[Delay in accurate diagnostics during the Covid-19 pandemic: a case of fatal MSSA disseminated infection in an elder patient]. / Uitstel van accurate diagnose tijdens de COVID-19 pandemie.

Periprosthetic joint infections at an advanced age can lead to significant diagnostic and therapeutic challenges, mostly related to an atypical form of presentation in this population. We describe in this case the delayed diagnostic process of a disseminated invasive Staphylococcus aureus infection in a frail patient with a total hip prosthesis. The detection of Staphylococcus aureus in a urine sample was a supplementary hint towards the possible existence of a Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia. The course of this case shows that teleconsultation and ambulatory based diagnostics are not appropriate for frail older patients with (sub)acute bone and joint infections, even in times of pandemic and constrainedly deferred care.

Quantitative Whole-Body Diffusion-weighted MRI after One Treatment Cycle for Aggressive Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma Is an Independent Prognostic Factor of Outcome.

Purpose: To evaluate the prognostic utility of apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) changes at whole-body diffusion-weighted (WB-DW) MRI after one treatment cycle for aggressive non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) compared with response assessment at interim and end-of-treatment fluorine 18 (18F) fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) PET/CT. Materials and Methods: This was a secondary analysis of a prospective study (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01231269) in which participants with aggressive NHL were recruited between March 2011 and April 2015 and underwent WB-DW MRI before and after one cycle of immunochemotherapy. Volunteers were recruited for test-retest WB-DW MRI (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01231282) to assess ADC measurement repeatability. Response assessment was based on ADC change after one treatment cycle at WB-DW MRI and Deauville criteria at 18F-FDG PET/CT. To evaluate prognostic factors of disease-free survival (DFS), Kaplan-Meier survival analysis and univariable and multivariable Cox regression were performed; intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and mean difference with limits of agreement were calculated to determine inter- and intraobserver repeatability of ADC measurements. Results: Forty-five patients (mean age, 58 years ± 17 [standard deviation]; 31 men) and nine volunteers (mean age, 22 years ± 3; seven men) were enrolled. Median DFS was 48 months (range, 2-48 months). Outcome prediction accuracy was 86.7% (39 of 45), 71.4% (30 of 42), and 73.8% (31 of 42) for WB-DW MRI and interim and end-of-treatment 18F-FDG PET/CT, respectively. WB-DW MRI (hazard ratio [HR], 17.8; P < .001) and interim (HR, 5; P = .008) and end-of-treatment (HR, 4.3; P = .017) 18F-FDG PET/CT were prognostic of DFS. After multivariable analysis, WB-DW MRI remained an independent predictor of outcome (HR, 26.8; P = .002). Intra- and interobserver agreement for ADC measurements were excellent (ICC = 0.85-0.99). Conclusion: Quantitative WB-DW MRI after only one cycle of immunochemotherapy predicts DFS in aggressive NHL and is noninferior to routinely performed interim and end-of-treatment 18F-FDG PET/CT.Keywords: MR-Diffusion Weighted Imaging, Lymphoma, Oncology, Tumor Response, Whole-Body ImagingSupplemental material is available for this article.© RSNA, 2021.

A new role for fluorine-18-fluorodeoxyglucose positron-emission tomography/computed tomography in Erdheim-Chester disease.

Erdheim-Chester disease (ECD) is a rare form of non-Langerhans cell histiocytosis, with multisystem manifestation such as bone pain, being the most common presenting symptom, cardiovascular or central nervous system involvement, interstitial lung disease, skin and orbital lesions, adrenal enlargement, retroperitoneal fibrosis and renal impairment as well fever, and weight loss. The disease is challenging to diagnose due to its rarity and mimicry of other infiltrative processes. Technetium-99 m bone scintigraphy showing pathological bone activity in the long bones is highly suggestive of ECD. However, not all patients have bone complaints. Till now, fluorine-18-fluorodeoxyglucose positron-emission tomography/computed tomography (18F-FDG PET/CT) was especially used after histological diagnosis to determine disease activity and extent, as well as the evaluation of treatment response. With this case, we suggest an additional role for 18F-FDG PET/CT earlier on in the diagnosis workup as follows: detecting a possible biopsy site to establish the diagnosis of ECD especially in a clinical context without bone pain.

Role of interim and end of treatment positron emission tomography for response assessment and prediction of relapse in posttransplant lymphoproliferative disorder.

Background: Fluorine-18-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (PET) has an established and central role in diagnosis, staging and response evaluation of lymphoproliferative diseases. It has shown a high sensitivity and specificity at diagnosis in posttransplant lymphoproliferative disorders (PTLDs). However, little is known about the performance of interim and end of treatment (EOT) PET in PTLD patients with regards to response assessment, relapse prediction and outcome. Methods: We performed a single-center retrospective study in which we analyzed consecutive patients diagnosed with CD20-positive PTLD after solid organ transplantation between 2008 and 2017, who all received risk-stratified sequential treatment according to the PTLD-1 phase II trial. Interim and EOT PET studies were scored according to the Deauville criteria. Results: Forty-one patients were included with median follow-up of 41.5 months (range 1-108). Positive and negative predictive values for disease recurrence were 13% and 85% for interim and 33% and 87% for EOT PET, respectively. There was no significant difference in overall survival, progression-free survival nor time to progression between negative versus positive patients on interim and EOT scans. Conclusions: Negative interim and/or negative end of treatment PET identify PTLD patients with low risk of disease recurrence.

Unraveling the Cause of Anuria Post Kidney Transplantation by Renal Scintigraphy.

A dynamic renal scintigraphy is widely used after renal transplantation to evaluate transplant function and possible complications. We report the case of a 27-year-old man with persisting anuria after kidney transplantation. A renal scintigraphy using Tc-ethylenedicysteine followed by SPECT/CT of the abdomen was performed showing tracer accumulation in the colon without any activity in the bladder, as a result of ureter reimplantation onto the sigmoid instead of onto the previously reconstructed bladder. Renal scintigraphy identified the cause and localization of the urinary leak, which led to immediate surgical reimplantation of the ureter onto the augmented bladder with onset of diuresis.

Anxiety is associated with impaired tolerance of colonoscopy preparation in inflammatory bowel disease and controls.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Pain and nausea are often reported during bowel cleansing (BC) for ileocolonoscopy (IC). We aimed to explore putative mechanisms associated with impaired tolerance to BC. METHODS: A 1:1 (100 IBD and 100 controls) sex and age matched case-control study was performed. Patients completed the hospital anxiety and depression scale (HADS-A/HADS-D), visceral sensitivity index (VSI) and state-trait anxiety inventory, state scale (STAI-S), in addition to self-assessment of BC and abdominal pain and nausea ratings during BC. Endoscopists reported the Mayo score, Harvey Bradshaw index (HBI), simple endoscopic score for Crohn's disease, and Boston bowel preparation scale (BBPS). RESULTS: Higher VSI and depression scores were observed in IBD patients. VSI (P<0.0001) and age (P=0.008) showed a positive and negative association with abdominal pain during BC, respectively. HADS-A (P=0.009) and female sex (P=0.02) were positively associated with nausea during BC, while age (P=0.02) showed a negative association. Disease activity was not associated with worse BBPS or nausea during BC, while a higher HBI was associated with more pain during BC (P=0.0006). Nausea (P=0.007) and abdominal pain (P=0.003) during BC, and less previous ICs (P=0.03) were independently associated with anxiety prior to IC (STAI-S). Significant correlations were found between VSI and STAI-S and disease activity. CONCLUSION: Higher gastrointestinal-specific anxiety and co-morbid anxiety are associated with increased pain and nausea during BC, respectively. Pain and nausea during BC were in turn associated with higher anxiety levels at the moment of IC, potentially creating a "vicious circle". Measures taken to reduce anxiety could improve BC and IC tolerance.