Early asbestosis: evaluation with high-resolution CT

Article Abstract:

Breathing asbestos particles results in a major risk of lung problems, including cancer. It is thought that an early indication of lung damage caused by asbestos is lesions in the airways. Early detection of asbestosis is important in treating and preventing further damage of the lungs, but it is difficult using conventional X-rays. This study looked at the use of high-resolution computed tomography (CT) to detect early damage in the lungs. The study involved 23 patients with known exposure to asbestos. Regular X-rays were normal. CT was then performed on the patients, with a second scan performed up to 37 months later. Results of CT showed abnormalities in 21 of the 23 patients. Among the abnormalities were thickened intralobular lines, micronodules, hazy patches, subpleural curvilinear lines, small cystic spaces, and small areas of low attenuation (thinning). In 21 of the patients, subpleural dots were seen on the initial CT, which had become enlarged in 10 of these patients by the time of the later CT. In comparing the first with the second examination, regular X-rays showed a progression in disease in five patients, while CT found progression in nine patients. The results of this study indicate not only that high-resolution CT is better able to detect early asbestosis, but that it may also be useful in characterizing the progression of the disease. However, the study was small and a larger study group is needed to further characterize the progression of asbestosis. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Diagnosis, Development and progression, CT imaging, CAT scans, Asbestosis

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Hepatic arterial catheterization with use of a supple catheter with a ball tip

Article Abstract:

Proper catheter placement in blood vessels with curves and spasms is very difficult. Researchers developed a small, flexible catheter with a ball tip that is well-suited for placement into the hepatic (liver) artery for hepatic angiography and clot removal. The catheter resulted in few spasms, nor did it puncture the intima inside blood vessels (the innermost layer of a blood vessel). The catheter was used with success in 47 of 49 patients with cancer of the liver or abnormal liver growth. The new catheter successfully guided the angiographic device to the point of interest within the liver, thus permitting accurate imaging of the diseased region of the liver (angiography is a technique of X-ray imaging of blood vessels in order to assess blood flow characteristics). The only drawback to the use of this device is that it does not permit a contrast material of sufficient quantity to pass through it (contrast materials enhance the quality of angiographic images).

Methods, Surgery, Catheterization, Blood vessels, Contrast media, Contrast media (Chemicals)

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Slippery coaxial catheter system

Article Abstract:

A catheter (tube) guidance system using two catheters bound within a single outer core has been developed as a means of improving the guidance of catheters through either tortuous (twisting) blood vessels or through a guiding catheter. The high-torque, slippery coaxial catheter device has been designed to be easier to manipulate and guide than older, conventional catheter guidance systems. The plastic-coated guide wire used in the new system has been useful for catheterization in liver blood vessel imaging (hepatic angiography). The coaxial catheter is coated with a smooth material (hydrophilic polymer) that is more slippery (less resistant) than conventional materials when passing through either vessels or a guiding catheter. The researchers suggest that the coaxial catheter system will be useful for injecting chemotherapy and anti-clotting medications into various distal (embedded deeply in the body) arteries.

Usage, Dosage and administration, Chemotherapy, Catheters

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