Síndrome de la costilla deslizante. Serie de 4 casos clínicos / No disponible

Introducción: El síndrome de costilla deslizante (SCD) es una entidad poco frecuente en niños. Se cree que su causa es una debilidad en los ligamentos costales que permite una hipermovilidad de las costillas. Genera un dolor intermitente en la región baja del tórax o alta del abdomen que puede afectar a las actividades de la vida diaria o generar un dolor crónico. Material y métodos: Revisión retrospectiva de SCD entre octubre de 2012 y diciembre de 2017. Se recogió información acerca de los datos demográficos, síntomas, estudios de imagen, hallazgos intraoperatorios, material fotográfico y seguimiento a largo plazo. Resultados: Durante este periodo, 4 pacientes fueron diagnosticados de SCD. La mediana de edad al diagnóstico fue de 13 años (12-15 años) con una duración previa de los síntomas de 13 meses (12-36 meses). En 2 pacientes se asoció una dismorfia costal (DC). El diagnóstico fue clínico con confirmación ecográfica. Se realizó resección de los cartílagos afectos en 3 pacientes con un seguimiento posterior de 6 meses (3-30 meses). Actualmente se encuentran sin dolor y con un resultado estético satisfactorio. Un paciente rechazó la intervención. Conclusiones: El SCD aparece en pacientes preadolescentes que en algunos casos asocian DC. Una exploración física y ecografía enfocada son las claves para un diagnóstico certero. La resección de cartílagos es efectiva a largo plazo

Aim of the study: The slipping rib syndrome (SRS) is an unknown pathology for the pediatric surgeon due to its low incidence in children. The weakness of the costal ligaments allowing an area of rib hypermobility has been postulated recently as the main etiology. It produces an intermittent pain in the lower thorax or upper abdomen that can affect to the daily activities and can be the origin of unspecific chronic pain. Methods: A retrospective review of patients diagnosed with SRS between october 2012 and march 2017 was performed. Data of demographics, symptoms, imaging studies, surgical findings and long-term follow-up were collected. Results: During this period, 4 patients were diagnosed with SRS. Median age at diagnosis was 13 years (12-15 years) with a mean duration of symptoms of 13 months (12-36 months). In 2 patients the SRS was associated with Costal Dysmorphia (CD). The initial diagnosis was clinical with posterior ultrasound confirmation. Resection of the affected cartilages was performed in 3 patients and after a follow-up of 6 months (3-30 months), they all are painless and refer a good cosmetic result. One patient refused the intervention. Conclusions: The SRS is an infrequent cause of thoracic pain with an etiology not well understood. The awareness of this disease and its typical presentation can avoid unnecessary studies. The resection of the affected cartilages is a safe and effective treatment

The prevalence of cervical ribs in Enugu, Nigeria.

BACKGROUND: Cervical rib is an important cause of nontraumatic thoracic outlet neurovascular compression. This study was undertaken as there is no known documented report on its prevalence in the study environment. AIMS: To evaluate the prevalence of cervical ribs and its variation with sex and age among patients presenting at radiological facilities for a chest radiograph. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: Retrospective evaluation of plain posterior-anterior view chest radiographs done in radiological facilities in Enugu, Southeast, Nigeria. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Evaluated in this study were all 6571 chest radiographs consecutively obtained between 2009 and 2012 in three randomly selected radiological facilities in Enugu. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: SPSS version 17 software was used in data analysis. Chi-square and student t-tests were used to test for the significance of findings at 95% confidence level. RESULTS: This study reports the overall prevalence of cervical ribs as 48 (0.7%) with a significantly higher rate in females 43 (1.1%) when compared to males 5 (0.2%) (P = 0.000). In 27 (0.4%) cases, the cervical ribs were bilateral; whereas in 21 (0.3%) cases, they were unilateral with 8 (0.1%) on the left and 13 (0.2%) on the right. There was no age-related variability with prevalence (P = -0.813). CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of cervical rib in the study population is low and within the known range as seen in other geographical regions of Nigeria.

Relevance of bone anomalies in patients with thoracic outlet syndrome.

BACKGROUND: Skeletal anomalies are recognized as potential causes of thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS); however, there is a paucity of information regarding the specific bone anomalies associated with TOS and their relative incidence among the different clinical types of TOS. This study describes the prevalence of bone anomalies in a population with TOS. METHODS: A retrospective chart review of the clinical records and imaging studies of all patients who were surgically treated at our institution for TOS between 1991-2011 was conducted. A descriptive analysis of the cohort of patients with associated bone anomalies was performed and compared with the cohort of patients without bone anomalies. RESULTS: During the study period, 400 patients underwent operative procedures for TOS. Of these, 115 (29%) harbored a bone anomaly and the remaining 285 did not. The bone anomalies included 80 (69%) cervical ribs, 25 (22%) clavicular anomalies, and 10 (9%) isolated first rib aberrations. Ninety (78%) of the bone anomalies were congenital, while 25 (22%) were posttraumatic. The bone anomaly cohort was predominantly female (76%), with an average age of 36 years. The distribution of neurogenic, arterial, and venous types of TOS in the cohort with bone anomalies was 63%, 33%, and 4%, respectively, while it was 51% neurogenic, 11% arterial, and 38% venous in the cohort without bone anomalies. These distributions were significantly different (chi-squared: 56.75; P < 0.0001). The likelihood of neurogenic compression was roughly equivalent between the 2 cohorts (odds ratio [OR]: 1.6; P = 0.03), while the likelihood of arterial compression was much higher in the presence of a bone anomaly (OR: 4.0; P < 0.001) and the likelihood of venous compression was much lower in the presence of bone anomaly (OR: 0.07; P < 0.001). Conversely, 33% of all neurogenic TOS cases, 54% of all arterial TOS cases, and 4% of all venous TOS cases were associated with a bone anomaly. CONCLUSIONS: In our experience, the incidence of bone anomalies among patients treated for TOS was 29%, which is higher than previously reported. Cervical ribs were present in 20% of our patients with TOS, an estimated 40 times higher prevalence than that in the general population. However, acquired clavicular deformities and isolated abnormal first ribs were found in 9% of our patients, accounting for almost one-third of all bone anomalies present in this TOS population. The incidence of bone anomalies is rather different among the subtypes of TOS. The strongest association with the presence of a bone anomaly occurs in patients with arterial TOS, although 46% of all our arterial TOS cases did not have a bone anomaly. The presence of bone anomalies does not seem to influence the occurrence of neurogenic TOS, while venous TOS likely has no association with congenital bone anomalies, but occasionally mid and medial clavicular fracture calluses may cause venous TOS.

Cervical ribs are more prevalent in stillborn fetuses than in live-born infants and are strongly associated with fetal aneuploidy.

This study was undertaken to determine the prevalence of cervical ribs in stillborn fetuses undergoing autopsy at our institution and to search for significant associations with cervical ribs. European studies have reported an increased prevalence of cervical ribs in patients with childhood cancer and in stillborn fetuses. We reviewed data from autopsies performed at Primary Children's Medical Center, Utah, between 2006 and 2009 on 225 stillborns (≥20 weeks) and 93 deceased live-born infants (<1 year). Digital fetal radiographs in anterior-posterior and lateral views had been taken of each subject. Chi-square analysis and general linear models were used for statistical analysis of the data. The overall prevalence of cervical ribs was higher in stillborns than in live-borns who died in the first year (43.1% vs 11.8%). Karyotypes were available for 93 (41.3%) of the stillborns. Of those, cervical ribs were present in 33 of 76 (43.4%) stillborns with normal karyotype and in 13 of 17 (76.4%) stillborns with aneuploidy. Females with unavailable karyotypes were more likely to have cervical ribs than those with normal karyotypes (P  =  0.0002). This greater likelihood was not observed in males. Among the stillborns with normal karyotypes, we found no statistically significant association with gender or gestational age at fetal death. There was also no statistically significant association between congenital anomalies and the presence of cervical ribs. Our findings support the hypothesis that cervical ribs are markers for disadvantageous developmental events occurring during blastogenesis and have been subject to strong negative selection during evolution.

The prevalence of cervical ribs in a London population.

Cervical ribs are an important cause of neurovascular compression at the thoracic outlet. Previous studies have shown the prevalence of cervical ribs to be between 0.05 and 3%, depending on the sex and race of the population studied. We examined 1,352 chest radiographs to determine the prevalence of cervical ribs in a London population of mixed sex and ethnicity. Our study found that the overall prevalence of cervical ribs was 0.74% with a higher rate in females compared with males (1.09 and 0.42%, respectively). Of the 10 individuals with a cervical rib, five were on the left, three were on the right and two were bilateral. The presence of elongated C7 transverse processes (transverse apophysomegaly) was also noted. We found a total of 30 elongated transverse processes with an overall prevalence of 2.21%. They were also more common in females (3.43%) than males (1.13%).

Management of cervical ribs and anomalous first ribs causing neurogenic thoracic outlet syndrome.

OBJECTIVE: Cervical and anomalous first ribs are rare conditions, occurring in less than 1% of the population. This manuscript reviews our management of neurogenic thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS) associated with these congenital anomalies. METHODS: During the past 26 years, 65 operations were performed for abnormal ribs that produced symptoms of TOS. Of these, 54 operations were for neurogenic TOS and are covered in this paper. Indications for surgery were disabling pain and paresthesia and failure to respond to conservative treatment. Surgical technique for neurogenic TOS was supraclavicular cervical rib resection and scalenectomy without first rib resection in 22 cases, supraclavicular cervical and first rib resection in 17 cases, supraclavicular excision of anomalous first ribs in five cases, and transaxillary anomalous first rib resections in two cases (total, 46 cases). Eight reoperations were performed for recurrent TOS in patients who previously had undergone cervical and first rib resections. RESULTS: Neck trauma was the cause of neurogenic symptoms in 80% of patients with cervical or anomalous first ribs. The surgical failure rate was 28% for 46 primary operations. A significant variable in results was the etiology of the symptoms. The failure rate for patients in whom symptoms developed after work-related injuries or repetitive stress at work was 42%, and the failure rates for patients whose symptoms followed an auto accident or developed spontaneously were 26% and 18%, respectively. The failure rate in each etiology group also was affected by the operation performed. The failure rate for cervical rib resection without first rib resection in the work-related group was 75% compared with a failure rate of 38% in the non-work-related group. In contrast, when both cervical and first ribs were resected, the failure rate in the work-related group fell to 25% and in the non-work-related group to 20%. These failure rates for the work-related and non-work-related groups are similar to our failure rates in patients without cervical ribs. CONCLUSION: Surgery for neurogenic TOS in patients with cervical ribs should include both cervical and first rib resection. The presence of cervical or anomalous first ribs in patients with neurogenic TOS does not improve the success rate from surgery compared with patients without abnormal ribs. Neck trauma is the most common cause for neurogenic TOS in patients with abnormal ribs. Cervical and anomalous first ribs are the predisposing factors rather than the cause.

[Variation of the transverse apophysis of the 7th cervical vertebra: anatomo-radiological study of an isolated population]. / Variazioni dell'apofisi trasversa della settima vertebra cervicale: studio anatomo-radiologico su una popolazione "segregata".

The authors investigated the morphological changes in the transverse apophysis of C VII by Rx study on an isolated population. Two variations were mainly observed: the transverse mega-apophysis and the cervical rib. The authors found a remarkable incidence of variations, more than the average of the literature. Authors suppose that this results can be attributed at the geographical and economical isolation of the population and they hypothesize a genetic transmission of recessive autosomal type.

Sindrome del operculo toracico / Thoracic outlet syndrome

Se revisa la experiencia de la Caja Nacional de Prevision en el Sindrome del Operculo Toracico de 1974 a 1984, haciendo una revision de los conceptos fisiopatologicos actuales, basados en las relaciones anatomicas del paquete vasculo-nervioso a la salida del torax con la primera costilla. Entre los procedimientos diagnosticos se enfatiza la utilidad de la conduccion nerviosa de los miembros superiores, lo que define la conducta terapeutica a seguir. Como tratamiento definitivo se recomienda la extirpacion de la primera costilla, aconsejando la via axial. Se informa sobre la poca morbilidad y los resultados optimos con este proceder