Ultrasound imaging of preterm brain injury: fundamentals and updates.

Neurosonography has become an essential tool for diagnosis and serial monitoring of preterm brain injury. Preterm infants are at significantly higher risk of hypoxic-ischemic injury, intraventricular hemorrhage, periventricular leukomalacia and post-hemorrhagic hydrocephalus. Neonatologists have become increasingly dependent on neurosonography to initiate medical and surgical interventions because it can be used at the bedside. While brain MRI is regarded as the gold standard for detecting preterm brain injury, neurosonography offers distinct advantages such as its cost-effectiveness, diagnostic utility and convenience. Neurosonographic signatures associated with poor long-term outcomes shape decisions regarding supportive care, medical or behavioral interventions, and family members' expectations. Within the last decade substantial progress has been made in neurosonography techniques, prompting an updated review of the topic. In addition to the up-to-date summary of neurosonography, this review discusses the potential roles of emerging neurosonography techniques that offer new functional insights into the brain, such as superb microvessel imaging, elastography, three-dimensional ventricular volume assessment, and contrast-enhanced US.

Pediatric musculoskeletal pathologies: are there differences in triage of diagnoses and preferences for communication between radiology and orthopedics?

OBJECTIVE: To define the clinical importance of various pediatric musculoskeletal diagnoses, determine preferred communication methods based on the acuity level of findings, and investigate differences between specialties utilizing the Delphi methodology. METHODS: Radiologists, orthopedic surgeons, and sports-medicine pediatricians at a tertiary children's hospital were surveyed (n = 79) twice using REDCap (Research Electronic Data Capture). Surveys were conducted anonymously and at least 1 year apart, first eliciting all potentially non-routine findings and various communication methods (round 1), and later categorizing the acuity (emergent, urgent, or non-urgent) of different diagnosis categories and selecting the preferred communication method (verbal, written electronic messages, and report) and timeframe (round 2). Chi-square, Fisher's exact, and Kruskal-Wallis H tests were used to compare variables between specialties. RESULTS: Round 1 produced 267 entries for non-routine findings (grouped into 19 diagnoses) and 71 for communication methods (grouped into 3 categories). Round 2 found no significant difference in the acuity assignments for the 19 predetermined diagnoses (p = 0.66) between the 3 specialties; however, there was reduced agreement for the top urgent diagnoses within and between specialties. Most pediatricians preferred written electronic messages. The preferred communication timeframe for urgent diagnoses was significantly different (< 2 h for pediatricians, < 4 h for radiologists, and < 8 h for surgeons; p = 0.003) between specialties whereas no difference was found for emergent (p = 1) and non-urgent diagnoses (p = 0.80). CONCLUSION: Acuity assignment for the 19 pediatric-specific musculoskeletal diagnoses was not significantly different between specialties, but the preferred communication timeframe for urgent diagnoses was significantly different, ranging between 2 and 8 h.

Safety Profile of Synthetic Elastic Degradable Matrix for Soft Tissue Reconstruction in Foot & Ankle Surgery.

BACKGROUND: Augmentation of soft tissue repairs has been helpful in protecting surgically repaired tissues as they heal. FlexBand (Artelon, Marietta, Georgia) is a synthetic, degradable, polycaprolactone-based polyurethane urea (PUUR) matrix that has been investigated and used for soft tissue repair in a variety of settings. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the safety profile of a PUUR matrix in a large cohort of patients undergoing soft tissue repairs about the foot and ankle. METHODS: A retrospective chart review of consecutive patients who underwent surgery using FlexBand to augment a soft tissue repair was performed to evaluate for major and minor complications related to the PUUR matrix. Results. A total of 105 patients with an average >6 months follow-up were included. The most common procedures were spring ligament repair, Achilles tendon repair, and Brostrom. There were 12 complications. Four major complications occurred with only 1 requiring PUUR matrix removal. Patients with wound complications had a higher body mass index (BMI) and rate of smoking. CONCLUSION: Complication rates involving PUUR matrix in soft tissue foot and ankle reconstruction procedures are low and comparable with historical complication rates. The PUUR matrix is safe for use in a variety of soft tissue procedures about the foot and ankle.Level of Evidence: Level 4, Retrospective case-series.

Functional, anatomical and diffusion tensor MRI study of radiology expertise.

BACKGROUND: Repeated practice to acquire expertise could result in the structural and functional changes in relevant brain circuits as a result of long-term potentiation, neurogenesis, glial genesis, and remodeling. PURPOSE: The goal of this study is to use task fMRI to study the brain of expert radiologists performing a diagnosis task where a series of medical images were presented during fMRI acquisition for 12s and participants were asked to choose a diagnosis. Structural and diffusion-tensor MRI were also acquired. METHODS: Radiologists (N = 12, 11M, 38.2±10.3 years old) and non-radiologists (N = 17, 15M, 30.6±5.5 years old) were recruited with informed consent. Medical images were presented for 12 s and three multiple choices were displayed and the participants were asked to choose a diagnosis. fMRI, structural and diffusion-tensor MRI were acquired. fMRI analysis used FSL to determine differences in fMRI responses between groups. Voxel-wise analysis was performed to determine if subcortical volume, cortical thickness and fractional anisotropy differed between groups. Correction for multiple comparisons used false discovery rate. RESULTS: Radiologists showed overall lower task-related brain activation than non-radiologists. Radiologists showed significantly lower activation in the left lateral occipital cortex, left superior parietal lobule, occipital pole, right superior frontal and precentral gyri, lingual gyrus, and the left intraparietal sulcus (p<0.05). There were no significant differences between groups in cortical thickness, subcortical volume and fractional anisotropy (p>0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Radiologists and non-radiologists had no significant difference in structural metrics. However, in diagnosis tasks, radiologists showed markedly lower task-related brain activations overall as well as a number of high-order visual and non-visual brain regions than non-radiologists. Some brain circuits appear to be uniquely associated with differential-diagnosis paradigm expertise that are not involved in simpler object-recognition cases. Improved understanding of the brain circuitry involved in acquisition of expertise might be used to design optimal training paradigms.

Ovalbumin sensitization of guinea pig at birth prevents the ontogenetic decrease in airway smooth muscle responsiveness.

Airway smooth muscle (ASM) displays a hyperresponsive phenotype at young age and becomes less responsive in adulthood. We hypothesized that allergic sensitization, which causes ASM hyperresponsiveness and typically occurs early in life, prevents the ontogenetic loss of the ASM hyperresponsive phenotype. We therefore studied whether neonatal allergic sensitization, not followed by later allergen challenges, alters the ontogenesis of ASM properties. We neonatally sensitized guinea pigs to ovalbumin and studied them at 1 week, 3 weeks, and 3 months (adult). A Schultz-Dale response in isolated tracheal rings confirmed sensitization. The occurrence of inflammation was evaluated in the blood and in the submucosa of large airways. We assessed ASM function in tracheal strips as ability to produce force and shortening. ASM content of vimentin was also studied. A Schultz-Dale response was observed in all 3-week or older sensitized animals. A mild inflammatory process was characterized by eosinophilia in the blood and in the airway submucosa. Early life sensitization had no effect on ASM force generation, but prevented the ontogenetic decline of shortening velocity and the increase in resistance to shortening. Vimentin increased with age in control but not in sensitized animals. Allergic sensitization at birth without subsequent allergen exposures is sufficient to prevent normal ASM ontogenesis, inducing persistence to adulthood of an ASM hyperresponsive phenotype.

Infectious mononucleosis hepatitis; an unwelcome present for Father Christmas.

We describe a case of infectious mononucleosis (IM) hepatitis occurring in an elderly thespian, who had recently played the role of 'Father Christmas'. We discuss the importance of differing clinical manifestations in older and younger age groups, the changing epidemiology of Epstein Barr (EB) infection within the United Kingdom and the role of different virology tests in establishing a diagnosis. Raised awareness of this changing pattern of disease could prevent unnecessary investigation and consequent potential iatrogenic complications.

Antibiotic therapy: a major cause of drug-induced jaundice in southwest England.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the incidence and causes of drug-induced jaundice in a rural community. METHODS: A retrospective analysis of 800 patients presenting to a single-centre jaundice referral system serving a community of 400 000 over a period of 66 months (1998-2004). Standard criteria for drug-induced liver injury were applied to patients with a putative diagnosis of drug-induced jaundice. The incidence rates per prescription of drug-induced jaundice caused by co-amoxiclav and flucloxacillin were derived from local and national annual prescription rates. RESULTS: The incidence of drug-induced jaundice was 1.27 (confidence limits 0.85-1.8) per 100 000 per annum in a total of 28 patients (17 men, mean age 69 years). Antibiotics were the commonest cause of jaundice (n=21). Of these, co-amoxiclav (n=9) and flucloxacillin (n=7) caused the majority with an incidence rate per 100 000 prescriptions of 9.91 (4.6-18.0) and 3.60 (1.5-7.2), respectively. Co-amoxiclav-induced jaundice was observed more commonly in elderly males (age 65 years, M : F 7 : 2). In those patients with flucloxacillin or co-amoxiclav-induced jaundice, bilirubin ranged from 54 to 599 mumol/l (267 mumol/l) with a resolution of jaundice between 30 and 90 days. Counselling with regard to potential drug-induced liver injury and reporting of the adverse reaction had been performed in 1/28 patients. CONCLUSIONS: 8.1% patients with no biliary obstruction and jaundice had a drug-induced and predominantly antibiotic-related aetiology particularly affecting an elderly population. We recommend that all patients receiving co-amoxiclav and flucloxacillin should be counselled before the therapy regarding the potential risk of jaundice and that an alternative antibiotic to co-amoxiclav is used if possible in men over the age of 60 years.