Risk of cancer among cardiologists who frequently perform percutaneous coronary interventions: a population-based study.

BACKGROUND: Cardiologists who frequently perform percutaneous coronary interventions (PCIs) are exposed to high levels of radiation; therefore, their risk of cancer may be higher compared with other internists or cardiologists who perform fewer PCIs. METHODS: Data were obtained from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database for the 2000-2011 period. A cohort of 542 cardiologists was randomly frequency-matched according to age and sex with four other internists to form a cohort of noncardiologist controls. The incidence of cancer was measured for both cohorts, who were followed up until the end of 2011. Cox proportional hazards models were employed to analyse the risk of cancer between cardiologist and control cohorts. RESULTS: In general, the cardiologists did not have a higher risk of cancer compared with the other internists. However, the cardiologists who worked in medical centres or regional hospitals had a higher risk of cancer than did the other internists in the same work settings. Furthermore, the cardiologists working in medical centres or regional hospitals (large hospitals) who performed >15 PCIs per year had a higher risk of cancer than did those working in district hospitals (small hospitals) or clinics who performed ≤15 PCIs per year. CONCLUSION: Cardiologists who frequently perform PCIs have a higher risk of cancer compared with other internists or cardiologists who perform relatively fewer PCIs. Protection from radiation exposure should therefore be emphasized in coronary catheterization laboratories.

Imaging of dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans of breast.

Dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans (DFSP) is a rare superficial soft tissue malignancy. We report a 45-year-old woman diagnosed with DFSP involving the breast. Ultrasound of DFSP revealed a heteroechogenetic breast mass, which showed normal adjacent dermis. Mammography disclosed a high-density mass without microcalcification. MRI showed an enhancing lobulated lesion with small area of cystic change and hemorrhage. The patient underwent excision biopsy and pathology revealed DFSP of the breast. DFSP involving the breast is rare and preoperative diagnosis by imaging could be a challenge for clinicians. A solitary mixed echogenicity and ill-defined soft tissue with no microcalcification located in the subdermal region could indicate the presence of DFSP.

Esophageal duplication cyst presenting with stridor in a child with congenital pulmonary airway malformation: A case report and literature review.

RATIONALE: Esophageal duplication cyst (EDC) is a rare developmental aberration originated from the embryonic foregut. It may remain asymptomatic but produce local mass effect on surrounding organs if rapid enlarges. EDC may sometimes accompany with other congenital malformations. Congenital pulmonary airway malformation (CPAM) is a congenital lung malformation with an unknown chance of developing symptoms. Here we report a rare case of esophageal duplication cyst with type 2 congenital pulmonary airway malformation (CPAM). PATIENT CONCERNS: A 16-month old boy with a prenatal diagnosis of type 2 CPAM presented progressive stridor and respiratory distress and was admitted to our hospital under the diagnosis of pneumonia. The patient responded poorly to antibiotics. A chest Xray (CXR) showed consolidation over the left upper lobe with trachea deviated to right side. A chest computed tomography (CT) revealed a cystic lesion sized 3.3 × 3.3 cm in the superior mediastinum. DIAGNOSES: Post-operative pathological report confirmed the diagnosis of esophageal duplication cyst. INTERVENTIONS: We pre-medicated the patient with steroids and inhaled bronchodilators for airway maintenance. Then the patient received tumor resection via median sternotomy. OUTCOMES: The patient recovered without complication and discharged smoothly 4 days after the surgery. LESSONS: EDC is a rare but potentially life-threatening disease owning to compression of large airways. Chest CT scan could detect the lesion non-invasively and should be considered in patients with persistent stridor, as well as CXR findings of the trachea deviated by a mass lesion in mediastinum, especially for those with CPAM.

Nasal NK/T-cell lymphoma: computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging findings.

BACKGROUND: Primary nasal natural killer (NK)/T-cell lymphoma is the most common cellular subtype seen in nasal lymphomas. It is rare in the Western population but occurs more frequently in Asia, South America, and Mexico. The purpose of this study was to describe the computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance (MR) imaging findings of primary nasal NK/T-cell lymphoma. METHODS: During the period between January 1990 and June 2006, the CT (n=24) and MR (n=6) images of 24 patients with biopsy-proved nasal NK/T-cell lymphoma were reviewed retrospectively. Both CT and MR images were evaluated for site and extent of disease and for pattern of involvement of adjacent areas. RESULTS: The most common symptoms at presentation were nasal obstruction, nasal discharge, and epistaxis. There was involvement of the unilateral nasal cavity in 16, bilateral nasal cavity including nasal septum in 5 and nasal choana in 3. Sites of extension outside the nasal cavity included tumor extension into paranasal sinuses (n=15), nasopharynx (n=5), nasal labial fold (n=3), oropharynx (n=2), infratemporal fossa (n=2), other subcutaneous soft tissue of the face (n=2) and anterior cranial fossa base (n=1). Bony destruction was demonstrated in 18 cases, involving the sinus bony wall (n=15), nasal turbinate (n=10), lamina papyracea (n=6), orbital floor (n=3), and hard palate (n=2). Regional lymphadenopathy was also detected in 3 patients with nasal NK/T-cell lymphoma. CONCLUSION: The CT and MR appearances of nasal NK/T-cell lymphoma are nonspecific, and the diagnosis requires histologic confirmation. However, the differential diagnosis of nasal NK/T-cell lymphoma should be included if the images present soft tissue of the nasal cavity with bony erosion or destruction; involvement of the orbital cavity, nasopharynx and infratemporal fossa; and subcutaneous or nasolabial fold soft tissue infiltration, especially in Asian populations.

The Influence of Serum Prostate-Specific Antigen on the Accuracy of Magnetic Resonance Imaging Targeted Biopsy versus Saturation Biopsy in Patients with Previous Negative Biopsy.

OBJECTIVE: We compared the prostate cancer (PCa) detection rates of targeted biopsy (TB) and saturation biopsy (SB) in patients with previous negative biopsy and the accuracy of TB and SB stratified by different serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Overall 185 patients were enrolled. In the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) group, 65 men underwent TB and SB. In the control group, 120 men underwent SB alone. The primary outcome was the difference in PCa detection rate between the MRI group and control group. The secondary outcome was the difference in accuracy between TB and SB in detecting clinically significant PCa by stratifying the patients in the MRI group into those with PSA < 10 ng/ml and PSA ≥ 10 ng/ml. RESULTS: The detection rates for overall and clinically significant PCa were higher in the MRI group than in the control group (46.2% versus 20.9% and 43.1% versus 16.7%, both p < 0.001). In the MRI group, the accuracy of TB was higher than SB (94.7% versus 84.2%, p = 0.001) for the patients with PSA ≥ 10 ng/mL. CONCLUSIONS: Combining TB and SB achieved the best cancer detection rate. The accuracy of TB was better than SB in the patients with serum PSA ≥ 10 ng/mL.

Value of lateral neck radiography for ingested foreign bodies using the likelihood ratio.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the diagnostic accuracy of lateral neck radiography and its value in related radiographic findings in the detection of foreign bodies using the likelihood ratio. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This retrospective study comprised 114 patients who had neck radiography followed by rigid esophagoscopy. Interpretations of the radiographs were correlated with esophagoscopic findings and clinical follow-up for at least 1 month. Data were mainly assessed by likelihood ratio and detection rate. RESULTS: Plain radiography had a positive likelihood ratio of 2.4 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.8-3.1) and a negative likelihood ratio of 0.6 (95% CI 0.40-0.7). It had a sensitivity of 57.4% (95% CI 45.6-69.1) and a specificity of 76.1% (95% CI 63.8-88.4). Positive likelihood ratios for each radiographic finding (foreign body shadow, air, and soft tissue swelling) were 3.4 (95% CI 2.6-4.4), 1.5 (95% CI 0.9-2.6), and 4.1 (95% CI 1.9-8.7), respectively. Plain radiography had a high detection rate (72.5%) when foreign bodies were lodged in the hypopharynx and cervical esophagus. On the contrary, the detection rate was poor (0%) in the oropharynx. CONCLUSIONS: A lateral neck radiograph is better taken after a negative finding in a thorough oral examination and fibre-optic laryngoscopy. Judging from the possible site of impacted foreign body and radiographic findings, we can better predict the presence of foreign bodies.

Percutaneous direct puncture embolization for superficial craniofacial arteriovenous malformation.

SUMMARY: Endovascular embolization for craniofacial arteriovenous malformation has been used as preoperative adjuvant devascularization or as definitive therapy. However, because the vascular network is complex, embolization via arterial access may be ineffective, risky, incomplete or technically difficult. The purpose of this report is to describe our experience of percutaneous direct venous pouch puncture embolization. Four patients with craniofacial AVMs were treated with direct puncture embolization via injection of NBCA. After the selective transarterial angiogram, the lesions were directly punctured in the venous pouch under a road map angiogram. A glue mixture was injected, and post-embolization angiograms revealed that in all patients, the lesions had been completely obliterated without complication. Percutaneous direct puncture embolization is an effective, time saving and safe technique for the superficial craniofacial AVM with prominent venous pouch.

"Waffle cone"technique for intra/extra-aneurysmal stent placement for the treatment of complex and wide-necked bifurcation aneurysm.

SUMMARY: Endovascular treatment of intracranial aneurysms by coiling has become an accepted alternative to surgical clipping (1). In cases of wide-necked and sidewall aneurysms, selective embolization is difficult because of the risk of coil protrusion into the parent vessel. The use of three-dimensional coils, stents (2), and balloon remodeling have all aided the attempt to adequately manage such lesions. However, compared with sidewall aneurysms, bifurcation aneurysms are more challenging from an endovascular standpoint. Because of their specific anatomy and hemodynamics, the tendency to recur and rerupture is higher. Several authors have reported successful treatment of these complex and wide-necked bifurcation aneurysms by using Yconfigured dual stent-assisted coil embolization (3,4), the double microcatheter technique (5), a more compliant balloon remodeling technique (6), the TriSpan neck-bridge device (7), or the waffle cone technique (8).We describe two cases of widenecked bifurcation aneurysms in which the waffle cone technique was used for coil embolization. The waffle cone technique was first described in 2006; however, the small number of published cases and the lack of follow-up prevent one from assessing this technique's durability and the probability of recanalization.We report the cases of two patients harboring unruptured wide-necked bifurcation aneurysms that were treated and followed-up for six months.

Acute massive subdural hematoma caused by rupture of internal carotid artery aneurysm during angiography: a case report.

We present a case of acute, massive subdural hemorrhage caused by rupture of an internal carotid artery aneurysm during the procedure of cerebral angiography. To our knowledge, a case like the present one has been reported only once in the English-language literature. The incidence, mechanisms, treatment, and prognosis of (1) subdural hematoma, caused by rupture of cerebral aneurysm, and (2) re-rupture of aneurysm during the angiography procedure are discussed.