aspiration thrombectomy (85%) and catheter-directed thrombolysis (58.9%). The most common indications for intervention were sub-massive and massive PE (69.9%) and massive PE only (28%). In 70% of centres offering catheter-directed thrombolysis or thrombectomy, three or more Interventional Radiologists (IRs) are involved in PE treatment. Multidisciplinary rapid response teams for PE were available in 40.8% of centres, and included IRs in 91.4%. Conclusion: IRs are heavily involved in the management of patients with massive and sub-massive pulmonary embolism; further research is mandated to address clinical questions including patient selection and the timing for transcatheter therapies of PE provided by IR. Graphical

Purpose: To assess the current use of drug-eluting devices for peripheral arterial disease (PAD) among interventional radiologists following the controversy caused by the 2018 meta-analysis suggesting an increased mortality risk for paclitaxel-eluting devices. Methods: An anonymous survey was sent to 7035 CIRSE members via email; only complete responses were included and statistically analysed. Results: Three hundred and seven members (4.4%) completed the survey. Among these, 95.8% indicated that they personally perform peripheral vascular procedures. Thirty-eight percentage of respondents did not see any change of practice since 2018, while 47% reported that the use of drug-eluting devices decreased; for 13%, the use stopped altogether, while it increased in 3% of responses. 45.6% of respondents also felt the impact of the controversy in terms of pricing, availability or directives from hospital administration. A large majority of respondents (83.7%) who perform peripheral vascular procedures consider the use of these devices as safe, 12.9% were undecided and 3.4% did not consider them as safe. Among the respondents who do not perform endovascular procedures, 77% considered these devices as safe and 23% were undecided. Conclusion: Although the 2018 meta-analysis had a disruptive impact on the use of drug-eluting devices in PAD, with the increasing body of evidence available, a majority of respondents continue to believe in the safety of these devices for use in femoropopliteal disease. Graphical

Chest-computer tomography (CT) is a crucial factor in the clinical course and evaluation of patients with COVID-pneumonia. In the initial phase of the COVID-19 pandemic little information was known on the prognostic value of the initially taken thoracic CTs. The purpose of this study was to determine predictive values for clinical outcome based on CT classification of the pulmonary pathologies in patients with COVID-pneumonia. This single center study included 51 non-immunized patients during the first COVID-19 outbreak in Germany. The patients underwent a clinically indicated chest-CT. Using the radiological society of North America (RSNA)-report template, chest-CTs were classified into 4 categories (typical, atypical, indeterminate, and no changes). We analyzed the outcomes based on these imaging classifications and relevant comorbidities. Among the 51 patients of our study population 14 (27.5%) patients had a lethal outcome. Typical radiological COVID-19 pattern was found in 92.9% of the deceased patients and in 59.5% of the surviving patients (P = .022). The lethal group showed a significant higher proportion of diabetes mellitus (50% vs 10.8%; P = .003) and arterial hypertension (aHTN) (85.7% vs 54.1%; P = .037). Male sex, higher age and coronary heart disease (CHD) were also seen more often in the lethal group. In patients with clinically proven COVID-19 pneumonia, typical chest CT findings show a negative outcome. A classification system used in this study is helpful for classifying imaging features and is recommended as a standardized CT reporting tool. It could also help in triaging of the therapy of patients with COVID-19 pneumonia. Especially the comorbidities, diabetes and arterial hypertonia triggered a negative outcome in our study population.

To evaluate the detection rate of intracranial aneurysms on reconstructed thin slice non enhanced CT (NECT) scans. NECT scans from 34 patients with 35 aneurysms and 35 individuals without aneurysms were collected. Thin slice maximum intensity projections of the NECT scans were reconstructed. One observer evaluated the native images twice with a time interval of six month between both passes with respect to the prevalence and location of an aneurysm. The size and location of the aneurysms were evaluated in corresponding CT-Angiography and Time of flight datasets. A logit regression analysis was performed with size and location as dependent variables. 2 × 2 tables were constructed. The sensitivity and false negative rate were calculated for aneurysms with 0–6.9 mm, 7–9.9 mm and 10–20 mm and the under the curve (AUC) was calculated. The overall detection rate of the aneurysms was 63% for the first pass and 66% for the second pass in the reconstructed NECT scans. The detection rate of aneurysms is size dependent. The sensitivity to detect aneurysms with a size of 0–6.9 mm was 0.09 and 0.03, for aneurysms with a size of 7–9.9. mm was 0.8 and 0.7 and for aneurysms with a size of 10–20 mm was 0.92 for both passes. The AUC was 0.77 for the first pass and 0.78 for the second pass. NECT scans can be used to detect a significant proportion of intracranial aneurysms larger than 7 mm if properly displayed and reconstructed. These patients should receive further vascular imaging to prevent future aneurysm related subarachnoid hemorrhage.