Multiple agminated superficial arteriovenous haemangioma on the scalp.

We describe a patient with an unusual presentation of multiple arteriovenous haemangioma (AVH) grouped in one area of the scalp. The diagnosis was confirmed by histological, X-ray and ultrasound studies. These lesion represent a rare, benign, acquired vascular hamartomatous formation that arises from the suprapapillary vascular plexus.

Pantoea agglomerans as a cause of septic arthritis after palm tree thorn injury; case report and literature review.

We report the case of a 14 year old healthy boy, who was admitted six weeks after being injured by a palm tree thorn, with limping caused by pain and swelling in his right knee. An ultrasound examination revealed a foreign body in the posterior lateral aspect of the right knee. Pantoea agglomerans was identified in the synovial fluid. The patient underwent two arthrotomies and was treated with amoxicillin-clavulanate intravenously for three weeks. The postoperative course was uneventful, and joint function returned to normal. A review of the literature between 1953 and 2002 revealed that bacterial growth after plant thorn injuries is reported infrequently. Yet when reported, Pantoea agglomearns is the most common organism found. Therefore, it must be considered and suspected in "aseptic" cases of arthritis, when there is a history of a plant thorn injury. We also emphasise the efficacy of ultrasound examination in these cases to identify the presence and location of a plant thorn.

Unusual presentation of psoas abscess in a child.

Primary abscess of the psoas muscle is relatively rare in infants and young children. The clinical presentation of the disease, with limping, fever, and abdominal pain, may be confused with conditions such as septic arthritis of the hip, osteomyelitis, or appendicitis. The authors present an unusual case of a ruptured left psoas abscess presenting as generalized peritonitis in a child. J Pediatr Surg 36:1859-1860.

Peritoneal encapsulation: a rare cause of bowel obstruction in children.

Two rare cases of peritoneal encapsulation causing partial intestinal obstruction are described. Both were operated on, and one of them had a "cocoonlike" appearance. The characteristics and differences of peritoneal encapsulation and abdominal cocoon are discussed.

Oligohydramnion, renal failure and no pulmonary hypoplasia in glomerulocystic kidney disease.

Two newborns with glomerulocystic kidney disease manifesting as late onset oligohydramnion and neonatal anuria, yet without severe respiratory distress, are presented. They had a similar perinatal course and associated clinical manifestations. No associated congenital or inherited malformation syndrome could be defined. Both infants' parents were first degree cousins and belonged to the same small Bedouin tribe, and neither they nor the infants' siblings had polycystic kidneys or renal insufficiency, pointing to either a possible genetic etiology or a common external toxic exposure.

Ganglioneuroma: an 'incidentaloma' of childhood.

In adults clinically silent adrenal masses can be discovered incidentally in imaging studies. Most of these 'incidentalomas' are benign, non-functioning adenomas. In contradistinction, in infancy and childhood the most common adrenal mass is the neuroblastoma, a malignant neural crest tumour. Four children are described, each with a benign neural crest tumour - ganglioneuroma - incidentally discovered by conventional radiography or sonographic examination. Complete surgical excision resulted in total recovery of all the children.

[Ultrasonographic imaging of superior sagittal thrombosis].

Ultrasonographic findings of superior sagittal sinus thrombosis include dilated and hyperechoic sinus (direct imaging of the thrombus). No flow should be demonstrated by the various Doppler techniques. In the deeper sinuses, if the thrombus can not be visualized after a negative Doppler study, MR imaging is recommended. Recanalization and reflow can be demonstrated on follow-up study.

Gastrovascular Circulation in an Octocoral: Evidence of Significant Transport of Coral and Symbiont Cells.

The gastrovascular system in the Red Sea soft coral Parerythropodium fulvum fulvum comprises two interconnected networks of canals filled with fluid and circulating cells. The first network is composed of narrow canals (50-80 {mu}m in width) located below the upper ectodermal layer; the second network includes larger canals (300-500 {mu}m in width) that are located deeper in the coral tissue. Particle movement in the second network is faster than in the superficial network, but in both, coral cells with and without healthy zooxanthellae circulate freely. To investigate the movement of metabolites and cellular components within the colony, coral fragments were exposed to 14C-labeled seawater for 24 h in the laboratory and in situ under saturating photosynthetic photon flux and then grafted back to their original colonies. Grafts fused after 24 h. In the laboratory experiment, up to 45% of the fixed 14C was translocated to the unlabeled colony within 48 h after fusion. In the in situ experiment, significant translocation of labeled materials occurred at the furthest parts of the colonies, 390 mm away from the fusion line, in 24 h. Even though the amount of labeling varied between colonies, labeled material spread throughout all the unlabeled parts. It thus appears that the gastrovascular system in Parerythropodium fulvum fulvum functions as an effective circulatory apparatus for fast translocation of organic compounds and cellular components within the colony.

Computerized tomographic and ultrasonographic features of Kimura's disease.

Kimura's disease (KD) is an uncommon condition once thought to affect only Orientals. The patients present with swelling of the major salivary glands associated with cervical lymphadenopathy. The clinical, histopathological and radiological findings of a young Caucasian female with KD will be presented and discussed.

Thyroid-stimulating hormone levels in children from Chernobyl.

This study assesses parameters of thyroid function in persons who resided in Ukraine, Belarus, and southern Russia and exposed at 0 to 16 years of age to radioiodine contamination from the Chernobyl accident. Six to eight years after the accident a group of 300 young people who had immigrated to Israel were interviewed, underwent physical and ultrasound thyroid examination, and had their serum tested for thyroid-stimulating hormones (TSH), thyroid hormones, thyroglobulin, and antithyroid antibodies. Comparative groups came from areas with high (>1 Ci/km2) or low (< 1 Ci/km2) 137Cs ground contamination. Girls from high contamination areas, when compared to girls from areas with low ground contamination, showed significant upward shifts in levels of serum TSH (p = 0.023) although remaining within normal limits. Boys showed no significant differences. There was no evidence for differences in thyroid size or nodularity between the two groups of girls. A working hypothesis is proposed by which the shift in TSH levels in girls from high radiocontamination areas was associated with subclinical radiation damage from environmental radioiodine at the time of the accident.

Lessons learned from the study of immigrants to Israel from areas of Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine contaminated by the Chernobyl accident.

During the past 6 years, immigration to Israel of 700,000 persons from the former Soviet Union (FSU) included about 140,000 from radiocontaminated regions of Belarus, Ukraine, and Russia near Chernobyl. In Beer Sheva, a major center for immigrant absorption in Israel, a primary objective was to evaluate their health status and to refer them for care. 137Cs levels in 1228 men, women, and children were measured with a portable whole-body counter. Whole-body counts showed clear correlation with the degree of 137Cs ground contamination in previous regions of residence. The population could thus be sub-divided according to degree of exposure, based on previous regions of residence. The thyroid status of 300 local immigrant children was evaluated because of the increased risk of childhood thyroid cancer in the regions from which they came. This group was subdivided into comparative groups of children who came from less and more contaminated areas according to the International Atomic Energy Agency soil 137Cs contamination maps. Enlarged thyroids were found in about 40% of both groups. One 12-year-old girl from Gomel had a malignant papillary carcinoma. Thyroid-stimulating hormone levels, though within normal limits, were significantly greater (p < 0.02) for girls from high exposure regions. Liquidators showed significant increases in serum clastogenic factor and in the number of circulating glycophorin A-mutated red cells. In studies of over 700 people from both radiocontaminated and unaffected regions of the FSU, evidence for posttraumatic stress disorder was found more frequently in persons coming from the more contaminated areas.

CT and US features of cervical lymphadenopathy due to kikuchi's disease.

Kikuchi's disease or histiocytic necrotising lymphadenitis is a distinct benign clinicopathologic entity which is to be distinguished from malignant conditions, especially lymphoma.We report a young woman with Kikuchi's disease presenting with cervical lymphadenopathy and mild hepatomegaly. CT and US findings are presented as well as a review of the pertinent literature.

[Psoas abscess: diagnostic dilemma in childhood].

A series of 16 children diagnosed as having a psoas abscess or deep iliac lymphadenitis seen over a 25-year period (1970-1994) is presented. 10 were treated conservatively while 5 were drained surgically and 1 percutaneously under imaging guidance. The presenting signs and symptoms may mimic the frequently seen entities, acute appendicitis and acute hip arthritis. Lower abdominal and inguinal pain, limp, fever and increased white count are common in all of these conditions. Accurate differential diagnosis is necessary to avoid unnecessary surgery due to a wrong diagnosis. Ultrasonography is preferred for diagnosis. Antibiotic therapy should be instituted immediately, aimed primarily at Staphylococcus aureus, the most common causative agent, although other organisms may be implicated. When a psoas abscess has been diagnosed, surgery and drainage are indicated. One of the preferred approaches is percutaneous drainage under imaging guidance. Convalescence is usually rapid and without late sequelae.

Ovarian fibroma in a prepubertal girl.

Ovarian fibroma rarely occurs in prepubertal girls. However, we found such an asymptomatic, large, uncalcified pelvic mass in an otherwise healthy 12-year-old girl. The plain films (radiographs), US and CT findings are presented.

Inflammatory bowel disease in glycogen storage disease type 1 B.

Chronic inflammatory bowel disease has recently been reported in association with glycogen storage disease type 1 B. We report two cases of children affected by this disease in whom chronic recurrent ileocolitis and severe oesophagitis developed.

Fetal pelvic kidney: a challenge in prenatal diagnosis?

The objective of this study was to establish ultrasonographic guidelines for the prenatal diagnosis of fetal pelvic kidneys and assess the relationship to clinical outcome. The records of all ultrasonographic diagnoses of a fetal pelvic kidney between 1 January 1991 and 31 December 1993 were reviewed. After review of the sonographic evaluation, the prenatal records were obtained, to assess demographic data as well as the obstetric course and neonatal outcome. If a fetal pelvic kidney was suspected on prenatal ultrasound examination, its precise location and size were recorded and compared with neonatal sonograms. Twenty-six cases of fetal ectopic kidney were diagnosed of which 13 were on the right side and 13 on the left (24/26 cases were diagnosed in the late second trimester). The size of the ectopic kidney did not differ from that of the normal kidney. Except for one case of hydronephrosis, there were no associated structural anomalies. All prenatal diagnoses were confirmed by postnatal sonograms and all neonates had normal renal function. Our conclusions are that prenatal sonographic detection of fetal pelvic kidney is feasible, although in most cases the diagnosis is made beyond 24 weeks' gestation. The importance of prenatal diagnosis is that the parents can be reassured that normal renal function is highly probable and that early neonatal intervention is usually unnecessary.