Sonographic Analysis of Adult Polycystic Kidney Disease: Retrospective Data from South-East Nigeria

Background: Autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (APKD); an inheritable multisystem disease characterized by intrarenal and at times extrarenal disease; has been studied extensively among Caucasian populations. Despite the fact that being black is a risk factor for progressive disease; there is paucity of local published data. As a result; true local incidence and peculiarities in clinical and sonographic characteristics are unknown.Aim: To present data from 19 patients diagnosed with APKD in a medium-sized facility over a 16-year period.Materials and Methods: A retrospective search was done on the ultrasound registers for patients who had undergone abdominal ultrasound in 16 years (1997-2013). Of the 29 sonographic diagnoses of bilateral PKD made; only 19 had complete records and were included in the study. Data extracted were- age; sex; working diagnosis; renal size; diameter of renal cysts; presence or absence of extrarenal cysts; family history of renal cystic disease; blood pressure at diagnosis; and patient outcome.Results: A total of 19 diagnoses of APKD were made- 12 males and seven females with a sex ratio of 1:0.6. Total mean age was 54.8 years (range 31-79 years)- 40.1 years for females and 57.2 years for males. In 89.5 of cases; no family history of APKD was obtained. Only six (31.6) patients were hypertensive at presentation and three patients (16) were already in renal failure. Ultrasound showed a mean renal size of 88.92 cm 2 for the right kidney and 98.97cm 2 for the left. Mean cyst diameter was 3.46 cm (range 2.08-4.85cm). Only one patient had documented extrarenal cystic disease. Two patients were lost to renal failure and congestive cardiac failure.Conclusion: APKD appears to be uncommon in our environment; however; more studies may be elucidatory. Standard sonographic protocol for collecting data from patients with APKD is needed

Pattern of Second Primary Malignancies in Thyroid Cancer Patients

Many factors; including relatively young age of thyroid cancer diagnoses and improved survival; have led to increased concerns about the occurrence of second primary malignancies. This paper describes the pattern of occurrence of second primary malignancies in patients who were treated for malignant thyroid neoplasms in an Indian hospital. There were 21 affected patients of the approximately 4500 seen over 25 years. Most of the second primary cancers are solid tumors; and when nonthyroid cancers are the second tumors; ductal carcinoma of the female breast is the most common. Most of these tumors have very short detection intervals (including synchronous occurrences); suggesting that therapy with internal radiation was not contributory to the tumor development. When thyroid malignancies were the second primary cancers; they usually follow radiotherapy to the head and neck region for treatment of the first primary tumor and tend to be of aggressive histologic types than the common well differentiated thyroid carcinomas