Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)-Associated Rhino-Orbito-Cerebral Mucormycosis: A Multi-Institutional Retrospective Study of Imaging Patterns.

BACKGROUND: Mucormycosis infection of the maxillofacial region and brain has been associated with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection. Mucormycosis was relatively a rare infection before COVID-19, and imaging findings are not very well described. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective imaging study of 101 patients diagnosed with COVID-19-associated mucormycosis by histopathology and/or culture was performed. All patients underwent computed tomography and/or magnetic resonance imaging based on the clinical condition of the patient and on consensus decision by the team of treating physicians. A simple 3-stage classification system based on imaging findings was adopted. RESULTS: One hundred one cases were included in the final analysis (mean age = 55.1 years; male/female ratio = 67:34). The affected patients had diabetes in 94% of the instances (n = 95), 80.1% (n = 81) received steroids), whereas 59.4% (n = 60) patients received supplemental oxygen. The majority underwent surgical intervention, whereas in 6 cases, patients were treated with antibiotic regimens. Sixty subjects improved following therapy, whereas 18 eventually succumbed to the illness. We noted a significant positive correlation between the imaging stage and outcomes. No association was seen between other clinical parameters and final clinical outcomes. Salient imaging findings include lack of normal sinonasal mucosal enhancement, perisinus inflammation, ischemic optic neuropathy, perineural spread, pachymeningeal enhancement, and presence of strokes. CONCLUSIONS: We describe the imaging findings in the largest cohort of patients with rhino-orbito-cerebral mucormycosis in the context of the current COVID-19 pandemic. A simplified staging system described here is helpful for standardized reporting and carries prognostic information.

Ogilvie Syndrome in a Refractory Germ Cell Tumor Treated with Vinblastine, Ifosfamide and Cisplatin Regimen.

Ogilvie syndrome or intestinal pseudo-obstruction is a clinical syndrome characterized by autonomic imbalance affecting peristalsis of colon leading to obstructive signs and symptoms. The etiologies commonly implicated are drugs affecting the cholinergic system, narcotics, electrolyte imbalance, severe sepsis, cancer, major surgery, and renal and cardiac failure. Ogilvie syndrome secondary to chemotherapy is a very rare phenomenon with very few reports in the literature. Cisplatin-induced neuropathy has been reported to occur when the cumulative dose exceeds 360 mg/m2. It manifests predominantly as peripheral sensory neuropathy with autonomic neuropathy occurring very rarely in a subset of patients. All the reported cases to date who presented with autonomic dysfunction secondary to cisplatin also had peripheral sensory neuropathy. Herein, we report a case of metastatic nonseminomatous germ cell tumor treated with cisplatin based regimen, who presented with severe intestinal pseudo-obstruction when the cumulative dose exceeded 400 mg/m2 without any other manifestation of neuropathy. To our knowledge this is the first such case reported in the literature.

Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser (MRKH) syndrome with unilateral pulmonary agenesis-a rarity indeed: radiologic review.

Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser (MRKH) syndrome is a congenital condition characterized by agenesis of the uterus and vagina in females with normal ovaries and fallopian tubes, secondary sexual characteristics and 46XX karyotype. They present with primary amenorrhoea. Urinary anomalies, usually renal agenesis and rarely ectopia, occur. Skeletal abnormality can co-exist in about 10% of the patients. Simultaneous pulmonary hypoplasia has been reported very rarely in the literature. The normal external appearance of MRKH syndrome makes it difficult to diagnose until puberty. The purpose of this pictorial essay is to display the structural malformations of this rare disease. The presence of unilateral pulmonary agenesis is extremely rare. The use of invasive diagnostic laparoscopy and ionizing radiation, including intravenous urography or CT scan, has been reported in the literature for diagnosing MRKH. MRI is the mainstay of imaging in evaluating this syndrome, as it is free of radiation, non-invasive and has multiplanar capabilities.

Technical note: Image guided internal fiducial placement for stereotactic radiosurgery (CyberKnife).

Internal gold fiducials are necessary for tracking the translational and rotational movements of target lesions during stereotactic radiosurgery. The fiducials are generally placed under image guidance in and around the lesions by interventional radiologists. Specific challenges are encountered during the procedure. This article discusses the basic principles and techniques as well as the specific complications.