Call-Fleming syndrome associated with subarachnoid haemorrhage: three new cases.

The Call-Fleming syndrome (CFS) comprises acute severe recurrent (thunderclap) headaches, occasional transient or fluctuating neurological abnormalities and reversible segmental cerebral vasoconstriction. It is a benign condition with an excellent prognosis, yet because it is often clinically and radiologically similar to a number of commonly encountered conditions, diagnostic difficulties may arise, leading to inappropriate, and even potentially harmful, investigative and therapeutic approaches. Three personal cases are presented to highlight the occurrence of subarachnoid haemorrhage (SAH) as part of CFS. In two patients with a positive CT head, SAH involved the sulci in the upper cerebral convexity, an unusual location in aneurysmal SAH. SAH is not an uncommon feature of CFS, occurring in approximately 25% of reported cases, and may pose a diagnostic challenge. CFS has a relatively characteristic spectrum of features, allowing a confident diagnosis in most cases, even when atypical features such as SAH are present. Recognising the spectrum of abnormalities seen in CFS, including particularly SAH, allows a sound approach to a safe diagnosis.

Call-Fleming syndrome associated with subarachnoid haemorrhage: three new cases.

BACKGROUND: The Call-Fleming syndrome (CFS) comprises acute severe recurrent (thunderclap) headaches, occasional transient or fluctuating neurological abnormalities and reversible segmental cerebral vasoconstriction. It is a benign condition with an excellent prognosis, yet because it is often clinically and radiologically similar to a number of commonly encountered conditions, diagnostic difficulties may arise, leading to inappropriate, and even potentially harmful, investigative and therapeutic approaches. CASES: Three personal cases are presented to highlight the occurrence of subarachnoid haemorrhage (SAH) as part of CFS. In two patients with a positive CT head, SAH involved the sulci in the upper cerebral convexity, an unusual location in aneurysmal SAH. RESULTS: SAH is not an uncommon feature of CFS, occurring in approximately 25% of reported cases, and may pose a diagnostic challenge. CFS has a relatively characteristic spectrum of features, allowing a confident diagnosis in most cases, even when atypical features such as SAH are present. CONCLUSIONS: Recognising the spectrum of abnormalities seen in CFS, including particularly SAH, allows a sound approach to a safe diagnosis.

Training improves medical student performance in image interpretation.

The aim of this study was to objectively quantify the effects of radiological teaching on student performance in interpreting radiological images, and to establish whether training location affects performance. 114 clinical students were asked to anonymously interpret radiological cases before and after 26 weeks clinical training. Improvements were assessed by comparing performance on the median question in each assessment using the Kruskal-Wallis analysis. Variations according to different placements were assessed by the Mann-Whitney U-test. There was a highly significant (p<0.001) improvement in the performance of the group with training. The proportion of correct answers to the median question improved from 8% to 43%. Differences between training placements were non-significant. Our study suggests that radiology teaching significantly improves student performance. Future work should look to define the contribution of "clinical exposure" towards this improvement, as well as the various teaching methods employed.