Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a significant public health challenge, affecting multiple organs and organ systems, and fetal health. Additionally, AUD also significantly contributes to self-harm and road accidents. Beyond its health effects, AUD creates economic and political challenges, including escalating treatment costs and the complex alcohol regulation policies. Despite global impact, AUD remains under-addressed in countries like India due to cultural norms and limited resources. Early recognition of AUD is vital for better outcomes, relying on thorough clinical evaluation and patient history. However, denial, inebriation, or lack of awareness often delays diagnosis. Imaging techniques like ultrasound, CT, and MRI effectively depict AUD-related organ damage and aid in detecting chronic alcohol use. Radiologists play a crucial role in identifying these manifestations, contributing to its early detection and treatment. This review article highlights the imaging of alcohol use related disorders and diseases affecting different organs and organ systems at various stages. The review is presented in two parts: the first focuses on alcohol burden, alcohol metabolism and toxicity, and imaging findings of AUD-related abdominal diseases and disorders.
Purpose The aim of this study was to analyze the outcomes of percutaneous ablation in patients with renal masses. Materials and Methods We retrospectively analyzed 49 renal tumor ablations performed at our institute between 2019 and 2024. All patients underwent biopsy followed by computed tomography-guided ablation under general anesthesia. Results Of the 49 patients, 33 were male and 16 were female, with a mean age of 61 years. Biopsy revealed clear cell renal cell carcinoma (RCC) in 34 patients (69.4%) and non-clear cell RCC in 5 patients (10.2%). In 10 patients (20.4%), the biopsy results were inconclusive. The mean tumor size was 2.5 cm. Four patients (8.2%) had tumors larger than 4 cm. Microwave ablation was used in 39 patients (79.6%), radiofrequency ablation (RFA) in 9 patients (18.3%), and 1 patient underwent combined embolization with RFA. The mean follow-up duration was 25 months. Local recurrence occurred in three patients (6.1%), who were subsequently treated with stereotactic body radio-therapy, surgery, or systemic therapy. A complete response was achieved in 46 patients (93.8%). Three patients died within 1 year of follow-up due to non-oncological causes; all had shown a complete response. At the time of the last follow-up, 46 out of 49 patients were alive. Conclusion Percutaneous ablation using microwave or radiofrequency techniques is a viable alternative to surgery for the treatment of CT1 RCC, with excellent outcomes and a very low cancer-related mortality rate.
Introduction Obesity is characterized by excess adiposity. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is used for quantifying and evaluating adiposity by precisely delineating soft tissues. It is widely used for assessing the visceral fat, but its use in evaluating subcutaneous fat (SCF) deposition in the lower body is scarce. This study aims to determine whether body mass index (BMI) predicts regional adiposity around the knee joint. Materials and Methods In this retrospective study, 100 patients who had an MRI of the knee were enrolled. Based on the BMI, the patients were categorized into healthy, overweight, and obese groups. Landmark-based representative coronal sections of a proton density (PD) MRI sequence were used, and two experienced musculoskeletal radiologists calculated the medial fat measurement (MFM). The one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) method was used for statistical analysis. Results 27, 41, and 32 patients were enrolled in the healthy, overweight, and obese groups, respectively. There was a clinically significant difference between the groups (F-ratio = 7.70, p-value = 0.00079) for the MFM. There was good intra-and interobserver reliability, with kappa coefficients of 0.8 and 0.9, respectively. Conclusion BMI is a strong predictor of MFMs, indicating a direct relationship with knee regional adiposity. Landmark-based and straightforward measurements allow for reproducible and replicable assessment of SCF deposition.
