Intraventricular CNS lesions: A pictorial essay.

Intraventricular lesions of the central nervous system (CNS) can present a diagnostic challenge due to a range of differential diagnoses and radiological appearances. Both CT and MRI imaging findings, in combination with location and patient's age, can help limit the differentials. This pictorial essay presents the salient radiological features, location and demographics of the more common intraventricular lesions of the brain.

Protocol for CT in the position of discomfort: preoperative assessment of femoroacetabular impingement - how we do it and what the surgeon wants to know.

INTRODUCTION: The use of computed tomography of the hip in a position of discomfort (CT-POD) in combination with 2D and 3D surface rendering is a technique increasingly used to aid in the assessment and confirmation of femoral and acetabular bony abnormalities related to femoroacetabular impingement. The purpose of this article is to describe this dynamic method of assessment. METHODS: Patients referred by orthopaedic surgeons for assessment of femoroacetabular impingement as part of preoperative planning and patients who required postoperative assessment of residual bony abnormalities were selected. RESULTS: This article describes the CT-POD technique and the information required by the referring surgeon. CONCLUSION: CT-POD is a new technique that provides valuable preoperative and postoperative information to the surgeon.

Weather patients will come?

OBJECTIVES: To determine whether weather conditions affect emergency department (ED) attendance and admissions from the ED. DESIGN AND SETTING: A retrospective observational study in a large metropolitan ED. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: ED attendance (total and via ambulance) and admissions to hospital from ED, as a function of weather variables. RESULTS: On warm, dry, sunny and good weather days there were significantly more ED attendances in total than there were on cool, rainy, dull and bad weather days, respectively (P < or = 0.001). There were significant correlations between ED attendance and temperature (r = 0.36, P < 0.001), rainfall (r = - 0.20, P < 0.001) and hours of sunshine (r = 0.17, P = 0.001). Attendance via ambulance was not affected by weather variables. Admissions from the ED were positively correlated with temperature (r = 0.15, P < 0.01) and negatively correlated with rainfall (r = - 0.12, P = 0.02). CONCLUSIONS: As there is a clear relationship between weather conditions and ED attendance, incorporating meteorological forecasting into emergency medicine training may improve ED scheduling. To improve the morale of ED staff coping with an onslaught of patients on good weather days, the ED environment should simulate sunny weather, with swimming pools, sun lamps, palm trees and Beach Boys music.