An acute gastric volvulus in a child with congenital left diaphragmatic hernia: a case report.

BACKGROUND: Acute complete gastric volvulus is a rare and life-threatening disease, which is prone to gastric wall ischemia, perforation, and necrosis. If it is not treated by surgery in time, the mortality rate can range from 30 to 50%. Clinical presentations of acute gastric volvulus are atypical and often mimic other abdominal conditions such as gastritis, gastroesophageal reflux, gastric dilation, and pancreatitis. Imaging studies are crucial for diagnosis, with barium meal fluoroscopy being the primary modality for diagnosing gastric volvulus. Cases of acute gastric volvulus diagnosed by ultrasound are rarely reported. CASE PRESENTATION: We reported a rare case of acute gastric volvulus in a 4-year-old Chinese girl who presented with vomiting and abdominal pain. Ultrasound examination revealed the "whirlpool sign" in the cardia region, raising suspicion of gastric volvulus. Diagnosis was confirmed by X-ray barium meal fluoroscopy, which indicated left-sided diaphragmatic hernia and obstruction at the cardia region. Surgical intervention confirmed our suspicion of acute complete gastric volvulus combined with diaphragmatic hernia. CONCLUSION: In this case, we reported an instance of acute complete gastric volvulus. Ultrasound revealed a "whirlpool sign" in the cardia, which is likely to be a key sign for the diagnosis of complete gastric volvulus.

A previously healthy 3-year-old female with hypertension, proteinuria, and hypercalciuria.

A 3-year-old female patient with no significant medical history presented to her pediatrician with foamy urine. Initial testing revealed moderate proteinuria on qualitative testing, although she was incidentally noted to have severe hypertension (240/200 mmHg). Physical examination of the carotid and femoral areas revealed significant systolic vascular murmurs. Labs showed elevated serum creatinine, hypokalemia, metabolic alkalosis, elevated renin and aldosterone and hypercalciuria. Echocardiography identified ventricular hypertrophy. Computed tomography (CT) of the abdomen and magnetic resonance angiography of the head showed multiple tortuous or interrupted arteries and multiple calcifications in the renal sinus area. B-mode ultrasonography suggested thickening of the carotid and femoral artery walls, with numerous spotted calcifications. Genetic testing revealed that ABCC6 had a complex heterozygous mutation (exon 24: c.3340C > T and intron 30: c.4404-1G > A). Our panel of experts reviewed the evaluation of this patient with hypertension, proteinuria, hypercalciuria, and vascular abnormalities as well as the diagnosis and appropriate management of a rare disease.

An intussusception caused by a rare transverse colon lipoma: Case report.

INTRODUCTION: Intestinal lipoma is a rare benign tumor with a reported incidence of 0.2 % to 4.4 %. It is seen mainly in patients aged 50 to 70 years. Intestinal lipoma as a pathological lead point of intussusception is rare. There are few reports of colic lipoma in children. PRESENTATION OF CASE: We reported a 7-year-old girl with a 4-year history of intermittent abdominal pain. Ultrasound examination showed a homogeneous hyperechoic mass near the distal transverse colon, which was similar to the surrounding lipid tissue. Histopathological examination confirmed the diagnosis of intestinal lipoma. DISCUSSION: Colonic lipoma is very rare in children. If intussusception occurs repeatedly, or if it occurs in older children, we should consider the presence of pathological lead point. Early diagnosis and immediate surgical intervention are the key factors to a successful outcome. CONCLUSION: In this case we report a pediatric case of intussusception secondary to colonic lipoma, and describe imaging and pathologic signs suggestive of intestinal lipoma.

Heterotopic squamous epithelial inclusion cyst in a cervical lymph node in a child: a case report and literature review.

Background: A squamous epithelial inclusion cyst in a lymph node is a rare heterotopic phenomenon. Heterotopic squamous inclusion cysts in cervical lymph nodes are even rarer, and to date, only 3 such cases have been reported in the literature, none of which have described the ultrasound features. Here, we report a pediatric case, focusing on the ultrasonographic manifestations of the disease and the differential diagnosis of cervical space-occupying lesions in children. Case Description: We report the case of a 6-year-old boy in good health, who presented with a non-tender mass on the right side of the neck 1 month earlier. Some 7 days before admission, the mass gradually increased in size and became tender. Laboratory tests showed an increase in C-reactive protein of 17 mg/L (normal range: 0-8 mg/L). The physical examination revealed a palpable 3.0 cm × 2.0 cm mass with tenderness and poor mobility in the right submandibular region. Doppler ultrasonography showed an oval, ill-defined mass in the right submandibular area, consisting of a peripheral homogeneous hypoechoic component with hilar-like vascularity and an internal heterogeneous very hypoechoic component with patchy hyperechoic areas. The computed tomography (CT) scan showed a heterogeneously hypodense mass with irregular annular enhancement in the right submandibular region. Lymph node tuberculosis or space-occupying lesions were suspected based on the clinical and imaging findings. The mass was completely excised by surgery. The pathological diagnosis was a secondary infection of squamous epithelial inclusion cysts in the right cervical lymph node. The peripheral homogeneous hypoechoic component was normal lymph node tissue, and the internal heterogeneous very hypoechoic component was a squamous inclusion cyst with keratin debris. The patient was followed up for a total of 3 times after surgery, and no recurrence of the tumor was found. Conclusions: Ultrasonography can help in the early diagnosis of heterotopic squamous inclusion cysts in children's cervical lymph nodes, and can be used to differentiate other cervical lesions. We reviewed the literature and found that this heterotopic phenomenon was more likely to occur in the submandibular region of the neck in younger patients. Surgery may be an effective treatment for this disease.

Testicular Yolk Sac Tumor and Mature Teratoma: Synchronous Bilateral Occurrence in an Infant.

Yolk sac tumor (YST) is a rare malignancy typically occurring in children. However, bilateral testicular YSTs are a quite rare situation, which can occur metachronously or synchronously with same histologic type, as well as different histology. We present a case of synchronous YST of the left testis and mature teratoma of the right in a 7-month-old infant treated with testis-sparing surgery at right testis and high radical orchiectomy at left. By follow-up of 28th month, no atrophy, or residual tumor in right testis and no recurrence or evidence of disease in left scrotum was found.

Unexplained cervical lymphadenopathy in children: predictive factors for malignancy.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to determine clinical factors that are able to predict the likelihood of malignancy of unexplained cervical lymphadenopathy in children. METHODS: The data of 175 cases with unexplained cervical lymphadenopathy, including sex, age, fever, number of involved regions, and location and size of the largest node, were collected. Receiver operating characteristic analysis was performed to find out the optimal parameter for size of the largest node. Logistic regression was applied to determine independent predictors for malignancy. RESULTS: On the basis of receiver operating characteristic analysis, the ratio of maximal width to maximal length (ratio) was confirmed as the optimal parameter of size for malignancy prediction, and its threshold, which maximized sensitivity and specificity, was 0.5. Multivariate binary logistic regression model indicated that number of involved regions (odds ratio [OR], 5.169; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.291-20.691; P = .020), location of the largest node (OR, 12.423; 95% CI, 3.657-42.205; P = .000), and ratio (OR, 52.080; 95% CI, 16.089-168.588; P = .000) were significant independent predictors of malignancy. CONCLUSIONS: Higher ratio (>0.5), multiple cervical regions of adenopathy (> or =2), and region II or III location of the largest node are associated with malignancy. These data should be helpful to supplement clinical judgment in determining which enlarged cervical nodes harbor cancer.

Coexistence of a giant splenic hemangioma and multiple hepatic hemangiomas mimicking a left adrenal neuroblastoma accompanied with multifocal hepatic metastases: pyrite answer.

A 4-month girl presenting with a giant mass in left adrenal region and multiple hepatic nodules was hospitalized. On the basis of computed tomography, ultrasound and epidemiology we preferred the diagnosis of a left adrenal neuroblastoma accompanied with multiple hepatic metastases preoperatively. But postoperative diagnosis was hemangiomatosis characterized by synchronous presence of a giant splenic hemangioma and multiple hepatic hemangiomas. We think that it is deservedly reported because of not only its rarity but also pitfalls of preoperative differential diagnosis and management principle.