Abstract Abdominal radiographs play a fundamental role in emergency and in-patient settings in the assessment of adult patients presenting with abdominal pain. Despite the inherent limitations associated with this modality, plain films can provide valuable information in the evaluation of both acute and chronic abdominal pain. For example, analysis of bowel gas patterns can reveal bowel obstructions, secondary findings of bowel ischemia, or visceral perforation. Findings related to solid organ, soft tissue, or vascular pathologies may also be detected on plain film. In this paper, we review the proper radiographic technique for abdominal radiographs, including different projections and patient factors, and discuss the use of enteric contrast media. We will also outline an approach to interpreting abdominal radiographs, with a review of several cases.

Breast augmentation with implants is a widely performed procedure for cosmetic, reconstructive, and congenital correction purposes. As a result, breast implants frequently appear on chest CT scans conducted for various clinical indications, including recent emphasis on COVID-19 pneumonia. Radiologists are presented with opportunities to incidentally identify findings related to breast implants, some of which are clinically significant. Although MRI is the preferred method for evaluating breast implants due to its high sensitivity, CT scans can detect several implant-related findings and should not be overlooked. Radiologists must be adept at recognizing and assessing breast implants, distinguishing normal appearances from abnormal findings in routine chest CT scans, and contributing to timely intervention and patient management when complications are depicted.

Spine injury and vertebral fractures are common occurrences and can be life changing or fatal. As part of the patient care team, the radiologist is often the first to diagnose spine injury. The AO Spine is the largest spine surgery research institution in the world. AO Spine has developed a standardized spine injury classification for the entire spine which has undergone review and clinical validation with surgeons worldwide to evaluate and demonstrate reproducibility. Using AO Spine classification, the radiologist ensures shared understanding with the surgeon and trauma team, expediting appropriate care for the spine injury patient. This review outlines the classification of spine injuries of the thoracolumbar and sacral spine and provides clinical imaging and reporting examples.

Pulmonary masses are a commonly identified in thoracic imaging. In any clinical scenario a lung mass should raise suspicion for a malignant neoplasm. However, there are multiple non-neoplastic diseases that can also manifest as pulmonary masses. Therefore, certain risk factors, imaging findings, and clinical features should lean the scale to favor the diagnosis of specific benign diseases. Differentiation between malignant and benign disorders is critical to avoid unnecessary interventions. This article (the first part of a two-part series) focuses on infectious and congenital disorders. Vascular and miscellaneous entities will be discussed in the second part.

This article reviews the radiologic findings of recreational drug abuse. Patients with drug abuse often present with a spectrum of related multisystem abnormalities that can range from soft tissue or vascular injury via direct needle penetration to septic emboli, abscesses, septic arthritis, infarct, and hemorrhage. After providing a brief overview of popular routes of administration, we emphasize common and uncommon imaging findings of drug abuse in a system-by-system fashion. A case-based review of multisystem complications from recreational drug use is provided. In this first article of a 2-part series, emphasis is placed on the musculoskeletal and neurological systems.

Myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) plays a crucial role in assessing myocardial perfusion and determining the presence and severity of coronary artery disease. Stress evaluation in MPI can be achieved through exercise or pharmaceutical methods, with exercise stress testing increasing blood flow in normal coronary arteries and pharmaceutical stress testing achieving a similar, although more reliable, effect. PET/CT and cadmium-zinc-telluride SPECT/CT offer improved accuracy compared with SPECT MPI. Different radiotracers used in imaging have their own advantages and disadvantages, which should be considered in specific clinical scenarios.