Primary hypertrophic osteoarthropathy and bilateral transient lateral patellar dislocation in an adolescent.

This case report is of the index case of bilateral transient patellar dislocation in a patient with primary hypertrophic osteoarthropathy. Primary hypertrophic osteoarthropathy is a rare complex disorder with variable presentation and thus frequently delayed diagnosis. Notably, this disease has multiple skeletal manifestations and, of relevance to this case, a proportion of patients suffer from osteitis. Our patient had serial imaging of the knee joints demonstrating osteitis and associated alteration of the femoral trochlea morphology, predisposing to bilateral transient lateral patellar dislocation. The patient's clinical presentation, diagnosis and management are discussed. Classification of the disease and its diagnostic parameters are summarised along with key imaging features amongst various imaging modalities.

The association of bone bruising and grade of MCL injury in patients sustaining isolated MCL injuries.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the incidence of bone bruising with isolated medial collateral ligament injury and to assess whether the presence of bone bruising is related to the injury grade. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Patients who sustained an acute isolated medial collateral ligament injury demonstrated on knee MRI between 2016 and 2020 were included in this study. Patient's characteristics and injury classification (clinical and radiological) were reviewed from clinical notes and imaging. The patients were divided into two groups, based on the presence of bone bruising. Fisher's exact test was used for dichotomous variables and odds ratios were computed in areas of clinical significance. RESULTS: Sixty patients with a median age of 37.6 ± 13.8 were included. Twenty-eight (46.7%) had bone bruising demonstrated on MRI scan. The bone bruising group were 7 times (95% CI [1.4;36.5]) more likely to have a complete disruption of the superficial medial collateral ligament and MRI grade III injury. Injury to the deep medial collateral ligament was more often observed in this group (p < 0.05). The most common location of bone bruising was the lateral femoral condyle (57.1%, 16/28) and/or the medial femoral condyle (57.1%, 16/28). CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of bone bruising with isolated medial collateral ligament injury is significant and is more common with radiologically higher grade injuries. There was no statistically significant difference between the anatomical location of bone bruise and the grade of MCL injury. Bone bruising patterns can help determine the mechanism of injury, with a valgus impact or avulsion type injury most commonly seen.

Medial collateral ligament injury of the knee: correlations between MRI features and clinical gradings.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the degree of correlation between MRI and clinical gradings of medial collateral ligament (MCL) injuries and assess for associated structures on MRI which may influence the clinical perception of MCL laxity. MATERIALS AND METHODS: All knee MRIs with acute MCL injuries between 2016 and 2020 at our centre were retrospectively reviewed by two blinded musculoskeletal radiologists. The clinic notes were reviewed for clinical gradings. RESULTS: One hundred and nineteen MRIs included. Forty-eight percent (57/119) agreement between MRI and clinical gradings (κ = 0.21, standard error (SE) 0.07). MRI grades: I 29% (34/119), II 50% (60/119), III 21% (25/119). Clinical grades: I 67% (80/119), II 26% (31/119), III 7% (8/119). In patients with clinical grade III MCL injury, there was waviness of the superficial MCL on MRI in 100% (8/8), deep meniscofemoral ligament tear in 75% (6/8), anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) partial or complete tear in 75% (6/8) and posteromedial corner (PMC) injury in 100% (8/8); compared with 0% (0/111), 34% (38/111), 44% (49/111) and 41% (46/111) respectively in clinical grade I or II injuries (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Agreement between MRI and clinical gradings of MCL injuries was only 'fair', with MRI almost always overestimating the grade of the injury when there was a mismatch. Waviness of the superficial MCL and injuries to the deep MCL, ACL and PMC correlate with clinical instability.

Direct Access and Skill Mix Can Reduce Telephone Interruptions and Imaging Wait Times: Improving Radiology Service Effectiveness, Safety and Sustainability.

Unnecessary telephone calls to reporting radiologists impede organizations' workflow and may be associated with a higher chance of errors in reports. We conducted a prospective study in two cycles, which identified vetting plain CT heads as the most common reason for these calls and vetting CT urinary tracts (KUB) was also frequent. Clear vetting and protocolling guidelines exist for both of these scans, which do not routinely require discussion with a radiologist. Therefore, our approach was to create new flow diagrams to allow radiographers to directly accept routine requests for plain CT head and CT KUB scans in- and out-of-hours. After this intervention, incoming calls to radiology for vetting CT heads decreased by 30% and for vetting CT KUBs by 100%. The average wait time between CT head request and scan completion was reduced by 40%. The number of CT head and CT KUB scans performed remained stable. In future, maximizing the benefit of direct access in-patient imaging pathways will rely on effective and sustained communication of the protocols to the junior clinical staff rotating through the organization, as they were responsible for requesting the vast majority of tests.

Do blood growth factors offer additional benefit in refractory lateral epicondylitis? A prospective, randomized pilot trial of dry needling as a stand-alone procedure versus dry needling and autologous conditioned plasma.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate whether autologous conditioned plasma offers any therapeutic advantage over ultrasound-guided dry needling as a stand-alone procedure in the treatment of refractory lateral epicondylitis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Prospective, randomized pilot study of 28 patients (11 men, 17 women, mean age, 49.1  years) with refractory lateral epicondylitis (mean symptom duration, 19.1 months) who underwent either dry needling (n = 13) or dry needling combined with autologous conditioned plasma (ACP) injection (n = 15). Each patient received two separate injections (0 weeks and 1 month) and analysis of visual analogue pain scores (VAS) and Nirschl scores were performed pre-procedure, at 2 months and final evaluation at 6 months. Successful treatment was defined as more than a 25 % reduction in pain scores without re-intervention. Data was analyzed using the Mann-Whitney test and local research ethics committee approval was obtained. RESULTS: At 2 months, the mean VAS improvement was 0.85 (12.3 %) in the dry needling group compared to 2.19 (27.1 %) in the ACP group (p = 0.76) and there was a 5.83-point and 20.3-point Nirschl score improvement respectively (p = 0.72). At the final follow-up of 6 months, the mean VAS improvement was 2.37 (34 %) in the dry needling group compared to 3.92 (48.5 %) in the ACP group (p = 0.74) and there was a 22.5-point and 40-point Nirschl score improvement, respectively (p = 0.82). CONCLUSIONS: There is a trend to greater clinical improvement in the short term for patients treated with additional ACP, however no significant difference between the two treatment groups was demonstrated at each follow-up interval. A larger, multicenter, randomized controlled trial is required to corroborate the results of this pilot study.

Dynamic ultrasound of the subacromial-subdeltoid bursa in patients with shoulder impingement: a comparison with normal volunteers.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of the study was to determine if the thickness of the subacromial-subdeltoid (SASD) bursa during dynamic ultrasound and on static views differs between patients with shoulder impingement syndrome and healthy volunteers. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty-two patients with a clinical diagnosis of shoulder impingement syndrome and 23 healthy volunteers were recruited. A subset of patients showing an immediate symptom response following intrabursal injection was identified as "injection responders". Ultrasound of the shoulder was performed on all participants using three standard static views and two dynamic views (before and after arm abduction). The thickness of both the intrabursal fluid and the superficial peribursal fat was measured on all views. The bursal thickness measurements in the two groups were compared using a t test for significance. RESULTS: The mean increase in SASD bursal fluid thickness following arm abduction was not statistically different among all patients (0.39 ± 0.41 mm) and controls (0.35 ± 0.32 mm), p = 0.72. The same was true comparing injection responders (0.46 ± 0.49 mm) with controls, p = 0.41. On static views, greater bursal fluid thickness was found in patients (1.01 ± 0.48 mm) compared with controls (0.67 ± 0.32 mm) when using the short axis view of the supraspinatus, p = 0.006. No statistically significant difference was found between injection responders and controls when measuring peribursal fat thickness on any view. CONCLUSIONS: Gathering of the SASD bursa demonstrated during dynamic ultrasound does not necessarily indicate painful impingement of the bursa as it is found to a similar degree in patients with a clinical diagnosis of impingement and healthy volunteers.

Indeterminate soft-tissue tumors of the hand and wrist: a review based on a clinical series of 39 cases.

Soft-tissue masses located at the hand and wrist are a frequent clinical presentation. The majority of these are ganglia, which have characteristic imaging features. Other common masses in which a diagnosis is suggested by imaging include hemangiomas, lipomas, and focal synovitis. The remainder are rare although a diagnosis may be attempted by considering the patients' age and the location. We reviewed 39 soft-tissue masses at the hand and wrist referred to our institution between September 1998 and January 2006 that had indeterminate imaging features. The majority were benign neoplastic lesions with the most common being a giant cell tumor of the tendon sheath, followed by angioleiomyoma, peripheral nerve sheath tumor, fibromatosis, fibroma of tendon sheath, and solitary fibrous tumor. These lesions tend to occur in young adults at the metacarpal level. However, there are no imaging features that can reliably differentiate between benign and malignant tumors.

Imaging in covert ectopic ACTH secretion: a CT pictorial review.

The syndrome of ectopic adrenocorticotrophin secretion (EAS) is rare and is due to excess adrenocorticotrophin (ACTH) production from a nonpituitary tumour. These tumours can be covert, where the tumours are not readily apparent, and very small making them challenging to image. It is clinically and biochemically difficult to distinguish between covert EAS and Cushing's disease. The first-line investigation in locating the source of ACTH production is computed tomography (CT). The aim of this pictorial review is to illustrate the likely covert sites and related imaging findings. We review the CT appearances of tumours resulting in covert EAS and the associated literature. The most common tumours were bronchial carcinoid tumours, which appear as small, well-defined, round or ovoid pulmonary lesions. Rarer causes included thymic carcinoids, gastrointestinal carcinoids and pancreatic neuroendocrine tumours. Awareness of the imaging characteristics will aid identification of the source of ACTH production and allow potentially curative surgical resection.

Accessory muscles: anatomy, symptoms, and radiologic evaluation.

A wide array of supernumerary and accessory musculature has been described in the anatomic, surgical, and radiology literature. In the vast majority of cases, accessory muscles are asymptomatic and represent incidental findings at surgery or imaging. In some cases, however, accessory muscles may produce clinical symptoms. These symptoms may be related to a palpable swelling or may be the result of mass effect on neurovascular structures, typically in fibro-osseous tunnels. In cases in which an obvious cause for such symptoms is not evident, recognition and careful evaluation of accessory muscles may aid in diagnosis and treatment.