Free echogenic pelvic fluid: correlation with hemoperitoneum.

Echogenic fluid is an important extrauterine finding of ectopic pregnancy. The purpose of this study was to determine how accurately echogenic fluid correlates with hemoperitoneum at surgery. Transvaginal sonography was performed in 831 consecutive patients referred to rule out ectopic pregnancy over a 36 month period. Scans were retrospectively evaluated for the presence or absence and echogenicity of free pelvic fluid. Subsequently, 185 patients had a laparotomy or laparoscopy and had documentation of the presence or absence of hemoperitoneum. On transvaginal sonography 125 patients had echogenic fluid, 30 patients had anechoic fluid, and 30 patients had no fluid. Of the 125 patients with echogenic fluid, 122 (98%) patients had hemoperitoneum; none of the patients with anechoic fluid or no detected fluid had hemoperitoneum (0%). Echogenic fluid had a sensitivity of 100%, specificity of 95%, positive predictive value of 98%, and an accuracy of 98% for detecting hemoperitoneum. This study demonstrates that echogenic fluid detected by transvaginal ultrasonography accurately correlates with hemoperitoneum detected at surgery in patients with suspected ectopic pregnancy.

Interventional uroradiology.

The development of interventional uroradiologic techniques has had a major impact on the care of the urologic patient by allowing nonoperative treatment of many disease processes. This article will review percutaneous nephrostomy with emphasis on urologic calculi, interventional therapy for neoplasms and trauma of the urinary tract, diagnosis and treatment of renovascular hypertension, and the management of complications following renal transplantation.

Sonographic detection of echogenic fluid and correlation with culdocentesis in the evaluation of ectopic pregnancy.

OBJECTIVE: Because the presence of echogenic fluid on transvaginal sonography has been shown to correlate well with hemoperitoneum in patients with possible ectopic pregnancy, the aim of this study was to compare echogenic fluid on sonography with the results of culdocentesis in predicting hemoperitoneum. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Free fluid on transvaginal sonography and the results of culdocentesis were correlated with the presence or absence of hemoperitoneum in 46 patients at surgery. Forty ectopic pregnancies and six nonectopic pregnancies were found. Echogenic fluid was the criterion used to establish hemoperitoneum on sonography. For statistical analysis, negative and nondiagnostic culdocentesis results were combined. The sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values of each diagnostic technique were compared. RESULTS: In 40 of 46 patients with ectopic pregnancy, the sensitivity and specificity of echogenic fluid for establishing hemoperitoneum were 100% and 100%, respectively, compared with 66% and 80%, respectively, for culdocentesis. More important, the negative predictive value of a nondiagnostic culdocentesis was 25% compared with 100% for echogenic fluid in the ectopic subgroup of patients. In two patients with incomplete abortions, sonography failed to detect small amounts of hemoperitoneum at surgery performed 4 hr and 7 days after sonography. CONCLUSION: Sonography is more sensitive than culdocentesis in the detection of hemoperitoneum. Culdocentesis is invasive, and nondiagnostic results cannot be used to exclude hemoperitoneum. Culdocentesis should play no role in the evaluation of ectopic pregnancy except in the unusual circumstance in which high-resolution sonography cannot be readily performed.

Polyhydramnios and fetal intrauterine growth restriction: ominous combination.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the significance of polyhydramnios combined with intrauterine growth restriction. During a 6 year period, 39 fetuses were identified by prenatal sonography as having both polyhydramnios and intrauterine growth restriction. Polyhydramnios was defined as a four-quadrant amniotic fluid index of 24 or greater (mean 30.5, range 24 to 40). Intrauterine growth restriction was defined as estimated fetal weight less than the tenth percentile (Hadlock standards). The mean birth weight was 2213 g. Major anomalies were present postnatally in 92% (36 of 39) of fetuses. Among nine fetuses without sonographically detectable anomalies prenatally, six (67%) proved to have one or more anomalies at birth. Chromosome abnormalities were present in 38% (15 cases) including 10 fetuses with trisomy 18 and one with trisomy 13. The overall mortality rate was 59%. The combination of polyhydramnios and intrauterine growth restriction is ominous. The majority of fetuses have major anomalies or chromosome abnormalities, or both, even when other sonographic abnormalities are absent. Chromosome analysis and detailed fetal evaluation should be offered when polyhydramnios and intrauterine growth restriction are identified prenatally.

Fetal cleft lip with and without cleft palate: US classification and correlation with outcome.

PURPOSE: To develop a prenatal ultrasonographic (US) classification of cleft lip with or without cleft palate (CL-P) and correlate the classification with fetal outcome. MATERIALS AND METHODS: During a 5-year period (1988 to 1993), 65 fetuses with CL-P were identified with prenatal US at one of two referral centers for high-risk obstetric cases. Sonograms from each case were prospectively and retrospectively evaluated. Clefts were classified into one of five categories: type 1, cleft lip alone (n = 5); type 2, unilateral cleft lip and palate (n = 15); type 3, bilateral cleft lip and palate (n = 20); type 4, midline cleft lip and palate (n = 21); and type 5, facial defects associated with amniotic bands or limb-body-wall complex (n = 4). RESULTS: The US classification correlated with severity of defect and fetal outcome. Type 4 and 5 clefts were universally associated with concurrent anomalies and a fetal outcome, type 1 clefts with a lower rate of anomalies (20%), and type 2 and 3 clefts with intermediate prognosis. Chromosome abnormalities also varied with the type of cleft as follows: type 1, 0%; type 2, 20%; type 3, 30%; type 4, 52%; and type 5, 0%. CONCLUSION: Prenatal classification of fetal CL-P correlates with fetal outcome. This classification should help counseling and management.

Idiopathic polyhydramnios: association with fetal macrosomia.

PURPOSE: To determine the relationship between idiopathic polyhydramnios and fetal macrosomia in the absence of maternal diabetes. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Idiopathic polyhydramnios was studied with ultrasound (US) in 99 consecutive normal fetuses of nondiabetic women. Birth weights and estimated fetal weights were compared with those of postnatal and prenatal control groups, respectively. RESULTS: The mean birth weight for the study (polyhydramnios) group was 3,771 g +/- 572 (standard deviation) compared with 3,476 g +/- 444 for the postnatal control group (P < .001). Birth weights in the 90th percentile or greater occurred in 28.2% of the study group versus 9.3% of the postnatal control group (P < .001) with a relative risk of 3.0 and a 95% confidence interval of 1.9, 4.9. The mean percentile of estimated fetal weight obtained with US was also significantly greater for the study group (79.3 +/- 23.7) than for the prenatal control group (51.5 +/- 32.7) (P < .001). CONCLUSION: Idiopathic polyhydramnios is associated with large-for-gestational-age fetuses and macrosomia independent of maternal diabetes.

Primary intracerebral Hodgkin's disease: a case report.

The authors report a case of primary intracerebral Hodgkin's disease in an 84-year-old woman who presented with a solitary intraparenchymal parieto-occipital lesion and absence of extracranial disease. The histologic diagnosis of Hodgkin's disease was further confirmed with positive immunohistochemical staining of Hodgkin's mononuclear cells and Reed-Sternberg cells and electron microscopy. Such an initial presentation of a solitary intracerebral tumor is extremely rare in Hodgkin's disease. This case helps establish primary intracerebral Hodgkin's disease as a true entity.

Intracranial tumor-forming papillary endothelial hyperplasia--a case report.

This is a report of extensive intracranial papillary endothelial hyperplasia in a 12-day-old twin. The infant presented with progressive macrocephaly, anemia and hydrocephalus. An MR image showed a large (6 x 5 cm) mass in the right middle cranial fossa. Histologic examination of the resected mass revealed multifocal hemorrhage, organizing in a floridly papillary pattern, in proximity to numerous fibrous bands containing reactive fibroblasts, scattered chronic inflammatory cells and foci of extramedullary hematopoiesis. Although the pattern was complex, neither the papillary regions nor the other areas in the lesion displayed solid proliferations of endothelial cells to support a diagnosis of angiosarcoma. Subsequent to the resection, the infant continued to have hemostatic abnormalities and increasing hydrocephalus. Repeat scans showed a recurrent mass (4 x 4 cm). The child was placed on a protocol for chemotherapy treatment. We hypothesize that the hemorrhage and subsequent organization could have been superimposed upon a preexistent vascular malformation or hemangioma even though Masson's trichrome stain does not unequivocally demonstrate this feature. Most importantly, we would like to emphasize the dilemmas involved in diagnosis and management of this benign disorder.