Effect of COVID-19 restrictions and border closures on vaccine preventable diseases in Victoria, Australia, 2020-2021.

Background: In 2020, Victoria introduced multiple interventions aimed at containing the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). We examine the effect of these restrictions on other vaccine preventable diseases (VPDs). Methods: We analysed the mandatory reporting data, notified to the Victorian Department of Health, for VPDs from January 2015 to December 2021. Results: Reductions in notifications were seen for most notifiable VPDs. A precipitous decline in influenza and measles notifications was recorded in April 2020, which was sustained for both diseases throughout 2020-2021. Notifications for chickenpox, invasive meningococcal disease, invasive pneumococcal disease, and pertussis were reduced by greater than 50% from the 2015-2019 average. No notified cases of diphtheria, poliomyelitis, or rubella were reported in 2020-2021. Conclusion: Restrictions placed to mitigate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic were associated with significant reductions in other VPDs, which were sustained into 2021. Nevertheless, it is important that high levels of population vaccine coverage continue, to prevent a rebound increase in VPDs as restrictions are eased, and to maximise protection against VPDs for all Australians.

Imaging of the Postoperative Temporal Bone.

Evaluation of the postoperative temporal bone can be difficult given the complex anatomy of this region and the myriad surgical approaches for management of a variety of conditions. This article provides an understanding of common postsurgical changes of the temporal bone and their typical imaging appearances. Ultimately, greater radiologist knowledge of postoperative temporal bone imaging findings will help to serve patients and referring clinicians with prompt diagnosis and recognition of expected postintervention changes compared with postoperative complications and/or disease recurrence.

The Roles of Organized Radiology in Career Development for Trainees and Junior Attending Radiologists: A Road Map.

OBJECTIVE: The full spectrum of organized radiology consists of numerous organizations with varied missions targeting their respective members. CONCLUSION: This article highlights many of these organizations, discusses the benefits they can provide to radiology trainees and junior faculty, and provides a road map for progressive participation among trainees to junior faculty as they advance through training.

Parathyroid Imaging with Simultaneous Acquisition of 99mTc-Sestamibi and 123I: The Relative Merits of Pinhole Collimation and SPECT/CT.

UNLABELLED: The objective of this study was to determine the relative utility of 3 state-of-the-art parathyroid imaging protocols: single-time-point simultaneous acquisition of (99m)Tc-sestamibi and (123)I images with pinhole collimation in the anterior and bilateral anterior oblique projections, single-time-point simultaneous acquisition of (99m)Tc-sestamibi and (123)I images with SPECT/CT, and the combination of the first and second protocols. METHODS: Fifty-nine patients with surgical proof of parathyroid adenomas were evaluated retrospectively. All 3 protocols included perfectly coregistered subtraction images created by subtracting the (123)I images from the (99m)Tc-sestamibi images, plus an anterior parallel-hole collimator image of the neck and upper chest. The pinhole protocol was performed first, followed by the SPECT/CT protocol. Three image sets were derived from each study in each patient according to the above protocols. Two experienced observers recorded the size, location, and degree of certainty of any identified lesion. RESULTS: The 59 patients had 61 adenomas. For the 2 observers combined, the localization success rate was 88% for the pinhole protocol, 69% for the SPECT/CT protocol, and 81% for the combined protocol. The pinhole protocol detected more adenomas than the SPECT/CT protocol and missed fewer adenomas than either the SPECT/CT protocol or the combined pinhole and SPECT/CT protocol (P < 0.01). The 2 protocols that included SPECT/CT provided superior anatomic information relative to the location and size of the parathyroid adenomas. CONCLUSION: The pinhole protocol localized significantly more adenomas than the SPECT/CT protocol. However, the protocols that included SPECT/CT provided more anatomic information than pinhole imaging alone.