Diastematomyelia with tethered cord and concurrent distal cord intramedullary dermoid cyst: A case report.

Diastematomyelia is a rare congenital anomaly in which the spinal cord splits into 2 lateral halves. Spinal dermoid cysts are uncommon lesions. Hereby authors present a case of type 2 diastematomyelia in a 5-year-old male patient with concurrent distal cord intramedullary dermoid cyst, diagnosed by MRI and treated surgically.

Computed tomography features and surgical treatment of wandering spleen torsion: A case report.

Wandering spleen is a rare clinical entity characterized by the laxity, absence, or abnormal attachment of splenic supporting ligaments leading to hypermobility and abnormal positioning of the spleen in the abdominal cavity. The abnormally increased mobility of the spleen predisposes it to torsion and infarction. Authors present a case of wandering spleen complicated to torsion and infarct in a middle aged lady. The patient presented with acute abdominal pain, diagnosed by abdominal computed tomography and underwent surgery and splenectomy.

Hysterosalpingography and Ultrasonography Features of Herlyn-Werner-Wunderlich Syndrome Detected during Infertility Workup.

The Herlyn-Werner-Wunderlich syndrome (HWWS) is a very rare congenital anomaly of the urogenital tract. It is characterized by a combination of didelphys uterus, unilateral vaginal obstruction, and ipsilateral renal agenesis. MRI imaging is usually used for diagnosis; however, the authors present a case of HWWS diagnosed by ultrasonography (HSG) and hysterosalpingography (HSG) in a 22-year-old lady who has undergone an imaging workup of infertility.

Proteus mirabilis: A rare cause of pneumonia, radiologically mimicking malignancy of the lung.

Key clinical message: Lesions that are suspected for malignancy need be managed by a multidisciplinary team. Utilization of radiological as well as pathological diagnostic modalities ensures correct diagnosis and thus timely intervention. Introduction: Proteus mirabilis is a Gram-negative rod. It is a highly motile bacterium that belongs to the Enterobacteriaceae. Lung infection and pneumonia caused by p. mirabilis is extremely rare and occurs in patients with chronic debilitation or chronic lung disease. Case Presentation: A 65-year-Old Woman presented with dry cough, dyspnoea on exertion, and chest pain of 4 months' duration. She received multiple medications including antibiotics but without any resolution of her symptoms. Computed Tomography scan of the chest was performed reported a tumor in the upper lobe of the left lung with multiple associated pulmonary nodules. The impression was that of metastatic lung disease with superimposed acute infection. Accordingly, the patient was reevaluated and a diagnostic bronchoscopy with multiple endobronchial biopsies and broncho-alveolar lavage was done. The gram stain showed Gram-Negative Bacilli and the bacteria identified P. mirabilis. Conclusion: Mass lesions suspected for malignancy should be managed with involvement of multiple medical disciplines, to ensure correct and timely diagnosis. This is to avoid miss-management.

Relationship of age and gender with cytopathological findings of thyroid nodules diagnosed by FNAC: a retrospective study.

In Afghanistan, there are no reliable epidemiological data available about thyroid cytopathology and its possible relationship with the age and gender of patients. Therefore, we conducted this study to outline this relationship and the importance of fine needle aspiration cytology in this regard. A retrospective review study was conducted including 686 consecutive medical records of thyroid nodules diagnosed by fine needle aspiration cytology in a span of five years. Out of 686 consecutive patients with thyroid nodules included in this study, 566 were females and 120 were males. Most of the thyroid nodules diagnosed were benign lesions with female predominance. These nodules were commonly arising in between 3rd and 6th decades of life in both the genders with mean age of 42 ± 13 years in females and 52 ± 15 years in males. Thyroid malignancy was commonly diagnosed in middle-age females, however in males, it was frequently diagnosed in older age with a peak at 7th decade. Most of the malignant nodules were solid and complex with no purely cystic nature. In both the genders, thyroid nodules were commonly arising in the right thyroid lobe (52.3%), followed by left (35.7%), isthmus (8.7%) and bilateral (3.2%). Fine needle aspiration cytology remains the modality of choice for the diagnostic evaluation of nodular lesions of thyroid. In contrast to the data reported around the world, thyroid malignancies, in our study, were diagnosed in relatively older age groups with peak incidence in the 5th decade of life for females and 7th decade for males.

A rare nasopharyngeal foreign body (detached beverage can stay-tab): A case report.

Foreign body ingestion and inhalation is a very common problem in children while nasopharyngeal foreign body aspiration in children is rare but can present; therefore, timely diagnosis of the nasopharyngeal foreign body is crucial and vital for the patient. Authors present a rare case of nasopharyngeal foreign body (detached beverage can stay-tab) in 1-year-old male child. Authors suggest that although nasopharyngeal foreign body aspiration is a rare entity, but should be considered as a crucial diagnosis in pediatric patients with history of foreign body aspiration.

Misdiagnosis of Budd Chiari syndrome, a case report from Afghanistan.

INTRODUCTION: Budd-Chiari syndrome is a rare disease characterized by hepatic venous flow obstruction. The obstruction may be thrombotic or non-thrombotic anywhere along the venous course from the hepatic venules to the inferior vena cava (IVC) junction to the right atrium. In clinical practice, cases can be misdiagnosed, particularly in regions where resources are limited, unless the clinician pays special attention to such diagnosis. CASE REPORT AND CLINICAL DISCUSSION: Here, we would like to present a misdiagnosed case of Budd Chiari syndrome. This reported case is a case of 30 years old female patient complaining of dull abdominal pain and swelling. Initially, the patient consulted a local health facility where the patient was diagnosed with tuberculous peritonitis and subsequently treated with an anti-TB regimen empirically. Within a few days of taking medicine, she developed mild jaundice and lower limb edema. At this stage, the patient came to us, which after taking history, her physical examination unveiled mild jaundice, ascites, abdominal tenderness, and mild lower limb petting edema. The patient was recommended an abdominal CT scan with contrast, which revealed early enhancement and enlargement of the caudate lobe and non-opacification of hepatic veins with narrowing of the hepatic part of the inferior vena cava consistent with Budd-Chiari syndrome. The patient was started on warfarin and referred for a hepatic decongestive procedure. After four months of performing a transjugular portosystemic shunt, the patient came to us for follow-up. She had an excellent clinical improvement and was started on rivaroxaban 20 mg daily orally. CONCLUSION: The main takeaway lesson of this particular case is to consider the differential diagnosis of ascites from an etiologic point of view and not to overemphasize a single etiology.

Ruptured middle cranial fossa arachnoid cysts after minor trauma in adolescent boys presenting with subdural hygroma: two case reports.

BACKGROUND: Intracranial arachnoid cysts are common, cerebrospinal fluid-filled, innocent lesions that are usually detected incidentally on brain imaging. They may rupture and complicate due to subdural hematoma or hygroma after minor trauma. Authors present two cases of ruptured middle cranial fossa arachnoid cysts in adolescent (12-year-old and 15-year-old) Afghan boys presenting with subdural hygroma after minor trauma. CONCLUSION: Imaging work-up is necessary for symptomatic patients following minor head trauma as incidentally detected ruptured intracranial arachnoid cysts can be responsible for the symptoms.

Infantile presentation of the canal of Nuck hernia containing uterus and ovary: a case report.

Indirect inguinal hernias of the canal of Nuck containing the uterus and the ovary is rare entity in girls presenting as labia major masses at infancy and early childhood. Authors present a case of the canal of Nuck hernia in a 5-month-old girl presented as palpable lump in the right labia majora which was diagnosed by ultrasonography. Ultrasound is the noninvasive diagnostic modality of choice in for evaluation of palpable external genital masses in children.

Intrarenal teratoma within a horseshoe kidney-A case report.

Teratomas commonly occur within ovaries, sacrococcygeal regions, testis, mediastinum, and intracranial regions. One of the rare sites for this tumor includes kidneys. Renal anomalies such as horseshoe kidneys with teratoma are one of the extremely rare presentations. The authors present a case of a large teratoma within a horseshoe kidney in an 8-year-old girl whose main clinical manifestation was abdominal distension. Intrarenal teratoma within horseshoe kidneys is a rare and interesting clinical entity that would require an appropriate therapeutic approach to salvage the kidneys and remove the mass.

Computed tomography features and surgical treatment of superior mesenteric artery syndrome: A case report.

Introduction: Superior mesenteric artery (SMA) syndrome is described as compression of the third part of the duodenum between SMA and aorta with resultant obstruction and dilatation of proximal duodenum and stomach. Virtually, any condition associated with weight reduction may predispose the patient to SMA syndrome. Case presentation: A 17-year-old boy complaining from persistent vomiting, dull abdominal pain, anorexia, and weight loss for long time presented to the pediatric surgery department. Computed tomography (CT) of the abdomen was prescribed to look for the cause of persistent vomiting and bulging of the epigastrium. Contrast Enhanced CT revealed decreased aortomesenteric angle and aortomesenteric distance causing compression of third part of duodenum with resultant marked distension of proximal duodenum, stomach, and even esophagus. The patient underwent laparotomic gasterojujenostomy. Conclusion: SMA syndrome is a rare clinical entity. CT can well delineate this abnormality. SMA syndrome can be treated with both conservative and surgical approaches.

Misdiagnosed adult presentation of diastematomyelia and tethered cord.

Diastematomyelia with tethered cord is an uncommon congenital anomaly that is generally diagnosed in childhood but may rarely present in adulthood, we present the case of a 48-year-old man with diastematomyelia and tethered cord whose diagnosis was initially missed, leading to unnecessary spine surgery. The correct diagnosis was made from follow-up imaging. Because common clinical complaints such as back pain may be caused by unusual conditions, the authors suggest that radiologists and treating physicians should remain vigilant for unusual presentations of rare diseases.

Congenital heart disease frequency in children undergoing MDCT angiography; a 4-year tertiary care hospital experience from Kabul, Afghanistan.

OBJECTIVES: Echocardiography and cardiac angiography are two main imaging modalities used for evaluating congenital heart diseases (CHDs). Evaluation of CHDs is now possible with Multidetector CT (MDCT) angiography in Afghanistan. To the best of researchers' knowledge, no published data is available on frequency of CHDs among children undergoing chest MDCT angiography in Afghanistan; hence, this study is first of its nature to be conducted in this context. To describe the frequency of CHDs among children who underwent chest MDCT angiography in radiology department at French Medical Institute for Mothers and Children (FMIC) from April 2010 to July 2014. METHODS & MATERIALS: A retrospective, cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted at radiology department FMIC in Kabul, Afghanistan. The study population consisted of all paediatric patients (aged 1 day-17 years) who underwent chest MDCT angiography at radiology department FMIC from April 2010 to July 2014. All examinations were performed in arterial phase by 128 slice Siemens scanner after intravenous administration of non-ionic water-soluble contrast material (Omnipaque 350) at a volume of 2 ml/Kg. CT setup included non-electrocardiogram gated CT, CT dose index 5-10 and dose-length product 120-200, with post-processing following initial scan. CT reports were reviewed from Radiology Information System. Data collection tool was developed and data were analysed using SPSS v. 22. Frequencies and proportion were calculated for various CHDs. RESULTS: A total of 942 cases of contrast enhanced chest MDCT examinations were performed during this period. Out of these, 212 cases with CHDs were recruited, from which 29 cases were excluded because of undergoing previous surgical procedures or had incomplete CT reports. Remaining 183 cases (n = 183) of CHDs were included for further analysis. A total of 107 patients (58.5%) were male and 76 (41.5%) were female. The patients aged 1 day-17 years (mean age 4.47 + 4.76 standard deviation). A total of 87 patients (47.5%) had solitary anomalies while 96 patients (52.5%) had more than one defect. In terms of location, 20 cases (10.9%) were isolated intracardiac anomalies, 116 cases (63.4%) were isolated extracardiac anomalies and 47 cases (25.7%) had mixed intra- and extracardiac anomalies. CONCLUSION: Given the frequency, it is clear that CHDs is a complex health problem in Afghan paediatric population. MDCT angiography can be considered as a non-invasive, readily available diagnostic tool in evaluation of complex cardiac anomalies after initial evaluation. ADVANCES IN KNOWLEDGE: MDCT evaluation of CHD as an alternative to echo/angiography has become more important in a country where there is severe shortage of interventional cardiologists.

CT features of lung agenesis - a case series (6 cases).

BACK GROUND: Lung agenesis is a rare congenital anomaly. The main etiology of the disease is unknown whereas genetic, iatrogenic and viral factors as well as vitamin A deficiency during early pregnancy may result in developmental failure of primitive lung bud causing unilateral pulmonary agenesis. Affected patients usually present with variable respiratory symptoms and recurrent chest infection at any age. Plain film demonstrates opaque unilateral lung while chest CT scan can definitely diagnosis the disease. The anomaly has three types. Type I is pulmonary agenesis, type II is called pulmonary aplasia and type III is pulmonary hypoplasia. CASES' PRESENTATION: Six patients with main complaint of dyspnea underwent contrast enhanced chest CT in radiology department of French Medical Institute for Mothers and children, Kabul and were diagnosed lung agenesis. Three patients were categorized as type II pulmonary agenesis (aplasia). Two patients, three months old boy and a seven year- old girl demonstrated right lung aplasia. Another patient boy of eighteen years old presented with left lung aplasia. Two boys of four and seven months of age were classified as type I pulmonary agenesis (agenesis). A boy of one year old was diagnosed pulmonary agenesis type III, right lung hypoplasia. CONCLUSION: Six patients were diagnosed with pulmonary agenesis by Chest CT scan. The clinicians should consider possibility of congenital pulmonary agenesis in dyspneic patients with opaque unilateral hemithorax in plain film.

Late presentation, MR imaging features and surgical treatment of Herlyn-Werner-Wunderlich syndrome (classification 2.2); a case report.

BACKGROUND: Herlyn-Werner-Wunderlich syndrome is a very rare congenital genitourinary anomaly characterized by uterus didelphys, blind hemivagina and ipsilateral renal agenesis. CASE PRESENTATION: Authors present a case of Herlyn-Werner-Wunderlich syndrome in a 19-year-old unmarried woman who presented with pelvic pain and pelvic mass. MR imaging revealed the typical features of didelphys uterus, obstructed right hemivagina and ipsilateral renal agenesis. The patient subsequently underwent surgery. CONCLUSIONS: Herlyn-Werner-Wunderlich syndrome would be suspected in patients with unilateral absent kidney and pelvic mass. Ultrasonography and MR imaging can well depict the disease entity and surgery is the treatment of choice for obstructed hemivagina.

Incidental finding of cardiac hydatid cysts, report of two cases.

BACKGROUND: Hydatid is a parasitic infection which can affect any organ of body. In some organs like liver and lung; it can be found regularly while in other organs like heart, it is seen very rarely. Cardiac hydatid cysts comprise less than of 2% of hydatid infection cases and may be detected incidentally. CASE PRESENTATION: Authors report two cases of cardiac hydatid cysts in young adult patients living in rural areas of the country with positive animal contact. Both patients were complained from shortness of breath and cough. Contrast enhanced chest computed tomography (CT) revealed left ventricular wall hydatid cysts in addition to lung and liver hydatid cysts. CONCLUSION: Cardiac hydatid cyst is a rare finding with wide range of signs and symptoms. These may be suspected in patients coming from endemic areas. Echocardiographic follow up of patients with liver or lung hydatid cysts can be helpful.

Radiographic features of Ollier's disease - two case reports.

BACKGROUND: Ollier's disease is a non-hereditary, benign bone tumor which is usually characterized by presence of multiple radiolucent lesions (enchondromas) in the metaphysis of long bones with unilateral predominance. The disease is a rare clinical entity with 1/100000 occurrence in early childhood. Patients mostly present with multiple hard swellings and deformity of the tubular bones specially hands and feet with leg discrepancy and pathologic fractures. CASE PRESENTATION: We present two cases of Ollier's disease in a 13 years old female and 8 years old boy which had no specific symptoms. The girl had multiple hard swellings and deformity in the fingers of both hands and left toes with left leg deformity and discrepancy. Her plain radiographs demonstrated multiple expansile enchondromas in the phalanges of hands, left toes and metaphyses of upper humeri as well as left leg bones. The enchondromas were also noted in the left iliac bone and anterior end of ribs. The boy had bowing deformity and shortage of left leg with multiple enchondromas in the metaphyses of left femur, left tibia and fibula as well as left iliac bone in his radiographic images. CONCLUSION: Ollier's disease is usually diagnosed by clinical signs and typical location of enchondromas across skeleton in conventional radiography. It usually does not need specific treatment. Well understanding of the clinical manifestation and radiographic features can prevent unnecessary application of other imaging modalities; while other diagnostic imaging modalities like MRI, ultrasound and scintigraphy can be used in complicated and painful conditions.

CT and MRI Features of Pediatric-Aged Colloid Cysts: Report of Two Cases.

A 10-year-old boy with the history of headache, anorexia, and vomiting was referred to our department to undergo a brain CT scan. CT images demonstrated a well-defined, rounded, hyperdense lesion at the level of the foramen of Monro causing moderate dilatation of the lateral ventricles. An 11-year-old girl with a long history of a headache was also referred to undergoing a brain MRI. MR images demonstrated a well-defined round abnormal signal intensity lesion at the level of the foramen of Monro causing moderate dilatation of lateral ventricles. The findings from imaging perspective were consistent with the colloid cyst of the third ventricle. Therefore, the diagnosis of the colloid cyst was made.

A rare clinic entity: Huge trichobezoar.

INTRODUCTION: Trichobezoar is a rare clinical entity in which a ball of hair amasses within the alimentary tract. It can either be found as isolated mass in the stomach or may extend into the intestine. Trichobezoars mostly occur in young females with psychiatric disorders such as trichophagia and trichotillomania. CASE REPORT: Authors present a giant trichobezoar in an 18year old female presented with complaints of upper abdominal mass, epigastric area pain, anorexia and weight loss. The patient underwent trans-abdominal ultrasonography (USG), Computed tomography (CT), upper gastrointestinal endoscopy and subsequently laparotomy. USG was inconclusive due to non-specific findings. It revealed a thick echogenic layer with posterior dirty shadowing extending from the left sub-diaphragmatic area to the right sub hepatic region obscuring the adjacent structures. Abdominal CT images revealed a huge, well defined, multi-layered, heterogeneous, solid appearing, non-enhancing mass lesion in the gastric lumen extending from the gastric fundus to the pyloric canal. An endoscopic attempt was performed for removal of this intraluminal mass, but due to its large size, and hard nature, the endoscopic removal was unsuccessful. Finally the large trichobezoar was removed with open laparotomy. CONCLUSION: Trichobezoars should be suspected in young females with long standing upper abdominal masses; as the possibility of malignancy is not very common in this age group. While USG is inconclusive, trichobezoar can be accurately diagnosed with CT. In patient with huge trichobezoar, laparotomy can be performed firstly because of big size and location of mass, and psychiatric recommendation should be made to prevent relapse of this entity.

Computed tomography features of supracardiac total anomalous pulmonary venous connection in an infant.

Total anomalous pulmonary venous connection (TAPVC) is a rare congenital anomaly of the pulmonary veins drainage. In this entity, the pulmonary veins, instead of draining to left atrium, connect abnormally to the systemic venous circulation. A right-to-left shunt is obligatory for survival. Based on its type and degree of pulmonary venous obstruction, TAPVC may result in pulmonary hypertension and congestive heart failure. In severe cases, urgent diagnosis and surgical correction is essential to reduce morbidity and mortality. Echocardiography as the first and safest imaging modality for cardiovascular abnormalities may fail in complete depiction of some complex feature of TAPVC. Computed tomography angiography is then a noninvasive and sensitive choice for mapping the pulmonary veins without the need for invasive cardiac catheterization. Contrast-enhanced MR angiography can be a radiation-free alternative. Authors present a computed tomography-detected supracardiac TAPVC with small patent ductus arteriosus in a 2 months cyanotic infant.