Not only fat: omental infarction and its mimics in children. Clinical and ultrasound findings: a pictorial review.

Acute abdominal pain in children is the most common cause of emergency department admissions. Omental infarction is a rare cause of acute abdominal pain in this age group, accounting for approximately 15% of cases in children and 0.024-0.1% of cases of surgery for suspected appendicitis at the same age. Its clinical presentation may mimic similar diseases such as acute appendicitis, epiploic appendagitis, and mesenteric panniculitis. Ultrasound is the modality of choice for the initial evaluation of acute abdominal pain in pediatric patients and it can be used with confidence in the diagnosis and management of omental infarction in children. In this brief review, we focus on the main ultrasound findings and their diagnostic clue for omental infarction and its mimics.

Lacunar stroke syndromes as predictors of lacunar and non-lacunar infarcts on neuroimaging: a hospital-based study.

Lacunar syndromes are usually caused by small ischemic lesions called lacunar infarcts. However, non-lacunar infarcts account for about 20% of lacunar syndromes. The aim of this study was to identify clinical predictors of lacunar syndromes led by non-lacunar infarcts. The following single centre, observational study was conducted on an analysis of the "Perugia hospital-based Stroke Registry" database enrolling consecutive patients admitted with ischemic stroke during the period 2010-2017. We evaluated patient risk factors and clinical features linked to stroke syndrome (lacunar/non-lacunar) and to cerebral infarction (lacunar/non-lacunar). Lacunar syndromes were diagnosed in 478 (26.6%) out of 1796 patients. In 104 (21.1%) patients, lacunar syndromes were caused by non-lacunar infarcts. Lacunar syndromes with lacunar infarcts were primarily linked to diabetes (27.8% vs 16.3%) and obesity (7.7% vs 0.9%), while lacunar syndromes with non-lacunar infarcts were linked to a higher risk of atrial fibrillation (22.1% vs 9.4%) and higher National Institute of Health Stroke Scale scores on admission (mean 5.5 ± 3.7 vs 4.7 ± 2.8). On multivariate analysis, atrial fibrillation (OR 1.67, 95% CI 1.09-2.31; p = 0.002) and higher NIHSS (OR 1.12 for each point increase, 95% CI 1.09-1.15; p < 0.001) were predictors of non-lacunar infarcts in all stroke cases, while lacunar syndromes were inversely associated with non-lacunar infarcts (OR 0.15, 95% CI 0.11-0.20; p < 0.001). Atrial fibrillation was the only predictor of non-lacunar infarcts in patients with lacunar syndromes (OR 2.62, 95% CI 1.33-5.18; p = 0.005). 21% of patients with lacunar syndromes had non-lacunar infarctions. Atrial fibrillation turned out to be a predictor of lacunar syndrome due to non-lacunar infarct.

Spinal Cord Infarction in Clinical Neurology: A Review of Characteristics and Long-Term Prognosis in Comparison to Cerebral Infarction.

Spinal cord stroke is rare accounting for 0.3-1% of all strokes and is classified into upper (cervical) and lower (thoracolumbar) strokes. Patients present with severe deficits but later often show good functional improvement. On admission, younger age, male gender, hypertension, diabetes mellitus and elevated blood glucose indicate more severe spinal cord strokes. Treatment of these risk factors is essential in the acute phase. Biphasic spinal cord strokes are seen in one-fifth of the patients. These present with acute or transient sensory spinal cord deficits often preceded by radiating pain between the shoulders, and should be considered and treated as imminent spinal cord strokes. Spinal cord infarction patients are younger and more often women compared to cerebral infarction patients. Traditional cerebrovascular risk factors are less relevant in spinal cord infarction. Spinal cord infarction patients are more likely to be discharged home and show better improvement after initial treatment compared to cerebral infarction patients. On long-term follow-up, spinal cord infarction patients have lower mortality and higher emotional well-being scores than cerebral infarction patients. Despite more chronic pain, the frequency of re-employment is higher among spinal cord infarction patients compared to cerebral infarction patients who are more often afflicted with cognitive function deficits.

Blood supply classification and varied clinical manifestations of skeletal muscle infarction.

BACKGROUND: Muscle infarction is a rare complication of spontaneous ischemic necrosis occurring in skeletal muscle. It is particularly common in patients with diabetes who have impaired sugar regulation. However, muscle infarction is frequently misdiagnosed due to varied clinical manifestations. METHODS: We presented 3 cases of muscle infarction reported during April 2009 to April 2014. After a comprehensive literature review, we selected 147 muscle infarction cases from the literature, first investigating the relationships between type of muscle blood supply and infarcted muscle. RESULTS: The result indicated that muscle infarction 25.85% belonged to type I vascular supply and 61.21% belonged to type II vascular supply, according to the definition by Mathes and Nahai. CONCLUSIONS: Poor glucose regulation, intense exercise without adequate hydration, vascular disease, and type I and II muscular blood supply were critical predisposing factors. For preventing muscle infarction, we recommend strict glucose regulation and a gradual increase in exercise with adequate hydration.

Chronic recurring infarction of the spleen: sonographic patterns and complications.

PURPOSE: Splenic infarction is a major problem of splenic pathology but is characterized by a high tendency for complete healing. The purpose of this study is to describe frequency, sonographic patterns, and complications of chronic infarction (CI) METHODS: Between 1980-2001 550 patients with focal splenic lesions were diagnosed by ultrasound. Eighty patients had an acute infarction, and in 14 cases a chronic infarction was diagnosed and confirmed by cytohistology/splenectomy (n = 3) or sonographic follow-up examination (n = 11). All patients with Cl had been investigated by B-mode sonography and colour Doppler sonography (CDS). Data were retrospectively evaluated. RESULTS: Two types of Cl could be discriminated. Type I morphology (n =8) was predominantly found in homozygous sickle-cell anaemia (n= 6) and sonographically characterized by a small or normal sized spleen (n = 6), with diffuse enhanced echogenicity (n= 8), and foci with diminished echogenicity (n=5). Type II morphology (n = 6) was predominantly found in myeloproliferative diseases (n = 4) and characterized by an enlarged spleen with a homogeneous echotexture (n = 7), and a solitary (n = 6), triangular (n=4), hyperechoic (n=4) splenic foci near the splenic surface. On CDS CI were characterized by absent flow signals (n = 7) or by reduced flow signals (n= 7). Spontaneous splenic ruptures occurred as infarction related complications in 3 of 14 cases (21%). CONCLUSIONS: CI develops in 17.5% of patients with infarctions. It occurs predominantly in patients with sickle-cell anaemia and myeloproliferative disease. Two characteristic morphologic patterns were found and associated with an increased risk of spontaneous splenic rupture: Therefore sonographic follow-ups might be useful.

Infarto del ventrículo derecho: más frecuente de lo buscado? / Infarction of the rifht ventricle: more often than wanted?

El infarto de Ventrículo derecho (IAM de VD) representa una causa frecuente y no diagnosticada de inestabilidad hemodinámica. En los infartos inferiores la incidencia del IAM de VD es de alrededor del 20 al 40 por ciento y tiene su origen en una lesión de la arteria coronaria derecha proximal. Por lo tanto, en todo paciente que ingresa por un infarto, especialmente de localización inferior debe realizarse, además de un ECG de 12 derivaciones, las derivaciones precordiales derechas para el diagnóstico de IAM de VD. Desde el punto de vista clínico, se debe prestar especial atención al compromiso hemodinámico ya que, en presencia de disfunción ventricular derecha y bajo volumen minuto, la conducta a seguir sería la sobrecarga de volumen. Una vez superada la etapa aguda, el pronóstico a largo plazo es favorable.

[Nonocclusive intestinal infarct and necrotizing enterocolitis in the adult]. / Infarto intestinale non occlusivo ed enterocolite necrotizzante dell'adulto.

A case of full-thickness necrosis of the small bowel, and colon, which required partial resection of the jejunum and total resection of the ileum and colon is reported. The case gives the chance for a review of the Literature on intestinal necrosis not caused by vascular occlusion. Nonocclusive intestinal ischemia, acute neonatal necrotizing enterocolitis and adult necrotizing enterocolitis including the Pig-bel disease, common in Papua-New Guinea, are examined. Resemblances and differences in etiology, pathophysiology and clinical findings are discussed. The hypothesis that the process of "bacterial translocation" plays a central role in the pathogenesis of bowel infarction, representing therefore a possible link between infective and vascular mechanisms, is emphasized. Important suggestions on massive intestinal necrosis management are also reported.

Recovery following ischemic myelopathy.

Motor and sensory recovery were determined in five patients with ischemic myelopathy associated with traumatic laceration or surgical manipulation of the thoracic aorta. The neurologic level of injury was between T-2 and T-10. All patients had an anterior spinal artery pattern of incomplete spinal cord injury consisting of relatively greater loss of motor function than sensation and preservation of sacral sensation. None of the three patients with zero lower extremity motor function at 30 regained any motor function at 1 year. Two patients with partial motor function 1 month after infarction had further motor recovery at 1 year. One of these two individuals was able to ambulate independently with a reciprocal gait using orthoses.

Lacunar versus non-lacunar infarcts: pathogenetic and prognostic differences.

To characterise the pathogenetic and prognostic features of lacunar infarcts, 88 patients with these infarcts were compared with 103 patients with non-lacunar infarcts. Potential cardioembolic sources were significantly more frequent among patients with non-lacunar infarcts (p = 0.0025). Although the prevalence of hypertension was higher among lacunar infarcts, this difference was not statistically significant. However, the distribution of hypertensive patients in the two groups of lacunar and non-lacunar infarcts was influenced by the presence or absence of cardioembolic sources: hypertension was significantly associated with the presence of cardioembolic sources among non-lacunar infarcts, whereas among lacunar infarcts it was significantly more frequent in patients without a cardioembolic source. This indicates that cardioembolism may exert a confounding effect by suppressing the relation between hypertension and lacunar infarcts. In a mean follow up period of 28.1 months, lacunar infarcts had a significantly lower incidence of stroke recurrence and of myocardial infarction (age-adjusted survival analysis: p = 0.0008); mortality from all causes was also lower in patients with lacunar infarct (age-adjusted survival analysis: 0.04 less than p less than 0.05). In a multivariate regression analysis, stroke subtype was an independent predictor of new major vascular events. These findings support the lacunar hypothesis and should be considered in the planning of epidemiological and therapeutic studies in patients with cerebral infarction.

[Idiopathic segmental infarction of the greater omentum]. / Infarcissement segmentaire idiopathique du grand épiploon.

Segmental infarction of the omentum is a rare disease, with about 150 published cases, and an unusual cause of "pseudoacute" abdomen. The preoperative diagnosis is difficult because of the rarity and lack of specificity of the syndrome, and it is established after laparotomy, with a few exceptions. The authors report on a personal case and emphasize the importance of systematic exploration in spite of the "innocence" of the organ initially involved, and they describe the few signs that are nontheless suggestive of this provocative and puzzling entity.

Infarcts in the territory of the deep perforators from the carotid system.

We studied risk factors and presumed causes of infarct in 100 consecutive patients with a first stroke, who had an appropriate CT-proven infarct in the territory of the deep perforators from the carotid system (ITDPCS). The infarct involved the territory of the lenticulostriate arteries in 65 cases, the anterior choroidal artery in 23 cases, watershed zones between these two territories in four cases, and another territory in eight cases. In 42% of the patients, we felt the cause of the infarct to be small-artery disease. In 36%, at least one source of embolism was present (in 27% from the internal carotid artery, in 17% from the heart), either with (25%) or without (10%) associated hypertension (HT) and diabetes mellitus (DM). Other possible less common etiologies included migraine, syphilitic angiitis, and systemic diseases. We have confirmed that HT or DM are the most common etiologic factors of ITDPCS. However, large-artery disease and cardioembolism may be more important than previously assumed.