Imaging update on soft tissue sarcoma

Soft tissue sarcomas (STS) are rare tumours presenting as soft tissue lumps. Ultrasound is often the primary modality for the initial assessment, with MRI the mainstay for lesion characterisation. PET/CT along with other emerging MRI sequences are used in certain situations as an adjunct and problem solving tool in STS staging and assessment of disease recurrence. Recent advances include the promise of whole body MRI, hybrid PET/MRI, diffusion weighted imaging, dynamic contrast enhanced MRI and advances in artificial intelligence. This article discusses current concepts in extremity STS imaging and highlights recent advances.     

Systemic inaccuracies in the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database: Implications for accuracy and validity for neurosurgery outcomes research

The American College of Surgeons (ACS) National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) provides a rich database of North American surgical procedures and their complications. Yet no external source has validated the accuracy of the information within this database. Using records from the 2006 to 2013 NSQIP database, we used two methods to identify errors: (1) mismatches between the Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) code that was used to identify the surgical procedure, and the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-9) post-operative diagnosis: i.e., a diagnosis that is incompatible with a certain procedure. (2) Primary anesthetic and CPT code mismatching: i.e., anesthesia not indicated for a particular procedure. Analyzing data for movement disorders, epilepsy, and tumor resection, we found evidence of CPT code and postoperative diagnosis mismatches in 0.4–100% of cases, depending on the CPT code examined. When analyzing anesthetic data from brain tumor, epilepsy, trauma, and spine surgery, we found evidence of miscoded anesthesia in 0.1–0.8% of cases. National databases like NSQIP are an important tool for quality improvement. Yet all databases are subject to errors, and measures of internal consistency show that errors affect up to 100% of case records for certain procedures in NSQIP. Steps should be taken to improve data collection on the frontend of NSQIP, and also to ensure that future studies with NSQIP take steps to exclude erroneous cases from analysis.     

Nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 antibody attenuates thermal hyperalgesia in the dorsal root ganglion: Neurochemical changes and behavioral studies after sciatic nerve-pinch injury

Oxidative stress is generated in several peripheral nerve injury models.Nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) is activated to have a role in antioxidant effect. After nerve injury, the severely painful behavior is also performed. However, little has been explored regarding the function of Nrf2 in this painful process. Therefore, in this study, we compared the effects of Nrf2 antibody administration following sciatic nerve-pinch injury on painful behavior induced in young mice and neurochemical changes in dorsal root ganglion neurons. After pinch nerve injury, we found that the magnitude of the thermal allodynia was significantly decreased after application of Nrf2 antibody (5ul, 1 mg/ml) in such injured animals and phosphorylated ERK(p-ERK) as well as the apoptotic protein (i.e., Bcl-6) in DRG neurons were also down-regulated in the anti-Nrf2-treated injured groups compared to the saline-treated groups. Taken collectively, these data suggested that the Nrf2 antibody reduced thermal hyperalgesia via ERK pathway and the down regulation of Bcl-6 protein from the apoptosis pathway might be protecting against the protein deletions caused by anti-Nrf2 effect and suggested the new therapeutic strategy with Nrf2 inhibitor following nerve injury.     

Accuracy of computer-assisted iliosacral screw placement using a hybrid operating room

IntroductionIn recent years hybrid operating rooms were established all over the world. In our setting we combined a 3D flat-panel c-arm (Artis zeego, Siemens) with a navigation system (BrainLab curve, BrainLab). This worldwide unique combination enables the surgeon to visualise an entire pelvis in CT-like image quality with a single 3D-scan. The aim of our study was to investigate, if utilisation of a hybrid operating room increases the accuracy of SI-screws in comparison to standard 3D-navigation.Material and methodsRetrospective, not randomised single centre case series at a level I trauma centre. Inclusion criterion was insertion of a percutaneous iliosacral screw using image-guidance in the hybrid operating room. 61 patients (35 female, 26 male) were included from June 2012 till October 2014. 65 iliosacral screws were inserted. Intraoperative 3D-scans and postoperative scans were examined to investigate screw placement. The results were compared to a preceding study performed in 2012 using conventional 3D-navigation. Statistical calculations were performed with Microsoft Excel 2011 and SPSS.Results65 iliosacral screws were implanted. Two different types of screws were implanted: 1. “Standard” iliosacral screws stabilizing one joint/a unilateral fracture. 2. Single SI-screws stabilizing both SI-joints and if present a bilateral fracture. Forty one patients were included in group 1 (screws n = 45). There was no perforation in 43 screws, grade 1 perforation in 2 screws. There was no grade 2 or 3 perforation in this group. Compared to the conventional 3D-navigated screws there was a highly significant difference (p < 0.001). Twenty patients could be included in group 2. Eleven screws showed a complete intraosseous position. There was grade 1 perforation in 2 screws, grade 2 perforation in 5 screws and grade 3 perforation in 2 screws.ConclusionImprovements in image quality and enlargement of the display window lead to better intraoperative visualisation of the entire dorsal pelvis. Thereby the accuracy of computer-assisted iliosacral screws could be increased using a hybrid operating room. Furthermore difficult tasks like a single screw for both joints can be accomplished.     

Thoracic computed tomography is an effective screening modality in patients with penetrating injuries to the chest

BackgroundThe precise role of thoracic CT in penetrating chest trauma remains to be defined. We hypothesized that thoracic CT effectively screens hemodynamically normal patients with penetrating thoracic trauma to surgery vs. expectant management (NOM).MethodsA ten-year review of all penetrating torso cases was retrospectively analyzed from our urban University-based trauma center. We included hemodynamically normal patients (systolic blood pressure ≥90) with penetrating chest injuries that underwent screening thoracic CT. Hemodynamically unstable patients and diaphragmatic injuries were excluded. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value were calculated.ResultsA total of 212 patients (mean injury severity score = 24, Abbreviated Injury Score for Chest = 3.9) met inclusion criteria. Of these, 84.3% underwent NOM, 9.1% necessitated abdominal exploration, 6.6% underwent exploration for retained hemothorax/empyema, 6.6% underwent immediate thoracic exploration for significant injuries on chest CT, and 1.0% underwent delayed thoracic exploration for missed injuries. Thoracic CT had a sensitivity of 82%, specificity of 99%, positive predictive value of 90%, a negative predictive value of 99%, and an accuracy of 99% in predicting surgery vs. NOM.ConclusionsThoracic CT has a negative predictive value of 99% in triaging hemodynamically normal patients with penetrating chest trauma. Screening thoracic CT successfully excludes surgery in patients with non-significant radiologic findings.