Are shunt series and shunt patency studies useful in patients with shunted idiopathic intracranial hypertension in the emergency department?
Shunt series detected catheter pathology only 3.9% of the time, and there was no difference in the rate of management changes between those patients who underwent a shunt series and those who did not. There was a significant difference in the rate of management changes in patients who received shunt patency studies as compared to those who did not. Shunt series may not be a useful screening tool to be used universally to diagnose shunt malfunction in IIH patients in the ED, and should be utilized when there is concern for impending visual loss. Shunt patency studies should be reserved for patients with inconclusive diagnostic imaging and clinical findings to decide whether to proceed to surgical exploration and revision.
Ultrashort echo-time MRI detected structural lung disease in very young patients with CF and provided imaging data that correlated well with CT. By quantifying early CF lung disease without using ionizing radiation, ultrashort echo-time MRI appears well suited for pediatric patients requiring longitudinal imaging for clinical care or research studies. Clinical Trial registered with www.clinicaltrials.gov (NCT01832519).