CT-abnormalities, bacteriology and symptoms of sinonasal disease in children with Cystic Fibrosis.

BACKGROUND: Sinonasal pathology in adults with Cystic Fibrosis (CF) is common but the extent of CT-abnormalities and symptoms of sinonasal disease in children with CF and the age of onset are less frequently studied. METHODS: In this observational, cross-sectional study 58 children with CF from two CF centres were included. All subjects completed a questionnaire regarding sinonasal symptoms, underwent a CT scan of the paranasal sinuses, and in each subject a culture of the upper airways was performed. Subjects were divided in 6 age cohorts (0-2, 3-5, 6-8, 9-11, 12-14 and 15-17years) and were divided into severe and mild CF based on their CFTR mutation. Opacification of the sinonasal system of the subjects was compared with opacification on MRI-scans of an age-matched control group without CF. RESULTS: Most frequently reported symptoms were nasal obstruction and posterior/anterior nasal discharge. Opacification was abundant in every age cohort of the study group and was significantly more compared to the control group. In patients with severe CF the opacification was higher than subjects with mild CF. Upper airway cultures showed predominantly Staphylococcus aureus, Haemophilus influenzae and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. CONCLUSION: CT-abnormalities indicating sinonasal disease and symptoms are present from shortly after birth which may argue for a thorough examination of the upper airways in children with CF.

Painful paediatric hip: frog-leg lateral view only!

OBJECTIVE: For hip complaints in the paediatric population, it is common practice to acquire both anteroposterior (AP) and frog-leg lateral (FL) radiographs. This combination of views provides a high diagnostic yield, but also doubles radiation exposure. We investigated the diagnostic accuracy of obtaining a solitary FL view as compared to a combination of the AP and FL view. METHODS: Hip radiographs of 524 children (aged 2-15 years) referred for acute hip pain were retrospectively assessed by two independent radiologists. Cases of trauma, neuromuscular disorders or a history of known hip disease were excluded. Radiologists were blinded to the AP radiograph while assessing the solitary FL radiograph. We used Cohen's kappa test to calculate agreement between the assessment of both views and the solitary FL view. RESULTS: Agreement between the assessment of the solitary FL view and the combination of the AP and FL view was very high with a kappa value of 0.989. CONCLUSION: The diagnostic accuracy of the FL radiograph in cases of hip complaints in children is as high as the current standard employing both AP and FL views. Therefore a solitary FL radiograph appears sufficient. This practice would substantially reduce radiation exposure. KEY POINTS: • Radiation exposure in children should be kept to a minimum. • In paediatric hip radiography a solitary frog-leg lateral view suffices. • This reduces radiation exposure and costs of imaging.