ABSTRACT
ABSTRACT: A 13-year-old boy was suspected with pericarditis after a second booster dose of bivalent mRNA COVID-19 vaccine. After specific preparation for cardiac inflammation with carbohydrate-free, high-fat diet, the 18 F-FDG PET/CT successfully demonstrated simultaneous presentation of vaccination-related axillary lymphadenopathy and pericarditis without the interference of physiological myocardial uptake.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 Vaccines , COVID-19 , Pericarditis , Adolescent , Humans , Male , COVID-19/prevention & control , COVID-19 Vaccines/adverse effects , Fluorodeoxyglucose F18 , Pericarditis/diagnostic imaging , Pericarditis/etiology , Positron Emission Tomography Computed Tomography , RNA, Messenger , VaccinationABSTRACT
Medication errors can have severe consequences and threaten patient safety. The patient safety-related benefits of automated dispensing cabinets (ADCs) have been reported by several previous studies, including a reduction in medication errors in intensive care units (ICUs) and emergency departments. However, the benefits of ADCs need to be assessed, given the different healthcare practice models. This study aimed to compare the rates of medication errors, including prescription, dispensing, and administrative, before and after using ADCs in intensive care units. The prescription, dispensing, and administrative error data before and after the adoption of ADCs were retrospectively collected from the medication error report system. The severity of medication errors was classified according to the National Coordinating Council for Medication Error Reporting and Prevention guidelines. The study outcome was the rate of medication errors. After the adoption of ADCs in the intensive care units, the rates of prescription and dispensing errors reduced from 3.03 to 1.75 per 100,000 prescriptions and 3.87 to 0 per 100,000 dispensations, respectively. The administrative error rate decreased from 0.046 to 0.026%. The ADCs decreased National Coordinating Council for Medication Error Reporting and Prevention category B and D errors by 75% and category C errors by 43%. To improve medication safety, multidisciplinary collaboration and strategies, such as the use of automated dispensing cabinets, education, and training programs from a systems perspective, are warranted.
Subject(s)
Medication Errors , Medication Systems, Hospital , Humans , Retrospective Studies , Medication Errors/prevention & control , Intensive Care Units , Critical CareABSTRACT
ABSTRACT: Spontaneous regression of testicular mixed germ cell tumor is rare and is also called burned-out testicular tumor. We herein present the case of a 20-year-old man who was initially diagnosed with metastatic embryonal carcinoma. 18 F-FDG PET/CT demonstrated apparent metastases in the lymph node regions and both lungs. A covert right testicular lesion was noted according to the features on the CT component of PET/CT, which was subsequently confirmed as burned-out testicular mixed germ cell tumor.
Subject(s)
Neoplasms, Germ Cell and Embryonal , Testicular Neoplasms , Adult , Fluorodeoxyglucose F18 , Humans , Male , Neoplasms, Germ Cell and Embryonal/diagnostic imaging , Positron Emission Tomography Computed Tomography , Radiopharmaceuticals , Testicular Neoplasms/diagnostic imaging , Testicular Neoplasms/pathology , Young AdultABSTRACT
ABSTRACT: 18F-fluciclovine, a radiolabeled amino acid analog, has been approved by US Food and Drug Administration for detecting lesions of biochemical recurrence of prostate adenocarcinoma with PET/CT. However, it is not specific for prostate cancer and has been found to be present in variety of malignant and benign etiologies. We herein present an interesting case of the incidental finding of increasing uptake of 18F-fluciclovine related to intramuscular injection of antiandrogen.
Subject(s)
Cyclobutanes , Prostatic Neoplasms , Aged , Androgen Antagonists , Biological Transport , Carboxylic Acids , Female , Humans , Male , Positron Emission Tomography Computed Tomography , Prostatic Neoplasms/diagnostic imaging , Prostatic Neoplasms/pathologyABSTRACT
In this novel study, we isolated 28 compounds from the leaves of Aquilaria sinensis (Lour.) Gilg based on a bioassay-guided procedure and also discovered the possible matrix metalloprotease 2 (MMP-2) and 9 (MMP-9) modulatory effect of pheophorbide A (PA). To evaluate the regulatory activity on MMP-2 and MMP-9, the HT-1080 human fibrosarcoma cells were treated with various concentrations of extracted materials and isolated compounds. PA was extracted by methanol from the leaves of A. sinensis and separated from the fraction of the partitioned ethyl acetate layer. PA is believed to be an active component for MMP expression since it exhibited significant stimulation on MMP-2 and proMMP-9 activity. When treating with 50 µM of PA, the expression of MMP-2 and MMP-9 were increased 1.9-fold and 2.3-fold, respectively. PA also exhibited no cytotoxicity against HT-1080 cells when the cell viability was monitored. Furthermore, no significant MMP activity was observed when five PA analogues were evaluated. This study is the first to demonstrate that C-17 of PA is the deciding factor in determining the bioactivity of the compound. The MMP-2 and proMMP-9 modulatory activity of PA indicate its potential applications for reducing scar formation and comparative medical purposes.
Subject(s)
Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic/drug effects , Matrix Metalloproteinase 2/genetics , Matrix Metalloproteinase 9/genetics , Phytochemicals/pharmacology , Plant Extracts/pharmacology , Plant Leaves/chemistry , Thymelaeaceae/chemistry , Cell Line, Tumor , Humans , Molecular Structure , Phytochemicals/chemistry , Plant Extracts/chemistryABSTRACT
Tc-TRODAT-1, as a tropane-derived compound with highly selective binding to the dopamine transporter, has been extensively used as an in vivo biomarker to evaluate parkinsonism. There have been few reports indicating various etiologies about extrastriatal findings on the Tc-TRODAT-1 SPECT. We herein present an interesting case about the incidental discovery of brain lymphoma with increasing uptake of Tc-TRODAT-1.
Subject(s)
Brain/diagnostic imaging , Lymphoma/diagnostic imaging , Organotechnetium Compounds , Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon , Tropanes , Biological Transport , Brain/metabolism , Female , Humans , Incidental Findings , Lymphoma/metabolism , Middle Aged , Organotechnetium Compounds/metabolism , Tropanes/metabolismABSTRACT
Malignant mesotheliomas may be classified into epithelioid (60%), sarcomatoid (20%), or mixed (20%) type microscopically. Malignant deciduoid mesothelioma, a rare phenotype of epithelioid mesothelioma, arises more commonly from the peritoneum of young women, but is also from the pleura of elderly people. In the current report, the authors describe an unusual case of peritoneal malignant epithelioid mesothelioma with rare deciduoid phenotype demonstrated with Ga SPECT/CT.
Subject(s)
Gallium Radioisotopes , Lung Neoplasms/diagnostic imaging , Mesothelioma/diagnostic imaging , Peritoneal Neoplasms/diagnostic imaging , Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography Computed Tomography , Female , Humans , Lung Neoplasms/pathology , Mesothelioma/pathology , Mesothelioma, Malignant , Middle Aged , Peritoneal Neoplasms/pathologyABSTRACT
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a disease usually diagnosed in its advanced-stage, and is frequently not amenable to curative surgical treatment. Also, HCC is resistant to chemotherapy and less vulnerable to radiation therapy compared to normal hepatic parenchyma. Both of these facts render the efficacy of adjuvant and palliative treatments problematic. Selective internal radiation therapy (SIRT) with 90Y-bearing microspheres is characterized by preferentially delivering substantially high doses of radiation to a liver tumor dose simultaneously limiting the damage to its non-tumorous cells, providing an opportunity for effective local tumor control and even tumor regression therapy. The current article reviews the specific characters, dosimetry, possible applications, and special considerations toward the pre-existing radiation therapy of 90Y microsphere SIRT in treating HCC.
ABSTRACT
Urachal remnant anomalies are rare, and vesicourachal diverticulum is the most uncommon subtype of these anomalies. We present such a rare case of vesicourachal diverticulum that is incidentally discovered during the staging surveillance of a known esophageal cancer with F-FDG PET/CT. The physiological urinary excretion of radiopharmaceutical in the vesicourachal diverticulum mimics intra-abdominal malignancy, which resolves spontaneously in the follow-up FDG PET/CT.
Subject(s)
Abdominal Neoplasms/diagnostic imaging , Diverticulum/diagnostic imaging , Fluorodeoxyglucose F18/urine , Radiopharmaceuticals/urine , Urachus/abnormalities , Urinary Tract/diagnostic imaging , Diagnosis, Differential , Esophageal Neoplasms/diagnostic imaging , Humans , Incidental Findings , Male , Middle Aged , Positron Emission Tomography Computed Tomography , Urinary Tract/abnormalitiesABSTRACT
Testicular metastases, despite their proximity, from prostate adenocarcinoma are rare and usually found along with bone or other visceral metastases. We herein present a case with recurrent disease of prostate adenocarcinoma as solitary testicular metastasis detected by 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (FDG PET/CT).
Subject(s)
Carcinoma/diagnostic imaging , Positron-Emission Tomography , Prostatic Neoplasms/diagnostic imaging , Testicular Neoplasms/diagnostic imaging , Tomography, X-Ray Computed , Carcinoma/pathology , Fluorodeoxyglucose F18 , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Multimodal Imaging , Prostatic Neoplasms/pathology , Radiopharmaceuticals , Testicular Neoplasms/secondaryABSTRACT
Brain functions express rhythmic fluctuations accompanied by sleep and wakefulness each day, but how sleep regulates brain rhythms remains unclear. Following the dose-dependent local sleep concept, two succeeding questions emerge: (1) is the sleep regulation a network-specific process; and (2) is the awakening state dependent on the previous sleep stages? To answer the questions, we conducted simultaneous EEG and fMRI recordings over 22 healthy male participants, along pre-sleep, nocturnal sleep and awakening. Using paired comparisons between awakening and pre-sleep conditions, three scenarios of the regional specificity were demonstrated on awakening: (1) the default-mode and hippocampal networks maintained similar connectivity and spectral power; (2) the sensorimotor network presented reduced connectivity and spectral power; and (3) the thalamus demonstrated substantially enhanced connectivity to the neo-cortex with decreased spectral power. With regard to the stage effect, the deep sleep group had significant changes in both functional connectivity and spectral power on awakening, whereas the indices of light sleep group remained relatively quiescent after sleep. The phenomena implied that slow-wave sleep could be key to rebooting the BOLD fluctuations after sleep. In conclusion, the regional specificity and the stage effect were verified in support of the local awakening concept, indicating that sleep regulation leads to the reorganization of brain networks upon awakening.
Subject(s)
Brain/physiology , Electroencephalography , Magnetic Resonance Imaging , Sleep/physiology , Wakefulness/physiology , Brain Mapping , Humans , Male , Nerve Net/physiologyABSTRACT
Dopamine transporter (DAT) radiopharmaceuticals are capable of binding to the DAT with high selectivity, especially in the corpora striata, and have been widely used to evaluate parkinsonian disorder. However, only a few reports have mentioned about the extrastriatal pathologic DAT uptake. Herein we present an interesting case about the incidental discovery of pituitary macroadenoma with intense uptake of 99mTc-TRODAT-1.
Subject(s)
Adenoma/diagnostic imaging , Corpus Striatum/diagnostic imaging , Parkinsonian Disorders/diagnostic imaging , Pituitary Neoplasms/diagnostic imaging , Adenoma/complications , Adenoma/pathology , Aged , Corpus Striatum/pathology , Humans , Magnetic Resonance Imaging , Male , Organotechnetium Compounds , Parkinsonian Disorders/complications , Parkinsonian Disorders/pathology , Pituitary Neoplasms/complications , Pituitary Neoplasms/pathology , Radiopharmaceuticals , Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon , TropanesABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: The current study aimed to evaluate whether therapy-related changes occurred in brain metabolism at an earlier stage during the course of anticancer therapy. METHODS: We recruited 14 non-diabetic male patients with newly diagnosed pharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma. We analyzed the patients' serial brain FDG PET/CT scans by SPM8 to establish whether any therapy-related changes had occurred in brain FDG metabolism, either during or after the course of therapy. RESULTS: Decreased metabolism was noted during the anticancer therapy, displaying a symmetric pattern involving bilateral basal ganglia and bilateral occipital lobes. The decrease in FDG metabolism in these regions persisted after the anticancer therapy had terminated. However, relative recovery of the metabolism was noted in the bilateral occipital lobes, whereas further deterioration was noted in bilateral basal ganglia. CONCLUSIONS: The current study revealed that unappreciable changes in brain metabolism can occur during the early course of anticancer therapy, and persist even after therapy has terminated. Although the exact mechanism remains unclear, these changes may be related to the systemic effects of chemotherapy or radiotherapy as well as subclinical cancer-related depressive or adjustment mood disorder.
Subject(s)
Brain/metabolism , Carcinoma, Squamous Cell/drug therapy , Carcinoma, Squamous Cell/metabolism , Fluorodeoxyglucose F18/pharmacokinetics , Pharyngeal Neoplasms/drug therapy , Pharyngeal Neoplasms/metabolism , Adult , Aged , Antineoplastic Agents/therapeutic use , Brain/drug effects , Carcinoma, Squamous Cell/diagnostic imaging , Computer Simulation , Early Diagnosis , Humans , Image Enhancement/methods , Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted/methods , Male , Metabolic Clearance Rate/drug effects , Middle Aged , Models, Biological , Organ Specificity , Pharyngeal Neoplasms/diagnostic imaging , Radionuclide Imaging , Radiopharmaceuticals/pharmacokinetics , Reproducibility of Results , Sensitivity and Specificity , Tissue Distribution/drug effectsABSTRACT
A 54-year-old woman had a primary breast sarcoma with rapid enlargement in 3 months. The mass became so huge that it was more than 20 cm in diameter and occupied the entire right breast on presentation. Extraosseous uptake was present in this mass and demonstrated a unique picture, mimicking the posture of a racing driver who holds a helmet under the armpit, on the bone scan.
Subject(s)
Bone and Bones/diagnostic imaging , Breast Neoplasms/diagnostic imaging , Breast Neoplasms/pathology , Sarcoma/diagnostic imaging , Sarcoma/pathology , Tomography, X-Ray Computed , Tumor Burden , Female , Humans , Middle AgedABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Adipokines, including adipocyte fatty acid-binding protein (A-FABP), have been demonstrated to be involved in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. In the present study, we investigated the association of circulating A-FABP level with severity of myocardial perfusion abnormalities analyzed by Tl-201 dipyridamole single-photon emission computed tomography. METHODS: A total of 170 patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) from cardiovascular clinics were enrolled in the study. Serum A-FABP levels, echocardiography, and stress myocardial perfusion imaging results were analyzed. RESULTS: Compared with the patients with mild CAD (summed stress score [SSS] ≤ 8), those with moderate to severe CAD (SSS > 8) had significantly higher A-FABP concentrations. However, the difference was attenuated in the subgroup of patients with heart failure. In the correlation analyses, A-FABP level was correlated with age, body mass index, waist circumference, levels of creatinine, fasting glucose, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide, adiponectin, and several echocardiographic parameters, including left ventricular ejection fraction. Multivariate logistic regression analysis demonstrated that the A-FABP level was not only associated with higher SSS (odds ratio, 1.30; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.01-1.69; P = 0.048), but also an independent risk factor for heart failure (odds ratio 2.71, 95% CI, 1.23-5.94; P = 0.013). CONCLUSIONS: Serum A-FABP levels not only were associated with myocardial perfusion abnormalities and left ventricular function, but also predicted the presence of heart failure in our patients with CAD.
Subject(s)
Coronary Artery Disease/blood , Fatty Acid-Binding Proteins/blood , Heart Failure/blood , Ventricular Dysfunction, Left/blood , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Coronary Artery Disease/diagnostic imaging , Echocardiography, Stress , Female , Heart Failure/diagnostic imaging , Humans , Logistic Models , Male , Middle Aged , Multivariate Analysis , Myocardial Perfusion Imaging , Severity of Illness Index , Stroke Volume , Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon , Ventricular Dysfunction, Left/diagnostic imaging , Ventricular Function, LeftABSTRACT
We presented a patient with abnormal focal accumulation of 67Ga in the left upper abdomen. After drinking water, we successfully identified the abnormal radioactivity that was from the stomach. Subsequent endoscopic examination did not reveal gastric pathological condition. Gastric accumulation of 67Ga may relate to pathological conditions or physiological uptake, confounding interpretation of 67Ga scintigraphy. Simple water ingestion method can rapidly identify gastric 67Ga uptake, and the shape of distended stomach can also help to differentiate pathological conditions from physiological uptake, which is especially helpful for a busy nuclear medicine department and for places where the SPECT/CT systems are not available.
Subject(s)
Stomach/diagnostic imaging , Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon , Tomography, X-Ray Computed , Endoscopy, Digestive System , Feasibility Studies , Gallium Radioisotopes , Humans , Male , Middle AgedSubject(s)
Carcinoma, Squamous Cell/pathology , Esophageal Neoplasms/pathology , Liver Neoplasms/secondary , Lung Neoplasms/secondary , Adult , Carcinoma, Squamous Cell/diagnosis , Esophageal Neoplasms/diagnosis , Humans , Liver Neoplasms/diagnosis , Lung Neoplasms/diagnosis , Male , Tomography, X-Ray Computed , Tumor BurdenABSTRACT
Levetiracetam can suppress sialidosis-related myoclonus but its effects on cerebral metabolism warrant elucidation. In this report, fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography was conducted before and after levetiracetam in a sialidosis patient. By subtracting the drug "off" from "on" signals, regions of enhanced metabolism were shown to be allocated mostly in the bilateral fronto-temporal regions whereas regions of reduced metabolism were distributed mainly in the occipital areas. Imaging changes suggest that the effects of levetiracetam may be different in different brain regions. The drug may also elicit fronto-temporal inhibitory impulses to suppress the vigorous myoclonus in sialidosis.
Subject(s)
Cerebral Cortex/diagnostic imaging , Mucolipidoses/diagnostic imaging , Mucolipidoses/drug therapy , Myoclonus/diagnostic imaging , Myoclonus/drug therapy , Piracetam/analogs & derivatives , Adult , Cerebral Cortex/drug effects , Humans , Levetiracetam , Male , Neuroimaging/methods , Piracetam/pharmacology , Piracetam/therapeutic use , Positron-Emission Tomography/methodsABSTRACT
A 25-year-old woman had carcinosarcoma of uterine cervix after definitive treatment. One year later, local recurrent disease was found in the right posterior pelvis on FDG PET/CT. FDG PET/CT also disclosed an incidental intramural hypermetabolic lesion in the rectum, which seemed separate from the right pelvic lesion on contrast-enhanced CT. The rectal lesion was confirmed as metastatic carcinosarcoma from uterine cervix after endoscopic biopsy.
Subject(s)
Mixed Tumor, Mullerian/pathology , Rectal Neoplasms/pathology , Rectal Neoplasms/secondary , Uterine Cervical Neoplasms/pathology , Adult , Female , Humans , Multimodal Imaging , Positron-Emission Tomography , Rectal Neoplasms/diagnostic imaging , Rectal Neoplasms/physiopathology , Tomography, X-Ray ComputedABSTRACT
A 55-year-old man was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma in the middle thoracic esophagus. The FDG PET/CT revealed an incidental strong FDG-avid finding (SUVmax, 11) in the right parotid gland, which was subsequently confirmed as metastasis from the squamous cell carcinoma of esophagus via surgery. The current case adds another differential diagnosis of parotid FDG-avid lesion to the existing literature.