Thoracic Endometriosis-A Rare Cause of Haemoptysis.

Thoracic endometriosis is a rare condition and occurs in females of reproductive age due to the presence of active endometrial tissue in tracheobronchial tree, lung parenchyma and lung pleura. A typical history of haemoptysis during menstrual periods and strong suspicion of the disease entity is important for the diagnosis and management of the case. Diagnosis of the disease is usually delayed. Serial CT thorax during menstrual period and in non-menstrual period supports the diagnosis. We present here a case of catamenial haemoptysis. The diagnosis was missed initially but later a detailed clinical history revealed the same. Serial computed tomography of thorax taken during menstrual and after menstrual period supported the diagnosis. Though bronchoscopy was able to reveal hyperemic tissue in the tracheobronchial tree, bronchial washing was inconclusive. The patient was treated successfully with danazol.

Utility of ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging in prenatal diagnosis of placenta accreta: A prospective study.

CONTEXT: Placenta accreta is the abnormal adherence of the placenta to the uterine wall and the most common cause for emergency postpartum hysterectomy. Accurate prenatal diagnosis of affected pregnancies allows optimal obstetric management. AIMS: To summarize our experience in the antenatal diagnosis of placenta accreta on imaging in a tertiary care setup. To compare the accuracy of ultrasound (USG) with color Doppler (CDUS) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in prenatal diagnosis of placenta accreta. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: Prospective study in a tertiary care setup. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A prospective study was conducted on pregnant females with high clinical risk of placenta accreta. Antenatal diagnosis was established based on CDUS and MRI. The imaging findings were compared with final diagnosis at the time of delivery and/or pathologic examination. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) were calculated for both CDUS and MRI. The sensitivity and specificity values of USG and MRI were compared by the McNemar test. RESULTS: Thirty patients at risk of placenta accreta underwent both CDUS and MRI. Eight cases of placenta accreta were identified (3 vera, 4 increta, and 1 percreta). All patients had history of previous cesarean section. Placenta previa was present in seven out of eight patients. USG correctly identified the presence of placenta accreta in seven out of eight patients (87.5% sensitivity) and the absence of placenta accreta in 19 out of 22 patients (86.4% specificity). MRI correctly identified the presence of placenta accreta in 6 out of 8 patients (75.0% sensitivity) and absence of placenta accreta in 17 out of 22 patients (77.3% specificity). There were no statistical differences in sensitivity (P = 1.00) and specificity (P = 0.687) between USG and MRI. CONCLUSIONS: Both USG and MRI have fairly good sensitivity for prenatal diagnosis of placenta accreta; however, specificity does not appear to be as good as reported in other studies. Both modalities have complimentary role and in cases of inconclusive findings with one imaging modality, the other modality may be useful for obtaining the diagnosis. CDUS remains the first primary modality for antenatal diagnosis of placenta accreta, with MRI reserved for cases where USG is inconclusive.

Malignant pleural and peritoneal mesothelioma consequential to brief indirect asbestos exposure.

This report highlights that pleural and peritoneal mesothelioma can occur without direct asbestos exposure as was seen in our young patient. The patient had indirect exposure for as short as 3 months as a child, 15 years earlier, when she was residing with her miner father in the district of Jharia, Jharkhand, which is an asbestos-rich mining area in eastern India. The patient presented with chest pain and breathlessness. Chest X-ray showed opaque right hemithorax. Typical contrast- computed tomography (CECT) enhanced radiological features included nodular, soft-tissue attenuation and homogenously enhancing rind-like mass causing scalloping of the underlying lung and liver. Similar lesions were also found involving the pelvis. Diagnosis of malignant mesothelioma was confirmed on lung biopsy. Under-reporting of exposure is usual because it is unrecognized by both patients and investigators.

Aggressive angiomyxoma with perineal herniation.

Aggressive angiomyxoma is a rare mesenchymal tumor involving the pelvic-perineal region. It occurs during the third and fourth decade of life and is predominantly seen in females. It presents clinically as a soft tissue mass in variable locations such as vulva, perianal region, buttock, or pelvis. Assessment of extent of the tumor by radiological evaluation is crucial for surgical planning; however, biopsy is essential to establish diagnosis. We present the radiological and pathological features seen in a 43-year-old female diagnosed with abdominal angiomyxoma with an unusual extension to the perineum.

Malignant melanoma of the rectum.

Malignant melanoma of the rectum is an extremely rare disease. It typically presents in the fifth or sixth decade of life with nonspecific complaints such as rectal bleeding or anal pain. A timely diagnosis of anal melanoma is made even more difficult by the fact that most of the lesions lack obvious pigmentation and are even histologically amelanotic. Prognosis is very poor. Anorectal malignant melanomas spread along submucosal planes and are often beyond complete resection at the time of diagnosis. We present the radiological and pathological features seen in a 43-year-old woman diagnosed with melanoma of the rectum.

Spontaneous biliary peritonitis in children.

Pediatric Spontaneous Bile duct perforation is a rare clinical condition with only around 150 cases reported worldwide. Early management gives excellent prognosis but the condition often presents a diagnostic dilemma. Hepato-biliary Technetium-99m-iminodiacetic acid scintiscan is the diagnostic investigation of choice but its availability in third world countries is limited. We present two cases of spontaneous biliary peritonitis in children, which were diagnosed without scintiscanning. The first case was a one-and -a half-year-old child, who was diagnosed with biliary peritonitis without pneumoperitoneum by a combination of Ultrasound (USG), Contrast enhanced computed tomography (CECT), and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). The child underwent USG-guided drainage and subsequent cholecystectomy with hepatico-jejunostomy. The second child also had biliary peritonitis without pneumoperitoneum, which was initially suspected on USG. CECT revealed dilated gall bladder and fluid collection in sub-hepatic space and pelvis. Abdominal paracentesis revealed presence of bile. The child responded to conservative therapy. Both are doing well on two-year follow-up. In a patient with jaundice, biliary tract abnormalities and/or free fluid, either generalized or localized to peri-cholecystic/sub-hepatic space on USG/CT/MRI, in the absence of pneumoperitoneum, suggest a diagnosis of biliary perforation even in the absence of scintiscanning.

Gossypiboma, varied presentations: a report of two cases.

A mass formed around a cotton matrix left within the body is termed as textiloma or gossypiboma. It is a rare complication of surgery most commonly seen after abdominal operations. The time of presentation may range from early post-operative period to several decades later. A correct diagnosis can be made in only one-third of the cases. The most common differential diagnosis is a new-onset or recurrent tumor. This may lead to a lot of patient anxiety as well as several unnecessary attempts at biopsy or surgery. Gossypiboma may present as either of the following syndromes - pseudotumoral, occlusive, or septic entity and the risk of fistulization increases with time. We present two diverse cases, the first case being of a patient with gastro-cutaneous fistula due to retained sponge presenting within 2 months of open cholecystectomy, while the second case presented 13 years after a hysterectomy, with abdominal lump and obstruction caused by a retained sponge.

Deep circumflex iliac artery pseudoaneurysm as a complication of paracentesis.

We report a case of a pseudoaneurysm arising from the deep circumflex iliac artery, in an end-stage renal disease patient with gross ascitis, presenting with an anterior abdominal wall hematoma following paracentesis. Duplex Doppler sonography confirmed the presence of the pseudoaneurysm and multidetector computed tomography angiography delineated the detailed arterial anatomy.