Objective: The purpose of this study is to assess the effect and correlation of gender, body mass index (BMI) and quadriceps femoris (QF) muscle strength on patellar tendon (PT) thickness and stiffness in healthy sedentary individuals. Methods: This study was carried out with 67 (36 female, 31 male) healthy sedentary individuals between the ages of 18e44 (28.0 ± 7.5 years). The individuals included in the study were divided into two groups according to their gender and BMI (18.5 < BMI < 25 and 25 < BMI). The body composition was determined with Tanita Body Composition Analyser. PT thickness and stiffness was measured with ACUSON S3000 Ultrasonography Device using 9L4 ultrasonography probe. QF concentric muscle strength of the individuals was measured with Biodex® System 4 Dynamometer at 60/sec angular speed. Results: It was found that PT stiffness was higher in males compared to females (p < 0.001). It was found that PT stiffness was lower in obese individuals compared to individuals with normal weight (p ¼ 0.017). A negative and weak correlation was found between BMI and PT stiffness (r ¼ 0.26, p ¼ 0.032), whereas a negative and moderate correlation was found between fat percentage and PT stiffness (r ¼ 0.50, p < 0.001). A moderate correlation was found between BMI and PT thickness (r ¼ 0.54, p < 0.001). It was found that peak torque at 60/sec angular speed had a moderate correlation with PT stiffness (r ¼ 0.44, p < 0.001) and PT thickness (r ¼ 0.45, p < 0.001). Conclusions: PT stiffness is correlated and affected by gender, BMI and QF muscle strength whereas PT thickness is correlated and affected only to BMI and QF muscle strength.

Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology

Diverticulitis is characterized by inflammation of the outpouchings of the bowel wall. Imaging findings of diverticulitis include edematous thickening of the bowel wall with inflammatory changes within the adjacent mesenteric fat. Uncomplicated diverticulitis can be treated conservatively; however, complicated diverticulitis may not be responsive to medical treatment and life-threatening conditions may occur. In this review, we aimed to illustrate the ultrasonography (US) and computed tomography (CT) features of diverticulitis and its complications including perforation, phlegmon, abscess, ascending septic thrombophlebitis (phylephlebitis), bleeding, intestinal obstruction, and fistula. • Complications of diverticulitis may be highly variable. • It may be difficult to diagnose diverticulitis as underlying cause of severe complications. • MDCT is essential for the primary diagnosis of the acute diverticulitis and its complications.

Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology

Objectives This study was designed to determine the utility of semiquantitative strain elastography in differential diagnosis of solid liver masses. Methods A total of 103 patients with focal liver masses underwent abdominal sonographic examinations and freehand elastography of focal hepatic lesions. Eighty‐two patients (79.7%) with 93 focal hepatic lesions were included in the study. Twenty‐one patients (20.3%) were excluded from the study because of technical limitations of semi‐quantitative strain elastography and difficulty in detection of normal liver parenchyma on gray‐scale sonography. We evaluated different focal hepatic lesions such as hemangiomas, focal nodular hyperplasia, nodular regenerative hyperplasia, adenomas, hepatocellular carcinomas, metastases, and cholangiocarcinomas. The stiffness of the lesions was determined by measurement of strain values on semiquantitative strain elastography. The strain index value (strain ratio of liver parenchyma and focal lesions) of each lesion was calculated. Mean strain index values of benign and malignant liver lesions were compared. Results The mean strain index value of malignant liver lesions ± SD (2.82 ± 1.82) was significantly higher than that of benign liver lesions (1.45 ± 1.28; P< .0001). Hemangiomas had a significantly lower mean strain index value than other benign lesions (P < .0034). There was no statistically significant difference between strain index values of different types of malignant lesions (P > .05). Conclusions Semiquantitative strain elastography may be helpful for differentiating benign and malignant liver masses. The substantial overlap between strain index values of benign and malignant liver masses limits clinical usefulness of this technique.

To evaluate the utility of apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) measurement in characterization of focal solid hepatic lesions and determine the role of ADC values in differentiation of solid benign and solid malignant hepatic lesions. Between June 2006 and December 2010, a total of 95 focal solid hepatic lesions in 95 consecutive patients were evaluated by abdominal MRI. Diffusion weighted MRI was performed with b 100, b 600 and b 1000 gradients with ADC measurements. Comparison of mean ADC values between solid benign (focal nodular hyperplasia and other solid benign lesions) and solid malignant lesion (hepatocellular carcinoma, metastasis, and cholangiocarcinoma) groups and between each benign and malignant lesion was done. The ROC analyses were performed in order to determine cut-off ADC values for differentiation of benign and malignant lesion groups at 3 different gradients. Twenty-six of 95 lesions were benign and 69 were malignant. Mean ADC values of solid benign lesions at b 100, b 600 and b 1000 gradients were 2.25±0.54×10(-3), 1.97±0.64×10(-3) and 1.52±0.47×10(-3) mm2/s, respectively. Mean ADC values of solid malignant lesions at b 100, b 600 and b 1000 gradients were 1.84±0.57×10(-3), 1.37±0.38×10(-3) and 1.08±0.22×10(-3) mm2/s, respectively. The ADC values of solid benign lesions were significantly higher than solid malignant lesions at all 3 gradients (P<0.05). Differentiation of benign and malignant subtype lesions from each other in their groups did not yield as significant findings as comparing results between benign and malignant lesions. Although ADC measurements were not helpful for differentiating subtypes of solid benign or solid malignant lesions, ADC measurements at 3 different gradients may be useful in differential diagnosis of benign lesions from malignant ones.