White matter hyperintensity determines ischemic stroke severity in symptomatic carotid artery stenosis

Neurological Sciences - The aim of this study is to investigate the influence of white matter hyperintensity (WMH) on stroke severity and prognosis in patients with symptomatic carotid artery...     

A novel PSEN2 p.Ser175Phe variant in a family with Alzheimer’s disease

Neurological Sciences - Alzheimer’s disease (AD) can be either sporadic or familial, and familial forms of AD accounts for only 5% of the cases. So far, autosomal dominantly inherited...     

Mild carbon monoxide poisoning impairs left ventricular diastolic function

Rationale:

Carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning is associated with direct cardiovascular toxicity. In mild CO poisoning in which cardiovascular life support is not required, the effects of CO on left and right ventricular functions are unknown in patients without cardiac failure.

Objectives:

Echocardiography was used to determine whether or not mild CO poisoning impairs ventricular function. Twenty otherwise healthy patients with CO poisoning and 20 age- and gender-matched controls were studied. Echocardiographic examinations were performed at the time of admission and 1 week after poisoning.

Results:

The impairment observed in the left and right ventricular diastolic function at the time of admission was greater than the impairment 1 week after poisoning. Mild CO poisoning did not have a significant effect on systolic function. Carboxyhemoglobin levels were positively correlated with left ventricular diastolic dysfunction, whereas the levels were not correlated with right ventricular diastolic function.

Conclusions:

In CO intoxication, the development of left and right ventricular diastolic dysfunction precedes systolic abnormality. Patients with mild CO poisoning do not manifest cardiovascular symptoms; however, it should be borne in mind that most of these patients have myocardial involvement.     

3-T MRI of the biliary tract variations

Purpose

The gallbladder and the biliary tract are structures in close connection with the adjacent organs and may show a number of variations and anomalies. It is therefore important for surgical purposes to know their anatomy and variations in detail. Various methods are used in the imaging of the variations of the biliary tract and its pathologies, including ultrasonography, computed tomography; direct cholangiographic methods like endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography, percutaneous transhepatic cholangiography, intravenous cholangiography and T-tube cholangiography, as well as indirect methods like magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP) or cholescintigraphy. The aim of this study is to investigate the frequency of the anatomic variations of the biliary tract using 3-T MRCP and to compare the findings with the data in the literature.

Materials and methods

For the purposes of this study, patients who underwent MRCP at our hospital (Dicle University Hospital) between November 2009 and February 2012 were investigated retrospectively. A total of 590 patients (between 6 and 88 years of age; mean age: 51 ± 9 years) were included in the study. The MRCP imaging was carried out with an magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) device supplied with 3-T magnetic power and by obtaining T2-weighted images through the single-shot fast spin echo technique using the standard body coil. The axial and coronal source images and the reformatted images were evaluated together in terms of the possible anatomic variations.

Results

Among the 590 patients included in the study, of 233 (39.5 %) showed anatomic variations at different levels in the intra- and extrahepatic biliary tracts. Among these variations, a right posterior hepatic duct insertion to the left hepatic duct at the level of the bifurcation has been observed in 71 patients (12.1 %), trifurcation was observed in 30 patients (5.1 %) and insertion into the main hepatic duct at the proximal aspect of the cystic duct was observed in 18 patients (3.1 %). At the level of the cystic duct, medial insertion of the cystic duct was viewed in 58 patients (9.8 %), distal medial insertion was seen in 40 patients (6.8 %), a short cystic duct was detected in 10 patients (1.7 %), pancreatobiliary junction anomaly was viewed in two patients (0.4 %) and duplicate anatomic variations have been observed in 42 patients (7.2 %).

Conclusion

MRCP studies conducted using 3-T MRI devices may reveal similar or greater numbers of variations when compared to the existing MRCP studies in the literature. 3-T MRI shows a couple of variations. Pointing out these anatomical variations before the surgical intervention may prevent possible iatrogenic traumas. Donors with unsuitable variations for liver transplant may be spotted out at an early phase through the MRCP and certain operations with a high morbidity rate may thus be avoided.     

Determining host factors contributing to disease severity in a family cluster of 29 hospitalized SARS‐CoV‐2 patients: Could genetic factors be relevant in the clinical course of COVID‐19?

In this study, we report a large family cluster consisting of 29 genetically related patients hospitalized with coronavirus disease‐2019 (COVID‐19). We sought to determine the clinical characteristics relevant to the clinical course of COVID‐19 by comparing the family cluster to unrelated patients with SARS‐CoV‐2 infection so that the presence of potential determinants of disease severity, other than traditional risk factors previously reported, could be investigated. Twenty‐nine patient files were investigated in group 1 and group 2 was created with 52 consecutive patients with COVID‐19 having age and gender compatibility. The virus was detected for diagnosis. The clinical, laboratory and imaging features of all patients were retrospectively screened. Disease course was assessed using records regarding outcome from patient files retrospectively. Groups were compared with respect to baseline characteristics, disease severity on presentation, and disease course. There was no difference between the two groups in terms of comorbidity and smoking history. In terms of inhospital treatment, use differed not significantly between two groups. We found that all 29 patients in the group 1 had severe pneumonia, 18 patients had severe pneumonia. Hospitalization rates, length of hospital stay, and transferred to intensive care unit were found to be statistically significantly higher in the group 1. In the present study, COVID‐19 cases in the large family cluster were shown to have more severe disease and worse clinical course compared with consecutive patients with COVID‐19 presenting to the same time. We believe further studies into potential genetic mechanisms of host susceptibility to COVID‐19 should include such family clusters.     

Short-term effects of partial meniscectomy on the clinical results of anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction

Purpose

This study aims to analyse the short-term effects of partial meniscectomy on the clinical results of anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction surgery.

Methods

Clinical outcomes of 19 patients who had partial medial meniscectomy and anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction during the same surgery (Group 1) were compared with the outcomes of 25 patients who had also reconstruction but did not have any meniscal lesion (Group 2). Median follow-up time was 29 months (range 12–67 months) in Group 1 and 27 months (range 12–70 months) in Group 2. Feeling of apprehension in sports activities, International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) score, KT-2000 Arthrometer^® measurements and post-operative time to return to sports activity were the criteria for data analysis.

Results

Eight patients (42 %) in Group 1 and 5 patients (20 %) in Group 2 stated feeling of apprehension in sports activities. IKDC score improved to A in 11 patients (58 %) from Group 1, and 18 patients (72 %) from Group 2. Mean anterior translation according to KT-2000 arthrometer measurements was 5.2 ± 1.3 mm in Group 1, and 4.6 ± 1.3 mm in Group 2. Post-operative time to return to sports activity was 8.5 ± 3.0 months in Group 1, and 6.5 ± 2.2 months in Group 2.

Conclusion

Partial meniscectomy for irreparable medial meniscal tears, applied during the same surgery with anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction, negatively affects the clinical outcomes in the short-term follow-up. This study may be a reference for long-term clinical trials and also future investigations of new methods in the treatment of similar cases.

Level of evidence

IV.

     

CT-guided transthoracic biopsy: histopathologic results and complication rates

PURPOSE

We aimed to investigate the effectiveness and complications of transthoracic CT-guided biopsy techniques.

METHODS

A total of 94 CT-guided percutaneous transthoracic biopsy procedures performed in 85 patients were retrospectively evaluated. Core biopsy technique was used in 87 procedures and transthoracic fine-needle aspiration biopsy was used in seven procedures.

RESULTS

Diagnostic results were achieved in 79 of 94 biopsy procedures. Pathology results were malignant in 54 patients, suspicious for malignancy in three patients, benign in five patients, and benign nonspecific in 17 patients. Specific diagnoses were obtained in 59 patients (62.8%) using core biopsy, but no specific diagnosis could be reached with transthoracic fine-needle aspiration biopsy. Complications included pneumothorax in 27 patients (28.7%) and parenchymal hemorrhage during and after the procedure in eight patients (8.5%).

CONCLUSIONS

CT-guided percutaneous transthoracic needle biopsy is a highly accurate procedure for histopathological diagnosis of thoracic masses. In addition, percutaneous transthoracic biopsy has an acceptably low complication rate and it reduces the need for more invasive surgical procedures.Since the beginning of the 21st century, lung cancer has been cited as one of the most common causes of death (1). World Health Organization declared lung cancer as the first leading cause of death in men and second in women, among all types of cancers (2).Percutaneous transthoracic biopsies are performed either using fine-needle aspiration biopsy (transthoracic fine-needle aspiration biopsy, TTFNAB) method or using the incisional or core biopsy method. Incisional biopsy and core biopsy are used to obtain a part of tissue from the lesion for histological diagnosis. On the other hand, TTFNAB is used to obtain aspiration material, which is used for cytological examination and lesion diagnosis (3, 4).Indications of transthoracic needle biopsy include solitary and multiple pulmonary nodules, mass lesions, persistent focal infiltration, consolidation, presence of cavities and abscesses, pleural lesions, and mediastinal and hilar mass diagnosis (3, 5).The aim of this study was to investigate the technique, suitability, and complications in CT-guided transthoracic biopsy of lung masses.     

Extraspinal Incidental Findings on Routine MRI of Lumbar Spine: Prevalence and Reporting Rates in 1278 Patients

ObjectiveThe aim of the present study was to determine the prevalence and reporting rate of incidental findings (IF) in adult outpatients undergoing lumbar magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).ResultsA total of 253 IFs were found in 241 patients (18.8% of 1278). Among these, clinically significant IFs (n = 34) included: 2 renal masses (0.15%), 2 aortic aneurysms (0.15%), 2 cases of hydronephrosis (0.15%), 11 adrenal masses (0.86%), 7 lymphadenopathies (0.55%), 6 cases of endometrial or cervical thickening (0.47%), 1 liver hemangioma (0.08%), 1 pelvic fluid (0.08%) and 2 ovarian dermoid cysts (0.15%). Overall, 28% (71/253) of IFs were included in the clinical reports, while clinically significant findings were reported in 41% (14/34) of cases.ConclusionExtraspinal IFs are commonly detected during a routine lumbar MRI, and many of these findings are not clinically significant. However, IFs including clinically important findings are occasionally omitted from formal radiological reports.