Carotid Black Blood MRI Burden of Atherosclerotic Disease Assessment Correlates with Ultrasound Intima-Media Thickness
The aim of this study was to correlate carotid black blood MRI based measurements with those obtained by ultrasound intima-media thickness (IMT). Seventeen patients with intermediate to high Framingham cardiovascular risk score underwent both carotid ultrasound and rapid extended coverage double inversion recovery black blood carotid MRI. Overall, there was good correlation between wall area, wall thickness, and plaque index measured by MRI and the IMT measurements obtained from the ultrasound images (max r2 = 0.72, p < 0.05). Patients with mean IMT > or = 1.2 mm had significantly higher values of wall area, plaque index and wall thickness compared to patients with mean IMT < 1.2 mm. Vessel wall measurements assessed by black-blood MRI may be potentially used clinically to evaluate plaque progression and regression.
We report the management of a case of thigh abscess with ruptured left superficial femoral artery mycotic aneurysm in a 91-year-old woman with significant comorbidity. The abscess culture grew Escherichia coli and Acinetobacter baumannii. Vascular reconstruction was not performed because the foot was viable with a heavily contaminated wound. The thigh wound healed with the help of vacuum-assisted closure. This is the first report of a ruptured mycotic aneurysm of the superficial femoral artery associated with Escherichia coli and Acinetobacter baumannii infection. This case demonstrates that resection of a mycotic aneurysm without vascular continuity is feasible, especially in frail patients.