More articles from Head & Neck
- Percutaneous CT-Guided Core Needle Biopsies of Head and Neck Masses: Technique, Histopathologic Yield, and Safety at a Single Academic Institution
This is a retrospective review of head and neck biopsies performed from January 2013 through December 2019. Clinical diagnosis and indication, patient demographics, mass location and size, biopsy needle type, technical approach, dose-length product, sedation details, complications, diagnostic histopathologic yield, and the use of iodinated contrast were recorded for each case. Twenty-seven CT-guided head and neck core needle biopsies were performed in 26 patients. The diagnostic sample rate was 100% (27/27). A concordant histopathologic diagnosis was obtained in 93% (25/27) of cases. There was a single complication of core needle biopsy, a small asymptomatic superficial hematoma.
- Are Gadolinium-Enhanced MR Sequences Needed in Simultaneous 18F-FDG-PET/MRI for Tumor Delineation in Head and Neck Cancer?
Consecutive patients who underwent simultaneous head and neck 18F-FDG-PET/MR imaging staging or restaging followed by surgery were retrospectively included in this study. Local tumor invasion and lymph node extension were assessed by 2 rater groups in 45 head and neck anatomic regions using 18F-FDG-PET/MR imaging. Two reading sessions were performed, one without contrast-enhanced sequences (using only T1WI, T2WI, and PET images) and a second with additional T1-weighted postcontrast sequences. The k concordance coefficient between the reading sessions and sensitivity and specificity for each region were calculated. There was excellent agreement between the contrast-free and postgadolinium reading sessions in delineating precise tumor extension in the 45 anatomic regions studied. The diagnostic accuracy did not differ between contrast-free and postgadolinium reading sessions, being 0.97 for both groups and both reading sessions. The authors conclude that gadolinium-based contrast administration showed no added value for accurate characterization of head and neck primary tumor extension and could possibly be avoided in the PET/MR imaging head and neck workflow.
- Olfactory Bulb Signal Abnormality in Patients with COVID-19 Who Present with Neurologic Symptoms
This retrospective case-control study compared the olfactory bulb and olfactory tract signal intensity on thin-section T2WI and postcontrast 3D T2 FLAIR images in patients with COVID-19 and neurologic symptoms, and age-matched controls imaged for olfactory dysfunction. Olfactory bulb 3D T2-FLAIR signal intensity was greater in the patients with COVID-19 and neurologic symptoms compared with an age-matched control group with olfactory dysfunction, and this was qualitatively apparent in 4 of 12 patients with COVID-19. Analysis of these preliminary findings suggests that olfactory apparatus vulnerability to COVID-19 might be supported on conventional neuroimaging and may serve as a noninvasive biomarker of infection.