Hydroxychloroquine is no miracle cure for covid-19 infection -imaging and clinical course in an elderly female.

The risk for an unfavourable course of SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia rises with age and comorbidities. We report the case of an elderly female where the sum of such factors - together with massive findings in the computed tomography of the lung - led us to a therapy with hydroxychloroquine as a compassionate use. The unfavourable outcome demonstrates that - despite the enthusiasm of some authors - hydroxychloroquine is no miracle drug. The worldwide SOLIDARITY trial will help clinicians to assess the potential of the repurposed antimalarial drugs better.

Course of a SARS-COV-2 pneumonia in a middle-aged male patient.

The SARS-CoV-2 infection has recently been declared a pandemic by the WHO. Most fatalities occur in elderly people with comorbidities. However, SARS-CoV-2 pneumonias do also occur in younger patients with no comorbidities or risk factors at all. We report here on one of the "early" cases that occurred in Germany. A 57-year-old man was infected and developed pneumonia after a skiing vacation in Northern Italy. Other members of the travel group also fell ill, but only showed flu-like symptoms. Only a few if any infections originated from the affected person; at this point in time the infection situation in the region could still be grasped. Under supportive measures, the disease developed positively despite impressive radiological findings. The positive course is likely also due to the age of the person affected and the lack of any risk factors. The case does also exemplify that a good health condition does not necessarily protect from acquiring a moderately severe SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Hybrid Procedure with Debranching from the Descending Aorta for Aortic Arch Aneurysm after Previous Open Repair.

Aortic arch aneurysms can be treated with hybrid procedures by endovascular exclusion and prior debranching of supra-aortic arteries. We report on a case of symptomatic arch aneurysm following previous supracoronary ascending aorta and hemiarch replacement with a very short proximal landing zone. A successful reconstruction was performed by retrograde revascularization of supra-aortic vessels from the descending aorta and subsequent endovascular repair deploying a proximal stent graft directly above the sinotubular junction with good results in the 4-year follow-up. Retrograde supra-aortic debranching may constitute a suitable approach for hybrid endovascular repair of aneurysms of the aortic arch and the ascending aorta in selected cases.

Noninvasive measurement of liver iron concentration at MRI in children with acute leukemia: initial results.

BACKGROUND: Routine assessment of body iron load in patients with acute leukemia is usually done by serum ferritin (SF) assay; however, its sensitivity is impaired by different conditions including inflammation and malignancy. OBJECTIVE: To estimate, using MRI, the extent of liver iron overload in children with acute leukemia and receiving blood transfusions, and to examine the association between the degree of hepatic iron overload and clinical parameters including SF and the transfusion iron load (TIL). MATERIAL AND METHODS: A total of 25 MRI measurements of the liver were performed in 15 children with acute leukemia (mean age 9.75 years) using gradient-echo sequences. Signal intensity ratios between the liver and the vertebral muscle (L/M ratio) were calculated and compared with SF-levels. TIL was estimated from the cumulative blood volume received, assuming an amount of 200 mg iron per transfused red blood cell unit. RESULTS: Statistical analysis revealed good correlation between the L/M SI ratio and TIL (r = -0.67, P = 0.002, 95% confidence interval CI = -0.83 to -0.34) in patients with acute leukemia as well as between L/M SI ratio and SF (r = -0.76, P = 0.0003, 95% CI = -0.89 to -0.52). CONCLUSION: SF may reliably reflect liver iron stores as a routine marker in patients suffering from acute leukemia.

[Comparison between navigated and conventional percutaneous screw fixation of non-displaced scaphoid fractures]. / Vergleich der navigierten und konventionellen perkutanen Verschraubung undislozierter Kahnbeinfrakturen.

BACKGROUND: Incorrect screw placement and penetration in screw fixation of scaphoid fractures are found in 5 to 30 %. Therefore, optimizing of screw placement is desirable, especially because an exact central position of the screw in the proximal fragment leads to a significant higher stability as a more peripheral position. PATIENTS UND METHODS: 36 patients with an acute non-displaced scaphoid fracture were included in this randomized prospective study. 18 patients underwent navigated, the other 18 conventional percutaneous screw fixation of an acute non-displaced scaphoid fracture through a dorsal approach. Operation time and x-ray dose were measured. In both groups the position of the screw in the scaphoid was calculated on CT scans and compared with each other. Clinically, 17 patients with navigated and 11 with conventional percutaneous screw fixation with an average age of 52 resp. 43.2 years were available for follow-up examination including Krimmer- and DASH-score. RESULTS: All scaphoids healed within an adequate time. Two cases of navigated screw fixation have been converted to conventional percutaneous screw fixation. The average operation time in the navigated group was 83.2 minutes, in the conventional group 42.1 minutes. X-ray dose measured 106,5 ± 19,9cGy/cm2 in the navigated group and 45,6 ± 8,0cGy/cm2 in the conventional group. Screw penetration using an intraosseous compression screw (HSC) was observed in 5 conventionally fixed scaphoids, 4 distally (2,27 ± 1,47 mm), 1 proximally. In the navigated group there were 11 screw penetrations, 4 proximally (2,01 ± 0,81 mm) and distally (1,21 ± 0,64 mm), 3 distally (1,18 ± 0,44 mm), and 4 proximally (1,61 ± 0,57 mm). Axial screw position was more accurate in the conventional group. The 17 navigated patients averaged a Krimmer-Score of 83.6 and a DASH-score of 5,6 points at follow-up. The 11 conventional treated patients averaged a Krimmer-Score of 95 and a DASH-score of 8.0 points at follow-up. CONCLUSION: In this study navigated screw fixation of acute non-displaced scaphoid fractures was not superior to conventional percutaneous screw fixation, neither for screw position, screw penetration nor with respect to the clinical outcome.

Molecular whole-body cancer staging using positron emission tomography: consequences for therapeutic management and metabolic radiation treatment planning.

A prospective analysis was performed in 124 non-small cell lung cancer patients to determine the role of F-18 fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG)-positron emission tomography (PET) for molecular (metabolic) staging (n=63), therapy monitoring after induction-chemotherapy (n=34), and conformal radiation treatment planning (n=27). Staging by FDG-PET was significantly more accurate than CT (p<0.001) and changed therapeutic management in 52% of all patients. After induction-chemotherapy, patients with complete metabolic remission histologically did not show vital tumor cells in contrast to patients with metabolic partial remission or progressive disease. Metabolic radiation treatment planning by PET led to smaller planning target volumes (PTVs) for radiation therapy (between 3% and 21% in 25/27 patients), resulting in a reduction of dose exposure to healthy tissue. In two patients, PET-PTV was larger than CT-based PTV, since PET detected lymph node metastases smaller than 1 cm. FDG-PET provides clinically important information; changes therapeutic management, can predict noninvasively effectiveness of chemotherapy, and may lead to better tumor control with less radiation-induced toxicity.

Bilateral pulmonary embolism in twins with PAI-1 4G/5G gene polymorphism: a case report.

The aetiology of venous thromboembolism in adolescents is frequently associated with hereditary abnormalities of the coagulation system, autoimmune disorders or malignancies. The advent of specific laboratory tests has refined the identification of genetic traits. In this case report, we describe the occurrence of pulmonary embolism in young twins. Intensive tumour screening remained unremarkable. Evaluation of established risk factors for a clotting disorder remained negative, with the exception of a plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 4G/5G polymorphism. Despite the mild association accompanied by the presence of the 4G allele, this polymorphism might predispose to venous thromboembolism in some cases in general and in our case in particular.

Postpartum woman with pneumomediastinum and reverse (inverted) takotsubo cardiomyopathy: a case report.

INTRODUCTION: Pneumomediastinum is known to occur during labor. Patients typically present with chest pain and symptoms may be suspicious, for example of pulmonary embolism or aortic dissection. The condition itself, however, is rather harmless and self-limiting.Takotsubo cardiomyopathy is associated with psychologically or physiologically stressful events and its symptoms mimic myocardial infarction. Yet, symptoms often improve quickly as the initially impaired cardiac function is usually restored within days or weeks.Although the initial presentation of the patient in this case report was dramatic, the clinical course was positive and the patient could be quickly dismissed in a good general condition. To the best of our knowledge, no presentation of a combined occurrence of postpartum pneumomediastinum and reverse (inverted) takotsubo cardiomyopathy exists. CASE PRESENTATION: We present the case of a 30-year-old Caucasian woman with sudden onset of thoracic back and chest pain approximately 24 hours after an otherwise unremarkable vaginal delivery. A contrast-enhanced chest computed tomography showed cervical and mediastinal emphysema without proof for pulmonary embolism or aortic dissection. She received a symptomatic analgesic treatment and was dismissed to the obstetrics department for monitoring.Within hours, slightly increased levels of troponin I were observed without corresponding electrocardiography changes. Immediate cardiac catheterization and a cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging (performed within 24 hours) revealed basal to midventricular hypokinesia, but were otherwise unremarkable. A low-dose treatment for congestive heart failure was initiated, under which symptoms subsided within days. She was dismissed after 12 days in a good general condition. CONCLUSIONS: Although the clinical presentation of the combination of the diseases initially was dramatic, the prognosis is positive. In the context of the preceding delivery, knowledge about the postpartum pneumomediastinum lets the radiologist of the emergency department quickly make this diagnosis. The takotsubo cardiomyopathy, however, needs broader diagnostics to not miss intervention-requiring causes.

Early dynamic 18F-FDG PET to detect hyperperfusion in hepatocellular carcinoma liver lesions.

UNLABELLED: In addition to angiographic data on vascularity and vascular access, demonstration of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) liver nodule hypervascularization is a prerequisite for certain intrahepatic antitumor therapies. Early dynamic (ED) (18)F-FDG PET/CT could serve this purpose when the current standard method, contrast-enhanced (CE) CT, or other CE morphologic imaging modalities are unsuitable. A recent study showed ED (18)F-FDG PET/CT efficacy in this setting but applied a larger-than-standard (18)F-FDG activity and an elaborate protocol likely to hinder routine use. We developed a simplified protocol using standard activities and easily generated visual and descriptive or quantitative endpoints. This pilot study assessed the ability of these endpoints to detect HCC hyperperfusion and, thereby, evaluated the suitability in of the protocol everyday practice. METHODS: Twenty-seven patients with 34 HCCs (diameter ≥ 1.5 cm) with hypervascularization on 3-phase CE CT underwent liver ED (18)F-FDG PET for 240 s, starting with (18)F-FDG (250-MBq bolus injection). Four frames at 15-s intervals, followed by 3 frames at 60-s intervals were reconstructed. Endpoints included focal tracer accumulation in the first 4 frames (60 s), subsequent focal washout, and visual and quantitative differences between tumor and liver regions of interest in maximum and mean ED standardized uptake value (ED SUVmax and ED SUVmean, respectively) 240-s time-activity curves. RESULTS: All 34 lesions were identified by early focal (18)F-FDG accumulation and faster time-to-peak ED SUVmax or ED SUVmean than in nontumor tissue. Tumor peak ED SUVmax and ED SUVmean exceeded liver levels in 85% and 53%, respectively, of lesions. Nadir tumor signal showed no consistent pattern relative to nontumor signal. HCC had a significantly shorter time to peak and significantly faster rate to peak for both ED SUVmax and ED SUVmean curves and a significantly higher peak ED SUVmax but not peak ED SUVmean than the liver. CONCLUSION: This pilot study provided proof of principle that our simplified ED (18)F-FDG PET/CT protocol includes endpoints that effectively detect HCC hypervascularization; this finding suggests that the protocol can be used routinely.

Acute chest pain, heart failure, and eosinophilia in a woman without coronary disease.

This case report describes cardiac manifestations in a female patient with Churg-Strauss syndrome (CSS). Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMRI) is the only imaging modality able to depict cardiac involvement with endomyocardial fibrosis, myocardial edema, pericarditis associated with pericardial effusions, and apical thrombi in the left or right ventricle. The encasement of the tricuspid valve caused by an obliterating thrombus of the right ventricular cavity, as observed in our patient, is very rare. CMRI is a potentially important diagnostic tool for the early detection of dangerous cardiac complications of CSS, allowing optimal and timely therapy and reducing the comorbidity of the disease.

[Improved patient repositioning accuracy by integrating an additional jaw fixation into a high precision face mask system in stereotactic radiotherapy of the head]. / Verbesserte Lagerungsreproduzierbarkeit eines nichtinvasiven Hochpräzisionsmaskensystems in der stereotaktischen Radiotherapie durch eine integrierte Kieferfixierung.

BACKGROUND: For high precision radiotherapy of the neurocranium a precise, reproducible positioning technique is the basic prerequisite. The aim of this study was to assess the influence of a modification of the commercially available stereotactical BrainLab-head mask system on accuracy in patient positioning during fractionated radiotherapy. MATERIAL AND METHODS: 29 patients were treated with stereotactic radiotherapy of the head. Immobilization was provided by a two layer thermoplastic mask system (BrainLab). 18 of these patients received an additional custom made fixation either of the upper jaw (OKF) or of the mandibula (UKF). The positioning accuracy was assessed by measurements of the shifting of anatomical landmarks in relation to the rigid mask system on biplanar simulator films using a digital imaging system. Before each measurement a fine adjustment of the simulator to an optical ring system was performed. The reference radiographs were done just before CT-planning. During a 2-7 weeks lasting course of radiotherapy displacement measurements in relation to the reference images for all three dimensions (z, y and x) were done once a week. In 29 patients 844 measurements were analyzed. RESULTS: An additional jaw fixation improves the reproducibility of patient positioning significantly in all three spatial dimensions. The standard deviation in lateral direction (x) was 0.6 mm with jaw fixation vs. 0.7 mm without jaw fixation (p < 0.001); in longitudinal direction (z) (measured in 0 degree radiographs) 0.5 mm vs. 1.3 mm (p < 0.001); in longitudinal direction (measured in 90 degrees radiographs) 0.5 mm vs. 1.5 mm (p < 0.001); in vertical direction (y) 0.6 mm vs. 0.9 mm (p = 0.001). No significant differences in standard deviations were found comparing OKF (n = 14) with UKF (n = 4). CONCLUSION: A significant improvement in reposition accuracy using an additional, individually formed jaw fixation can be acquired. The variability of positioning can be reduced especially in the z-direction. A further reduction of the safety margin around the target volume--especially in benign tumors--is possible by improved fixation technique.