PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

Ana Canga

Publications and source records attributed to Ana Canga.

8 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Insufficiency fractures of the calcaneus: a diagnostic pitfall for ankle arthritis.

OBJECTIVE: To highlight the differential diagnosis between insufficiency fractures (IF) of the calcaneus and arthritis of the ankle. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed clinical charts and imaging findings for 6 patients with 7 IF of the calcaneus who were referred with the diagnosis of ankle arthritis. The main predisposing factors, clinical features, therapy, and outcome were recorded. IF was considered when occurring spontaneously or with minimal trauma. RESULTS: All patients were women, with a mean age of 73.8 +/- 6.3 years. The median delay to diagnosis was 6 weeks (25th, 75th percentiles: 1, 12). Two had previous IF at other locations. Three patients had a history of chronic inflammatory conditions while receiving longterm steroid therapy. All complained of moderate to severe pain that interfered with daily activities and was relieved with rest. Physical examination revealed ankle inflammation in all cases. Radiographs were normal in 5 patients. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was diagnostic. All received conservative treatment with complete resolution of symptoms without sequelae. CONCLUSION: IF of the calcaneus are relatively rare but can be mistaken for ankle arthritis. MRI is recommended because this type of fracture is difficult to detect on plain films. Although IF have a good prognosis with conservative treatment, increased awareness is of importance for prompt diagnosis and proper management.

Aged↗
PubMed2005

Ankle MR arthrography: how, why, when.

MR arthrography has become an important tool for the assessment of a variety of ankle disorders. MR arthrography may facilitate the evaluation of patients with suspected intra-articular pathology in whom conventional MR imaging is not sufficient for an adequate diagnosis and be useful for therapy planning. MR arthrography is valuable in the evaluation of ligamentous injuries, impingement syndromes, cartilage lesions, osteochondral lesions of the talus, loose bodies, and several synovial joint disorders. Indirect MR arthrography is a useful adjunct to conventional MR imaging and may be preferable to direct MR arthrography in cases in which an invasive procedure is contraindicated or when fluoroscopy is not available.

Ankle Injuries↗
PubMed2003

Scimitar syndrome: complete anatomical and functional diagnosis with gadolinium-enhanced and velocity-encoded cine MRI.

We report an asymptomatic 8-year-old girl with anomalous pulmonary venous connection to the IVC and systemic arterial supply (scimitar syndrome). We present for the first time a description of gadolinium-enhanced 3D MR angiography that provided concurrent non-invasive complete anatomical (arterial and venous supply) and 'functional' (calculation of left-to-right shunt using phase-contrast-MRI performed in the ascending aorta, main pulmonary artery and anomalous pulmonary vein) diagnosis, avoiding the need for more traditional invasive techniques. As the shunt quantification was less than 2:1, conservative management was decided upon.

Child↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Imaging findings in ulnar-sided wrist impaction syndromes.

Impaction syndromes related to ulnar-sided pain include ulnar impaction syndrome, ulnar impingement syndrome, ulnocarpal impaction syndrome secondary to nonunion of the ulnar styloid process, ulnar styloid impaction syndrome, and hamatolunate impingement syndrome. The most common of these, ulnar impaction syndrome, is a degenerative condition of the ulnar side of the wrist related to excessive load bearing across the ulnar carpus, triangular fibrocartilage (TFC) complex, and ulnar head. In an adequate clinical setting, characteristic osseous findings at radiography include positive ulnar variance in ulnar impaction syndrome, a short ulna in ulnar impingement syndrome, nonunion of the ulnar styloid process in ulnar impaction syndrome secondary to ulnar styloid nonunion, an excessively long ulnar styloid process in ulnar styloid impaction syndrome, and type II lunate bone in hamatolunate impingement syndrome. Nevertheless, confirmation of clinical and conventional radiographic findings with magnetic resonance (MR) imaging is often necessary to exclude other entities with similar clinical manifestations. MR imaging allows earlier detection of an abnormality in the TFC complex, cartilage, or bone marrow of carpal bones and is helpful in formulating the extensive differential diagnosis in patients with ulnar wrist pain and limitation of motion.

Carpal Bones↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Anatomy and MR imaging appearances of synovial plicae of the knee.

Synovial plicae are normal anatomic structures of the knee that sometimes become symptomatic. Magnetic resonance (MR) imaging and MR arthrography are useful tools in the evaluation of synovial plicae and allow differentiation of these entities from other causes of knee pain. At MR imaging, synovial plicae appear as bands of low signal intensity within the high-signal-intensity joint fluid. Gradient-echo T2-weighted and fat-suppressed T2-weighted or proton density-weighted MR images are optimal for the evaluation of plicae. Plica syndrome, the painful impairment of knee function in which the only finding that helps explain the symptoms is the presence of a thickened and fibrotic plica, should be included in the differential diagnosis of internal derangement of the knee. A diffusely thickened synovial plica, perhaps associated with synovitis or erosion of the articular cartilage of the patella or femoral condyle, in a patient with no other significant MR imaging findings suggests the diagnosis of plica syndrome. Once the diagnosis has been made, nonsurgical treatment is preferable initially. Failure of the patient to improve with conservative treatment leaves arthroscopic excision of the pathologic plica as the treatment of choice.

Humans↗