Index by author

Repeatability of outpatient head CT interpretations performed in an academic practice was assessed in 119 randomly selected studies. These were blindly read twice by 8 neuroradiologists. Differences in location and severity of findings occurred in 9.2% of cases and contradictory findings in 15.1%. Thus, discrepancies in double-blind interpretations were more common than reported in peer-review quality assurance programs.

Because codeine is a popular drug and results in cognitive deficits, the authors assessed 30 chronic users and 30 controls with DTI. Chronic codeine users showed lower fractional anisotropy in 4 brain regions and higher scores on the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale. It appears that chronic codeine-containing syrup abuse may be associated with disruptions in brain white matter integrity and that these microstructural deficits may be linked to higher impulsivity in chronic users.