Peritoneal Malignancy in Children: A Pictorial Review.

Peritoneal malignancies are a rare occurrence in children, often metastatic and rarely originating primarily in the peritoneum. The imaging findings of these entities in the pediatric age have not been recently reviewed or they have been previously described or depicted mostly as part of articles discussing each entity separately. This is a review of the most relevant peritoneal malignancies in childhood emphasizing imaging features. Knowledge of these appearances may facilitate diagnosis and staging of these neoplasms.

Global suppression of electrocortical activity in unilateral perinatal thalamic stroke.

We present an unusual case of persistent generalized electroencephalography (EEG) suppression and right-sided clonic seizures in a male infant born at 40(+2) weeks' gestation, birthweight 3240g, with an isolated unilateral thalamic stroke. The EEG at 13 hours after birth showed a generalized very low amplitude background pattern, which progressed to frequent electrographic seizures over the left hemisphere. The interictal background EEG pattern remained grossly abnormal over the next 48 hours, showing very low background amplitudes (<10µV). Magnetic resonance imaging revealed an isolated acute left-sided thalamic infarction. This is the first description of severe global EEG suppression caused by an isolated unilateral thalamic stroke and supports the role of the thalamus as the control centre for cortical electrical activity.

Early continuous video electroencephalography in neonatal stroke.

Perinatal stroke is the second most common cause of neonatal seizures, and can result in long-term neurological impairment. Diagnosis is often delayed until after seizure onset, owing to the subtle nature of associated signs. We report the early electroencephalographic (EEG) findings in a female infant with a perinatal infarction, born at 41 weeks 2 days and weighing 3.42 kg. Before the onset of seizures, the EEG from 3 hours after delivery demonstrated occasional focal sharp waves over the affected region. After electroclinical seizures, focal sharp waves became more frequent, complex, and of higher amplitude, particularly in 'quiet sleep'. In 'active sleep', sharp waves often disappeared. Diffusion-weighted imaging confirmed the infarct, demonstrating left frontal and parietal diffusion restriction. At 9 months, the infant has had no further seizures, and neurological examination is normal. To our knowledge, this report is the first to describe the EEG findings in perinatal stroke before seizures, and highlights the evolution of characteristic background EEG features.

Risk factors, complications, and outcomes of gallstones in children: a single-center review.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: The increasing use of sonography has resulted in an increase in the proportion of children with gallstones who are asymptomatic at the time of diagnosis. In adults, the literature supports expectant management of clinically silent gallstones. The evidence for this management approach in children is limited to a number of small series. Our objective was to review the risk factors, complications, and outcomes of gallstones at our institution, particularly in those patients who are asymptomatic at the time of initial diagnosis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We reviewed 382 cases of gallstones in children. These patients were diagnosed with sonography. Data on age at diagnosis, presentation, sonographic findings, risk factors, complications, surgery, and follow-up were collected. A chi2 test was used to compare the complication rates between symptomatic and asymptomatic groups. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the sample. RESULTS: At diagnosis, 50.5% of children were asymptomatic; these patients were diagnosed at a mean age of 8.23 years. Compared with symptomatic patients, they were less likely to have a hemolytic anemia but more likely to have other risk factors, including cardiac surgery, leukemia and lymphoma, short bowel syndrome, or exposure to total parenteral nutrition or cephalosporins. These patients had a lower rate of complications than the symptomatic patients (4.6% vs 28.2% of symptomatic, P < 0.0001) and only 3.1% developed symptoms that necessitated surgery (vs 59.0% of symptomatic). Of the 58 (15.1%) diagnosed in infancy, 47 (81.0%) were asymptomatic. The infant group also had low rates of complications (8.6%) and cholecystectomy (1.7%). In cases with sonographic follow-up, resolution of gallstones was demonstrated in 16.5% of asymptomatic patients and in 34.1% of infants. CONCLUSIONS: The data suggest that clinically silent gallstones in children and infants are associated with low rates of complications and can be managed conservatively, unless complications occur. Patients with sickle cell disease, spherocytosis, and elliptocytosis had high complication rates and required surgery more often.

Symptomatic caval penetration by a Celect inferior vena cava filter.

We report a case of penetration of the inferior vena cava (IVC) by all four primary struts of a Celect caval filter in a 17-year-old girl with Klippel-Trénaunay syndrome. The girl presented with acute lower abdominal and right leg pain 17 days after filter insertion. An abdominal radiograph demonstrated that the filter had moved caudally and that the primary struts had splayed considerably since insertion. Contrast-enhanced CT confirmed that all four primary struts had penetrated the IVC wall. There was a small amount of retroperitoneal hemorrhage. The surrounding vessels and viscera were intact. The filter was subsequently retrieved without complication.

Delayed, life-threatening lower gastrointestinal hemorrhage in an infant after serial transverse enteroplasty: treatment with transcatheter n-butyl-2-cyanoacrylate embolization.

We report a case of n-butyl-2-cyanoacrylate glue embolization of life-threatening lower gastrointestinal (LGI) hemorrhage in a 10-month-old boy. The child had a history of gastroschisis and short-bowel syndrome. Six months prior to the LGI bleed, he had undergone a serial transverse enteroplasty (STEP) to lengthen his intestine. To the best of our knowledge this is both the first report of successful glue embolization for LGI bleeding in a child and also the first report of severe hemorrhage after the STEP procedure.

Early postnatal EEG features of perinatal arterial ischaemic stroke with seizures.

BACKGROUND: Stroke is the second most common cause of seizures in term neonates and is associated with abnormal long-term neurodevelopmental outcome in some cases. OBJECTIVE: To aid diagnosis earlier in the postnatal period, our aim was to describe the characteristic EEG patterns in term neonates with perinatal arterial ischaemic stroke (PAIS) seizures. DESIGN: Retrospective observational study. PATIENTS: Neonates >37 weeks born between 2003 and 2011 in two hospitals. METHOD: Continuous multichannel video-EEG was used to analyze the background patterns and characteristics of seizures. Each EEG was assessed for continuity, symmetry, characteristic features and sleep cycling; morphology of electrographic seizures was also examined. Each seizure was categorized as electrographic-only or electroclinical; the percentage of seizure events for each seizure type was also summarized. RESULTS: Nine neonates with PAIS seizures and EEG monitoring were identified. While EEG continuity was present in all cases, the background pattern showed suppression over the infarcted side; this was quite marked (>50% amplitude reduction) when the lesion was large. Characteristic unilateral bursts of theta activity with sharp or spike waves intermixed were seen in all cases. Sleep cycling was generally present but was more disturbed over the infarcted side. Seizures demonstrated a characteristic pattern; focal sharp waves/spike-polyspikes were seen at frequency of 1-2 Hz and phase reversal over the central region was common. Electrographic-only seizure events were more frequent compared to electroclinical seizure events (78 vs 22%). CONCLUSIONS: Focal electrographic and electroclinical seizures with ipsilateral suppression of the background activity and focal sharp waves are strong indicators of PAIS. Approximately 80% of seizure events were the result of clinically unsuspected seizures in neonates with PAIS. Prolonged and continuous multichannel video-EEG monitoring is advocated for adequate seizure surveillance.

Idiopathic suppurative pylephlebitis: interventional radiological diagnosis and management.

We report the imaging findings and management of a case of suppurative pylephlebitis of unknown cause in a 10-year-old girl. Percutaneous aspiration of frank pus from the portal vein confirmed the diagnosis and contributed to therapy. Percutaneous transhepatic thrombolysis was attempted but was unsuccessful. Because of the nonspecific presentation of this condition and the lack of familiarity of physicians with this entity, the diagnosis is often delayed. Our aim is to increase the awareness of this entity and stress the importance of early diagnosis and appropriate therapy.

Imaging findings in right-sided diverticulitis in a child.

We report the imaging findings in a case of acute right-sided diverticulitis in a 13-year-old boy. Based on this diagnosis the patient was successfully treated conservatively with intravenous antibiotics. This entity should be considered in patients with right lower quadrant pain and a sonographically normal appendix, particularly in those of Asian or Pacific descent.