A new association of Oculoauriculovertebral spectrum and persistent fifth aortic arch -double lumen aorta: a case report.

BACKGROUND: Oculo-auriculo-vertebral spectrum is a heterogeneous group of genetic disorder, also known as Goldenhar Syndrome, which has several phenotypic features including craniofacial anomalies, cardiac, vertebral and central nervous system defects. Cardiovascular anomalies include ventricular septal defects, atrial septal defects, patent ductus arteriosus, Tetralogy of Fallot, double outlet right ventricle, aberrant right subclavian artery, coarctation of aorta, transposition of the great arteries, double inlet left ventricle, cor triatriatum, pulmonary artery stenosis, aortic stenosis, persistent left superior vena cava, partially or totally abnormal pulmonary venous return and bicuspid aortic valve. Persistent fifth aortic arch, also named as double lumen aortic arch, is a very rare cardivascular anomaly and usually associate other cardiac defects. CASE PRESENTATION: We present a 7 month old patient with oculo-auriculo-vertebral spectrum signs as facial asymmetry, short neck, choanal atresia, cleft palate, bilateral preauricular skin tags, bilateral hypoplastic ear lobes, epibulbar dermoid cyst, rib, vertebrae and cardiovascular anomalies. Cardiovascular anomalies detected with echocardiography and computed tomography were malalignment ventricular septal defect and double lumen aorta, known as persistent fifth aortic arch. CONCLUSION: Various cardiovascular anomalies may accompany Goldenhar Syndrome. We present a case with persistent fifth aortic arch and Oculo-auriculo-vertebral spectrum and this is a new association that was not reported before in the literature.

Can Point Shear Wave Elastography Be Used as an Early Indicator of Involvement?: Evaluation of the Pancreas and Liver in Children With Cystic Fibrosis.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to determine the effect of cystic fibrosis (CF) on pancreas and liver elasticity in young children using point shear wave elastography and to determine the relationship with clinical findings. METHODS: Twenty-two patients with genetically proven CF, who were admitted to our pediatric gastroenterology clinic, and 22 healthy control participants were enrolled in the study. The shear wave velocity (SWV) of the liver and pancreas were measured with point shear wave elastography. RESULTS: The 22 patients with CF included 45.5% girls with a mean age ± SD of 35 ± 35.8 months (range, 5-123 months). The 22 healthy control participants included 41.2% girls with a mean age of 58.9 ± 44.4 months (range, 2-159 months). The mean SWV of the pancreas in the patients with CF (1.06 ± 0.26 m/s) was significantly higher than that of the healthy control participants (0.85 ± 0.23 m/s; P = .01). The mean SWV of the liver in the patients with CF (1.46 ± 0.24 m/s) was significantly higher than that of the healthy control participants (1.12 ± 0.21 m/s; P = .001). The SWV of the pancreas and liver did not show any significant differences depending on ursodeoxycholic acid use, malnutrition status, and the presence of the F508 deletion mutation. CONCLUSIONS: This study showed an increased SWV of the pancreas in children with CF, contrary to the literature. We also found an increased liver SWV even in the absence of CF-related liver disease. Ultrasound elastography may be a useful method of evaluating early changes in the pancreas and liver before the obvious clinical, laboratory, and B-mode ultrasound signs of CF-related involvement.

Structural brain alterations of Down's syndrome in early childhood evaluation by DTI and volumetric analyses.

OBJECTIVES: To provide an initial assessment of white matter (WM) integrity with diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and the accompanying volumetric changes in WM and grey matter (GM) through volumetric analyses of young children with Down's syndrome (DS). METHODS: Ten children with DS and eight healthy control subjects were included in the study. Tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS) were used in the DTI study for whole-brain voxelwise analysis of fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity (MD) of WM. Volumetric analyses were performed with an automated segmentation method to obtain regional measurements of cortical volumes. RESULTS: Children with DS showed significantly reduced FA in association tracts of the fronto-temporo-occipital regions as well as the corpus callosum (CC) and anterior limb of the internal capsule (p < 0.05). Volumetric reductions included total cortical GM, cerebellar GM and WM volume, basal ganglia, thalamus, brainstem and CC in DS compared with controls (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: These preliminary results suggest that DTI and volumetric analyses may reflect the earliest complementary changes of the neurodevelopmental delay in children with DS and can serve as surrogate biomarkers of the specific elements of WM and GM integrity for cognitive development. KEY POINTS: • DS is the most common genetic cause of intellectual disability. • WM and GM structural alterations represent the neurological features of DS. • DTI may identify the earliest aging process changes. • DTI-volumetric analyses can serve as surrogate biomarkers of neurodevelopment in DS.

Acoustic Radiation Force Impulse Elastography in Determining the Effects of Type 1 Diabetes on Pancreas and Kidney Elasticity in Children.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to determine the effects of type 1 diabetes on pancreas and kidney elasticity in children, using acoustic radiation force impulse ultrasound elastography. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Sixty autoantibody-positive patients with type 1 diabetes (45% girls; mean [± SD] age, 11.7 ± 4.4 years; range, 1.9-19.3 years) admitted to the pediatric endocrinology outpatient clinic and 32 healthy children (50% girls; mean age, 10.2 ± 3.8 years; range, 2.1-17.3 years) were included in the study. Acoustic radiation force impulse elastography measurements were performed of the kidneys and pancreas in both groups. Body mass index, duration of diabetes, HbA1c levels, and insulin dosage of patients with type 1 diabetes were recorded. RESULTS: The mean shear-wave velocities of the pancreas were 0.99 ± 0.25 m/s in patients with type 1 diabetes and 1.09 ± 0.22 m/s in healthy control subjects; the difference was not significant (p = 0.08). The median shear-wave velocities of the right and left kidneys in patients with type 1 diabetes were 2.43 ± 0.29 and 2.47 ± 0.25 m/s, respectively. There were no significant differences in the shear-wave velocities of the right and left kidneys between the patients with type 1 diabetes and the healthy control subjects (p = 0.91 and p = 0.73, respectively). Correlation analysis showed no correlation between the shear-wave velocities of the pancreas and kidney versus HbA1c level, duration of diabetes, insulin dosage, height, weight, and body mass index of the patients with type 1 diabetes. CONCLUSION: The current study showed no significant difference in the shear-wave velocity of kidneys in children with type 1 diabetes with normoalbuminuria compared with the healthy control subjects. We also observed that the shear-wave velocity of the pancreas in children with type 1 diabetes and healthy control subjects did not differ significantly.

Acoustic Radiation Force Impulse Quantification in the Evaluation of Renal Parenchyma Elasticity in Pediatric Patients With Chronic Kidney Disease: Preliminary Results.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate renal parenchymal elasticity with acoustic radiation force impulse imaging in pediatric patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and compare with healthy volunteers. METHODS: Thirty-eight healthy volunteers and 30 pediatric CKD patients were enrolled in this prospective study. The shear wave velocity (SW) values of both kidneys in CKD patients and healthy volunteers were evaluated. RESULTS: The mean SW in healthy volunteers was 2.21 ± 0.34 m/s, whereas the same value was 1.81 ± 0.49, 1.72 ± 0.63, 1.66 ± 0.29, 1.48 ± 0.37, and 1.23 ± 0.27 for stages 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 in CKD patients, respectively. The SW was significantly lower for each stage in the CKD patients compared with healthy volunteers. Acoustic radiation force impulse could not predict the different stages of CKD, with the exception of stage 5. The cut-off value for predicting CKD was 1.81 m/s; at this threshold, sensitivity was 76.5% and specificity was 92.1% (area under the curve = 0.870 [95% confidence interval: 0.750-0.990]; P < .001). Interobserver agreement expressed as intraclass coefficient correlation was 0.65 (95% confidence interval: 0.34 to 0.83; P < .001). CONCLUSIONS: Acoustic radiation force impulse may be a potentially useful tool in detecting CKD in pediatric patients.

Role of Point Shear Wave Elastography in the Determination of the Severity of Fibrosis in Pediatric Liver Diseases With Pathologic Correlations.

OBJECTIVES: Our aims in this study were as follows: (1) to determine the cutoff value that can distinguish between advanced liver fibrosis and normal liver tissue for two different elastographic techniques; (2) to determine the cutoff value that can distinguish mild liver fibrosis from normal liver tissue for the techniques; and (3) to assess tissue stiffness in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). METHODS: Seventy-five patients assessed for liver biopsy on the same day were evaluated by point shear wave elastography. Thirty-one healthy children and 11 children with NAFLD were also evaluated. A 9L4 transducer with Virtual Touch quantification (VTQ) and Virtual Touch imaging and quantification (VTIQ) modes (Siemens Medical Solutions, Mountain View, CA) was used for quantification. RESULTS: The shear wave speed of the patients with NAFLD was higher than that of the control group. The only predictive factor for VTQ and VTIQ was the histologic fibrosis score (model-adjusted R2 = 0.56 for VTQ and 0.75 for VTIQ). Shear wave speed cutoffs were 1.67 m/s for VTQ and 1.56 m/s for VTIQ in detecting fibrosis or inflammation and 2.09 m/s for VTQ and 2.17 m/s for VTIQ in discriminating children with low and high histologic liver fibrosis scores. CONCLUSIONS: The VTQ and VTIQ values reveal high-grade histopathologic fibrosis and have high success rates when distinguishing high- from low-grade fibrosis. However, they have limited success rates when differentiating low-grade fibrosis from normal liver tissue.

Autosomal recessive osteopetrosis with a unique imaging finding: multiple encephaloceles.

Osteopetrosis is a hereditary form of sclerosing bone dysplasia with various radiological and clinical presentations. The autosomal recessive type, also known as malignant osteopetrosis, is the most severe type, with the early onset of manifestations. A 5-month-old infant was admitted to our hospital with recurrent respiratory tract infections. Chest X-ray and skeletal survey revealed the classic findings of osteopetrosis, including diffuse osteosclerosis and bone within a bone appearance. At follow-up, the patient presented with, thickened calvarium, multiple prominent encephaloceles, and dural calcifications leading to the intracranial clinical manifestations with bilateral hearing and sight loss. Autosomal recessive osteopetrosis is one of the causes of encephaloceles and this finding may become dramatic if untreated.

Ectopic cerebellar tissue of the posterior cranial fossa: diffusion tensor tractography and MR spectroscopy findings.

PURPOSE: Well-differentiated ectopic cerebellar tissue is extremely rare, with only 12 cases in the literature. Here, we describe a unique case of radiologically proven ectopic cerebellar tissue, using diffusion tensor tractography (DTT) and MR spectroscopy (MRS) findings, in a 6-day-old newborn. CASE: A 6-day-old newborn who had previously a fetal MRI referred to our department with the suspicion of an arachnoid cyst of the posterior fossa. Including the central nervous system, all of his physical examination tests were normal. Postnatal transcranial ultrasound (US) imaging and brain MRI also revealed a large posterior fossa cyst and a solid mass nearby the cerebellar tissue. The tissue showed a small connection and isointense signal with the cerebellum. Upon DTT, both the cerebellum and nearby solid tissue represented the same FA values. Tractographic studies showed a connection with fibers extending along the left cerebellar hemisphere from this tissue. The single voxel MRS of this solid tissue also revealed high choline (Cho) and a smaller N-acetylaspartate (NAA) concentration similar to that of the normal newborn cerebellum. CONCLUSION: Ectopic cerebellar tissue can be characterized by advanced neuroimaging tools, like DTT and MRS, which provide information about brain metabolite concentrations and the microstructural integrity. In this way, unnecessary surgery can be avoided in order to obtain a histopathological diagnosis.

Osteopoikilosis: report of a familial case and review of the literature.

Osteopoikilosis (OPK) is a benign, rare, asymptomatic osteosclerotic bone dysplasia which is inherited as an autosomal dominant trait. It may develop during childhood and persists throughout life. Diagnosis is usually made incidentally according to radiographs. It may be confused with other conditions, such as osteoblastic metastases. OPK must be in differential diagnosis when multiple, small, well-defined, symmetric bone lesions are identified on plain radiograph to avoid alarming the patient with more serious disease and misdiagnosis. Bone scintigraphy is normal and useful for differential diagnosis. Although it is usually asymptomatic, effusion and joint pain can be found in 15-20 % of patients. In this study, we report a 17-year-old boy who suffers from low back pain and has a mother with similar involvement. He was diagnosed OPK radiologically. We also review the clinical manifestation, pathophysiology, diagnosis and treatment of OPK in this paper.

A rare cause of acute abdominal pain: Herlyn-Werner-Wunderlich syndrome.

Herlyn-Werner-Wunderlich (HWW) syndrome is a rare müllerian duct anomaly with uterus didelphys, unilateral obstructed hemivagina, and ipsilateral renal agenesis. Patients with this syndrome generally present after menarche with pelvic pain and mass and, rarely, primary infertility in later years. Strong suspicion and knowledge of this syndrome are mandatory for an accurate diagnosis. A 14-year-old female patient presented with acute retention of urine and abdominopelvic pain. Her condition was diagnosed with the use ultrasonography and magnetic resonance imaging as a case of HWW syndrome. She was treated with vaginal hemiseptal resection. The HWW syndrome should be considered among the differential diagnoses in girls with renal anomalies presenting with pelvic mass, symptoms of acute abdominal pain, and acute urinary retention.

Sonographic diagnosis of ascariasis causing small bowel obstruction.

Acute right lower quadrant pain is a common, but nonspecific presenting symptom of a wide variety of diseases in children. Sonography (US) can play a significant role in the accurate and early diagnosis of right lower quadrant pain. In this article, we report a case of small bowel obstruction due to intestinal ascariasis diagnosed at bedside US and confirmed by MRI and describe a new US sign of intestinal ascariasis.

Feasibility study of computed high b-value diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging for pediatric posterior fossa tumors.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the diagnostic efficacy of computed diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) in pediatric posterior fossa tumors generated using high b-values. METHODS: We retrospectively performed our study on 32 pediatric patients who had undergone brain magnetic resonance imaging for a posterior fossa tumor between January 2016 and January 2022. The DWIs were evaluated for each patient by two blinded radiologists. The computed DWI (cDWI) was mathematically derived using a mono-exponential model from images with b = 0 and 1,000 s/mm2 and high b-values of 1,500, 2,000, 3,000, and 5,000 s/mm2. The posterior fossa tumors were divided into two groups, low grade and high grade, and the tumor/thalamus signal intensity (SI) ratios were compared. The Mann-Whitney U test and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to compare the diagnostic performance of the acquired DWI (DWI1000), apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC)1000 maps, and cDWI (cDWI1500, cDWI2000, cDWI3000, and cDWI5000). RESULTS: The comparison of the two tumor groups revealed that the tumor/thalamus SI ratio on the DWI1000 and cDWI (cDWI1500, cDWI2000, cDWI3000, and cDWI5000) was statistically significantly higher in high-grade tumors (P < 0.001). In the ROC curve analysis, higher sensitivity and specificity were detected in the cDWI1500, cDWI2000, cDWI3000, and ADC1000 maps (100%, 90.90%) compared with the DWI1000 (80%, 81.80%). cDWI3000 had the highest area under the curve (AUC) value compared with other parameters (AUC: 0.976). CONCLUSION: cDWI generated using high b-values was successful in differentiating between low-grade and high-grade posterior fossa tumors without increasing imaging time. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: cDWI created using high b-values can provide additional information about tumor grade in pediatric posterior fossa tumors without requiring additional imaging time.

A very rare cause of neck pain: primary Ewing sarcoma of the axis.

We report the case of a 7-year-old boy who presented with a 1-month history of neck pain, left-sided torticollis, and no neurological deficit. Computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging revealed an expansile lesion in the axis, with epidural and prevertebral soft tissue components. Histopathologic examination of the biopsy specimen revealed primary vertebral Ewing sarcoma. This is the first case of primary vertebral Ewing sarcoma that has presented with torticollis. It is essential for physicians to be familiar with this condition and the associated imaging findings because early diagnosis of such cases is the key to better prognosis.

Honeycomb gallbladder: a very rare cause of right upper quadrant pain.

Honeycomb gallbladder is a rare congenital malformation of the gallbladder. In some cases, it may be asymptomatic, whereas in others, it may lead to symptoms consistent with biliary colic even in the absence of cholelithiasis. We present the clinical and imaging findings of a case of a 10-year-old boy who was admitted to the emergency department with right upper quadrant pain. Ultrasonography and magnetic resonance imaging showed a honeycomb gallbladder. Honeycomb gallbladder is safely diagnosed with ultrasonography, which should be part of the investigation of patients with right upper quadrant pain in the emergency department.

Quantitative Assessment of Muscular Stiffness in Children With Chronic Kidney Disease Using Acoustic Radiation Force Impulse Ultrasound Elastography.

ABSTRACT: The aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of quantitative analysis of muscle stiffness in the rectus femoris muscle (RFM) by acoustic radiation force impulse (ARFI) ultrasound elastography in children with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Twenty-three children with CKD and 22 healthy children participated in the study in our radiology department. The strength of each CKD group and healthy group participants' tight extensors was assessed by a physiatrist using a handheld dynamometer. Acoustic radiation force impulse was used to measure the shear wave velocities (SWVs) of the RFM. The mean SWV value of the RFM correlated with the strengths of the tight extensors in the CKD and healthy groups. The mean ± SD SWV values of the RFM in the CKD group for the right (n = 23) and left sides (n = 21) were 1.23 ± 0.25 and 1.26 ± 0.30 m/s, respectively. The mean ± SD SWV values of the RFM in the healthy group for the right (n = 23) and left sides (n = 21) were 1.62 ± 0.33 and 1.65 ± 0.35 m/s, respectively. The SWV of the RFM significantly decreased in the patients with CKD when compared with controls (P < 0.001). The SWV values were not correlated to the handheld dynamometry. The interobserver agreement expressed as the interclass correlation coefficient was 0.65 (95% confidence interval, 0.33-0.84; P < 0.001). The acoustic radiation force impulse demonstrates a difference in RFM muscle stiffness between the CKD and healthy groups. This method is a feasible imaging method for the noninvasive assessment of muscle weakness in children with CKD.

Pulmonary Metastasis in Infantile Choriocarcinoma: Successful Outcome.

BACKGROUND: Infantile choriocarcinoma is usually fatal without appropriate treatment. CASE CHARACTERISTICS: A 3-month-old boy who presented with respiratory distress, hepatomegaly, amemia and bilateral nodular lesions on chest X-ray. OBSERVATION: Fine-needle liver aspiration revealed necrotic tumour cells. The serum b-hCG level was very high (2057 mIU/L), supporting a diagnosis of infantile choriocarcinoma of the liver. Surgical resection after cisplatin-based multiagent chemotherapy afforded successful remission. MESSAGE: Early treatment of infantile choriocarcinoma can yield a successful outcome.

Epiploic Appendagitis as a Rare Cause of Acute Abdomen in the Pediatric Population: Report of Three Cases.

Epiploic appendagitis, caused by inflammation of small adipose tissue on the colon wall, is a rare cause of acute abdominal pain in the pediatric population. It is nearly impossible to establish a specific diagnosis merely on the basis of clinical findings; thus, radiological evaluation is always necessary. In this report, we present the cases of three children with abdominal pain who were diagnosed with epiploic appendagitis. All cases were successfully treated with conservative management.