Melanotic paraganglioma arising in the temporal horn following Langerhans cell histiocytosis.

Intracerebral paragangliomas are rare because of the lack of paraganglial cells in the cerebral tissue. We report a rare case of melanotic paraganglioma arising from the temporal horn of the lateral ventricle in a patient with prior Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH) treated with chemotherapy and radiation.

Sonographic findings in a model of ischemia-induced necrotizing enterocolitis with pathological correlations.

PURPOSE: To evaluate sonographic findings in ischemic enterocolitis (IEC) and correlate with pathologic findings in an experimental study. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Ischemic enterocolitis was induced with ligation of the superior mesenteric artery in 20 rabbits. Plain radiography and ultrasonography (US) were performed. US was done hourly after the ligation using 10 MHz linear probe. US findings were categorized into 2 groups according to the bowel wall echogenicity; the echogenic dots (ED) group and the circumferential granular echogenicity (CGE) group. US findings were compared with the specimen radiography and the histopathology. RESULTS: On US, ED were seen in the bowel of all rabbits after SMA ligation (2.2 +/- 1.3 hours [standard deviation]) and CGE in 16 rabbits (4.1 +/- 0.9 hours). On the specimen radiographs, multiple radiolucent air bubbles were present. Comparing the ED and CGE group, histopathological findings revealed the CGE group had severer injury of the bowel wall than the ED group. On plain radiography, there was progressive bowel distention, but pneumatosis intestinalis (PI) was not evident. CONCLUSION: ED or CGE are the sonographic findings of ischemic enterocolitis, and bowel wall echogenicity might reflect the degree of ischemic injury.

Sonographic appearance of a tear of the lateral internal oblique muscle resulting from cough.

During forced respiratory movement such as coughing, complications can occur, including abdominal muscle rupture. We report a case of spontaneous tear of the internal oblique muscle resulting from violent cough diagnosed by sonography. The physiology of cough and the possible pathophysiologic mechanism of this case is discussed.

Magnetic resonance imaging of bowel ischemia induced by ligation of superior mesenteric artery and vein in a cat model.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the usefulness of magnetic resonance (MR) imaging for detecting bowel ischemia with strangulation compared with histopathologic findings in an experimental cat model. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fourteen cats were assigned to the normal control group (n = 3), acute ischemic group (induced by ligation of superior mesenteric vessels for 3 hours, n = 7), and subacute ischemic group (induced by ligation of superior mesenteric vessels for 10 hours, n = 4). Using a 4.7-T MR scanner, contrast-enhanced T1-weighted images were obtained at 0, 10, 20, 30, and 60 minutes after bolus injection of contrast media. T1- and T2-weighted images were obtained from the extracted bowel wall and compared with histopathologic findings. RESULTS: On contrast-enhanced MR images, the target-like bowel wall layers were clearly demonstrated and the submucosal layer showed the most prominent enhancement. At 10 minutes after administration of contrast media, the subacute ischemic group showed significantly lower enhancement of the submucosal layer than the normal or acute ischemic group (P <0.05). On T1-weighted images, there were not significant differences between the normal and ischemic bowel groups (P >0.05). On T2-weighted images, the signal intensity of all layers of acute ischemic bowel wall was significantly higher than that of the normal control or subacute ischemic group (P <0.05). CONCLUSION: Delayed contrast-enhanced MR images and T2-weighted images were helpful for detecting subacute and acute bowel ischemia with strangulation, respectively.

Isolated non-chylous pleural effusion in two neonates.

Isolated pleural effusion, so called primary pleural effusion denotes a pleural effusion without documented etiology such as a cardiac, inflammatory, iatrogenic problem or fetal hydrops. Chromosomal anomaly such as Down syndrome may be associated with isolated pleural effusion. The content of the isolated pleural effusion is mostly chylous, and isolated non-chylous pleural effusion in neonate is rare. We experienced 2 cases of isolated non-chylous pleural effusion. They had neither cardiac problem nor other sign of hydrops fetalis. Imaging diagnosis was done by plain chest radiography and subsequent ultrasonogram. One of them was diagnosed to Down syndrome by karyotyping. They were fared well after diagnostic and therapeutic thoracentesis. We describe 2 cases of non-chylous pleural effusion and review a few English-language case reports of this entity.

Sonographic measurements of normal gallbladder sizes in children.

PURPOSE: Our goal was to establish the range of sonographic measurements of normal gallbladders in children. METHODS: Six hundred ten children aged 0-16 years (male:female ratio, 1.5:1) with normal clinical and laboratory findings were included in this study. The sonographic parameters were the length, width, and calculated volume of the gallbladder, and the clinical parameters were the age, height, weight, and body surface area of the children. Statistical significance was determined through correlation and regression analyses. RESULTS: The length of the gallbladder showed significant positive correlations with age (r = 0.65), height (r = 0.67), weight (r = 0.63), and body surface area (r = 0.65; p < 0.01). The calculated volume of the gallbladder also showed moderate correlations with age (r = 0.53), height (r = 0.55), weight (r = 0.61), and body surface area (r = 0.57; p < 0.01). The gallbladder width showed modest but significant correlations with age (r = 0.48), height (r = 0.53), weight (r = 0.53), and body surface area (r = 0.55; p < 0.01). The highest correlation coefficients were found between the gallbladder length and subject age (r = 0.65; p < 0.01) and between the gallbladder length and subject height (r = 0.67; p < 0.01). For all correlations, statistical significance remained after regression analysis (p < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Values for the size of the normal pediatric gallbladder are defined and will be helpful in the diagnosis of gallbladder abnormalities.