Emergent pediatric US: what every radiologist should know.

Appendicitis, intussusception, and hypertrophic pyloric stenosis (HPS) are three of the most common reasons for emergent abdominal imaging in pediatric patients. Although the use of computed tomography has risen dramatically over the past 2 decades, children are particularly at risk for the adverse effects of ionizing radiation, and even low-dose radiation is associated with a small but significant increase in lifetime risk of fatal cancer. In most emergency departments, the use of magnetic resonance (MR) imaging as a primary modality for the evaluation of a child with abdominal pain remains impractical due to its high cost, its limited availability, and the frequent need for sedation. Ultrasonography (US) does not involve ionizing radiation and, unlike MR imaging, is relatively inexpensive, is widely available, and does not require sedation. Another major advantage of US in abdominal imaging is that it allows dynamic assessment of bowel peristalsis and compressibility. Delayed diagnosis of any of the aforementioned disease processes can lead to serious morbidity and, in some cases, death. The ability to diagnose or exclude disease with US should be part of a core radiology skill set for any practice that includes a pediatric population.

Incorporation of a formalized emergency radiology curriculum to facilitate population of a MIRC-based digital teaching file.

Teaching files are integral to radiological training. Digital Imaging and Communication in Medicine compatible digital radiological data and technological advances have made digital teaching files a desirable way to preserve and share representative and/or unusual cases for training purposes. The Medical Imaging Resource Community (MIRC) system developed by the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) is a robust multi-platform digital teaching file implementation that is freely available. An emergency radiology training curriculum developed by the American Society of Emergency Radiology (ASER) was incorporated to determine if such an approach might facilitate the entry, maintenance, and cataloguing of interesting cases. The RSNA MIRC software was obtained from the main MIRC website and installed. A coding system was developed based on the outline form of the ASER curriculum. Weekly reports were generated tallying the number of cases in each category of the curriculum. Resident participation in the entry and maintenance of cases markedly increased after incorporation of the ASER curriculum. The coding schema facilitated progress assessment. Ultimately, 454 total cases were entered into the MIRC database, representing at least 42% of the subcategories within the ASER curriculum (161 out of 376). The incorporation of the ASER emergency radiology curriculum greatly facilitated the location, cataloguing, tracking, and maintenance of representative cases and served as an effective means by which to unify the efforts of the department to develop a comprehensive teaching resource within this subspecialty. This approach and format will be extended to other educational curricula in other radiological subspecialties.

Helicobacter pylori associated gastric Burkitt lymphoma.

Chronic Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection has been linked to lymphoma of gastric mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT), a tumor that is typically localized at presentation. Sporadic Burkitt lymphoma (BL) frequently presents as an abdominal mass. However, primary gastric BL is unusual and the role of H. pylori in its pathogenesis is unclear. We describe a 12 year old with localized gastric BL and concurrent H. pylori infection. In this report, we discuss the potential association between H. pylori and gastric BL and also highlight certain similarities between gastric MALT lymphomas and BL arising in the stomach.

Prostaglandin inhibitors in the treatment of single-system Langerhans cell histiocytosis: pharmacologic rationale and report of two cases.

Therapeutic trials have confirmed the efficacy of a number of approaches to the treatment of single-system Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH). Not so well studied, but with some pharmacologic rationale and anecdotal reports of clinical success, are prostaglandin inhibitors. We present here a review of the possible mechanism of action of prostaglandin inhibitors in LCH and 2 cases of single-organ, single-site LCH treated with only prostaglandin inhibitors, both with sustained favorable clinical outcomes.

Neonatal neurosonography.

Neonatal neurosonography is used commonly to evaluate the central nervous system in the neonatal intensive care setting. The procedure can be performed at the bedside in these critically ill patients who may suffer from hemodynamic and thermoregulatory instability and often require mechanical ventilation. This article reviews current recommendations regarding neurosonography technique, pathophysiology, and imaging of intracranial insults including hemorrhage, white matter injury, infarction, and hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy.

Pectus excavatum: current imaging techniques and opportunities for dose reduction.

Pectus excavatum (PE) is the most common congenital chest wall deformity in children. It affects 1 in every 300-1000 live births with a male to female ratio of 5:1. Most of the patients present in their first year of life. During the teenage years, patients may have exercise intolerance and psychological strain because of their chest wall deformity. The Nuss and Ravitch procedures are established methods of surgical correction of PE. An index of severity known best as the Haller index, typically evaluated with computed tomography scan, when measuring greater than 3.2 is considered to indicate moderate or severe PE and is a prerequisite for third-party insurance reimbursement for these corrective procedures. This article reviews the clinical features of PE, the role of imaging, and the opportunities for radiation dose reduction.

Magnetic resonance imaging of the fetal central nervous system, head, neck, and chest.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has become an important tool in the assessment of fetal anomalies. Although ultrasound remains the modality of choice for screening, MRI offers several advantages that permit optimal characterization of anomalies in certain situations. Accurate recognition and characterization of fetal anomalies guides decisions about pregnancy management and coordination of postnatal care. This article will briefly review safety and practical aspects of fetal MRI. We will then provide a concise summary of the most common indications for fetal MRI, and discuss the differential diagnosis and role of MRI in assessment of fetal brain, head, neck, spine, and chest anomalies.

The fetal magnetic resonance imaging experience in a large community medical center.

Fetal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) continues to prove a useful problem solving tool for diagnostic and management decision making issues encountered in the antenatal period. In this paper, we attempt to review basic fetal MRI protocol considerations and demonstrate key imaging findings through multiple modalities, with pathologic correlation in several cases. A study of five fetal MRI cases, from our institution, were selected in order to highlight both the indications for, and benefits obtained from this advanced imaging technique. Fetal MRI proved useful in each case in better defining fetal anomalies, especially where ultrasound (due to drawbacks such as shadowing by pelvic bones) was unable to be completely diagnostic. The more in-depth study made possible by MRI also helped with formulation of disease prognosis and estimation of survival chances of the fetus. Further, MRI as a diagnostic and prognostic tool has become more ubiquitous across the medical community. This imparts tangible benefit to patients, who are now able to find this service within arm's reach. Whereas previously these patients were obligatorily referred up to 90 miles away from our centre for further medical work-up, now a large percentage can obtain their prenatal imaging and perinatal care locally. In addition, medical education benefits as new types of cases, those with pathology of the antenatal period, are retained for work-up and management in these large community settings. Cases from our institution exemplify these types of pathologies, from fetal chest masses to a syndromic presentation of bilateral renal agenesis.