When Tuberculosis Defies Appearances: The Tale of a Deceptive Abdominal Mass on Imaging.

Tuberculosis poses a significant public health challenge, especially in highly endemic countries. Rarely, it appears as an abdominal mass resembling a malignant abdominal tumor and can be misleading on imaging, so early diagnosis remains a challenge, and confirmation may require invasive examinations such as laparotomy. The most characteristic radiological appearance is that of a solid, hypervascular, or peripherally enhancing mass with a hypodense center. We present a case of retroperitoneal tuberculosis that simulated a teratoma on imaging. This case highlights the diagnosis difficulties even in endemic countries, despite advances in imaging techniques such as ultrasound and computed tomography.

An unusual case of diastatic perforation of the transverse colon: Case report and literature review.

Diastatic perforation corresponds to a bursting of the cecal wall caused by excessive distension resulting from a remote obstruction of the low large bowel. This perforation could be explained by Laplace's physical law, and by the particular vascular anatomy of the cecal wall. We report the case of a 75-year-old man admitted for peritonitis with an abdominal CT scan highly suggestive of a diastatic perforation of the cecum complicating colonic distension upstream of a stenosing tumor of the rectosigmoid junction. To our surprise, surgical exploration revealed the defect to be in the transverse colon and not in the cecum. Diastatic perforation of the transverse colon is exceptional, and would require other pathophysiological explanations than those for classical cecal perforation.

Cocaine-Induced Lung Damage and Uncommon Involvement of the Basal Ganglia.

Cocaine use is responsible for multiorgan damage, including the brain and lungs. Bilateral and symmetrical involvement of the basal ganglia may be due to toxic, metabolic, vascular, inflammatory, infectious, or tumoral causes. Cocaine-related encephalopathy mainly affects the white matter, while basal ganglia involvement is an uncommon finding. Cocaine-induced lung damage varies clinically and even radiologically, with signs that lack specificity. The diagnosis of cocaine-induced lung or brain injury is based on suggestive radiological signs in the context of cocaine consumption and after the elimination of other etiologies likely to present the same patterns. The context of cocaine use is often not spontaneously declared, making diagnosis more complicated. We report the case of a 28-year-old male patient, with a history of freebase cocaine use, admitted to the emergency room in severe coma with respiratory distress. Brain MRI showed bilateral and symmetrical abnormalities of the basal ganglia. A chest CT scan revealed interstitial lung damage dominated by the ground-glass pattern. The urine toxicology test was positive for cocaine. Cocaine-related lesions can be reversible, and therapeutic management is essentially based on supportive care.

Cerebral actinomycosis following a facio-cranial trauma: A case report.

Cerebral actinomycosis is a rare, chronic, but curable bacterial brain infection. We report the case of an 18-year-old male patient with a history of facio-cranial trauma, admitted in our institution with severe headaches and behavioral disorders. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was performed showing the presence of contiguous multiple small round and ovoid lesions in the right frontal lobe with "the dot in circle" appearance. The diagnosis of cerebral actinomycosis was confirmed by histological study of the biopsy sample. Despite it being a rare condition, it is important to consider this diagnosis in patients with atypical post-traumatic neurological symptoms.

Case report - Computed tomography diagnosis of an abdominal aortic aneurysm complicated with primary aortoduodenal fistula.

Abdominal aortic aneurysm has been described as a rare condition touching 1% of the population over the age of 50 years with a high percentage of mortality. Aneurysms progress in size, causing deadly complications such as ruptures and fistulas. Computed tomography angiography is considered the gold standard imaging exam for the evaluation of abdominal aortic aneurysms and their complications. We report the case of an elderly patient admitted to the emergency room due to recurrent gastrointestinal bleeding. The computed tomography imaging findings were in favor of an abdominal aortic aneurysm complicated with a primary aortoduodenal fistula.

Moya-Moya Disease Revealed by a Non-lobar Intracerebral Hemorrhage in an Adult.

Moya-Moya disease (MMD) is a rare cerebral vasculopathy affecting children and adults. It is a progressive steno-occlusive arterial disease generally discovered during the etiological assessment of an ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke. Its diagnosis is based essentially on imaging. Cerebral digital subtraction angiography (DSA) remains the gold standard. We report the case of a 42-year-old male patient admitted for the loss of consciousness with a Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) of 12/15. A brain CT scan revealed a right capsulo-lenticular hematoma with ventricular flooding and hydrocephalus. Cerebral CT angiography showed features of Moya-Moya vasculopathy, which was confirmed by a cerebral catheter angiogram.

Ortner's syndrome secondary to a thoracic thrombosed aortic aneurysm: Case report.

Ortner's syndrome refers to vocal cord paralysis resulting from compression of the left recurrent laryngeal nerve by abnormal mediastinal vascular structures. We present a case of an 89-year-old man who was an active smoker, with a clinical history of hypertension, who presented hoarseness of voice with chronic evolution. Neck and Thoracoabdominal CT angiography was performed revealing a thrombosed aneurysm of the aortic arch.

Imaging of a cesarean-scar pregnancy: Case report.

Uterine scar pregnancy is a rare form of ectopic pregnancy that is life-threatening and functionally compromising due to complications such as hemorrhage or early uterine rupture. We report the case of a 41-year-old patient admitted for metrorrhagia at 13 weeks' amenorrhea. Transvaginal ultrasound allowed early diagnosis of pregnancy on uterine scar and MRI-guided therapeutic management indicating hysterectomy. This study and literature review aims to highlight the importance of imaging features in the diagnosis and management of this rare condition, knowledge of which may improve prognosis.

Pneumosinus dilatans with shift of midline intracranial structures: A case report.

Pneumosinus dilatans (PSD) is an abnormal dilatation and enlargement of one or more paranasal sinuses, extending beyond the anatomic bony boundaries, without defect or thinning of its bony walls. It is documented by only a few reports. Usually asymptomatic, it is in general found incidentally on imaging. It is important for radiologists to recognize the diagnosis and rule out eventual associated conditions such as meningiomas, orbital tumors, arachnoid cysts, and fibrous dysplasia. We report the case of PSD diagnosed incidentally in a 51-year-old female patient who presented to the emergency department with confusion.

Miliary brain tuberculomas and tuberculous meningitis presenting with stroke.

Even though it is an uncommon presentation of tuberculosis, tuberculous meningitis is one of the most deadly manifestations. We report a case of a 6-year-old female who presented to the emergency room for left hemiparesis. Cerebral CT and MRI showed a right ischemic stroke with severe leptomeningitis in the medial cranial fossa. Numerous miliary tuberculomas were demonstrated, as well as a moderate hydrocephalus. Lumbar puncture revealed meningitis, and the mycobacterium tuberculosis polymerase chain reaction from CSF was positive. Pulmonary micronodules on chest CT were suggestive of tuberculosis. The clinical and radiological features, as well as the management approaches of this unusual disease complex, are addressed.

Is vestibular schwannoma really a benign tumor? Case report and review.

Introduction: Vestibular schwannoma (VS) is a benign tumor that develops from Schwann cells of the eighth cranial pair, mainly in the cerebellopontine angle. Case Presentation: We report the case of a 30-year-old female patient who developed left otalgia associated with neglected tinnitus, the evolution of which was marked by the development of a static cerebellar syndrome and a behavioral disorder, whose brain MRI revealed a locally advanced process in the cerebellopontine angle at the expense of the vestibulocochlear nerve, in favor of a VS, complicated by involvement of the tonsils, which unfortunately led to the patient's death. Discussion: VS, formerly known as acoustic neuroma, is an extra-axial intracranial tumor that accounts for over 80% of pontocerebellar angle tumors, and is secondary in the majority of cases to inactivation of the neurofibromatosis type 2 (NF2) tumor suppressor gene, either by mutation of the NF2 gene or loss of chromosome 22q. In the majority of cases, it is unilateral and solitary, but in almost 8% of cases, it is associated with NF2. Cerebral MRI is the examination of choice for the detection, characterization, and diagnosis of VS without the need for biopsy, mainly with T1-weighted sequences before and after gadolinium injection. Treatment is based essentially on surgery or radiosurgery, depending on the size, impact, and expertise of the treatment team. Conclusion: VS remains an important intracranial tumor entity, which can be life-threatening in cases of advanced local invasion.

A cerebral lymphoma mimicking a meningioma: case report.

Introduction: Cerebral lymphoma is a rare and aggressive brain tumor. It accounts for 1% of all non-Hodgkin's lymphomas (NHL) and 2% of all brain tumors. Untreated brain lymphoma has a very poor prognosis, with an overall life expectancy of around 1.5 months. Case presentation: The authors report the case of a 35-year-old patient, with no previous pathological history, who presented for 3 weeks with deafness and recently aggravated otalgia. In MRI, brain imaging revealed a formation initially suggestive of an aggressive meningioma, and the histological study of the operative specimen was in favor of a diffuse large-cell non-germ-center B NHL. Clinical discussion: Primary central nervous system lymphoma is an extra-nodal NHL localized to the brain, meninges, spinal cord, and eyes. In 90% of cases, these are diffuse large B-cell lymphomas, the other types being poorly characterized low-grade lymphomas, T-cell lymphomas, and Burkitt's lymphomas. MRI with gadolinium contrast is the gold standard for diagnosis which enhancement is homogeneous and well-limited, frequently associated with perilesional vascular edema. In T2-weighted sequences, there is a weak signal with restricted diffusion on diffusion-weighted imaging. The management of brain lymphoma is currently based on chemotherapy with high-dose methotrexate combined with the other agents, mainly rituximab. Conclusion: Cerebral lymphoma remains a non-negligible entity of central nervous system tumors, which can be confused with several other tumors, mainly glial and meningioma.

Diagnostic criteria for myocarditis on cardiac magnetic resonance imaging: an educational review.

Acute myocarditis represents one of the most mysterious acute cardiovascular diseases due to the great diversity of its clinical presentation, ranging from simple symptoms such as flu-like syndrome to lethal conditions such as cardiogenic shock or sudden cardiac death. The diagnosis will be suspicious in the presence of chest pain in a subject with risk factors, and guided mainly by the ECG, biological markers, trans-thoracic echocardiography, and the cardiac MRI. In this sense, and returning to the pathophysiological bases of this condition, the positive diagnosis will rely mainly on the detection of tissue abnormalities secondary to the myocardial inflammatory storm. Cardiac MRI represents a diagnostic pillar, given the information it can provide, both in analyzing the morphology, and the myocardial function but also tissue abnormalities that represent the main element of the diagnostic criteria of Lake Louisse.

Association between Cowden syndrome and Lhermitte-Duclos disease: A case report of an uncommon Genetic Hamartomatous Disorder.

The dysplastic gangliocytoma of the cerebellum, also known as Lhermitte-Duclos disease, is an uncommon hamartomatous lesion in the posterior fossa with some distinctive neuroradiological characteristics. It can happen in combination with Cowden syndrome or sporadically. Cowden disease, or multiple hamartoma-neoplasia syndrome, is a rare autosomal dominant condition which is characterized by mucocutaneous lesions and systemic malignancies. We present a case of Lhermitte-Duclos disease and Cowden disease occurring in adult patients. The clinical and radiological features as well as the management approaches of this unusual disease complex are addressed.

A report of a rare case of paratesticular spindle cell rhabdomyosarcoma in an adult patient.

Paratesticular embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma is a rare malignancy developed from a mesenchymal tissue of spermatic cord, testicular components. Spindle cell rhabdomyosarcoma (SCR) is a variant of embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma affecting the paratesticular region of adult patients and is even rarer. Given the limited guidelines available to manage SCR and the rarity of reported cases, our report aims to discuss a new case of this entity in a 66-years old Moroccan patient. Paratesticular SCR is a very rare tumor and requires attention from urologists to consider this entity as differential diagnosis when suspecting malignancies in the urogenital region.

Ovarian plasmacytoma: a case report.

Plasmacytomas are a rare spectrum of plasma cell neoplasms that are single localized tumours, lacking the clinical features of plasma cell myeloma with no radiographical evidence of additional plasma cell tumours. Two clinical variants of plasmacytomas can be distinguished: solitary plasmacytoma of bone and extramedullary (or extraosseous) plasmacytoma. The latter is rare, representing 1% of all plasma cell neoplasms, occurring most frequently in the upper airways. Ovarian localization is exceptional, with only a few cases being reported in the literature. We herein report a case of an ovarian extramedullary plasmacytoma occurring in a 56-year-old woman who consulted for abdominal pain and abdominal mass, while highlighting the main histological and immunohistochemical features of this rare malignancy, along with a thorough review of literature gathering all cases of ovarian plasmacytomas reported to date.

Spontaneous gastric perforation in a newborn: About a case.

Spontaneous neonatal gastric perforation is rare. We report a case of a newborn from a pregnancy and birth with no complications, who presented on day 5 of life with sudden severe abdominal distension, and subsequently bilious vomiting. The radiography of the abdomen without preparation showed a massive pneumoperitoneum. The CT scan showed a pneumoperitoneum more accentuated at the supra-mesocolic level with a defect in the anterior wall of the stomach. The laparotomy found a perforation in the anterior gastric wall, which was sutured in one plane. The postoperative course was simple. The evolution of spontaneous gastric perforations in newborns is usually favorable. The key to avoiding complications is obviously to make a good diagnosis and perform the correct surgical treatment as soon as possible.