Acute epiploic appendagitis: ultrasound and computed tomography findings of a rare case of acute abdominal pain and the role of other imaging techniques.

PURPOSE: Acute epiploic appendagitis (EA) is a relatively rare, benign and local inflammatory disease involving the epiploic appendices. Unlike its mimics, EA is generally a self-limiting inflammatory disease and can be treated conservatively. CASE PRESENTATION: A 33-year-old Caucasian man presented to our emergency department with a sever and sharp left iliac fossa pain. He underwent abdominal X-ray, ultrasound (US) and computed tomography (CT) evaluations. CONCLUSION: We illustrate US and CT findings to increase the radiologists' awareness of this condition and to avoid diagnostic delay and unnecessary use of antibiotics, hospitalization and surgery.

Extrapelvic Sciatic Nerve Endometriosis, the Role of Magnetic Resonance Imaging: Case Report and Systematic Review.

Endometriosis (EN) is a common gynecological condition characterized by the presence of functional endometrium located outside the uterine cavity. Sciatic nerve (SN) is rarely affected by EN. Magnetic resonance imaging allows a direct visualization of the spinal and SN, and it is the modality of choice for the study of SN involvement in extrapelvic EN. We report a case of an endometrioma located in the right SN with a systematic review of the literature.

[Hyperuricaemia and Chronic Kidney Disease].

Hyperuricemia is defined as serum uric acid values greater than 6 mg/dl and could occur either due to hyperproduction or as a result of reduced renal excretion, which exceeds gut compensation. In Italy, prevalence is around 12% of the general population and increases in renal disease up to 60%. Recent experimental studies demonstrated a role of uric acid in the development of arterial hypertension and systemic arteriosclerosis, with an increase in cardiovascular risk. It also appears from observational studies that high uric acid is an independent risk factor associated with de novo onset of chronic kidney disease after adjustment of main confounding variables. Hyperuricemic subjects treated with febuxostat, a selective inhibitor of xantino-oxidase, showed in RCTs a better control of hyperuricaemia in comparison with those receiving allopurinol. Moreover, observational studies indicate that urate lowering treatment could be helpful in reducing cardiovascular events as well as in slowing the progression of chronic kidney disease; randomized controlled studies, designed to assess as primary outcome the nephroprotective effect of urate lowering treatment, are in progress.

Melanoma in the Italian Population and Regional Environmental Influences: A National Retrospective Survey on 2001-2008 Hospitalization Records.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the burden of regional environmental factors influencing the incidence of Melanoma in the Italian population and overcome the problem of partial population coverage by local cancer registries and thematic archives. METHODS: We analyzed the Italian national hospitalization records from 2001 to 2008 provided by the Ministry of Health, excluding hospital re-admissions of the same patients, in order to assess the occurrence of Melanoma over a 8-year period. Data were presented by age groups (absolute number of cases from 20 to ≥80 years old) and per Region (rates per 100,000 inhabitants) for each year. RESULTS: The overall number of new hospitalizations due to malignant Melanoma increased by 16.8% from 2001 (n = 4846) to 2008 (n = 5823), with the rate per 100,000 inhabitants passing from 10.5 to almost 12.0 at a national level. The majority of new diagnoses of malignant Melanoma was observed in two age groups: 61-70 years old (from 979 in 2001 up to 2109 in 2008, corresponding to 15.1 and 18.1 new cases per 100,000 inhabitants, respectively) and 71-80 years old (from 954 in 2001 up to 1141 in 2008, corresponding to 19.5 and 21.8 new cases per 100,000 inhabitants, respectively). The number of hospitalizations due to Melanoma increased in all age groups with the only exception of the youngest patients aged 20-30 years old. The highest increases over the 8-year period were observed in people aged ≥81 years old (+34%), 61-70 years old (+20%) and surprisingly in the age group 31-40 years old (+17%). Southern Regions showed lower hospitalization rates compared to Northern Italy and Region Lazio. The highest increases between 2001 and 2008 were observed in Trentino/Alto Adige, Friuli Venezia Giulia, Valla d'Aosta and Veneto Region. CONCLUSIONS: Hospitalizations due to malignant Melanoma in Italy seem to be influenced by environmental or population-related factors showing a decreasing incidence rate from the Northern to Southern Regions.