A study on clinical outcomes of Rathke's cleft cyst in patients managed conservatively.

OBJECTIVES: The primary objective was to investigate the clinical presentation, hormonal dysfunction, imaging characteristics and natural history of RCCs that were managed conservatively. Secondary objective was to identify factors associated with cyst progression. METHODS: A retrospective review of patients with the clinical diagnosis of RCC-identified from word search from radiology reports that were followed up from January 1999 to March 2019 was performed. The demographics, clinical data, radiological features and outcomes were reviewed and analyzed. RESULTS: 105 patients were identified with a median follow up of 6 years. 68 patients (64.8%) were managed conservatively from diagnosis till last follow up while 37 patients (35.2%) underwent surgery, with 26 operated at time of diagnosis and 11 operated upon monitoring. For patients managed conservatively from diagnosis till last follow up, incidental finding was the most common presentation. 19.1% had either one or more axes of hormonal dysfunction, with hypogonadism and hypocortisolemia being the commonest ones. Imaging features were variable. 66.2% of patients had T2W hyperintensity on MRI. Pathognomonic feature of intracystic nodule was present in only 14.7% of patients. Among the 79 patients with repeated MRI imaging (68 from conservative group and 11 from surgical group), 32.9% of patients developed cyst progression while 67.1% had either static disease or regression in size of RCC. Median time to progression of cyst was 14 months. Longer median follow up duration and presence of pituitary stalk displacement at presentation were associated with cyst progression. Only one patient developed new endocrine dysfunction. CONCLUSION: 2/3 of the RCCs had static disease or even regression in the size of the cyst. They rarely gave rise to additional endocrine dysfunction by adopting observant approach. Cyst progression was demonstrated in 1/3 of patients. Conservative treatment remained a reasonable treatment for patients without significant symptoms.

Endovascular treatment of iatrogenic superior mesenteric arteriovenous fistula resulting in recurrent abdominal ascites.

Superior mesenteric arteriovenous fistulas (AVFs) are rare and are usually caused by previous bowel surgery or blunt abdominal trauma. Patients may be asymptomatic, have non-specific symptoms of abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting or present with symptoms of portal hypertension; some patients may present years after initial surgery or trauma. Traditionally, superior mesenteric AVFs are treated by surgical ligation. However, percutaneous endovascular treatment has become increasingly popular in recent years. Different options of endovascular treatment include coil embolisation, covered stent and vascular plugs. There is a risk of coil migration with coil embolisation and covered stents may cause abnormal vessel straightening. Vascular plugs allow the fistula to be treated with fewer devices and have minimal risk of migration. Newer devices such as microvascular plugs have the added advantage of being able to be delivered through microcatheters or diagnostic catheters. The smaller profile of the microvascular plug also allows it to navigate through tortuous vessels. We report a case of a 77-year-old patient presenting with recurrent abdominal ascites three years after small bowel resection. CT and angiogram demonstrated a superior mesenteric AVF, which was successfully treated with a combination of microvascular plug and coil. He remained relatively asymptomatic four months after treatment.

Randomized Controlled Trial for Paclitaxel-coated Balloon versus Plain Balloon Angioplasty in Dysfunctional Hemodialysis Vascular Access: 12-month Outcome from a Nonsponsored Trial.

BACKGROUND: Plain balloon angioplasty is regarded as the mainstay of treatment for failing vascular access with high success rate, but the poor treatment durability creates significant workload and increases patient morbidity. The study aims to compare target lesion primary patency rate at 12 months between paclitaxel-coated balloon (DCB) versus plain old balloon angioplasty (POBA) for treatment of dysfunctional vascular access. METHODS: This nonsponsored-randomized trial enrolled 40 patients with dysfunctional dialysis access at a single center. Patients were randomized into In.Pact Admiral Paclitaxel DCB or POBA after lesion crossing regardless of lesion type. Patients are followed up under surveillance protocol. Patients, hemodialysis staff, and sonographer are blinded to the treatment arms. Twelve-month primary patency rate in both arms are evaluated. RESULTS: 40 patients were recruited since June 2016 and were allocated to the DCB or POBA group. The mean age is 58 and 57 years with comparable demographic parameters. The locations of target lesion were comparable in both groups (juxta and arteriovenous anastomosis, cannulation site, and fistula/graft), with similar mean target lesion stenosis 69.8 +/- 15.8% for DCB and 69.5 +/- 13.6% for POBA (P = 0.95), and the lesion length for DCB is 45.8 +/- 38.4 mm and 50.2 +/- 33.5 mm for POBA (P = 0.70). Patients in DCB performed significantly better in terms of primary patency at 6 months 85% versus 55% (P = 0.007). The superiority in primary patency in DCB group exists at 12 months 65% versus 30% (P = 0.007). CONCLUSIONS: Paclitaxel balloon angioplasty approach provides significant better primary patency in dysfunctional arteriovenous access at 12 months in our nonsponsored-randomized trial.

Isolated spinal artery aneurysm: a rare culprit of subarachnoid haemorrhage.

Isolated spinal artery aneurysm is a rare lesion which could be accountable for spontaneous spinal subarachnoid haemorrhage. We describe the case of a 74-year-old man presenting with sudden onset of chest pain radiating to the neck and back, with subsequent headache and confusion. Initial computed tomography aortogram revealed incidental finding of subtle acute spinal subarachnoid haemorrhage. A set of computed tomography scans of the brain showed further acute intracranial subarachnoid haemorrhage with posterior predominance, small amount of intraventricular haemorrhage, and absence of intracranial vascular lesions. Subsequent magnetic resonance imaging demonstrated a thrombosed intradural spinal aneurysm with surrounding sentinel clot, which was trapped and excised during surgical exploration. High level of clinical alertness is required in order not to miss this rare but detrimental entity. Its relevant aetiopathological features and implications for clinical management are discussed.