Automated segmentation of the injured kidney due to abdominal trauma.

The objective of this study is to propose and validate a computer-aided segmentation system which performs the automated segmentation of injured kidney in the presence of contusion, peri-, intra-, sub-capsular hematoma, laceration, active extravasation and urine leak due to abdominal trauma. In the present study, total multi-phase CT scans of thirty-seven cases were used; seventeen of them for the development of the method and twenty of them for the validation of the method. The proposed algorithm contains three steps: determination of the kidney mask using Circular Hough Transform, segmentation of the renal parenchyma of the kidney applying the symmetry property to the histogram, and estimation of the kidney volume. The results of the proposed method were compared using various metrics. The kidney quantification led to 92.3 ± 4.2% Dice coefficient, 92.8 ± 7.4%/92.3 ± 5.1% precision/sensitivity, 1.4 ± 0.6 mm/2.0 ± 1.0 mm average surface distance/root-mean-squared error for intact and 87.3 ± 8.4% Dice coefficient, 84.3 ± 13.8%/92.2 ± 3.8% precision/sensitivity and 2.4 ± 2.2 mm/4.0 ± 4.2 mm average surface distance/root-mean-squared error for injured kidneys. The segmentation of the injured kidney was satisfactorily performed in all cases. This method may lead to the automated detection of renal lesions due to abdominal trauma and estimate the intraperitoneal blood amount, which is vital for trauma patients.

Quantitative Image Quality Comparison of Reduced- and Standard-Dose Dual-Energy Multiphase Chest, Abdomen, and Pelvis CT.

We present a new image quality assessment method for determining whether reducing radiation dose impairs the image quality of computed tomography (CT) in qualitative and quantitative clinical analyses tasks. In this Institutional Review Board-exempt study, we conducted a review of 50 patients (male, 22; female, 28) who underwent reduced-dose CT scanning on the first follow-up after standard-dose multiphase CT scanning. Scans were for surveillance of von Hippel-Lindau disease (N = 26) and renal cell carcinoma (N = 10). We investigated density, morphometric, and structural differences between scans both at tissue (fat, bone) and organ levels (liver, heart, spleen, lung). To quantify structural variations caused by image quality differences, we propose using the following metrics: dice similarity coefficient, structural similarity index, Hausdorff distance, gradient magnitude similarity deviation, and weighted spectral distance. Pearson correlation coefficient and Welch 2-sample t test were used for quantitative comparisons of organ morphometry and to compare density distribution of tissue, respectively. For qualitative evaluation, 2-sided Kendall Tau test was used to assess agreement among readers. Both qualitative and quantitative evaluations were designed to examine significance of image differences for clinical tasks. Qualitative judgment served as an overall assessment, whereas detailed quantifications on structural consistency, intensity homogeneity, and texture similarity revealed more accurate and global difference estimations. Qualitative and quantitative results indicated no significant image quality degradation. Our study concludes that low(er)-dose CT scans can be routinely used because of no significant loss in quantitative image information compared with standard-dose CT scans.

Bone Marrow-Liver-Spleen Type of Large B-Cell Lymphoma Associated with Hemophagocytic Syndrome: A Rare Aggressive Extranodal Lymphoma.

Recently, an unusual subtype of large B-cell lymphoma (LBCL) with distinctive clinicopathologic features has been recognized; it is characterized by involvement of bone marrow with or without liver and/or spleen, but no lymph node or other extranodal sites, usually associated with fever, anemia, and hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH). Because of this distinctive clinical presentation, it has been designated "bone marrow-liver-spleen" (BLS) type of LBCL. To date there is only one series of 11 cases of BLS type of LBCL with detailed clinical, pathologic, and cytogenetic data. Herein, we describe a case of BLS type LBCL presenting with associated HLH in a 73-year-old female. The bone marrow core biopsy showed cytologically atypical large lymphoma cells present in a scattered interstitial distribution and hemophagocytosis and infrequent large lymphoma cells were seen in the bone marrow aspirate smears. Circulating lymphoma cells were not seen in the peripheral blood smears. The patient underwent treatment with chemotherapy (R-CHOP) but unfortunately passed away 2 months after initial presentation. BLS type of LBCL is a very rare and clinically aggressive lymphoma whose identification may be delayed by clinicians and hematopathologists due to its unusual clinical presentation and pathologic features.

Transvaginal extraction of laparoscopic liver resection specimen.

The application of laparoscopic surgery via the vagina has been introduced at the beginning of this millennium. Here, we report a case of transvaginal extraction of a laparoscopic hepatectomy specimen. An exophytic liver mass originated from segment VI in a 24-year-old female was excised with laparoscopic technique using four trocars (0.5-1.2 cm sizes). The specimen (11 × 8.5 cm) was removed transvaginally instead of an abdominal incision. To the best of our knowledge, only six similar cases have been previously reported, with a patient age range of 32-74 years. Our case, due to younger age, had high cosmetic expectations. Specific to this case, we aimed a better aesthetic outcomes and better convalescence period and, we achieved these objectives. We believe that patient selection and experience on natural orifice specimen extraction were the keys to the success of the operation. We shared this technique with a video presentation.

Can balneotherapy improve the bowel motility in chronically constipated middle-aged and elderly patients?

Balneotherapy or spa therapy is usually known for different application forms of medicinal waters and its effects on the human body. Our purpose is to demonstrate the effect of balneotherapy on gastrointestinal motility. A total of 35 patients who were treated for osteoarthritis with balneotherapy from November 2013 through March 2015 at our hospital had a consultation at the general surgery for constipation and defecation disorders. Patients followed by constipation scores, short-form health survey (SF-12), and a colonic transit time (CTT) study before and after balneotherapy were included in this study, and the data of the patients were analyzed retrospectively. The constipation score, SF-12 score, and CTT were found statistically significant after balneotherapy (p < 0.05). The results of our study confirm the clinical finding that a 15-day course of balneotherapy with mineral water from a thermal spring (Bursa, Turkey) improves gastrointestinal motility and reduces laxative consumption in the management of constipation in middle-aged and elderly patients, and it is our belief that treatment with thermal mineral water could considerably improve the quality of life of these patients.

Computer-Aided Detection (CADx) for Plastic Deformation Fractures in Pediatric Forearm.

Bowing fractures are incomplete fractures of tubular long bones, often observed in pediatric patients, where plain radiographic film is the non-invasive imaging modality of choice in routine radiological workflow. Due to weak association between bent bone and distinct cortex disruption, bowing fractures may not be diagnosed properly while reading plain radiography. Missed fractures and dislocations are common in accidents and emergency practice, particularly in children. These missed injuries can result in more complicated treatment or even long-term disability. The most common reason for missed fractures is that junior radiologists or physicians lack expertise in pediatric skeletal injury diagnosis. Not only is additional radiation exposure inevitable in the case of misdiagnosis, but other consequences include the patient's prolonged uncomfortableness and possible unnecessary surgical procedures. Therefore, a computerized image analysis system, which would be secondary to the radiologists' interpretations, may reduce adverse effects and improve the diagnostic rates of bowing fracture (detection and quantification). This system would be highly desirable and particularly useful in emergency rooms. To address this need, we investigated and developed a new Computer Aided Detection (CADx) system for pediatric bowing fractures. The proposed system has been tested on 226 cases of pediatric forearms with bowing fractures with respect to normal controls. Receiver operation characteristic (ROC) curves show that the sensitivity and selectivity of the developed CADx system are satisfactory and promising. A clinically feasible graphical user interface (GUI) was developed to serve the practical needs in the emergency room as a diagnostic reference. The developed CADx system also has strong potential to train radiology residents for diagnosing pediatric forearm bowing fractures.

High Output Cardiac Failure Resolving after Repair of AV Fistula in a Six-Month-Old.

Background. Acquired AVF in pediatrics are commonly caused by iatrogenic means, including arterial or venous punctures. These fistulae can cause great hemodynamic stress on the heart as soon as they are created. Case. A six-month-old 25-week gestation infant was referred for respiratory distress. Initial exam revealed tachypnea, tachycardia, and hypertension. There was a bruit noted on her left arm. An ultrasound showed an arteriovenous fistula. Its location, however, precluded intervention because of the high risk for limb-loss. An echocardiogram showed evidence of pulmonary hypertension that was treated with sildenafil and furosemide. However, no improvement was seen. On temporary manual occlusion of the fistula, the patient was noted to have increased her blood pressure and decreased her heart rate, suggesting significant hemodynamic effect of the fistula. The fistula was subsequently ligated and the patient clinically and echocardiographically improved. Conclusion. A patient in high output cardiac failure or pulmonary artery hypertension, especially prematüre patients with preexisting lung disease, should be probed for history of multiple punctures, trauma, or surgery and should have prompt evaluation for AVF. If it can be diagnosed and repaired, most of the cases have been shown to decrease the stress on the heart and reverse the pathologic hemodynamics.

Automated segmentation of the injured spleen.

PURPOSE: To develop a novel automated method for segmentation of the injured spleen using morphological properties following abdominal trauma. Average attenuation of a normal spleen in computed tomography (CT) does not vary significantly between subjects. However, in the case of solid organ injury, the shape and attenuation of the spleen on CT may vary depending on the time and severity of the injury. Timely assessment of the severity and extent of the injury is of vital importance in the setting of trauma. METHODS: We developed an automated computer-aided method for segmenting the injured spleen from CT scans of patients who had splenectomy due to abdominal trauma. We used ten subjects to train our computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) method. To validate the CAD method, we used twenty subjects in our testing group. Probabilistic atlases of the spleens were created using manually segmented data from ten CT scans. The organ location was modeled based on the position of the spleen with respect to the left side of the spine followed by the extraction of shape features. We performed the spleen segmentation in three steps. First, we created a mask of the spleen, and then we used this mask to segment the spleen. The third and final step was the estimation of the spleen edges in the presence of an injury such as laceration or hematoma. RESULTS: The traumatized spleens were segmented with a high degree of agreement with the radiologist-drawn contours. The spleen quantification led to [Formula: see text] volume overlap, [Formula: see text] Dice similarity index, [Formula: see text] precision/sensitivity, [Formula: see text] volume estimation error rate, [Formula: see text] average surface distance/root-mean-squared error. CONCLUSIONS: Our CAD method robustly segments the spleen in the presence of morphological changes such as laceration, contusion, pseudoaneurysm, active bleeding, periorgan and parenchymal hematoma, including subcapsular hematoma due to abdominal trauma. CAD of the splenic injury due to abdominal trauma can assist in rapid diagnosis and assessment and guide clinical management. Our segmentation method is a general framework that can be adapted to segment other injured solid abdominal organs.

Rare cause of oesophagus perforation.

INTRODUCTION: Oesophagus perforations, which are generally caused by iatrogenic injuries, are a serious clinical event. There are still high rates of mortality and morbidity and there is no gold standard of surgical treatment. PRESENTATION OF CASE: The case is here presented of a 54-year old female with complaints of dysphagia after having swallowed a bone in food, who was determined with oesophagus perforation on CT examination. DISCUSSION: Oesophagus perforation generally occurs secondary to interventional procedures and rarely develops associated with foreign bodies. Treatment depends on the perforation site and dimension. CONCLUSION: While conservative primary surgical repair may be chosen for cervical lesions, more aggressive approaches such as resection and delayed reconstruction are recommended for thoracic lesions. Early determination and appropriate treatment are life-saving.

A rare condition of anorectal dysfunction in a patient with multiple sclerosis: Coexistence of faecal incontinence and mechanical constipation: Report of case.

INTRODUCTION: Multiple sclerosis is a chronic demyelinating neurological disease and causing a variety of neurological symptoms, including discomfort of anorectal function. Constipation and faecal incontinence present as anorectal dysfunction in MS and anal manometry, colonic transit time, electromyography, and defecography can be used for assessment. PRESENTATION OF CASE: We presented a thirty-three years old woman with rare condition of anorectal dysfunction in multiple sclerosis. Anal manometry, defecography were done, and synchronously anal incontinence and mechanical constipation due to rectocele and anismus were detected in this patient. DISCUSSION: Although anal incontinence and constipation are seen often in patients with multiple sclerosis, in the literature, coexistence of animus, rectocele and anal incontinence are quite rare. CONCLUSION: Defecography and anal manometry are useful diagnostic methods for demonstration of anorectal dysfuntions in patients with MS.

Evaluation of myocardial ischemia in coronary artery disease with cardiac MR perfusion method: comparison with the results of catheter or CT angiography.

AIM: To evaluate the efficacy of the Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Perfusion (CMRP) method in detection of Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) by comparing CMRP findings with the results of Coronary Computed Tomography Angiography (CCTA) or Catheter Coronary Angiography (CCA). METHODS: Thirty one patients in whom CMRP was performed along with CCTA or CCA within a month after CMRP between December 2009 and November 2010 were selected for the study. In CMRP, after adenosine administration as a stress agent Balanced TFE sequences were used to gather dynamic images that include the myocardial first pass of contrast media. Image analysis was performed visually. CMRP findings were compared to CCTA or CCA results for each coronary artery territories and for all territories. RESULTS: Sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of CMRP test in the identification of patients with significant (≥70%) coronary artery stenosis were 94.7%, 83%, 90.3%, 90%, and 90.9% for all coronary arteries, respectively; 94.4%, 84.6%, 90.3%, 89.4%, and 91.6% for left anterior descending artery, respectively; and 100%, 100%, 100%, 100%, and 100% for circumflex and right coronary artery, respectively. There was no statistically significant difference between angiography methods (CCTA/CCA) and CMRP (p>0.05). Methods had good to perfect consistency (ĸ = 0.79-1.00). CONCLUSION: CMRP test seems to be a reasonable alternative for catheter angiography, which is considered the gold standard for evaluation of CAD and exclusion of significant coronary artery obstruction.

Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy following treatment with bendamustine and rituximab.

A 66-year-old female developed progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) 17 months after treatment with bendamustine and rituximab chemoimmunotherapy. During her evaluation for PML, she was found to have a CD4 count of 176 cells/µL (reference range 492-1740). The patient demonstrated spontaneous recovery of symptoms that occurred in parallel with recovery of the CD4 counts. While PML is associated with rituximab therapy, the timing and patients' clinical course are atypical, raising the possibility of a previously unreported association with bendamustine therapy.

Posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome in the pediatric renal population.

Posterior reversible leukoencephalopathy syndrome (PRES) clinically presents with seizures, severe headaches, and mental and visual changes. Our goal was to describe the clinical features, triggering factors, neuro-imaging findings, and electroencephalogram (EEG) findings in a pediatric cohort with renal disease. We retrospectively analyzed the records of 18 children with the diagnosis of PRES between January 2001 and June 2006 at the University of Miami/Holtz Children's Hospital, USA. There were 22 PRES episodes. The most common clinical presentation was generalized tonic-clonic seizures in 59% (13/22). The most common identified trigger of PRES was hypertensive crisis in 59% (13/22). Almost half of the children had no evidence of on-going uncontrolled hypertension; 44% (8/18) had normal funduscopic examination findings, and 50% (9/18) had no or mild left ventricular hypertrophy. Two of the 18 patients had recurrent PRES episodes, three episodes each. Diffuse slowing was the most common finding on the EEGs. Atypical magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings were more prevalent in the imaged cases (62% vs 25%, P < 0.05). All the computerized tomography (CT) scans were normal, despite the positive MRI findings in four cases when both types of imaging was used. All the episodes had total clinical resolution. In conclusion, despite the diverse initial trigger, acute hypertension seems to be the common pathogenic pathway for pediatric PRES. MRI seems superior to CT, with better sensitivity due to its high resolution and diffusion-weighted imaging. The lesions do not necessarily have to be in the posterior white matter and may not be totally reversible.

PRCC-TFE3 renal cell carcinoma in a boy with a history of contralateral mesoblastic nephroma.

The genetics of renal tumors in children is widely recognized. However, most of the studies published to date emphasize the association between Wilms tumor and the WT-1 gene. Recently, a unique translocation between the X chromosome and chromosome 1 or t(X;1) has been described in several reports of renal cell carcinomas (RCCs) diagnosed in children and adolescents that results in PRCC-TFE3 gene fusion. We report here a 9-year old African-American boy with a history of a right congenital mesoblastic nephroma treated with nephrectomy and followed by annual checkups. After 9 years, he was diagnosed with a mass at the hilum of the left kidney during the work-up of new-onset hypertension. A limited biopsy revealed densely hyalinized connective tissue that was initially interpreted to be a hyalinized contralateral mesoblastic nephroma. The child received chemotherapy, but the mass continued to grow. He underwent a left nephrectomy, and the pathology was diagnostic for a clear cell RCC. Chromosomal analysis disclosed a t(X;1)(p11.2;q21) translocation, which is known to result in a PRCC-TFE3 gene fusion. The tumor showed nuclear labeling for TFE3 protein by immunohistochemistry, supporting the above diagnosis. He has been on hemodialysis, is tumor free, and has not been receiving chemotherapy for 24 months. This is the first report of a RCC as a second malignant neoplasm in a child treated for a congenital mesoblastic nephroma.

Ectopic spleen and left-sided vena cava in Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome.

Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome (BWS) is a congenital overgrowth syndrome characterized by anterior abdominal wall defects, macroglossia, and gigantism. A variety of other abnormalities have been described, however association with ectopic spleen and left-sided vena cava has not been reported previously. We report ectopic spleen, left-sided vena cava and the other abdominal imaging findings of an adult BWS case who came up to date without any follow-up from the early childhood.