Special interest exhibits from Japan and Korea receive acclaim in poster hall

If you want to boost your chances of scooping up a coveted Magna Cum Laude (MCL) award at future RSNA meetings, you should submit an education exhibit in the multisystem/special interest category. That's the conclusion many people will draw after two of the six top prizes went to presenters in this category, which attracted only 63 posters. Both winners hail from Asia.

None of the hundreds of breast, genitourinary, nuclear medicine, and vascular/interventional exhibits were considered worthy of the smart navy blue rosette that accompanies an MCL, leaving some presenters muttering on Wednesday afternoon.

Epstein-Barr virus-related diseases and Beh¸et disease were the topics of the two multisystem/special interest awards. The former is a herpesvirus with worldwide distribution, while the latter is a chronic inflammatory disease with a wide spectrum of abnormalities involving multiple organ systems.

More than 90% of the global adult population is infected with EBV-related diseases, according to lead author Dr. Eriko Maeda, a radiologist at the University of Tokyo in Japan. Most primary infections occur during early childhood but cause very few specific symptoms and consequences. Cases occurring after late adolescence can result in infectious mononucleosis, however.

"EBV is associated with the pathogenesis of various conditions, especially neoplasms," Maeda said. "EBV-associated gastric carcinomas tend to be located in the upper part of the stomach and appear as a bulky mass. Their prognosis is better than ordinary gastric carcinomas."

Awareness of lymphoproliferative diseases in immunocompromised patients contributes to early detection of potentially life-threatening conditions, although their appearances vary widely from nonspecific infiltration to a discrete mass.

Imaging findings can raise suspicion of Beh¸et disease, said Dr. Eun Jin Chae, a radiologist at the University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Asan Medical Center in Seoul, Korea. Cases of cardiothoracic involvement may demonstrate pulmonary artery pseudoaneurysm, perivalvular pseudoaneurysm around the aortic valve, endomyocardial fibroelastosis, prosthetic valve failure, and thrombus in the superior vena cava, pulmonary artery, and right ventricle. Vascular, neurological, and gastrointestinal involvement might also occur.

The other four top prize-winning posters featured varied topics:

• Use of 64-slice CT to pinpoint small intracardiac structures and demonstrate reformation techniques to locate anatomical landmarks of cardiac conduction system, by Dr. Farhood Saremi, University of California Irvine, Orange

• MR arthrography in the assessment of triangular fibrocartilage complex lesions and wrist instability, by Dr. Luis Cerezal, Santander University Hospital, Spain

• Capsule endoscopy versus radiological studies in the investigation of small bowel diseases, by Dr. Kumar Sandrasegaran, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis

• The radiological anatomy and variations of the Basal vein of Rosenthal, by Dr. Farrah Jabeen, Greater Manchester Neurosciences Unit, Hope Hospital, U.K.