Background The current COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in marked and rapid changes to the standing policies of radiology departments globally. The aim of this review article is to describe the various processes implemented by a radiology department in an educational institution in a resource limited country during the COVID-19 crisis, giving insights into the adopted strategies in other institutions in developed countries. Main body Our preparedness strategy was directed into five main domains: protection and wellness of radiology faculty and staff, radiological examinations and patients’ safety, education, research, and financial support. By implementing new strategies, we found that work reorganization through the use of home PACS provided safe and effective reporting service, low infection rate with zero mortality, and online lectures and theses defense were successful. Furthermore, governmental support and donations were helpful in facing financial challenges during the pandemic. A comprehensive literature review search for policies adopted by other radiology departments in the world was performed. The adopted strategies of various centers are generally similar to ours aiming for mitigating the spread of the virus, keeping good patients’ care, and maintaining the educational process. Few policy differences across institutions were found in the reporting strategy of COVID-19 pneumonia and according to the availability of resources. Conclusion Covid-19 pandemic has opened the door for changes in the radiology department policies with renewed focus on educational, clinical, and scientific strategies. Documentation of the dynamic modifications of everyday practices and lessons learned are important as a reference for preparedness for possible second surge or future crisis.

Background The transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) is one of the treatment lines for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), this study was conducted to assess the role of functional imaging including the DWI, ADC and 18F-2-fluoro-2-deoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET/CT) for detection of residual HCC after TACE as compared to the structural liver imaging reporting and data system (LI-RADS). Results The optimal cut off value of standardized uptake value ratio (SUVmax/liver SUVmean ratio) for detection of residual viable HCC after TACE was 1.09 with 88.9%, 87.5% and 88.6% sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy respectively, a lower diagnostic value was noted in the qualitative visual FDG PET/CT assessment with sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of 81.5%, 75% and 80% respectively. The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of DWI for identification of post-TACE viable HCC were 77.8%, 75%, and 77.1% respectively. The optimal cut off value of ADC for the diagnosis of variable HCC was 1.32 × 10−3 mm2/s with sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of 81.5%, 75%, and 80% respectively. Conclusions DWI, ADC and FDG PET/CT are effective functional imaging modalities for the evaluation of viable residual HCC post-TACE with comparable findings for the dynamic cross-section imaging.

No abstract

No abstract

Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common primary liver malignancy and is a leading cause of cancerrelated death worldwide. It is the third most common cause of death of cancer worldwide. RFA is one of the most important modalities in treatment of HCC because it is minimally invasive, low risk of morbidity and excellent tumour control. PET/CT provides a functional and morphologic data in a single session for detecting residual of HCC after RFA. Presence of focal areas with increased FDG uptake within the ablated area is suggestive of residual disease while completely photopenic lesion after ablation is suggestive of well ablation. Aim of the Work: to emphasize the role of PET/CT in follow up of HCC after radiofrequency ablation. Patients and Methods: This prospective observational study was conducted on thirty patients, 25 men and 5 women. The Patients were referred to radio-diagnosis department, Ain Shams University hospitals, radio-diagnosis department, PET/CT unit in a period of 8 months of data collection for patients who underwent radiofrequency ablation for HCC at the interventional radiology unit. Results:The optimal cut of value of standardized uptake value ratio (SUVmax/liver SUVmean ratio) for detection of residual viable HCC after PET/CT was 1.81 with sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of 66.7%, 96.3%, 93.3% respectively. Conclusion:18F-FDG PET/CT showed high diagnostic accuracy in evaluation of the intervention bed following RFA which helps in detecting residual disease. Another super added advantage is the high capability to detect wide extrahepatic metastasis in the same examination.