Aberrant Collaterals in Cirrhosis and Challenges in its Management.

Portosystemic collateral formation in cirrhotic patients plays an essential role in the natural history of patients. A thorough understanding of collateral anatomy and hemodynamics in cirrhosis, it is important to envisage diagnosis and outcomes of portal hypertension. The understanding of the patterns of aberrant portosystemic collateral channels has important implications both for the clinician and the interventionist. In this case report, our patient presented to us with the formation of aberrant collaterals at the site of subcostal hernia for which he underwent a mesh repair eight years back. The technical challenges in the management of shunt closure of these aberrant collaterals were discussed.

Efficacy and tolerability of sorafenib in desmoid-type fibromatosis: A need to review dose.

BACKGROUND: Sorafenib is currently one of the recommended treatments for symptomatic patients with desmoid-type fibromatosis (DTF). In this study, we aim to assess the clinical efficacy and tolerability of sorafenib in DTF patients. METHODOLOGY: Patients aged>18 years with a histological diagnosis of DTF and who have received sorafenib were enroled in this prospective observational study. Demographic data, clinical profile, the initial dose of sorafenib, treatment-related toxicities, dose modifications, and responses were recorded. The primary objective was to assess the objective response rate (ORR). The secondary objectives were to evaluate progression-free survival (PFS), tolerability, and adverse effects of sorafenib. Response assessment was based on response evaluation criteria in solid tumours 1.1 criteria. Adverse effects were graded according to National Cancer Institute Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events version 5.0 criteria. Time to event was calculated by Kaplan-Meier analysis, and survival was compared by log-rank test. Univariate and multivariable cox regression analysis were used to find independent predictors of relapse. RESULTS: A total of 104 patients were enroled in the study. The median age of the study population was 32 (range, 18-81) years, and 66.35% of patients were females. On response assessment, ORR was 46.1% and stable disease was observed in 31.7% patients. ORR was higher in the appendicular site (51.7%) compared to the abdominal site (27.2%). PFS at 1 and 2 years was 86.6% (79.6-92.7%) and 73.7% (62.4-82.8%), respectively. Two-thirds (66.6%) of patients had already received some form of treatment. At the time of analysis, 70 (67.3%) patients were continuing sorafenib. Only 4.8% stopped sorafenib due to progression, 10.5% due to intolerable adverse effects, and 17.3% due to other reasons. The common treatment-related toxicities were hand-foot skin reaction (HFSR) (89.4%), fatigue (79.8%), alopecia (70.1%), and diarrhoea (48.0%). In the patients with a starting dose of ≥400 mg (48.0% of patients), discontinuation was necessitated in 12% of patients, and further dose reduction was required in 58%, while only about 13% required dose reduction or discontinuation at a starting dose of 200 mg (51.9% of patients). Responses were not compromised due to lower starting doses. CONCLUSIONS: Sorafenib has good activity in DTF, but it is associated with significant toxicity. The adverse effect profile is distinct in Indian patients with higher HFSR and alopecia. Due to the high rate of dose reduction/discontinuation with a starting dose of 400 mg, a starting dose of 200 mg may be recommended in Indian patients.

Great Toe Osteoid Osteoma with Atypical Presentation: A Case Report.

Introduction: Osteoid osteoma is a common benign osteoblastic lesion of the bone. Although it commonly affects the cortex of long bones, it rarely involves the cancellous portion of the small bones such as phalanges. The occurrence of osteoid osteoma in phalanges poses a diagnostic dilemma. Case Report: In our case report, we presented a 26-year-old patient with long-standing pain over the great toe. The radiographs and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were unable to diagnose the lesion, and a single-photon emission computerized tomography scan picked up the nidus. She underwent radiofrequency ablation and post-procedure she was relieved of her symptoms. Conclusion: Osteoid osteoma of the phalanges is uncommon, and at times, routine radiographs and MRIs might not point us to the correct diagnosis. As the prognosis is excellent after the treatment is instituted, osteoid osteoma should always be a differential in chronic foot pain with nocturnal predominance.

Indian College of Radiology and Imaging Guidelines on Interventions in Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common malignancies and a significant cause of cancer-related death. Treatment of HCC depends on the stage of the tumor. As many patients with HCC are not deemed fit for surgical resection or liver transplantation, locoregional therapies play an essential role in the management. Image-guided locoregional treatments include percutaneous ablative therapies and endovascular therapies. The choice of an individual or a combination of therapies is guided by the tumor and patient characteristics. As the outcomes of image-guided locoregional treatments depend on the ability to achieve necrosis of the entire tumor along with a safety margin around it, it is mandatory to follow standard guidelines. In this manuscript, we discuss in detail the various aspects of image-guided locoregional therapies to guide interventional radiologists involved in the care of patients with HCC.

Health-related quality of life (HRQoL), anxiety, and depression in patients with desmoid type fibromatosis.

INTRODUCTION: Data on the impact of desmoid type fibromatosis (DTF) on emotional distress and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is sparse. METHODOLOGY: In this prospective cross-sectional study, patients with DTF and healthy controls were asked to fill the EORTC QLQ-C30, GAD-7, and PHQ-9 questionnaires. The objectives were to determine HRQoL, anxiety, and depression in patients with DTF. RESULTS: Two hundred four subjects (102 DTF patients and 102 healthy controls) were recruited. The median age of DTF patients at recruitment into the study was 31 years (IQR, 25-37 years). There was a female preponderance with a male:female ratio of 1:1.83. Appendicular skeleton and abdomen sites were most commonly involved in 59% and 22.5% respectively. About half (54%) of patients were currently on sorafenib and 41% were under active surveillance. The mean global health status in DTF patients was 65.58 ± 22.64, significantly lower than healthy controls. Similarly, DTF patients scored low on all functional scales except cognitive functioning. The symptom scale showed a significantly higher symptom burden of fatigue, pain, insomnia, and financial difficulties. Anxiety and depression was observed in 39.22% and 50% of DTF patients respectively. DTF patients had higher rates of mild, moderate, and severe anxiety and depression compared to healthy controls. CONCLUSION: DTF patients have significant symptom burden, poor functioning, and heightened anxiety and depression as compared to healthy controls. HRQoL, anxiety, and depression should be routinely used to assess symptom burden and treatment efficacy in DTF patients.

Beyond MELD Predictors of Post TIPSS Acute Liver Failure the Lesson Learned.

TIPSS is safe and effective procedure for relieving portal hypertension by creating a low resistance portosystemic shunt. TIPSS reduces portal perfusion by 80 to 100% which then gradually gets partially compensated by increased flow from hepatic artery. Post TIPSS liver function shows brief deterioration which tends to start recovering in few weeks. However, progressive liver failure requiring emergency transplant or death remains a serious concern after TIPSS creation. The causes of post TIPSS liver failure are diverse and difficult to predict. Due to its rarity the definition of post TIPSS liver decompensation is also not well described in literature. Till date MELDNa score has been considered as the most reliable predictor of post TIPSS liver decompensation. In common practice post TIPSS liver failure is less likely in patients with model for end-stage liver disease (MELD) score less than 18. We have experienced two unusual cases of post-TIPSS liver failure (PTLF) in patients with initial acceptable/low MELD score and the importance of non-MELD factors that may negatively influence post TIPSS outcome. Most of these can be routinely investigated prior to creating shunt thereby identifying patients at high risk of developing PTLF.

An Analysis of Presentation, Pattern and Outcome of Chest Trauma Patients at an Urban Level 1 Trauma Center.

Chest trauma is an important public health problem accounting for a substantial proportion of all trauma admissions and deaths. It directly account for 20-25 % of deaths due to trauma. Therefore, this study was conducted to analyze the presentation, patterns, and outcome of chest trauma in a level-1 urban trauma center. It was a prospective observational study of all patients presented with chest trauma to an urban level 1-trauma center over a period of 3 years. Demographic profile, mechanism of injury, injury severity scores (ISS), associated injuries, hospital stay, etc. were recorded. Morbidity and mortality rates were analyzed and compared with the published literature. Chest injuries comprised 30.9 % of all trauma admissions and the mechanism was blunt in majority (83.5 %) of the cases. Vehicular crashes (59.7 %) followed by assault were the most common modes of injury. Rib fracture was the most common chest injury seen in 724 of the 1258 patients while abdominal visceral injuries were the commonest associated injuries in polytrauma cases. Majority of the patients were managed non-operatively. Inter costal tube drainage (ICD) was the main stay of treatment in 75 % of the cases, whereas, thoracotomy was required only in 5.56 % of the patients. Overall mortality was 11 % and it was found to be significantly higher following blunt chest trauma. We observed that associated extra thoracic injuries resulted in higher mortality as compared to isolated chest injuries. Thoracic injuries can be readily diagnosed in the emergency department by meticulous and repeated clinical evaluation and majority require simple surgical procedures to prevent immediate mortality and long-term morbidity.

Role of Laparoscopy in Patients With Abdominal Trauma at Level-I Trauma Center.

INTRODUCTION: Abdominal trauma is one of the preventable causes of death in polytrauma patients. Decision and timing of laparotomy is a major challenge. Rate of nontherapeutic laparotomy is still high. Laparoscopy can avoid nontherapeutic laparotomy and also provide a reliable and accurate diagnosis of injury. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This ambispective observational study was conducted in the division of Trauma Surgery and Critical Care, JPN Apex Trauma Centre, All India Institute Medical Sciences, New Delhi. Retrospective analysis of prospectively maintained data of cases from January 1, 2008 through April 30, 2013 and prospective analysis of cases from May 1, 2013 through March 31, 2015 was done using appropriate measures. Hemodynamically stable or responders fulfilling inclusion criteria were included. Selected patients underwent the laparoscopic procedure and if required converted to laparotomy. RESULTS: Of the 3610 patients of abdominal trauma, laparotomy was done in 1666 (46.14%) patients and laparoscopy was done in 119 (3.29%) patients. Rate of reduction of nontherapeutic laparotomy in patients with abdominal trauma using diagnostic laparoscopy was 55.4%. However laparotomy could be avoided in 59.7%. Laparoscopy was 100% accurate in identifying injuries in our study. No injuries were missed in these patients. Fever and wound infection were significantly higher in laparotomy group. Chest infection and sepsis were also higher in laparotomy group but the difference was not statistically significant. Median length of hospital stay in laparoscopy group was 4 days (range: 1 to 28 d) and in laparotomy group was 9.5 days (range: 2 to 55 d) with P-value of 0.001. CONCLUSIONS: Laparoscopy has a role in management of hemodynamically stable patients with suspected abdominal injury to prevent nontherapeutic laparotomies, and thereby decreasing postoperative complications.

Fine needle aspiration cytology diagnosis of metastatic malignant diffuse type tenosynovial giant cell tumor.

Tenosynovial giant cell tumors (TGCTs) arise from the synovium of joint, bursa, and tendon sheath, and are classified into localized and diffuse types. Diffused type often affects the large joint, and has more recurrence, metastasis, and malignant transformation potential compared to the localized type. Malignant diffused TGCT (D-TGCT) usually occurs as a large tumor (>5 cm), in older patients, and its histopathologic features include necrosis, cellular anaplasia, prominent nucleoli, high nuclear cytoplasmic ratio, brisk mitosis, discohesion of tumor cells, paucity of giant cells, and a diffuse growth pattern. At least five of these criteria are required for the histopathologic diagnosis of malignant TGCT because the benign TGCT also shares many of these morphological features. We describe the cytomorphologic features of a malignant D-TGCT from an unusual case of pulmonary metastasis in an adult patient. Fine needle aspiration cytologic features of malignant D-TGCT have not been described earlier in the English literature.

Massive cerebral fat embolism leading to brain death: A rare presentation.

Fat embolism syndrome (FES) typically consists of a triad of neurological, pulmonary, and cutaneous symptoms. There exist few case reports of FES involving central nervous system (CNS) only without pulmonary involvement. In most of such cases, CNS involvement is partial, and patients recover fully neurologically within days. We report a rare and unusual case of massive cerebral fat embolism that led to brain death in trauma patient.

Intraarticular osteochondroma of the knee.

Osteochondromas are usually extra articular and grow away from the joint towards the diaphysis. Intraarticular osteochondromas are very rare and often misdiagnosed. We report a case of 16-year-old boy who presented with pain and clicking sound in the right knee for last 6 months. On examination, click was felt at the terminal flexion of the knee. The lateral radiograph of the right knee showed a radio opaque shadow at the posterior aspect of the distal end of femur, which was further evaluated with an MRI. Arthroscopy showed a hard lesion arising from the roof of the intercondylar notch of femur. It was excised arthroscopically. Histopathology revealed it to be an osteochondroma. Thus, intraarticular osteochondroma of the knee can be considered as a rare cause of pain in young patients.

Mechanism and patterns of cervical spine fractures-dislocations in vertebral artery injury.

PURPOSE: To identify the fracture patterns and mechanism of injury, based on subaxial cervical spine injury classification system (SLIC), on non-contrast computed tomography (NCCT) of cervical spine predictive of vertebral artery injury (VAI). PATIENTS AND METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed cervical spine magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of 320 patients who were admitted with cervical spine injury in our level I regional trauma center over a period of two years (April 2010 to April 2012). Diagnosis of VAI was based on hyperintensity replacing the flow void on a T2-weighted axial image. NCCT images of the selected 43 patients with MRI diagnosis of VAI were then assessed for the pattern of injury. The cervical spinal injuries were classified into those involving the C1 and C2 and subaxial spine. For the latter, SLIC was used. RESULTS: A total of 47 VAI were analyzed in 43 patients. Only one patient with VAI on MRI had no detectable abnormality on NCCT. C1 and C2 injuries were found in one and six patients respectively. In subaxial injuries, the most common mechanism of injury was distraction (37.5%) with facet dislocation with or without fracture representing the most common pattern of injury (55%). C5 was the single most common affected vertebral level. Extension to foramen transversarium was present in 20 (42.5%) cases. CONCLUSION: CT represents a robust screening tool for patients with VAI. VAI should be suspected in patients with facet dislocation with or without fractures, foramina transversarium fractures and C1-C3 fractures, especially type III odontoid fractures and distraction mechanism of injury.

Cerebral Fat Embolism: A diagnostic challenge.

Fat embolism syndrome (FES) is a rare but a serious clinical catastrophe occurring after traumatic injury to long bones. Cerebral involvement in the absence of pulmonary or dermatological manifestation on initial presentation may delay the diagnosis of cerebral fat embolism (CFE). We discuss a case series of CFE which posed a challenge in diagnosis. The clinical presentations of these patients did not satisfy the commonly used clinical criteria for aiding the diagnosis of FES. Early MRI brain (DWI and T2 weighted sequences) in patients with neurological symptoms after trauma even in the absence of pulmonary and dermatological findings should be the goal.

Multidetector computed tomography of spinal trauma: a pictorial review.

Spinal trauma is 1 of the major causes of disability that commonly affects young adults, and radiologists play a crucial role in the evaluation of acutely traumatized patients. With the advent of multidetector computed tomography (MDCT), the algorithm of imaging of spinal trauma has changed dramatically and MDCT is now established as the imaging modality of choice for the diagnosis of spinal trauma. The appearance on MDCT of the spinal injury depends on the mechanism of the injury, which also determines the stability of the injury. This pictorial essay describes the MDCT appearances, mechanism, and stability of commonly encountered traumatic spinal injuries.