A comparison of findings on parents' and teachers' questionnaires, and detailed ophthalmic and psychological assessments.

BACKGROUND: Questionnaires are important tools used to gain information about health and level of function in different domains. AIMS AND METHODS: To determine the degree of agreement between questionnaires, administered to parents and teachers, and ophthalmic and psychological examinations in a cohort of 309 low birth weight children (<1701 g) at age 10-13 years. RESULTS: A total of 90.9% of cases showed agreement between the question on distance vision and clinical assessment, and agreement for the near vision question was 83%. However, the correlation on an individual basis was only fair (kappa = 0.46, distance vision) to poor (kappa = 0.2, near vision). The overall agreement for the questions on cognitive ability was better than the correlation, whereas the questions on reading and mathematical ability showed low agreement and low correlation. CONCLUSION: Questionnaire assessment of vision and cognitive ability is more suitable for studying the outcome of a large population than for identifying deficits in individuals.     

Capnocytophaga canimorsus Prosthetic Aortitis in an HIV-Positive Woman

A 49-year-old woman with a 15-year history of HIV-hepatitis C virus coinfection had aortic valve and ascending aorta replacement in 2007. She presented with abdominal pain, episodic diarrhea, and profuse sweating in 2010. Thoracoabdominal positron emission tomography-computed tomography finally suggested infectious aortitis, a diagnosis confirmed by a blood culture positive for Capnocytophaga canimorsus.     

Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor Density in the “Higher-Order” Thalamus Projecting to the Prefrontal Cortex in Humans: a PET Study

Molecular Imaging and Biology - The parcellation of the thalamus into different nuclei involved in different corticothalamocortical loops reflects its functional diversity. The connections between...     

First imaging results of an intraindividual comparison of 11C-acetate and 18F-fluorocholine PET/CT in patients with prostate cancer at early biochemical first or second relapse after prostatectomy or radiotherapy

Purpose

¹⁸F-Fluorocholine (FCH) and ¹¹C-acetate (ACE) PET are widely used for detection of recurrent prostate cancer (PC). We present the first results of a comparative, prospective PET/CT study of both tracers evaluated in the same patients presenting with recurrence and low PSA to compare the diagnostic information provided by the two tracers.

Methods

The study group comprised 23 patients studied for a rising PSA level after radical prostatectomy (RP, 7 patients, PSA ≤3 ng/ml), curative radiotherapy (RT, 7 patients, PSA ≤5 ng/ml) or RP and salvage RT (9 patients, PSA ≤5 ng/ml). Both FCH and ACE PET/CT scans were performed in a random sequence a median of 4 days (range 0 to 11 days) apart. FCH PET/CT was started at injection (307?±?16 MBq) with a 10-min dynamic acquisition of the prostate bed, followed by a whole-body PET scan and late (45 min) imaging of the pelvis. ACE PET/CT was performed as a double whole-body PET scan starting 5 and 22 min after injection (994?±?72 MBq), and a late view (45 min) of the prostate bed. PET/CT scans were blindly reviewed by two independent pairs of two experienced nuclear medicine physicians, discordant subgroup results being discussed to reach a consensus for positive, negative end equivocal results.

Results

PET results were concordant in 88 out of 92 local, regional and distant findings (Cohen’s kappa 0.929). In particular, results were concordant in all patients concerning local status, bone metastases and distant findings. Lymph-node results were concordant in 19 patients and different in 4 patients. On a per-patient basis results were concordant in 22 of 23 patients (14 positive, 5 negative and 3 equivocal). In only one patient was ACE PET/CT positive for nodal metastases while FCH PET/CT was overall negative; interestingly, the ACE-positive and FCH-negative lymph nodes became positive in a second FCH PET/CT scan performed a few months later.

Conclusion

Overall, ACE and FCH PET/CT showed excellent concordance, on both a per-lesion and a per-patient basis, suggesting that both tracers perform equally for recurrent prostate cancer staging.     

Radionuclide evaluation of right ventricular wall motion after surgery in tetralogy of Fallot

Summary Regional wall motion patterns in tetralogy of Fallot and its postoperative modifications by electrical and hemodynamic factors were assessed by Fourier analysis of gated radionuclide angiograms in 24 studies performed in children after surgical correction of tetralogy of Fallot. The range of right ventricular (RV) phase angles (standard deviation of the peak [SDP] of RV) as well as the difference between RV and LV (ΔMPh) were used as indices of the synchronicity of wall motion and were correlated with RV apical electrical activation time determined by endocardial electrical mapping. Postoperative studies were divided into two groups according to apical activation: (a) those involving right bundle branch block (RBBB) (nine patients), and (b) those involving distal RBBB (15 patients). ΔMPh was longer in proximal than in distal RBBB. Best discrimination between the two groups was obtained with SDP of RV (proximal=24°±3°, and distal=17°±2°;p<0.0001). These results showed that the range of ventricular phases measured by the SD of the phase distribution of the right ventricle is a good index for distinguishing between proximal and distal RBBB after cardiac surgery.     

The exchange of radiotherapy data as part of an electronic patient-referral system

Purpose: To describe the implementation and use of an electronic patient-referral system as an aid to the efficient referral of patients to a remote and specialized treatment center.

Methods and Materials: A system for the exchange of radiotherapy data between different commercial planning systems and a specially developed planning system for proton therapy has been developed through the use of the PAPYRUS diagnostic image standard as an intermediate format. To ensure the cooperation of the different TPS manufacturers, the number of data sets defined for transfer has been restricted to the three core data sets of CT, VOIs, and three-dimensional dose distributions. As a complement to the exchange of data, network-wide application-sharing (video-conferencing) technologies have been adopted to provide methods for the interactive discussion and assessment of treatments plans with one or more partner clinics.

Results: Through the use of evaluation plans based on the exchanged data, referring clinics can accurately assess the advantages offered by proton therapy on a patient-by-patient basis, while the practicality or otherwise of the proposed treatments can simultaneously be assessed by the proton therapy center. Such a system, along with the interactive capabilities provided by video-conferencing methods, has been found to be an efficient solution to the problem of patient assessment and selection at a specialized treatment center, and is a necessary first step toward the full electronic integration of such centers with their remotely situated referral centers.