Cardiac
GI
Bone
GU
Neuro
Peds
Faculty
Student
Quizzes
Image DDX
Museum
Mobile
  Misc
Videocasts
Twitter

 

 




LearningRadiology Imaging Signs
on Twitter


 


Follow us on

Case of the Week 413



What is the most likely diagnosis?

  • 68 year-old 3 weeks post-aortic valve replacement



CT scout image

  1. Pericardial effusion
  2. Congestive heart failure
  3. Sternal dehiscence
  4. Left lower lobe atelectasis
  5. Metastatic disease to the lungs

Additional Images - None

 

 

Additional Images

 

 

None


Answer:

.


3. Sternal dehiscence

.

.

More (Click Discussion Tab)


Sternal Dehiscence

General considerations

  • Follows median sternotomy usually for cardiothoracic surgery
  • Defined as complete separation of the sternum
    • Frequently associated with sternal wound infection, most often by S. aureus
    • May or may not be associated with mediastinitis
      • Definitions for post-sternal mediastinitis and sternal wound infection vary, some including clinical findings only, some requiring microbiological confirmation
  • Incidence has been reported in 4.5% of coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgeries
  • While diagnosis is usually made clinically, imaging plays a key role in either initial diagnosis and/or confirmation of the clinical diagnosis
  • Females are at greater risk than males

 

MORE...


.

This Week

68 year-old 3 weeks post-aortic valve replacement
 
Presented as a series of cards, this podcast asks some of the most common causes of neuroimaging findings and diseases making it ideal for a quick review. Can be used as either an audio only or audio/video podcast.; Complements Video Flashcard Podcasts 15, 21,25, 38, 42, 46 and 47.
 
 
Some of the fundamentals of interpreting chest images
 
The top diagnostic imaging diagnoses that all medical students should recognize according to the Alliance of Medical Student Educators in Radiology
 
Recognizing normal and  key abnormal intestinal gas patterns, free air and abdominal calcifications
 
Recognizing the parameters that define a good chest x-ray; avoiding common pitfalls
 
How to recognize the most common arthritides


Now Open!

LearningRadiology
Named Magazine's
"25 Most Influential"



LearningRadiology.com
is an award-winning educational website aimed primarily at medical students and radiology residents-in-training, containing  lectures, handouts, images, Cases of the Week, archives of cases, quizzes, flashcards of differential diagnoses and “most commons” lists, primarily in the areas of chest, GI, GU cardiac, bone and neuroradiology.