How to recognize stent graft infection after endovascular aortic repair: the utility of 18F-FDG PET/CT in an infrequent but serious clinical setting.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the diagnostic performance of 18F-FDG PET/CT in the detection of stent graft infection (SGI). METHODS: In a retrospective study, two nuclear medicine physicians have independently analyzed 17 18F-FDG PET/CT examinations performed for clinical suspicion of SGI. The images were evaluated for the uptake pattern and intensity, and by the maximum standard uptake value (SUVmax), the target-to-background ratio with blood pool (TBRBP) and liver uptake (TBRhep) as a reference. The SGI was defined as the presence of focal hyperactivity with an intensity exceeding hepatic uptake. CT images were independently assessed for signs of SGI. Clinical review of all further patients' data served as the standard of reference. RESULTS: Nine cases were established as SGI by the clinical review. PET/CT correctly diagnosed SGI in eight and yielded a sensitivity of 89% and specificity of 100%. The mean SUVmax, TBRBP, and TBRhep values were 9.8 ± 4.0, 6.9 ± 2.6, and 4.6 ± 1.7 in the group of patients with true SGI, and 4.0 ± 1.1, 2.5 ± 0.4 (p < 0.001) and 1.9 ± 0.2 (p < 0.001) in true negative cases, respectively. CT alone showed a sensitivity of 78% and specificity of 100% and was concordant with PET/CT in 14 cases. The best performing threshold values of SUVmax, TBRBP, and TBRhep were 5.6, 3.5, and 2.2, respectively. CONCLUSION: 18F-FDG PET/CT with expert evaluation, semiquantitative and quantitative image analysis with the proposed threshold values for SUVmax, TBRBP, and TBRhep has good diagnostic accuracy in the detection of SGI. We propose that visual grading scale for SGI should use hepatic uptake as a visual reference.

Percutaneous Mechanical Thrombectomy Using Rotarex® S Device in Acute Limb Ischemia in Infrainguinal Occlusions.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the effectiveness of percutaneous mechanical thrombectomy using Rotarex S in the treatment of acute limb ischemia (ALI) in infrainguinal occlusions in a retrospective study of patients treated in our institution. METHODS: In this study, we identified a total of 147 ALI patients that underwent mechanical thrombectomy using Rotarex S at our institution. In 82% of the cases, percutaneous thrombectomy was used as first-line treatment, and for the remainder of the cases, it was used as bailout after ineffective aspiration or thrombolysis. Additional fibrinolysis and adjunctive aspirational thrombectomy were utilized for outflow occlusion when required. Procedural outcomes, amputation rate, and mortality at 30 days were evaluated. RESULTS: Of the 147 patients treated with mechanical thrombectomy, Rotarex S was used as first-line treatment in 120 cases and as second-line treatment in 27 cases. Overall, we achieved 90.5% procedural revascularization success rate when combining mechanical thrombectomy with limited thrombolysis for severe outflow obstruction, and 1 death and 3 amputations were observed. We achieved primary success in 68.7% of the patients with the mechanical thrombectomy only, and in 21.8% of the patients, we successfully used additional limited thrombolysis in the outflow. The overall mortality was 0.7% and amputation rate was 2% at 30 days. CONCLUSION: Percutaneous mechanical thrombectomy as first-line mini-invasive treatment in infrainguinal ALI is safe, quick, and effective, and the performance outcomes can be superior to that of traditional surgical embolectomy.

[Deep calf vein thrombosis]. / Flebotrombóza lýtkových zil.

Isolated calf vein thrombosis in the population of patients with deep vein thrombosis is found approximately in 10 to 25 % of cases. We present 3 cases of calf vein thrombosis which occurred due to unusual causes. Specific characteristics of this form of thromboembolic disease are discussed and compared to proximal deep vein thrombosis with emphasis to symptoms, risk of complications, prognosis and therapeutic approach.

[Carotid plaque exulcerated]. / Exulcerovaný karotický plát.

The authors report a case of a 77 years old male patient with mild stenosis of the carotid artery caused by an exulcerated plaque in the carotid bifurcation. The patient presented with recurrent ipsilateral strokes which were treated with intravenous thrombolysis. A brief review of the literature related to the management of unstable exulcerated carotid plaque is presented in this article with emphasis on current treatment options. Carotid endarterectomy if often performed in such cases. However, the outcome of the procedure remains still very controversial. In the described case, conservative approach using optimal medical treatment with lipid lowering agents, antiplatelet and antihypertensive therapy was chosen mainly because of patient preference and resulted in favourable outcome.

Endovascular treatment combined with stratified surgery is effective in the management of venous thoracic outlet syndrome complications: a long term ultrasound follow-up study in patients with thrombotic events due to venous thoracic outlet syndrome.

Thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS) is caused by compression of peripheral nerves and vascular structures along their course through the upper thoracic aperture to the axilla. The aim of our study was to analyze long-term outcomes of different treatments stratified by symptom severity. We performed a retrospective analysis of a cohort of 73 consecutive patients treated at our institution presenting with TOS-associated venous thrombotic events. Treatment strategies and immediate outcome analysis were completed by long-term follow-up with duplex ultrasound controls 6-12 months after the initial clinical event. Conservative therapy was started in mildly symptomatic patients (n = 32), of which 12 required endovascular procedures because of treatment failure. Endovascular treatment was attempted in all highly symptomatic patients and in those with conservative treatment failure (n = 53), of which 12 required acute surgical intervention. Elective surgical treatment was indicated in 30 other patients because of persistent symptoms. Surgery was associated with a significantly lower rate of the ultrasound-detected signs of persisting vascular compression. However, the rate of persisting clinical symptoms was comparable to those treated only by endovascular or conservative therapy. Our data demonstrate that initial endovascular treatment proposed as first line therapy to highly symptomatic subjects and in those with conservative treatment failure improves the symptoms in 77% of patients avoiding the need of acute surgery. Acute and elective surgical decompression leads to lower rates of vascular compression signs without significant amelioration of persisting clinical symptoms as compared to endovascular or conservative therapy.