The value of ultrasonography in detecting early arthropathic changes and contribution to the clinical approach in patients of hemophilia.

PURPOSE\AIM: Hemophilia affects the blood clotting process, is a genetic disease characterized by recurrent bleeding. The hemophilia early arthropathy detection with ultrasound (HEAD-US) procedure and scoring method were designed for the detection of early changes in affected joints of patients. In this article, it was aimed to detect early arthropathic changes in the joints of hemophilia patients with the HEAD US scoring system and to investigate its clinical contribution. It was aimed to investigate the effectiveness of HEAD-US scoring in showing early joint damage in subclinical hemophilia cases and its contribution to treatment. METHODS: The present study included 50 hemophilia patients who were admitted to Departments of Pediatric and Adult Hematology for routine follow-up. During routine follow-up controls, patients were scored by physical examination and HJHS 2.1 and by ultrasonography and HEAD US. Statistical tests were used to analyze joint health status and the results of US examination in the patient group. RESULTS: A total of 294 joints (elbow n = 100, knee n = 94, ankle n = 100) were evaluated by ultrasonography. The mean HJHS and HEAD-US scores of the patients were 14.94 ± 15.18 and 15.6 ± 12.6, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: HEAD-US is accepted to be more sensitive than HJHS in detecting early signs of arthropathy. Detection of early abnormalities by ultrasonography will enable the development of individualized treatment protocols and to the prevention of arthropathy development.

Aorta-left renal vein fistula in a woman.

Spontaneous rupture of an abdominal aortic aneurysm into a retroaortic left renal vein is an uncommon occurrence. A 55-year-old woman presented with shortness of breath, vomiting, and diffuse abdominal pain that had radiated to her back and legs for the preceding 10 days. A pulsatile abdominal mass, hematuria, renal insufficiency, and heart failure were present at the initial evaluation. Computed tomography showed an infrarenal abdominal aortic aneurysm that communicated with a retroaortic left renal vein. After urgent surgical repair, cardiac and renal function were dramatically improved. To the best of our knowledge, this is the 1st reported case of a woman with such a fistula. We review treatments reported in the literature.

Sliding appendiceal inguinal hernia: preoperative sonographic diagnosis.

We report the case of a 3-month-old boy with a right-sided sliding appendiceal inguinal hernia that was diagnosed preoperatively with sonography. Surgery was performed, and intraoperative and histopathologic evaluations also revealed changes in the appendix that could have led to complications if left untreated. The infant's recovery was uneventful, and he was discharged on the second day after surgery. This condition is usually diagnosed intraoperatively, and to the best of our knowledge, this is only the second report in the English-language medical literature in which such a case was correctly diagnosed preoperatively with sonography. In our case, the early sonographic diagnosis led to early intervention and the avoidance of potential complications.