Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to C J Sivit.
We report a child who developed a hepatic artery pseudoaneurysm following blunt hepatic injury. This is a rare complication of hepatic trauma in children. The imaging evaluation and clinical management of hepatic artery pseudoaneurysms are presented.
In summary, sonography is the primary modality for evaluating children with acute right lower quadrant pain. Sonography is particularly useful in the evaluation of children with suspected appendicitis in whom the clinical findings are equivocal, and in the evaluation of female children with suspected pelvic pathology. Findings at sonography should not supersede clinical judgement in patients who are believed to be at high clinical risk of having appendicitis on the basis of clinical signs and symptoms. Abdominal radiographs are helpful primarily if small bowel obstruction or perforation is suspected; CT is useful for evaluating complications of appendicitis and evaluating the postoperative patient.
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OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of CT on operative management of children examined after blunt abdominal trauma. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Fifteen-hundred consecutive children who sustained blunt abdominal trauma were prospectively examined with CT. CT findings and the decision for operative or nonoperative management were recorded prospectively. In the children who underwent laparotomy, indications for operative intervention as determined by the attending trauma surgeon and surgical findings were also recorded. RESULTS: Three hundred eighty-eight (26%) of the CT scans had abnormal findings: solid viscus injury, 286; other CT abnormality, 102. Twenty (7%) of 286 children with a solid viscus injury and 25 (83%) of 30 children with a hollow viscus injury underwent therapeutic laparotomy. Abnormalities seen on CT were noted in all 20 children with solid viscus injury and 24 of 25 children with hollow viscus injury who underwent therapeutic laparotomy. The decision for laparotomy was based on CT findings in five (25%) of 20 children with solid viscus injury and 17 (68%) of 25 children with hollow viscus injury. Eleven hundred twelve children (74%) had normal findings on CT. Only one of these children later required laparotomy. CONCLUSION: CT rarely influenced the decision for operative intervention in children who sustained blunt abdominal trauma. CT findings affected the decision for operative intervention in most children with hollow viscus injury; however, CT findings affected such a decision in only a small subset of children with solid viscus injury. Normal abdominal CT findings strongly predicted a lack of subsequent deterioration requiring operative intervention.
Sonography and CT scan remain the examinations of choice for evaluating pancreatic diseases. This article addresses the clinical and imaging features of the two most important pancreatic emergencies: (1) pancreatitis and (2) trauma. The rationale for selecting sonography or CT scan is also addressed.
Gastrointestinal tract emergencies in older infants include traumatic and nontraumatic conditions. The imaging evaluation of these conditions strongly affects diagnosis and management. This article provides a clinical overview and reviews the rationale for imaging and important imaging features of these gastrointestinal tract emergencies.
Niemann-Pick disease (NPD) is a metabolic disease in which cirrhosis is relatively common; however, there is no known association of NPD with hepatocellular carcinoma. We present a case of metastatic, multifocal hepatocellular carcinoma in a 4-year-old boy with NPD and onset of cirrhosis in infancy.
This study was designed to evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of abdominal ultrasonography as a diagnostic modality in a large series of children who presented with possible appendicitis. From August 1990 to July 1994, 452 children (203 boys, 249 girls) with an average age of 11 years (range, 1 to 20 years) underwent graded compression ultrasonography of the right lower quadrant of the abdomen for the evaluation of possible appendicitis. In the first 18 months of the study all patients with the possible diagnosis of appendicitis (group I; 180 patients) had abdominal ultrasonography after members of the surgical team evaluated and documented their findings in the medical record. In the second study period (30 months), abdominal ultrasonography was recommended only when the clinical diagnosis of acute appendicitis was equivocal (group II; 272 patients). Abdominal ultrasonography was performed using the graded compression technique with a 5.0-MHz linear array transducer. A positive ultrasound study for appendicitis was defined as the presence of an enlarged noncompressible appendix with an outer wall to outer wall diameter of greater than 6 mm, the presence of a complex mass, or the presence of an appendicolith. The sonographic data were correlated with surgical and pathological findings. Appendicitis was confirmed in 112 of the 452 cases. In 17 of these, the appendix was perforated. In the overall group of 452 children, abdominal ultrasonography had a sensitivity of 90%, specificity of 96%, and accuracy of 95%. There was no significant morbidity in the 11 patients with a false-negative study result. All 11 patients had an uncomplicated appendectomy. There were 11 false-positive results; 10 of these patients had a negative laparotomy result (negative laparatomy rate, 8.9%). For the two groups, the sensitivity and specificity of ultrasonography in the diagnosis of appendicitis were equivalent (group 1: 88% sensitivity, 96% specificity; group 2: 92% sensitivity, 97% specificity). On the basis of the high sensitivity and specificity rates, ultrasonography of the appendix can be a useful adjunct to standard examination in the diagnosis of acute appendicitis.
OBJECTIVE: The authors assessed the risks of nonoperative management of solid visceral injuries in children (age range, 4 months-14 years) who were consecutively admitted to a level I pediatric trauma center during a 6-year period ending in 1991. METHOD: One hundred seventy-nine children (5.0%) sustained injury to the liver or spleen. Nineteen children (11.2%) died. Of the 160 children who survived, 4 received emergency laparotomies; 156 underwent diagnostic computer tomography and were managed nonoperatively. The percentage of children who were successfully treated nonoperatively was 97.4%. Delayed diagnosis of enteric perforations occurred in two children. Fifty-three children (34.0%) received transfusions (mean volume 16.7 mL/kg); however, transfusion rates during the latter half of the study decreased from 50% to 19% in children with hepatic injuries, despite increasing grade of injury, and decreased from 57% to 23% in the splenic group with similar injury grade (p < 0.005, chi square test and Student's t test). CONCLUSION: Pediatric blunt hepatic and splenic trauma is associated with significant mortality. Nonoperative management based on physiologic parameters, rather than on computed tomography grading of organ injury, was highly successful, with few missed injuries and a low transfusion rate.
The peritoneal cavity and its specialized folds, the mesentery and omentum, are often involved in infectious, neoplastic, and traumatic conditions. Abnormalities in the development of these structures may also result in pathologic conditions. CT scans are often the modality of choice for evaluation of many of these entities. The following discussion reviews the normal anatomy and the CT features of disease processes that involve the peritoneal cavity, mesentery, and omentum in children. Identification and characterization of these pathologic conditions depend on knowledge of the normal appearance of the peritoneal cavity and its specialized folds and familiarity with the anatomic pathways for spread of disease.
The purpose of this report is to compare a computed tomography (CT) injury severity scale for hepatic and splenic injury with the following outcome measures: requirement for surgical hemostasis, requirement for blood transfusion and late complications. Sixty-nine children with isolated hepatic injury and 53 with isolated splenic injury were prospectively classified at CT according to extent of parenchymal involvement. Clinical records were reviewed to determine clinical outcome. Ninety-seven children (80%) were managed non-operatively without transfusion. One child with hepatic injury required surgical hemostasis, and 17 (25%) required transfusion of blood. Increasing severity of hepatic injury at CT was associated with progressively greater frequency of transfusion (P = 0.002 by chi 2-test). One child with splenic injury underwent surgery and eight (15%) required transfusion of blood. Splenic injury grade at CT did not correlate with frequency (P = 0.41 by chi 2-test) or amount (P = 0.35 by factorial analysis of variance) of transfusion. There was one late complication in the nonsurgical group. A majority of children with hepatic and splenic injury were managed non-operatively without requiring blood transfusion. The severity of injury by CT scan did not correlate with need for surgery. Increasing grade of hepatic injury at CT was associated with increasing frequency of blood transfusion. CT staging was not discriminatory in predicting transfusion requirement in splenic injury.
Over the past decade CT scanning has become generally accepted in North America as the diagnostic modality of choice for the evaluation of abdominal injury in children following blunt trauma [1-5]. Recently, there has been increasing interest in the use of sonography as the primary screening examination in this area. Initial studies utilizing sonography in the evaluation of trauma patients focused primarily on identifying hemoperitoneum in adults [6-8]. More recent studies have also attempted to evaluate the accuracy of sonography for the diagnosis of solid viscus injury [9-14]. Filiatraut and colleagues recently reported a long and successful experience using sonography for the investigation of blunt abdominal trauma in children [12]. Their work in this area should be applauded. However, whether widespread application of this modality can be successful remains uncertain. In the space below a critical evaluation of sonography and CT in the assessment of injured children is presented.
This report aims to provide a description of the spectrum of radiographic findings in children with AIDS and Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP). The chest radiographs of all children with perinatally transmitted HIV infection who had PCP were reviewed. Thirty-eight episodes of PCP were noted in 32 children. The age range was 2-17 months. The radiographic findings were characterized as to pattern, severity, presence of pulmonary air cyst, thoracic air leak, thoracic lymphadenopathy, and pleural effusion. The initial distribution of disease was as follows: diffuse (n = 20), patchy (n = 12), focal (n = 4), normal (n = 2). In nearly one-third of children parenchymal abnormalities were mild enough that most normal lung markings were visible. During the course of the illness pneumothorax was noted in eight cases, pulmonary air cyst in five, and pneumomediastinum in one. Pleural effusions were noted in three (5%) cases. Thoracic lymphadenopathy was not observed in any case. The authors concluded that the initial chest radiographic appearance of PCP in children with AIDS is variable. The initial chest radiograph may be normal. The distribution was patchy or focal in nearly one-half of all cases with parenchymal abnormalities. Pulmonary air cysts or thoracic air leaks were noted during the course of the illness in approximately one-third of all cases.
Clinical data and computed tomographic (CT) scans for 1,486 children evaluated after blunt abdominal trauma were reviewed to determine whether peritoneal fluid is a reliable indicator of the presence and severity of associated intraabdominal injury and the need for laparotomy. The CT scans were assessed for presence, location, and severity of intraabdominal injury, and amount of peritoneal fluid. Type of management (surgical or nonsurgical), indications for surgical management, overall hospital course, and clinical outcome were recorded at the time of discharge. Of the 326 children with abdominal injuries detected by CT, 121 (37%) had no associated peritoneal fluid collections. Eighteen (15%) of these children had injury to more than one abdominal organ. Splenic injuries by CT criteria were more severe in children with associated peritoneal fluid than in those with no associated fluid (P < .003). There were no significant differences in CT grading of liver and renal injuries among those with and without associated peritoneal fluid (P > .67). Two hundred fifty-nine (17%) of the 1,486 children had peritoneal fluid demonstrated by CT. Eighty percent of these children had concomitant intraabdominal injury. Associated injuries included solid organ injuries (in 68% of patients) hollow viscus or mesenteric injury (11%), isolated pelvic fracture (4%), and hypoperfusion syndrome (5%). Thirty-one patients (12%) had injury to more than one abdominal organ. Only 27 (11%) patients had small "unexplained" collections of peritoneal fluid in which no associated injury was detected through CT or clinical follow-up. The authors conclude that (1) solid organ injury is frequently present in the absence of peritoneal fluid, and (2) the identification of peritoneal fluid after blunt trauma should lead one to suspect that a specific intraabdominal injury is the cause of the fluid.
OBJECTIVE: To compare the incidence of and factors associated with vascular thrombosis after placement of heparin-bonded and standard femoral venous catheters. DESIGN: Prospective, masked, clinical study. SETTING: Multidisciplinary, tertiary, pediatric intensive care unit. PATIENTS: Consecutive cases (n = 50) of critically ill children admitted to a pediatric intensive care unit in whom either a heparin-bonded (n = 25) or a standard (n = 25) femoral venous catheter was placed. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Patients were examined by ultrasonography within 3 days of catheter insertion, weekly while the catheter was in place, and after catheter removal for evidence of vascular thrombosis. Data were collected prospectively regarding clinical evidence of catheter thrombosis, infusate composition, and positive blood culture results. Of 50 patients, 13 (26%) had thrombotic complications, 11 (44%) of the 25 patients in the standard-catheter group, in comparison with 2 (8%) of the 25 patients in the heparin-bonded catheter group (p = 0.004). In addition, there was a significantly higher incidence of positive blood culture results among patients in the standard-catheter group (24% vs 0%; p = 0.009). Positive catheter blood culture results were obtained in 38% of patients with thrombosis versus 3% without thrombosis (p = 0.001). Clinical evidence of thrombosis was found in 69% of patients with, versus 27% of patients without, ultrasound-proved thrombosis (p = 0.007). CONCLUSION: Heparin bonding of catheters is associated with significantly fewer thrombotic complications. A reduced incidence of positive catheter-related blood culture results may be associated with the absence of thrombosis.
Primary abnormalities of the peritoneum are rare in children. However, there is frequent secondary involvement of the peritoneal cavity and its specialized folds, the mesentery and omentum, in the presence of infectious, neoplastic, and traumatic conditions that originate at other sites in the abdomen or pelvis. Computed tomography (CT) is usually the modality of choice for evaluation of complex abdominal or pelvic pathologic conditions. Peritoneal cavity abnormalities include peritoneal fluid, pneumoperitoneum, and hemoperitoneum; peritoneal abscesses and peritonitis; metastases; and bladder or bowel rupture and solid organ injury. Mesenteric and omental abnormalities include an increase in or infiltration of mesenteric and omental fat; mesenteric lymphadenitis; mid-gut malrotation and bowel herniation; a variety of infections; metastases, lymphoma, and lymphangioma; and mesenteric injury. Knowledge of the spectrum of abnormalities that involve the mesentery, omentum, and peritoneal cavity and the characteristic CT appearances of these abnormalities is essential for improved diagnosis of these conditions.