Role of High-Resolution CT Thorax in Diagnosing Interstitial Lung Disease and Its Association With Smoking and Connective Tissue Disorder.

Introduction Interstitial lung diseases (ILDs) primarily affect the interstitium, an alveolar wall tissue between the capillary endothelium and the alveolar epithelium. The term 'interstitial,' however, is misleading since alveolar spaces, peripheral airways, and vessels can be involved in most of these disorders.They often require a multidisciplinary diagnosis i.e., an integration of clinical, radiological, and pathological findings. A chest radiograph is relatively insensitive because of nonspecific patterns. Generally, these disorders can progress to irreversible pulmonary fibrosis and are an important cause of morbidity and mortality. It is critical to make a prompt and accurate diagnosis of the underlying causes so that patients can be managed appropriately. ILD is subdivided into idiopathic interstitial pneumonia, of which idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is one subset, and diffuse parenchymal lung diseases, which may be secondary to a variety of occupational or environmental exposures or others. They can complicate multiple rheumatic or connective tissue diseases (CTDs). Apart from ILD, other forms of lung damage involving the pleura, vasculature, airways, and lymphatic tissue can complicate CTDs. Aims  Aims include studying the role of high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) in diagnosing various ILDs based on morphologic patterns, evaluating the correlation between ILD and various connective tissue disorders and the prevalence of complications in such patients, and evaluating the association of smoking with various ILDs. Methods This is a retrospective study in which HRCT thorax was performed on a 128-slice Philips CT scanner machine on 50 patients from December 2020 to February 2022 in SVP Hospital, Ahmedabad. No age or gender bias was followed. Result Out of 50 patients studied, 19 (38%) patients had the usual interstitial pneumonia (UIP) pattern and 12 (24%) had the nonspecific interstitial pneumonia (NSIP) pattern. These two were the most common among all ILD patterns. Other patterns found were hypersensitivity pneumonitis (5; 10%), respiratory bronchiolitis-related ILD (3;6%), and organizing pneumonia (2; 4%). In nine patients, the morphologic pattern was either subtle (3; 6%) or mixed (6; 12%), and the final diagnosis remained inconclusive; patients were advised clinical correlation and biopsy. Eleven (22%) patients had a history of smoking. Among smokers, the most common pattern was UIP while all patients with respiratory bronchiolitis (RB) ILD had a history of smoking. Fourteen (28%) patients showed a positive association with CTD. Among them, rheumatoid arthritis (RA) was the most common CTD and the most common pattern among RA patients was UIP. Ten (20%) of patients developed pulmonary arterial hypertension, of which two patients who had connective tissue disorder developed pulmonary arterial hypertension at a young age (24 years). The rest of the patients who developed pulmonary arterial hypertension were above 45 years of age. Among these, two were smokers. Conclusion HRCT plays an important role in the diagnosis of ILD on the basis of various morphological patterns. CTD plays a significant role in the development of ILD. UIP is the most common ILD among patients with a smoking history and RA. NSIP Is the most common in patients with CTD other than RA. Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) develops early in patients with CTD. There is a significant risk of the development of PAH in patients with chronic ILD.

Intracerebral Hemorrhage Score and Volume as an Independent Predictor of Mortality in Primary Intracerebral Hemorrhage Patients.

We studied how well the original intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) score would predict mortality. All nine patients with an ICH score of 0 survived, whereas those having scores of 1, 2, 3, and 4 had 10, 53, 71, and 100 % mortality, respectively. Thirty-nine patients were found to have hematoma of <30 mL (56 % survived), whereas 11 patients were found to have volume of >30 mL (only 10 % survived). The ICH score and volume is a simple clinical grading scale that allows risk stratification on presentation with ICH. The use of a scale such as the ICH score could improve standardization of clinical treatment protocols.

Measurement of the Distance and Angle Between the Aorta and Superior Mesenteric Artery on CT Scan: Values in Indian Population in Different BMI Categories.

The primary intention of the study was to "prove" that the reduced angle and distance between the superior mesenteric artery (SMA) and aorta significantly correlates with reduced body mass index (BMI). This in turn indicates the strong etiological role of this factor for causation of SMA syndrome. (Most literature till date still mentions sudden depletion of fat pad between the vessels as a "proposed predisposing factor"). The superior mesenteric artery syndrome is characterized by the compression of the third segment of the duodenum by the mesentery at superior mesenteric artery level and a resulting duodenal (±gastric) dilatation. The disease is closely related with the depletion of the fat pad between the vessels narrowing the angle and reducing the distance between the vessels. A prospective study of 100 patients (58 males and 42 females) in the age range 15-85 years (mean age 50 years) who had undergone CT scan for various other complaints. CT scan had been performed with routine protocol comprising plain phase followed by arterial and venous phase by measuring the angle between the aorta and superior mesenteric artery, and also BMI was calculated. Mean values for distance and angle were obtained with standard deviation and 95 % confidence intervals. Pearson coefficients were also calculated and results tabulated. A strong positive correlation exists between BMI and the angle between the aorta and SMA. With increment in BMI, the angle also increases so less chance of developing superior mesenteric artery syndrome.

Unicentric Castleman's disease of abdomen.

Castleman's disease (CD) is a rare lymphoproliferative disease of uncertain etiology that affects lymph nodes. CD can be classified as a) unicentric vs. multicentric, based on clinical and radiological findings, b) hyaline vascular (80-90%) vs. plasmacytic (10-20%) vs. mixed cellularity variety based on histopathology. Unicentric disease is more common in the 3rd and 4th decade, whereas the multicentric form is more common in the 5th and 6th decade with no sex predilection. HIV seropositive individuals appear to be at an increased risk for multicentric castleman's disease (MCD) at a younger age due to the increased incidence of HHV- 8 infection. Diagnosis is usually based on histopathology features as imaging features show considerable overlap, thus posing diagnostic difficulties. Overall prognosis is good, particularly in the unicentric variety of disease. We have presented a case of the unicentric CD in a 40 year old male patient having abdominal pain and hematuria as chief complaints.

Doppler ultrasound: a good and reliable predictor of ovarian malignancy.

AIMS: The aim of the present study was to prove the efficiency of Color Doppler and Spectral Doppler in evaluation and characterization of the ovarian neoplasm. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In total, 104 patients with adnexal masses were examined sonographically to evaluate for morphologic characteristics, as well as pulsatility indices (PI), and resistance indices (RI) over a period of 2 years, of which 20 were excluded as the masses were not finally proven to be adnexal, and thus 84 patients with ovarian neoplasm were retained as the study subjects. The final diagnosis was based on histopathologic confirmation. RESULT: Out of 84 cases, 44 were benign and 40 were malignant. Color Doppler showed vascularity in 97.5 % of malignant tumors in contrast to only 68.1 % of benign tumors. The present study showed that, 87.5 % of malignant tumors had PI less than 0.8 in contrast to only 4.54 % of benign tumors. Similarly, 82.5 % of malignant tumors had RI less than 0.6 in contrast to only 6.81 % of benign tumors. CONCLUSION: Multiparameter analysis utilizing B-mode USG along with Color Doppler and Spectral Doppler is the mainstay in diagnosis of patients with ovarian tumors. A good specificity (84.1 %) and sensitivity (97.5 %) with PI and RI values of <1.0 and <0.6, respectively, was achieved with the present study which is highly significant in differentiating between malignant and benign ovarian tumours.

Pancreaticopleural fistula complicating chronic pancreatitis.

Pancreaticopleural fistula is an extremely rare complication of chronic pancreatitis with characteristic feature that it may appear in the absence of changes of acute pancreatitis. We present a case of a 32-year-old man whose CT scan showed multiple pseudocysts along the body and tail of the pancreas, left crus of diaphragm and in the posterior mediastinum with associated splenoportal thrombosis. MR cholangiopancreatography imaging diagnosed the case as a pancreatico-pleural fistula, with the fistulous tract connecting distal body and tail of the pancreas to the posterior mediastinum through a diaphragmatic hiatus with right-sided mild-to-moderate pleural effusion. Meanwhile the patient was treated conservatively for his acute symptoms that included pleural tap also. Finally, endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography was done and minor papilla papillotomy was performed and a stent was placed. Knowledge about such cases would help one to be aware of such a rare but dangerous complication, so that timely and correct diagnosis and management can be undertaken.

Unusual presentation of midgut malrotation with incidental nutcracker syndrome in adulthood: case report and literature review.

Malrotation of the midgut is generally regarded as paediatric pathology with the majority of patients presenting in childhood. The diagnosis is rare in adults, which sometimes results in delayed diagnosis and treatment. We present the case of a 28-year-old woman who presented with vomiting and mild acute pain in the abdomen. CT scan showed abnormal location of the midgut and abnormal relation of the superior mesenteric artery (SMA) and superior mesenteric vein (SMV) and duodenal jejunal flexure, confirming midgut malrotation. Peroperative findings showed the duodenum, small bowel loops located on the right side of the abdomen. The caecum and appendix were located at the midline in the epigastrium with the presence of Ladd's bands. SMA right and anterior to SMV whirled around SMA. Incidentally, the intraoperatively dilated left renal vein was compressed between the SMA and the aorta, which was confirmed retrospectively on CT scan with no symptoms related to the condition.

Isolated ileal bezoar causing small bowel obstruction.

Bezoars are a mass of ingested foreign materials commonly found in stomach in patients with psychiatric problems or history of gastric surgery. Bezoars are classified based on their composition. Frequently encountered are trichobezoars and phytobezoars composed of hair and fibres of fruits and vegetables, respectively. Primary small-bowel bezoars are a rarity and are essentially encountered in patients having small-bowel diseases such as diverticuli, strictures or tumours. Ileal bezoar leading to intestinal obstruction in absence of parent bezoar in stomach is very rare and so we present a case report here. The diagnosis was made on CT scan in which the cause was found to be an ileal bezoar. Surgical resection of the involved segment was performed and diagnosis confirmed on histopathological examination.

Extra cranial invasive meningioma of fronto-temporo-parietal region of the skull vault.

Meningioma is the benign, unencapsulated neoplasm arising from meningo-epithelial arachnoid cells of cerebellopontine angle-internal auditory canal dura but extracranial meningiomas are very rare. In making the diagnosis of invasive meningioma, both changes of benign meningioma and invasive growth should be present. A case of the neglected invasive meningioma is described here which invaded approximately half of the fronto-temporo-parietal skull vault. The diagnosis was established and confirmed by the histopathology and immunohistochemistry, the cells were positive for epithelial membrane antigen, vimetin and progesterone receptors. The patient underwent surgical resection.

Multidetector computed tomography in large bowel lesions-a study of 100 cases.

This study aims to evaluate the role of multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) in detecting and classifying the large bowel lesions. A prospective study of 100 adult patients was conducted from June 2007 to October 2009. Rectal and IV contrast were used for three dimensional reconstruction. Angiography was performed in cases of suspected ischemic pathology. CT colongraphy was done to evaluate adenomas. CT findings were correlated and confirmed by either colonoscopy, biopsy, postoperative findings or follow-up CT. The pathologies were common in 50-70 yrs (44%). M: F ratio was 2:1. Malignant lesions were seen in (55%) followed by inflammatory lesions in 26%, diverticulitis and ischemic colitis in 6% each. Miscellaneous conditions like polyps, volvulus and intussusceptions were seen in 7%. Adenocarcinoma was the common malignancy (81.2%). Present study showed that adenocarcinomas were associated with marked thickening of bowel wall (>1.5 cm) in 85.4% of patients, asymmetrical wall thickening (96.4%), focal involvement (length <10 cm) in 85.5% with heterogeneous post contrast enhancement (96.3%). Inflammatory lesions showed mild thickening (69%),segmental or diffuse involvement (77%), symmetrical wall thickening (89%) and homogenous post contrast enhancement (81%). Ischemic lesions showed marked thickening (83.4%), symmetrical thickening (100%) and homogenous enhancement (100%). Diverticulitis showed marked thickening (100%), asymmetrical wall thickening (66.7%) with heterogeneous post contrast enhancement (100%), with pericolic fluid. Arterial/venous thrombosis was diagnosed in 66.66%. Three per cent had benign adenomatous polyps on CT colonographic studies. MDCT was accurate in 98.2% cases for differentiating between benign and malignant etiology and is the modality of choice.

Case series: Congenital left ventricular diverticulum.

Congenital left ventricular diverticulum is a rare cardiac malformation characterized by a localized outpouching from the cardiac chamber. The patient is usually asymptomatic. However, complications like embolism, infective endocarditis, arrhythmia and, rarely, rupture can be the initial presentation. Diagnosis can be established by USG, echocardiography, CT angiography, and MRI. We report here two neonates with congenital left ventricular apical diverticulum associated with epigastric hernia.