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Biomedical subjects

P Pavlica

Publications and source records attributed to P Pavlica.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2005

Nonspecific granulomatous prostatitis.

Nonspecific granulomatous prostatitis (NSGP) is a relatively uncommon type of chronic inflammation of the prostate, frequently mistaken for carcinoma on digital rectal examination, trans-rectal ultrasound (TRUS) and serum PSA test. It is presently the most frequent variety of granulomatous prostatitis observed at histological examination. The present study reviews the trans-rectal US results and serum PSA levels of 20 patients with biopsy-proven NSGP. Physical findings, laboratory data and US indicated malignancy in all cases. Sonographically (TRUS), the lesions appeared as single or multiple hypoechoic nodules, mainly localised in the peripheral zone of the gland, mimicking carcinoma. Mean serum PSA values were 13.3 ng/ml (range from 3.5 to 34 ng/ml), and only one patient had a value lower than 4 ng/ml. A sufficiently long period of follow-up (mean 19 months; range from 7 to 48 months) with TRUS and PSA was only possible in 11/20 patients. In 8/11 cases, serum PSA returned within normal range, and in 5/11 patients the US features slowly resolved, the hypoechoic nodules disappearing. Final diagnosis can only be obtained by prostatic biopsy. Several questions remain unanswered regarding the relationship between chronic prostatitis and prostatic carcinoma, natural history, the need for specific therapy and also the follow-up of this disease.

Biomarkers, Tumor↗
PubMed2004

Female paraurethral leiomyoma: ultrasonographic and magnetic resonance imaging findings.

Primary benign paraurethral tumors in females are observed only rarely. They may occasionally be detected at physical examination or present with symptoms of bladder outlet obstruction. A leiomyoma originating from the smooth muscle fibers of the urethra in a 43-year-old woman is reported. The benign nature of the lesion was suspected on the basis of transvaginal ultrasonography and magnetic resonance imaging. Surgical enucleation was performed and light microscopy showed a well-differentiated smooth muscle tumor.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

Imaging of the acute scrotum.

The scrotum is a superficial structure and clinical examination is frequently not enough for making a specific diagnosis. In acute scrotal pain US can confirm the presumptive clinical diagnosis and provide additional relevant information. In testicular torsion, color-Doppler imaging has a central role since it has become possible to identify it at early stage by showing absence of perfusion in the affected testis before any gray-scale abnormality. Scintigraphy remains a satisfactory alternative in evaluating testicular torsion and should be used when color Doppler is inadequate, raising doubts about the suspected torsion. Diagnosis of torsion of testicular appendages is particularly difficult. Ischemic infarction shows a characteristic pattern at gray-scale and color Doppler imaging, whereas hemorrhagic ischemia may require MRI. Inflammatory diseases of the scrotum can be easily investigated by echo color Doppler and conventional radiography, and CT can be particularly useful in the detection of gas bubbles. In scrotal trauma, scrotal hematoma, hematocele, intratesticular hematoma, and testicular rupture can be identified using gray-scale US with very good reliability. Magnetic resonance imaging is indicated when a small tear of tunica albuginea is suspected but not visualized on US.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed2000

[Doppler color ultrasonography of the normal penis].

The penile blood vessels arise from the internal pudendal artery. After the arcuate ligament the artery is usually called the main penile artery. Afterwards the vessel is divided into the dorsal penile artery, which is thin, and the cavernosal artery, which enter the corpus cavernosum on the supero-medial surface of the penis. The branches of this artery are called the arteriae helicinas that subsequently divide in smaller vessels that communicate with the lacunae of the corpus cavernosum. The venous blood flow is drained into the venous plexus beneath the tunica albuginea. The emissary veins perforate the albuginea and the blood is drained by the venae circumflexae into the deep dorsal vein. Color-Doppler sonography allows actually to depict all these vessels and to study the blood flow in these structures with the exclusion of the lacunar spaces. To detect slow flows the technical parameters are very important and the Doppler angle must be always less than 60 degrees. During pharmacologically induced erection the peak systolic velocity in the cavernosal artery shows different values, according to the time of measurements. Initially high systolic velocity is detected (over 35 cm/s) and high diastolic flow (8-15 cm/s) due to low intracavernosal resistance. After veno-occlusive mechanism activation, an increase of flow is normally observed with peak systolic velocity up to 80-120 cm/s associated to progressive decrease of diastolic flow. In the initial phase of the erection the venous flow is characterized with elevated blood velocity in the circumflex and deep dorsal veins. Afterwards with progressive erection the venous flow reduces to disappear completely with full rigidity. Three dimensional US allows a better visualization of the morphology, number and distribution of the vascular tree of the penis.

Humans↗
PubMed1999

Remitting seronegative symmetrical synovitis with pitting oedema (RS3PE) syndrome: a prospective follow up and magnetic resonance imaging study.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the clinical characteristics of patients with "pure" remitting seronegative symmetrical synovitis with pitting oedema (RS3PE) syndrome, and to investigate its relation with polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR). Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was used to describe the anatomical structures affected by inflammation in pure RS3PE syndrome. METHODS: A prospective follow up study of 23 consecutive patients with pure RS3PE syndrome and 177 consecutive patients with PMR diagnosed over a five year period in two Italian secondary referral centres of rheumatology. Hands or feet MRI, or both, was performed at diagnosis in 7 of 23 patients. RESULTS: At inspection evidence of hand and/or foot tenosynovitis was present in all the 23 patients with pure RS3PE syndrome. Twenty one (12%) patients with PMR associated distal extremity swelling with pitting oedema. No significant differences in the sex, age at onset of disease, acute phase reactant values at diagnosis, frequency of peripheral synovitis and carpal tunnel syndrome and frequency of HLA-B7 antigen were present between patients with pure RS3PE and PMR. In both conditions no patient under 50 was observed, the disease frequency increased significantly with age and the highest frequency was present in the age group 70-79 years. Clinical symptoms for both conditions responded promptly to corticosteroids and no patient developed rheumatoid arthritis during the follow up. However, the patients with pure RS3PE syndrome were characterised by shorter duration of treatment, lower cumulative corticosteroid dose and lower frequency of systemic signs/symptoms and relapse/recurrence. Hands and feet MRI showed evidence of tenosynovitis in five patients and joint synovitis in three patients. CONCLUSION: The similarities of demographic, clinical, and MRI findings between RS3PE syndrome and PMR and the concurrence of the two syndromes suggest that these conditions may be part of the same disease and that the diagnostic labels of PMR and RS3PE syndrome may not indicate a real difference. The presence of distal oedema seems to indicate a better prognosis.

Age Distribution↗
PubMed1998

Clinical manifestations of seronegative spondylarthropathies.

Seronegative spondylarthropathies include ankylosing spondylitis, Reiter's syndrome and reactive arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, arthritis associated with ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease, plus other forms which do not meet the criteria for definite categories and are called undifferentiated. Recently two sets of classification criteria have been proposed for the entire group including undifferentiated forms: the European Spondylarthropathy Study Group and the Amor criteria. The prevalence of spondylarthropathies is directly correlated with the prevalence of the HLA-B27 antigen in the population. The highest prevalence of ankylosing spondylitis (4.5%) has been found in Canadian Haida Indians, where 50% of the population is B27 positive. Among Europeans the frequency of the B27 antigen in the general population ranges from 3 to 13% and the prevalence of ankylosing spondylitis is estimated to be 0.1-0.23%. Seronegative spondylarthropathies have common clinical and radiologic manifestations: inflammatory spinal pain, sacroiliitis, chest wall pain, peripheral arthritis, peripheral enthesitis, dactylitis, lesions of the lung apices, conjunctivitis, uveitis and aortic incompetence together with conduction disturbances. All of these may also occur in isolation.

Diagnostic Imaging↗
PubMed1998

Seronegative spondylarthropathies: imaging of spondylitis, enthesitis and dactylitis.

Sacroiliitis is an indispensable condition for the diagnosis of ankylosing spondylitis according to the present criteria and is usually diagnosed on standard anteroposterior radiographs of the pelvis. In cases with suspicious abnormalities (grade 1 of the New York criteria) CT permits the diagnosis since it shows a higher degree of sacroiliitis. MRI is superior to CT in the early diagnosis as it can detect the cartilage abnormalities which precede bony changes. 'Romanus lesions' with 'shiny corners', 'squaring' of the vertebral bodies, syndesmophytes, spondylodiscitis and osteoporosis are the radiological findings of ankylosing spondylitis. The nonmarginal, asymmetric, coarse and broad syndesmophytes of psoriatic spondylitis and spondylitis associated with Reiter's syndrome resemble the flowing bone outgrowths of diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH). The ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament and of the flavum ligament are rare manifestations of ankylosing spondylitis. Peripheral extra-articular enthesitis is a clinical hallmark of seronegative spondylarthropathies. Plain film radiography shows erosions and spurs but only in advanced phases. US shows the swelling of the entheses and the peritendinous soft tissues and the distension of adjacent bursae by fluid collection. MRI shows the inflammation of the bone adjacent to the insertion as well as the soft tissue changes. Dactylitis is another typical manifestation of seronegative spondylarthropathies. In the past it was thought to be due to concomitant tenosynovitis and arthritis. Recently, however, we have demonstrated with US and MRI that the 'sausage-like' appearance is due to the flexor tenosynovitis and that joint capsule distension is not indispensable.

Bone Remodeling↗
PubMed1998

Prostatic abscess: diagnosis and treatment.

OBJECTIVE: Prostatic abscesses are uncommon in clinical practice because early antibiotic therapy has reduced complications of prostatitis. Prostatic abscess mainly affects diabetic and immunosuppressed patients. The organisms most frequently involved are Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus, whereas gonococcus is rarely encountered. The results in eight men with prostatic abscess, five of whom were treated with sonographically guided percutaneous drainage, are reported. The diagnosis, clinically suspected in only three patients, was confirmed by transrectal sonography. All patients experienced complete abscess resolution. CONCLUSION: Transrectal sonography is the most reliable imaging method to diagnose prostatic abscess. Percutaneous transperineal or transrectal drainage is the first choice for therapy because of the lower risk of complication compared with surgery.

Abscess↗
PubMed1998

[Potential of ultrasonography and ultrasonography-guided biopsy in the diagnosis of local recurrence following radical prostatectomy].

INTRODUCTION: [corrected] We investigated the diagnostic role of combined transrectal US (TRUS) and biopsy to detect recurrent cancer after radical prostatectomy, in patients with negative bone scintigraphy and elevated prostate specific antigen (PSA) levels. MATERIALS AND METHODS: From March, 1997, to May, 1998, we examined 12 patients with persistently detectable serum PSA levels and negative bone scintigraphy. At the time of diagnosis, an average 36 months had elapsed since prostatectomy. Digital rectal examination (DRE) and disease stage at the time of surgery were also considered. Patients age ranged 47 to 83 years (mean: 65). All patients underwent TRUS with a 7.5 MHz biplane probe; biopsy was performed with a 16 G cutting needle. TRUS findings were considered suspicious if the scan showed any unusual hypoechoic tissue adjacent to the bladder neck, in retrotrigone or peri-retroanastomotic site. In these cases a transperineal US-guided biopsy was performed. RESULTS: The biopsy proved cancer in 10/12 cases (in 12 cases after two biopsies), showing a better diagnostic accuracy than DRE, which poorly distinguished postoperative changes from recurrent or residual cancer. CONCLUSIONS: The early detection of recurrences after radical prostatectomy in patients with negative bone scintigraphy is feasible when the above examinations are performed in the same order as described: PSA levels, if altered, indicate the patients to be submitted to TRUS. The latter may be falsely negative in some cases because small recurrences may exhibit no findings at US, and therefore US-guided biopsy of peri-retro-anastomotic regions should be always performed too. The recurrence must be confirmed at histology because histologic findings help choose adjuvant treatment and/or radical irradiation.

Aged↗
PubMed1998

[Multiple bilateral biopsy of the prostate].

INTRODUCTION: Transrectal guided biopsy is the method of choice to detect carcinoma of the prostate. Systematic bilateral biopsies have been recently introduced in clinical practice because they provide valuable information about the local staging of the cancer and better representation of the actual Gleason grade of the whole tumor. The purpose of this study is to assess the frequency of neoplastic lesions in prostatic areas with normal structure at US and rectal examination and to identify, if possible, some criteria to be used in the selection of patients for random biopsies. MATERIAL AND METHOD: Systematic bilateral prostatic biopsies were performed in 155 patients with elevated prostate specific antigen (PSA) values, not exceeding 40 ng/mL and with suspected neoplastic unilateral lesion at rectal examination or US. All patients with bilateral or diffuse nodules were not included in this analysis. Three random biopsies for every side of the gland were performed using a 16-18 gauge tru-cut needle. A direct biopsy of the hypoechoic nodule or area was always performed. All specimens results were correlated with PSA and PSA density values obtained before biopsy. RESULTS: Systematic biopsy identified cancers in 53/155 patients (34.19%). Of 53 cases, 35 (66%) had unilateral prostatic carcinoma and 18 (34%) had bilateral cancer. The final diagnosis was benign prostatic lesion in the remaining 102 patients (benign prostatic hyperplasia, nonspecific granulomatous prostatitis, chronic prostatitis). Dividing all the patients into main groups on the basis of pathologic findings (benign, unilateral and bilateral carcinoma) there was a statistically significant difference of PSA values between the 3 groups. CONCLUSIONS: Our observations confirm the utility of systematic US-guided biopsies in the detection of tumors in normal appearing areas at US and transrectal examination, but the clinical utility of this approach needs further confirmation. Additional data on cancer volume, Gleason grade, capsular infiltration, lymph node metastasis and long term survival must be evaluated with large number of patients. In our experience PSA values can be used as a criterion to select the patients to submit to this technique to provide useful, preoperative information suspected prostatic malignancy.

Aged↗
PubMed1998

Retrocalcaneal bursitis in spondyloarthropathy: assessment by ultrasonography and magnetic resonance imaging.

OBJECTIVE: To establish by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and ultrasonography (US) the frequency of retrocalcaneal bursa involvement in Achilles enthesitis of spondyloarthropathy (SpA) and to compare the results of the 2 examinations. METHODS: Nineteen Achilles tendons with severe enthesitis and 9 normal tendons of 14 patients meeting the Amor criteria for SpA were examined by MRI and US. RESULTS: Both MRI and US showed a significant increase in the mean Achilles tendon thickness in the pathologic legs compared to the normal legs both at the superior calcaneal surface and 3 cm above. MRI showed retrocalcaneal bursitis in 14 (73.7%) of 19 pathologic legs and superficial bursitis in 2 (10.5%). US showed fluid collection only in 7 of 14 retrocalcaneal bursae positive on MRI, and failed to show fluid in the 2 superficial bursae involved. Using MRI as the gold standard, US showed 50% sensitivity and 100% specificity for retrocalcaneal bursa involvement and lacked sensitivity for superficial bursitis. CONCLUSION: Achilles tendon involvement in SpA is not only a disease of the enthesis but also of the adjacent bursae.

Achilles Tendon↗
PubMed1997

Proximal bursitis in active polymyalgia rheumatica.

BACKGROUND: The cause of musculoskeletal symptoms in the proximal extremities of patients who have polymyalgia rheumatica is not completely understood. The diffuse and severe discomfort can only be partially explained by the mild joint synovitis that is observed in these patients. OBJECTIVE: To determine the involvement of the synovial structures of the shoulder girdle of patients who have active symptoms of polymyalgia rheumatica. DESIGN: Case-control study. SETTING: 2 secondary referral centers of rheumatology. PATIENTS: 13 case-patients who had active symptoms of polymyalgia rheumatica seen during a 6-month period, 9 control-patients who had early symptoms of elderly-onset rheumatoid arthritis, and 10 age-matched healthy controls. MEASUREMENTS: Magnetic resonance imaging of the shoulder was done on the 13 case-patients, 9 control-patients, and 10 healthy controls. RESULTS: The frequency of subacromial and subdeltoid bursitis was significantly higher in the case-patients (who had polymyalgia rheumatica) than in the control-patients (who had elderly-onset rheumatoid arthritis). The frequencies of synovitis of the joints and tenosynovitis of the biceps did not significantly differ between the 13 case-patients and the 9 control-patients. None of the healthy controls showed evidence of fluid accumulation in the joints, bursae, or sheaths of the long head of the biceps. CONCLUSIONS: Inflammation of subacromial and subdeltoid bursae in association with synovitis of the glenohumeral joints and tenosynovitis of the biceps may contribute to the diffuse discomfort in the shoulder girdle observed in patients with polymyalgia rheumatica.

Aged↗
PubMed1997

Iliolumbar ligament ossification in undifferentiated seronegative spondyloarthropathy.

The case of a man suffering from undifferentiated seronegative spondyloarthropathy (uSpA) without spine involvement and with iliolumbar ligament ossification is reported. Unlike a similar previously published case showing ossification only of the middle part of the left ligament, our patient had ossification of the whole course of both ligaments.

Foot↗
PubMed1997

Toe dactylitis in patients with spondyloarthropathy: assessment by magnetic resonance imaging.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) the part played by flexor and extensor tenosynovitis and synovitis of the metatarsophalangeal (MTP), proximal interphalangeal (PIP) and distal interphalangeal (DIP) joints in producing the "sausage-like" aspect of spondyloarthropathy (SpA) toe dactylitis. METHODS: Twelve sausage-like toes and corresponding contralateral toes of 7 consecutive patients meeting Amor criteria for SpA were studied by MRI. RESULTS: All dactylitic toes showed fluid collections in the flexor synovial sheaths on MRI. Due to the sheath distension the plantar bone to skin distance was significantly increased (p < 0.05) in the dactylitic toes compared to normal contralateral toes. Peritendinous soft tissues were not involved since these were significantly thicker (p < 0.05) in normal toes. Extensor synovial sheaths were involved in only 4 dactylitic toes. Of the 36 joints of the 12 dactylitic toes only 2 MTP joints showed capsule distension. Considering MRI as the "gold standard", examination showed 100% sensitivity and specificity for flexor sheath involvement but lacked sensitivity for extensor synovial sheaths and showed a low specificity for joint capsule distension. CONCLUSION: Like finger dactylitis, toe dactylitis may also be due to flexor tenosynovitis and synovitis of MTP, PIP, and DIP joints may not be a required condition for sausage-shaped appearance. Extensor tenosynovitis may be present in addition to flexor tenosynovitis. Physical examination is a sufficient method for diagnosing toe dactylitis.

Adult↗