The Relevance of Evaluating the Various Accidental Thoracic-Abdominal Outcomes Fundable in a Cardiac Ct with a Narrow-Fov

AIM: This retrospective paper showed the importance of detailed radiological reporting when the clinicians examine a cardiac-CT because, especially in these circumstances, the radiologists after the acquisition of the heart, should look at the entire thoracic region, evaluating it with different windows. MATERIALS AND METHOD: In this study, we analyzed 352 patients who underwent cardiac-CT examinations at Hospital “Dimiccoli” Barletta (BT), Italy, from April 2022 to April 2024. The exams were performed with a 64-slice GE CT retrospective ECG-gated with different contrast agents (volume of c.a. about 60mL, velocity of the injection of c.a.: 5.5 mL/s). RESULT: Among the 352 study populations, we detected 37 patients with an unknown rare incidental finding and 22 patients with prevalent findings. Among the 37 patients, we reported neoplastic lesions in the thorax and in the upper abdomen, lung micronucleus, nodular formation at the myocardium, and the revascularization of the false lumen in an aortic dissection previously treated, a heart-septum incontinence, and an interatrial septal aneurysm. Among the most frequent findings (22 patients), we reported hiatal hernia, hepatic cystic lesions, calculi in the gallbladder, COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) signs or pericardial effusion. CONCLUSION: This article demonstrated that when a cardiac CT is performed in the standard modality, then it is suggested to carefully analyse the mediastinum, the thorax, and the upper abdomen, looking at non-expected findings.