Choledocholithiasis: Long-term follow-up in patients without stone clearance at first endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography.

OBJECTIVES: Complete clearance during endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) for choledocholithiasis is not always successful and biliary stenting is commonplace. Strategies vary between temporary stent placement (TSP) with interval ERCP or permanent stent placement (PSP) and watchful waiting for recurrent biliary obstruction (RBO). This study aimed to describe outcomes in these two groups and stent patency rates in PSP. METHODS: Patients with incomplete clearance at first ERCP for choledocholithiasis between May 2015 and December 2018 were identified. Clinical outcomes were obtained by retrospective interrogation of the case notes. Median follow-up duration was 41 months (interquartile range 29-51 mo). RESULTS: Of 1263 index ERCP, 199 (15.8%) had no stone clearance, with 53.3% receiving PSP and 46.7% undergoing TSP. The TSP group had repeat ERCP after a median of 8 weeks; 75.3% had clearance on a repeat ERCP. The PSP group was elder than the TSP group (82 y vs 72 y, P < 0.001). The rates of RBO (32.1% vs 16.1%) and emergency readmissions (32.1% vs 19.4%) were higher in the PSP group (both P < 0.05). More patients died without further biliary disease in the PSP group (39.6% vs 12.9%, P = 0.001). PSP stent patency rates at 6, 12, 24, 36, and 61 months were 87.7%, 82.1%, 75.5%, 69.8% and 67.9%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Though PSP had higher RBO and emergency readmissions, two-thirds of patients either died or survived without recurrent biliary disease. Stent patency decreased fastest in the first 12 months. Criteria to guide decision-making for biliary stenting remain unclear.

Epiploic Appendagitis in a Femoral Hernia.

Both epiploic appendagitis and femoral herniae are rare diagnoses individually. No radiological cases of a patient having epiploic appendagitis within a femoral hernia have been documented in the literature. We present a case of a 65-year-old patient who underwent clinical work-up for a tender left groin lump. When undergoing a CT scan for investigating possible lymphadenopathy, she was found to have epiploic appendagitis contained within an incarcerated left sided femoral hernia. In this case report, we review the relevant anatomy, aetiology, patient demographics, as well as clinical and imaging findings and management.

Effects of hydrocephalus after cerebellar tumor: a case-by-case approach.

Although hydrocephalus affects approximately 80% of children with a posterior fossa tumor, its impact on neurodevelopmental outcomes remains unclear. We investigated the effects of hydrocephalus severity on the development of cognitive, motor, academic, and attention skills in 15 children with cerebellar injury after treatment for a tumor sustained during preschool years. Significant impairment was indicated by scores 2 S.D.s or more below the test norm mean. Results indicated substantial intra-individual and interindividual variation, with little consistent influence of hydrocephalus severity on outcomes. Generally, children with moderate hydrocephalus were least impaired, but the child without hydrocephalus performed most poorly. Those who received a shunt generally performed higher on many of the cognitive, but not motor, tests. Thus, when considering differences within and across individuals, neither hydrocephalus severity nor shunt placement alone is a strong predictor of neurodevelopmental outcomes.

Development of cognitive and motor function following cerebellar tumour injury sustained in early childhood.

We investigated the interrelation between cognitive and motor development and the role of the cerebellum in this relationship by examining performance in each of these domains in 15 children with injury to the cerebellum following tumour before 5 years of age and 242 typically developing control children aged 4-11 years. Each child was given a comprehensive standardised battery of cognitive and motor tests. Results showed depressed levels of performance for the cerebellar patients across both domains at the group level but considerable variation in individual profiles. However, a significant, positive correlation between cognitive and motor skill was found for both the patient and control group, suggesting these domains are developmentally linked. In addition, the effects of several potential moderating variables were explored. Results showed the most reliable predictors of outcome were age at diagnosis and tumour type/treatment. These results suggest that both cognitive and motor skill can be compromised following tumour in the cerebellum in early childhood leading to delayed, but qualitatively typical, development in both domains.