Musculoskeletal case of the day.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to D L Day.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
The CT findings in the abdomen after liver transplantation as seen on 72 examinations in 23 allograft recipients are described. CT was most useful in the evaluation of the gross structural integrity of the allograft and in the detection of extrahepatic fluid collections. Low-density foci within the allograft parenchyma were seen in 10 patients (43%) and were associated with infarction and necrosis, infection, malignancy, and rejection. Localized extrahepatic fluid collections (hematomas, bilomas, and seromas) were present in 16 patients (70%); four of the focal fluid collections detected by CT were infected. Since the nature of these fluid collections could not always be determined by CT characteristics, fine-needle aspiration was sometimes required for a specific diagnosis. Prominence of the portal structures was associated with previous or ongoing episodes of rejection in eight of nine patients, likely reflecting increased resistance to portal flow. CT occasionally showed low, dense, and calcified thrombi in the donor aorta and inferior vena cava. CT also showed biliary obstruction in four patients (17%) without identifying its cause. CT is a noninvasive means of imaging the hepatic allograft recipient; providing data on the hepatic parenchyma, vasculature, and biliary system; and identifying the presence of intraabdominal fluid.
Hepatic transplantation was performed in 46 patients over a 2-year period at the University of Minnesota. Thirty-six of these patients subsequently underwent 166 sonographic examinations of the upper abdomen. Forty-three examinations were performed within 2 weeks of transplantation, 47 between 2 and 8 weeks after transplantation, and 76 more than 8 weeks after transplantation. The sonograms were reviewed retrospectively and correlated with the available clinical and histopathologic data. Diffuse, nonspecific parenchymal abnormalities were seen in 27 patients. Focal regions of parenchymal abnormality seen in four patients were associated with abscess and infarction. Moderate to severe biliary dilatation was seen in seven patients with biliary obstruction diagnosed by percutaneous or T-tube cholangiography. Obstruction was seen most commonly in children who had undergone cholecystojejunostomy biliary reconstruction, and it required radiologic or surgical intervention. Routine sonographic assessment of the upper abdominal vasculature showed thrombosis of the portal vein in two cases, thrombosis of the inferior vena cava in one case, thrombosis of the donor aorta in three cases. Focal intraabdominal fluid collections were identified in 14 patients and represented hematomas in all but one. Free peritoneal fluid was detected in 19 patients. Sonography was used to guide percutaneous aspiration of abdominal fluid and to guide fine-needle puncture for percutaneous transhepatic cholangiography. Upper abdominal sonography provides a noninvasive means of evaluating and confirming a wide spectrum of complications that can follow hepatic transplantation. Because clinical and laboratory findings often are nonspecific in these patients, sonographic detection of focal parenchymal abnormalities, biliary dilatation, and vascular compromise is especially valuable.
Hereditary tyrosinemia is an autosomal recessive, enzymatic disorder that results in micro- and macronodular cirrhosis in early childhood. Hepatocellular carcinoma occurs in approximately one-third of affected children. We evaluated the imaging studies performed in five children with this disorder. Pathologic examination of all five of the livers revealed cirrhosis and multiple regenerating nodules; hepatocellular carcinoma was present in two of the five livers. All five patients had high-attenuation or high- and low-attenuation foci within the liver. These high-attenuation foci were not apparent as focal lesions in three of four hepatic sonograms or in one of two hepatic nuclear scans. Angiography showed tumor vascularity in one patient with a focal hepatocellular carcinoma, but was indeterminate in a second patient with severe cirrhosis and multifocal hepatocellular carcinoma. Children with cirrhosis due to tyrosinemia may develop regenerating nodules that appear as high-attenuation hepatic foci on CT scans. It is difficult to differentiate regenerating nodules from multifocal hepatocellular carcinoma in these patients.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Ultrasound and computed tomography are very useful in the diagnosis of parenchymal and urologic abnormalities after renal transplantation. The increased use of Doppler duplex sonography will further enhance the role of ultrasound in the evaluation of patients with kidney transplants. Computed tomography is of particular value in the setting of suspected posttransplant malignancy. Both imaging techniques can be used to guide diagnostic and therapeutic interventional radiologic procedures.
Experience with MRI in transplant patients is limited. The normal transplant kidney is characterized by a sharply defined corticomedullary border on T1 weighted images. Loss of CMC is seen in transplant rejection and in some patients with ATN. Presence of CMC does not rule out rejection, however. The spectrum of changes in cyclosporine toxicity is unclear, as only a few patients have been reported. For heart, liver, and pancreas transplantation magnetic resonance spectroscopy and imaging may prove useful in the evaluation of organ viability preoperatively and in early detection of rejection. Carefully designed prospective studies are needed to better define the role of MRI in organ transplantation.
Ultrasound and CT are valuable in the non-invasive evaluation of complications of hepatic transplantation. Ultrasound is particularly helpful in detecting biliary obstruction and in documenting vascular patency. As with renal transplantation, the value of US in the assessment of rejection will likely increase with time. Computed tomography is most valuable in identifying large parenchymal abnormalities and abdominal fluid. Both US and CT can be used to guide diagnostic and therapeutic percutaneous procedures in hepatic transplant recipients.
A premature infant with arachnodactyly and congenital cyanotic heart disease had severe pulmonary emphysema, a little-known manifestation of Marfan syndrome. The possible etiologies of emphysema in this syndrome are discussed.
Three cases of abdominal inflammatory pseudotumor or inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor of the small intestinal mesentery are presented with additional examples from the literature. An abdominal mass was detected in three preadolescent children who presented with fever, growth failure, hypochromic anemia, thrombocytosis and polyclonal hypergammaglobulinemia. The radiographic findings confirmed the presence of a mass. Following surgical resection, the systemic manifestations dramatically resolved. The solid mesenteric mass was composed of spindle cells with the features of myofibroblasts and mature plasma cells and small lymphocytes. Clinical follow-up confirmed the benign nature of this lesion with no signs of recurrence in any patient from 3 to 6 years after the initial surgery.
Primary hyperoxaluria is a rare metabolic disorder characterized by excessive synthesis and urinary excretion of oxalate. Nephrocalcinosis with or without calcium oxalate nephrolithiasis leads to renal failure in infancy through young adulthood. Oxalosis is the condition in which the highly insoluble calcium oxalate crystals are deposited in extrarenal tissues including bone, blood vessels, heart, and the male urogenital system. The radiographic abnormalities in 14 patients with primary hyperoxaluria are described. These abnormalities include nephrolithiasis, nephrocalcinosis, dense vascular calcifications, abnormal bone density, and characteristic metaphyseal abnormalities. Changes of renal osteodystrophy and pathologic fractures are common. Radiographic bone abnormalities are dependent on the age of the patient when renal failure occurred and the degree of success of renal transplantation. Characteristic skeletal changes are present in six of seven patients who developed renal failure when less than 7 years of age.
Nine pediatric liver transplant candidates underwent preoperative MR evaluation of the portal vein and the inferior vena cava. Sonographic correlation was available in all patients and angiographic correlation was available in five. Pathologic correlation was obtained in seven cases either at liver transplantation or autopsy. MR demonstrated portal vein patency in three cases when it was not seen by angiography and confirmed portal vein patency in one patient when it was questionably identified on sonography. The portal vein was not seen on MR imaging in two cases when it was seen on sonography and angiography: in one case, it was small and to-and-fro flow was demonstrated angiographically; in the second case, the portal vein was occluded by tumor thrombus. Two vessels in two patients were misidentified by sonography and identified correctly by MR. These were an azygous continuation of the inferior vena cava and a large collateral vein in the portal region. Knowledge of the anatomy and documentation of vascular patency are essential in evaluation of patients before liver transplantation. In patients with complex anatomy or hemodynamics, it may be necessary to obtain this information from several imaging techniques (sonography, angiography, and MR).
The use of a nursing-workload-index indicator generated by the Medicus patient classification system was explored as a means of simplifying and validating a manual pharmacy-workload-reporting system. The pharmacy department of this 290-bed hospital monitors 14 activities in its productivity-measurement process. In an effort to validate this process, a 20-week study was conducted to evaluate the relationship between the nursing-workload-index data and the number of hours required to provide pharmaceutical services. Number of patient days and the nursing index were compared with respect to their reliability in predicting pharmacy workload. A significant correlation was found between the nursing index and the number of hours earned for pharmacy activities (with or without hours earned for processing admissions and discharges). Significant correlations were also found when the patient-days indicator was used, but those relationships were not as strong. The nursing-workload-index indicator studied was useful in validating the workload data generated by the pharmacy department.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Extravasation from unused bladders in three children during the voiding phase of voiding cystourethrography is described. In these cases, extravasation was not a clinically significant problem and did not indicate irreversible nondistensibility of the small-capacity bladders.
Preoperative localization of the aortic arch is important in infants with esophageal atresia to prevent morbidity and death from an ipsilateral surgical approach. Computed tomography is an accurate, noninvasive technique for determining the position of the aortic arch.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.