Emphysematous Cystitis. Case report and imaging features.

Emphysematous cystitis is a rare bacterial infection of the bladder which results in presence of gas in the bladder wall, lumen, and surrounding tissues. The most important factors involved in this disease are diabetes mellitus, dysuria and neurogenic bladder, with predominance of female gender.We present a case of a 64 years old female patient, with diabetes mellitus tip 2, who presented in our emergency department with fever, abdominal complaint, olyguria for the last one month. Abdominal CT (computer tomography) revealed gas in the bladder with thickening of bladder wall and formation of an air-fluid level. Laboratory test showed anemia and leukocytosis. Urine culture showed elevated growth of Escherichia coli (E. coli). The diagnosis was emphysematous cystitis and patient started the antibiotic specific therapy.

Differential diagnosis of breast lesions using ultrasound elastography.

CONTEXT: The recent introduction of elastography has increased the specificity of USG and enabled early diagnosis of breast cancer. Quantitative elastography, especially with strain ratio (SR) index, improves diagnostic accuracy and decreased number of biopsies. AIMS: The purpose of this study was to assess the role of USG elastography in the differential diagnosis of breast lesions. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: This prospective study was conducted in the University of Medicine and Pharmacy Research Centre of Craiova. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fifty-eight patients diagnosed with breast lesions between January 2009 and January 2010 were included in this prospective study. All the patients were examined in the supine position, and the B-mode USG image was displayed alongside the elastography strain image. For obtaining the elastography images we used a EUS Hitachi EUB 8500 ultrasound system with a 6.5-MHz linear probe. The elastography strain images were scored according to the Tsukuba elasticity score. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: We performed receiver operator characteristic (ROC) analysis for assessment of the role of USG elastography in the diagnosis of breast lesions. RESULTS: We obtained a sensitivity of 86.7% and a specificity of 92.9% for elasticity score and a sensitivity of 93.3% and a specificity of 92.9% for SR (when a cutoff point of 3.67 was used). There was very good correlation between SR and elasticity score (Spearman coefficient of 0.911). CONCLUSIONS: Elastography is a fast, simple method that can complement conventional USG examination. This method has the lowest cost/efficiency ratio and it is also the most noninvasive and accessible imaging method, with an accuracy comparable to MRI.

Imaging of avascular necrosis of femoral head: familiar methods and newer trends.

Avascular necrosis of the femoral head (AVN) is an increasingly common cause of musculoskeletal disability, and it poses a major diagnostic and therapeutic challenge. Although patients are initially asymptomatic, AVN usually progresses to joint destruction, requiring total hip replacement, usually before the fifth decade. Avascular necrosis is characterized by osseous cell death due to vascular compromise. Avascular necrosis of bone results generally from corticosteroid use, trauma, pancreatitis, alcoholism, radiation, sickle cell disease, infiltrative diseases (e.g. Gaucher's disease), and Caisson disease. The most commonly affected site is the femoral head and patients usually present with hip and referred knee pain. The aim of diagnostic imaging procedures in avascular femoral head necrosis is to provide the patient with a stage-adapted therapy. Therefore, a differentiated diagnostic work-up is needed. Native radiography of the hip in two planes is still the first step. Over the past years, the diagnosis of femoral head necrosis has experienced tremendous improvement due to the use of MRI and CT scans. Because of these improvements the correct stage can be diagnosed early and the appropriate therapy can be initiated immediately. Today, MRI is the most sensitive diagnostic imaging procedure. CT scans can be particularly useful to exclude subchondral fractures. The use of bone scintigraphy is restricted to exceptional cases. In Europe, the ARCO classification of avascular femoral head necrosis has been widely accepted. In this overview, we describe the specific characteristics of the different diagnostic imaging procedures and illustrate them with appropriate imaging material.

A case of portal cavernoma--associated essential thrombocythemia.

Portal cavernoma is a rare complication of portal vein thrombosis and may be a component of the myeloproliferative hematologic disorders. In the present case report, although the symptoms induced by portal hypertension and portal biliopathy had a concordant evolution with the portal cavernoma, the peripheral thrombocytosis and the medullar expression of essential thrombocythemia became relevant at 18 months.

Clinico-imaging and anatomopathologic correlations in sarcomas of maxilla.

Sarcomas are relatively uncommon tumors, accounting for 1% of all malignancies. Sarcomas are commonly classified according to their site of origin: soft tissues or bone. The purpose of the clinic study was to focus the symptoms and the clinic signs. The radio-imaging study is essential in the evaluation of the maxilla tumors. The histopathologic study was done to determine the histological type, the differentiation level, the invasion level as well as the presence or absence of the metastases in drainage ganglia. The correlation of the findings of this study leads to a clear and correct clinic diagnosis, an adequate local or general therapy and a prognostic. The diagnostic role of imaging is essential and often permits the orientation to benignity or, on the contrary, requires biopsy if the image is an aggressive one or of uncertain nature. Advances in diagnostic imaging have contributed substantially to the management of tumors. The strong collaboration among the physician, imaging personnel and anatomo-pathologist serves the patient's benefit.

[Pseudo-Meigs syndrome, a rare variant]. / Varianta rara de sindrom pseudo-Meigs.

The pseudo- Meigs syndrome is defined as a pelvic tumour, other than the ovarian fibroma complicated with ascites and hydrothorax that can be recovered after the tumour is surgically extirpated. The uterine leiomyoma is an extremely rare cause of this syndrome, only 24 cases have been recorded so far, most of them presenting hydropic degeneration or necrosis. The case exposed by us, a 50- year old obese,with nanism woman, presented clinical, biological and imaging characteristics of the syndrome; moreover, she had arterial high blood pressure for more than five years, fact that didn't need postoperative treatment. She was sent to the ER because she had severe respiratory insufficiency, arterial high blood pressure, tachycardia and, at the clinical examination, she presented massive right hydrothorax, ascites, and pelvic tumour. The biologic explorations (the benign cytology in the pleural liquid and ascites, CA-125 with ten times the normal value) and the imagery completed the picture of a Meigs/ pseudo-Meigs syndrome that implied the laparotomy. The H-P examination and the postoperative evolution confirmed the diagnosis. We presented this case in order to emphasize both its rarity and its real positive and differential diagnosis problems.

[Dextrocardia of post right pneumonectomy]. / Dextrocardie dobândita postpneumectomie dreapta.

The negative pressure achieved in the hemi thorax in the case of lung pneumonectomy has consequences on the mediastinum organ statics. This condition results through the other lung expansion. These changes are common, but rare in adult lung pneumonectomy. In the case of right lung pneumonectomy, the mediastinum moves to the operated part and disturbs the function of the vessels and cavities with thin wall or low pressure (vena cava, right atrium). These aspects are not observed in the case of left lung pneumonectomy. Taking this into consideration the authors present the case of a young woman with right lung pneumonectomy, an intervention made in childhood, at ten years old. After sixteen years of evolution a serious mediastinum re-shuffle was discovered, the heart was moved in the right hemi thorax, with a dextrocardia like aspect. This case is interesting because it raises positive and differential diagnosis problems--dextrocardia, associated disorders, serious complications.

Pancreatic pseudoaneurysm of the superior mesenteric artery complicated with obstructive jaundice. A case report.

CONTEXT: Pancreatic pseudoaneurysm rupture is a rare complication of chronic pancreatitis, with severe prognosis and high mortality. Angiography is usually required for confirmation of the diagnosis, but transabdominal ultrasound and CT angiography are useful noninvasive diagnostic methods. CASE REPORT: We present the case of a 66-year-old patient with a large pancreatic pseudoaneurysm of the superior mesenteric artery complicated with obstructive jaundice. Transabdominal ultrasound with color and power Doppler showed a large pancreatic head pseudoaneurysm that communicated directly to the superior mesenteric artery. Presence of a spinning blood flow inside the pseudoaneurysm was visualized by color Doppler, with evidence of bidirectional flow in the pseudoaneurysm neck that was showed by Doppler spectral analysis. The contrast-enhanced helical computer tomography with multiplanar sagittal and the 3D reconstruction of coronal images confirmed the communication of the pseudoaneurysm with the superior mesenteric artery. The patient was scheduled for selective angiography and embolization. However, clinical evolution was rapidly deteriorating, with collapse, hemorrhagic shock and massive hemorrhage. The patient was operated on and subsequently died despite three days of intensive care, due to disseminated intravascular coagulation and multiorgan failure. CONCLUSION: Non invasive imaging methods consisting of transabdominal ultrasound with color Doppler and contrast-enhanced computer tomography with sagittal reconstruction of coronal images were very useful in the establishment of the diagnosis of pancreatic pseudoaneurysm of the superior mesenteric artery complicated with cholestatic jaundice. However, these imaging methods do not obviate the need for diagnostic and therapeutic angiography, eventually followed by surgical intervention in cases of recurrent bleeding or hemodynamic unstable patients.

The value of serum and tissular expression of CA 125 antigen, in evaluation of the response to second line chemotherapy for the relapsed ovarian carcinoma.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to compare the predicted value of the blood levels variations of CA 125 antigen and the imunohistochemical expression of CA 125, with imagistic criteria (The Response Evaluation Criteran in Solid Tumor--RECIST) regarding the survival estimation of female patients with relapsed ovarian carcinoma which undergo to second line chemotherapy. MATERIAL AND METHOD: We included in this study 40 female patients diagnosed with ovarian carcinoma in the Oncology Clinic of the Emergency County Hospital Craiova, in a period of two years (from 2000 to 2002), which have fulfilled the following criteria: ovarian carcinoma IC-IV stage, according to FIGO system, first line treatment represented by the association between paclitaxel and a platinum salt, refractory or recurrent disease, indications for beginning the second line chemotherapy represented by topotecan or paclitaxel and carboplatin. The serial CA 125 antigen was determined in all patients before starting the chemotherapy and after each two sequences of chemotherapy, and the imunohistochemical expression of CA 125 was evaluated from surgery extracts before the second line chemotherapy (11 cases). The imagistic evaluation of the treatment response was done after 4 sequences of chemotherapy. RESULTS: All patients had measurable disease according to RECIST criteria and had high values (at least double) of the CA 125 antigen blood level at the time of diagnosis. The imunohistochemically expression of CA 125 was correlated in most cases with the blood level of CA 125. The evaluation criterion of the CA 125 antigen has been shown to be more efficient in estimation the survival rate compared with the RECIST system. In a various analysis, which included numerous potential prognostic factors, only the variation of blood levels of these antigen and the free disease interval from the finalization of the first line chemotherapy have been identified as predictive factors of survival, while the other variables, including the RECIST criteria, had no impact on the prognosis regarding the survival. CONCLUSIONS: The response evaluation criteria based on the blood levels variations of CA 125 antigen are a better instrument for the estimation of the compared prognosis with the RECIST criteria, for patients on second line chemotherapy for relapsed ovarian carcinoma.

[A rare cause of upper digestive tract bleeding--pancreatic papillary adenocarcinoma]. / Hemoragie digestiva superioara de cauza rara--adenocarcinom papilifer pancreatic.

Authors present a rare case of upper digestive bleeding, the etiology of which is represented by a pancreatic papillary adenocarcinoma placed in the body and tail of the pancreas, with bleeding through the Oddi's sphincter, which causes difficult problems of medical and surgical diagnosis and treatment. The patient was known with acute cholecysto-pancreatitis of lithiasic cause, which has been surgically cured in 1977, being under treatment in the last years for the pancreatic injury which had been chronic pancreatitis and for hyperglycemia. The laboratory explorations emphasized a severe anaemia which was identified through upper digestive endoscopy (intermittent active bleeding from the major papilla) confirmed by echo and CT exam (heterogeneously body tissue of 10/8 cm diameter, involving the body and the tail of the pancreas). The medical treatment was complex, including proteic, hematologic, acido-basic, balance of hyperglycemia, and was followed by the surgical intervention consisting in body and tail pancreatico-splenectomy, followed by a postsurgical abscess, which required drainage. The surgical evolution was favorable. 6 months after leaving the hospital, the patient was admitted to medical diseases clinic with the diagnosis of deep right ileofemoral thrombophlebitis, duodenal acute ulcer and acute pneumonia of average right lobe, causing difficult problems of medical treatment. On this pathologic background, the diabetic failure also appears and the echo exam showing multiple secondary hepatic and peritoneal metastatic determinations. In medical literature we only met 13 similar communications, problems of diagnosis and treatment being very much alike to those presented.