Endovascular Management of Thenar-Hypothenar Aneurysms: Two Case Reports and Review of Literature.

Thenar-hypothenar arterial aneurysms are rare, presenting as either true aneurysms or pseudoaneurysms. Traditionally, surgical repair has been the mainstay of treatment for these aneurysms, with only isolated cases of endovascular management reported. In this study, we describe two cases of thenar-hypothenar aneurysms successfully managed with coil embolization, accompanied by a brief literature review. Our findings suggest that endovascular management is a feasible treatment option for these rare aneurysms.

Society of Chest Imaging and Interventions Consensus Guidelines for the Interventional Radiology Management of Hemoptysis.

The recommendations from the Society of Chest Imaging and Interventions expert group comprehensively cover all the aspects of management of hemoptysis, highlighting the role of diagnostic and interventional radiology. The diversity existing in etiopathology, imaging findings, and management of hemoptysis has been addressed. The management algorithm recommends the options for effective treatment while minimizing the chances of recurrence, based on the best evidence available and opinion from the experts.

A 58-Year-Old Man With Hemoptysis After COVID-19 Infection.

CASE PRESENTATION: A 58-year-old man presented to us with a 1-week history of high-grade fever and progressive dry cough. Four weeks before his presentation, he was diagnosed with COVID-19 infection and needed non-ICU hospital admission with no supplemental oxygen requirements for 6 days and was treated with a 5-day course of remdesivir and 3 weeks of dexamethasone. His steroid dose was commenced on dexamethasone 12 mg bid (four times the recommended dose) for 14 days and then gradually tapered over the remaining 7 days. His history was unremarkable, except for well-controlled asthma. He did not complain of any shortness of breath, weight loss, or loss of appetite. He was never a smoker and denied any alcohol use.

Rare case of post mastectomy surgical site haematoma due to axillary artery branch pseudoaneurysm.

We present a case of surgical site haematoma developed in a female patient with breast cancer who had undergone modified radical mastectomy. On investigation, the underlying aetiology was detected to be axillary artery branch pseudoaneurysm. The patient was managed with the minimally invasive technique of angioembolisation with coils. A multidisciplinary approach resulted in an excellent outcome. The patient made good recovery without any residual impairment.

Whole-body and muscle responses to aerobic exercise training and withdrawal in ageing and COPD.

BACKGROUND: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients exhibit lower peak oxygen uptake (V'O2 peak), altered muscle metabolism and impaired exercise tolerance compared with age-matched controls. Whether these traits reflect muscle-level deconditioning (impacted by ventilatory constraints) and/or dysfunction in mitochondrial ATP production capacity is debated. By studying aerobic exercise training (AET) at a matched relative intensity and subsequent exercise withdrawal period we aimed to elucidate the whole-body and muscle mitochondrial responsiveness of healthy young (HY), healthy older (HO) and COPD volunteers to whole-body exercise. METHODS: HY (n=10), HO (n=10) and COPD (n=20) volunteers were studied before and after 8 weeks of AET (65% V'O2 peak) and after 4 weeks of exercise withdrawal. V'O2 peak, muscle maximal mitochondrial ATP production rate (MAPR), mitochondrial content, mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) copy number and abundance of 59 targeted fuel metabolism mRNAs were determined at all time-points. RESULTS: Muscle MAPR (normalised for mitochondrial content) was not different for any substrate combination in HO, HY and COPD at baseline, but mtDNA copy number relative to a nuclear-encoded housekeeping gene (mean±sd) was greater in HY (804±67) than in HO (631±69; p=0.041). AET increased V'O2 peak in HO (17%; p=0.002) and HY (21%; p<0.001), but not COPD (p=0.603). Muscle MAPR for palmitate increased with training in HO (57%; p=0.041) and HY (56%; p=0.003), and decreased with exercise withdrawal in HO (-45%; p=0.036) and HY (-30%; p=0.016), but was unchanged in COPD (p=0.594). mtDNA copy number increased with AET in HY (66%; p=0.001), but not HO (p=0.081) or COPD (p=0.132). The observed changes in muscle mRNA abundance were similar in all groups after AET and exercise withdrawal. CONCLUSIONS: Intrinsic mitochondrial function was not impaired by ageing or COPD in the untrained state. Whole-body and muscle mitochondrial responses to AET were robust in HY, evident in HO, but deficient in COPD. All groups showed robust muscle mRNA responses. Higher relative exercise intensities during whole-body training may be needed to maximise whole-body and muscle mitochondrial adaptation in COPD.

Psoas hematoma due to segmental vessel injury leads to paresis following CT-guided biopsy of lumbar vertebrae: A case report.

BACKGROUND: Percutaneous bone biopsy is the first-line procedure for obtaining a tissue diagnosis to confirm focal, diffuse vertebral, and/or paravertebral metastatic lesions. Percutaneous bone biopsy to evaluate metastatic disease can be performed under fluoroscopy, ultrasonography, magnetic resonance (MR) imaging, and computed tomography (CT). Notably, CT-scans best direct and demonstrate the needle position for these procedures, decreasing the risk of injury to critical adjacent structures (e.g. major vessels, nerve roots). Hemorrhagic complication to lumbar segmental arteries following needle biopsy are uncommon; only a few cases have been reported. Although percutaneous bone biopsy is typically safe when performed utilizing computed tomography (CT) guidance, here we encountered a 60-year-old-female who developed a L4 lumbar segmental artery psoas hematoma following this procedure requiring emergent embolization. CASE DESCRIPTION: A 60-year-old female, with a history of breast cancer, underwent a CT-guided core needle biopsy of an L4 lytic lesion (e.g., likely a metastasis). This acutely resulted in the onset of radicular leg pain and weakness. When the postprocedural CT scan demonstrated a large psoas hematoma attributed to laceration of the left posterior L4 segmental artery, the patient required emergent embolization. Following this procedure, she exhibited a fully neurological recovery. CONCLUSION: Following a CT-guided L4 vertebral biopsy to document metastatic breast carcinoma, a 60-year-old patient developed an immediate postprocedure CT-documented psoas hematoma due to laceration of the left posterior L4 segmental artery. Following emergent embolization, the patient recovered full neurological function.

Percutaneous Transhepatic Biliary Drainage in the Management of Post-surgical Biliary Leaks.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of percutaneous transhepatic biliary drainage (PTBD) in the treatment of post-surgical biliary leaks and its efficacy in restoring the integrity of bile ducts. One hundred and fifty-seven patients with a post-surgical biliary leak were treated by means of percutaneous transhepatic biliary drainage. The biliary leak was due to laparoscopic procedures in 114 patients, while 43 patients had postoperative leak following open surgery. Percutaneous transhepatic biliary drainage was performed with an 8- to 10-F catheter, with the side holes positioned proximal to the site of extravasation to divert bile flow away from the leak site. The established biliary leaks at the site of origin were diagnosed at an average of 7 days (range 2-150 days) after surgery. In all cases, percutaneous access to the biliary tree was achieved. In 62 patients, biliary leak completely healed after drainage for 10-50 days (mean, 28 days) while 89 patients underwent surgical reconstruction subsequently. PTBD is a feasible, effective, and safe procedure for the treatment of post-surgical biliary leaks. It is therefore a reliable alternative to surgically repair smaller biliary leaks, while in patients with large defects, it helps prepare patients for surgical reconstruction.

Endovascular treatment of Budd-Chiari syndrome: Single center experience.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Percutaneous radiologic interventions are increasingly being used in management of Budd-Chiari syndrome (BCS). Minimal invasive approach has resulted in excellent long-term outcomes. We evaluated the treatment efficacy and safety of radiological intervention in patients with BCS. METHODS: Between January 2008 and June 2014, 190 patients with BCS underwent endovascular procedures (hepatic vein, collateral vein or inferior vena cava [IVC] plasty with or without stenting, or transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunting [TIPSS]). Clinical features, biochemical profile, and stent patency were monitored pre-procedure and post-procedure, and for a median duration of 42 (12-88) months. RESULTS: Of 190 patients (mean [SD] age = 26.9 [11.5] years; 102 men), imaging revealed hepatic vein obstruction in 147 patients, IVC obstruction in 40 patients, and concomitant hepatic vein and IVC obstruction in three patients. At presentation, the radiological interventions included hepatic vein plasty/stenting in 38 patients, collateral vein stenting in three patients, IVC plasty/stenting in 40 patients, both IVC and hepatic vein stenting in three patients, and TIPSS in 106 patients. Response was seen in 153 patients (80.5%). Repeat interventions were required in 19 patients (10.0%). Complications were noted in nine patients (4.7%). CONCLUSION: Our study demonstrates that venous recanalization and TIPSS for BCS are safe and efficacious.

Mediastinal Fibrosis Treated with Endovascular Stent Placement.

We report an interesting case of mediastinal fibrosis causing significant narrowing of both pulmonary arteries (right > left) which led to progressively increasing dyspnoea and pulmonary hypertension. This was treated with endovascular stenting of the right pulmonary artery with good clinical outcome.

Invasive and non-invasive mechanical ventilation.

Early recognition of patients who might potentially require ventilatory support is a key goal of critical care outreach programmes and an important skill for all hospital medical staff. Decisions about the initiation and timing of invasive ventilation can be difficult, and early discussion with critical care colleagues is essential. Appropriateness of invasive ventilatory support can also require advanced discussion with patients and families. In the past 10-15 years, the role of non-invasive ventilation (NIV) has expanded, not least in an attempt to minimize the complications inherent in invasive ventilation. Indeed, NIV is now considered first-line therapy in some conditions (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, pulmonary oedema, mild to moderate hypoxaemic respiratory failure in immunocompromised patients), and a 'trial of NIV' is often considered in respiratory failure resulting from an increasingly wide range of causes. With NIV, the importance of the environment (setting, monitoring, experience of staff) and forward planning cannot be overemphasized. When used for other than the standard indications, NIV should be employed in a high-dependency or intensive care setting in patients for whom invasive ventilation would be considered.

Radiofrequency ablation, an effective modality of treatment in tumor-induced osteomalacia: a case series of three patients.

CONTEXT: Tumor-induced osteomalacia is curable if the tumors can be totally excised. However, when the tumors are present in locations that make surgery disproportionately risky, the need for less invasive strategies like radiofrequency ablation (RFA) is realized. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We describe three patients with suspected tumor-induced osteomalacia who were treated in our department between 2006 and 2013 with tumors in surgically difficult locations and were subjected to single or multiple sessions of RFA. The response was documented in terms of symptomatic improvement, phosphorus normalization, and follow-up (99m)Technitium-labelled hydrazinonicotinyl-Tyr3-octreotide ((99m)Tc HYNIC TOC) scan. RESULTS: Two of the three individuals, patient A (with a 1.5 × 1.2-cm lesion in the head of the right femur) and patient B (with a 1.3 × 1.2-cm lesion on the endosteal surface of the shaft of the left femur), achieved complete remission with single sessions of RFA. Three months after the procedure, (99m)Tc HYNIC TOC scans revealed the absence of uptake at the previous sites, corroborating with the clinical improvement and phosphorus normalization. Patient C had a large 5.6 × 6.5-cm complex lesion in the lower end of the left femur with irregular margins, loculations, and bone grafts placed in previous surgery. He failed to achieve remission after multiple sessions of RFA due to the complex nature of the lesion, although the tumor burden was reduced significantly as documented on serial (99m)Tc HYNIC TOC scans. CONCLUSIONS: Although surgery remains the treatment of choice, RFA could be an effective, less invasive, and safe modality of treatment in judiciously selected patients.

Spectrum of imaging in Budd Chiari syndrome.

Budd Chiari syndrome is an uncommon heterogeneous group of disorders which occur due to obstruction at any level from the hepatic venules to the junction of inferior vena cava and right atrium of heart which has significant morbidity and mortality. An early diagnosis of the disease is required for appropriate treatment. Due to the diffuse nature of the disease, normal biopsy findings do not exclude the disease. Proper clinical history and imaging are essential for definitive diagnosis. In this pictorial essay, we discuss the imaging spectrum of Budd Chiari syndrome.

Invasive and non-invasive mechanical ventilation.

Early recognition of patients who might potentially require ventilatory support is a key goal of critical care outreach programs and an important skill for all hospital medical staff. Decisions about the initiation and timing of invasive ventilation can be difficult and early discussion with critical care colleagues is essential. Appropriateness of invasive ventilatory support may also be an issue requiring advanced discussion with patients and their families. In the past 10-15 years, the role of non-invasive ventilation (NIV) has expanded, not least in an attempt to minimize the complications inherent with invasive ventilation. As such, NIV is now considered first-line therapy in some conditions (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, pulmonary oedema, mild-to-moderate hypoxaemic respiratory failure in immunocompromised patients), and a 'trial of NIV' is often considered in respiratory failure resulting from an increasingly wide range of causes. When using NIV, the importance of the environment (setting, monitoring and experience of staff) and forward planning cannot be overemphasized. When used for other than the standard indications, NIV should be employed in a high-dependency/intensive care setting only in patients for whom invasive ventilation would be considered.

Isolated left brachiocephalic vein aneurysm presenting as a symptomatic mediastinal mass.

Thoracic venous aneurysms arising from the mediastinal systemic veins are very rare conditions. We report a case of a 42-year-old female who presented with dull aching pain in the left infraclavicular region, dyspnea and palpitation since 4-5 month. Chest roentgenogram revealed superior mediastinal widening secondary to a mass. Contrast enhanced CT scan revealed a homogenously enhancing superior mediastinal mass. Selective left brachiocephalic vein venography confirmed the diagnosis of an isolated large left brachiocephalic vein saccular aneurysm. The patient is being followed up without surgical treatment. Although rare a diagnosis of innominate vein aneurysm should be considered when a uniformly attenuating mediastinal mass is seen on CT so that unnecessary biopsy and surgery can be avoided.