Radiology

Gradual onset of left-sided temporal headache and ptosis

, Dakshinamurty Gullapalli, MD; Chintan Shah, MD; Eric McGraw, MD April 12, 2012

Glaucoma limited this patient's vision, but new symptoms limited to his left side had more to do with his ocular muscles.
 

An acute elbow injury after 
a fall at the playground

February 16, 2012

A common childhood accident can lead to a limb-threatening injury that requires prompt assessment and treatment followed by regular monitoring.
 

Sudden onset of confusion and visual disturbances

, , Urvi R. Shah, MD November 22, 2011

An advanced MRI technique clinches the diagnosis after it detects cerebral lesions not seen on conventional MRI.
 

Radiology: 
CT scans and radiation exposure

From CSAC, the Clinical and Scientific Affairs Committee of the AAPA March 11, 2011

No clear guidelines are currently available, so PAs must take care to order CT only when the benefit outweighs the risk and when less invasive alternatives will not provide adequate clinical information.
 

Ask a Librarian!—April 2010

, April 28, 2010

Looking for a good online dermatology resource or a way to follow the latest news on radiation exposure? This month's column discusses resources that can help.
 

Imaging helps to diagnose an uncommon disease in a man with painless hematuria

Jennifer Pitts Hanopole, Andres Marte-Grau, MD; Rathnakar Sherigar, MD March 16, 2010

This patient's condition is rarely diagnosed by history and physical examination alone; CT with and without contrast is essential to detection.
 

Classic adolescent injury mimics a twisted ankle

, William Min, MD, MS, MBA January 19, 2010

An ankle injury in a skeletally immature boy turns out to be much more serious than initial radiographs suggest to the casual observer.
 

Bilateral shoulder pain developing after a hypoglycemic seizure

Captain Christopher L. Furbee, PA-C, MPAS; Colonel David A. Brown, MD December 07, 2009

Posterior shoulder dislocations are hard to diagnose because of their rarity. Your ability to interpret the appropriate radiographs is key.
 

An uncommon cause of mechanical small bowel obstruction

Joel Hill, PA-C November 09, 2009

An otherwise active and healthy, older man experiences a recurrence of GI symptoms that occur after eating.
 

A 17-year-old male with leg weakness and low back pain

October 28, 2009

These cysts, named for their radiographic appearance and common in younger patients, comprise approximately 1% of bone tumors.
 

Anatomical variant found during catheter insertion

Gina Luckianow, PA-C; Deborah Cole, PA-C, MMSC; Lewis J. Kaplan, MD, FACS, FCCM, FCCP September 28, 2009

Catheter placement to address bleeding following repair of a duodenal ulcer leads to the discovery of a congenital cardiac anomaly in a 62-year-old woman.
 

An elusive tumor in a man who has evidence of prostate cancer metastasis

Brendan Patrick Boyer, PA-C; Martin James Boyer, DO August 10, 2009

Conventional imaging studies failed to locate the metastasis in a patient with an elevating PSA level. Scintigraphy revealed the tumor.
 
 

Carcinoma of unknown primary: Searching for the origin of metastases

Heather R. Carlson, MSPAP, PA-C August 03, 2009

Diagnostic tests and select imaging studies can help identify the potential, and often elusive, primary tumor.
 

Managing recurrent pleural effusions with an indwelling pleural catheter

Julie M. Schrader, MPAS, PA-C; Peter F. Ferson, MD May 26, 2009

Case studies describe an alternative to repeat thoracentesis for patients who are at risk of reaccumulation of fluid in the chest cavity.
 

Imaging focused on a tooth reveals an unusual mass

, Andrea Medel; Thomas Chiodo, DDS May 19, 2009

Facial pain and swelling attributed to an impacted wisdom tooth turn out to be signs of a life-threatening diagnosis.
 

Knee pain and an abnormal radiograph in a skier

Brian Downie, ATC, PA-C, MS February 20, 2009

The patient is a 20-year-old male who fell while downhill skiing. After returning home, he presented to our orthopedic clinic with continued complaints of lateral knee pain, swelling, and a sense of weakness.
 

What is a nuclear cardiac stress test?

Anoma Zehra Ahmed, RPA-C, MBBS January 01, 2009

Nuclear cardiology studies are used to evaluate heart function, as well as the presence of coronary artery disease (CAD). Radionuclide myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) with single photon emission computedtomography (SPECT) is one of the most commonly used noninvasive methods for assessing CAD.
 

Appendicitis: What helps to make the diagnosis?

April 01, 2008

A 73-year-old female presented to the emergency department with nontraumatic abdominal pain in the right lower quadrant (RLQ).
 

A Day in the Life: Nicholas Oravetz, PA-C

October 01, 2007

As a PA student, I aspired to a high-intensity career in emergency medicine or surgery. Once I graduated, though, I learned that new PAs with no experience have trouble landing jobs of this type. Fortunately, I also learned about interventional radiology (IR) around this time. I discovered what PAs working in IR at my hospital were doing and how they were utilized.
 

Limited right wrist mobility and secondary shoulder pain

Celestino Vega, MD, FAAFP; Angela Austin-Leyva, PA-C June 01, 2006

The patient is a 67-year-old white man presenting with a 3-day history of difficulty moving his right wrist to full extension; he also cannot extend his fingers of the same hand.
 

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