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Biomedical subjects

V Gilsanz

Publications and source records attributed to V Gilsanz.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Vertebral bone density in children: effect of puberty.

To determine changes in bone density during growth, trabecular vertebral density and an index of spinal cortical bone were measured with quantitative computed tomography in 101 children. The children were divided by age into three groups: prepubertal, indeterminate, and pubertal. Compared with prepubertal children, pubertal adolescents had significantly higher trabecular bone density and more compact bone in the spine (P less than .001). After controlling for puberty, vertebral bone density failed to correlate significantly with age, sex, weight, height, surface area, and body mass index. The results indicate that bone density increases markedly during puberty.

Adolescent

Primary liver tumors in children: comparison of CT and MR imaging.

A prospective study was performed at two institutions to determine the role of magnetic resonance (MR) imaging in the evaluation of primary pediatric liver tumors. The study compared the usefulness of MR imaging and computed tomography (CT) in providing a correct diagnosis, assessing resectability, and determining tumor recurrence in 23 children with liver tumors. The information obtained with both modalities was correlated with surgical data. The results indicate that the accuracy of MR imaging in helping to differentiate benign from malignant lesions is high and identical to that of CT, but not good enough to obviate surgical diagnosis. While all five hepatocellular carcinomas were correctly diagnosed preoperatively with both modalities, neither CT nor MR imaging could help differentiate these carcinomas from aggressive hepatoblastoma or primary hepatic lymphoma. MR imaging helped correctly predict tumor resectability in all 18 children with malignant hepatic tumors; in one, exact tumor extension was misjudged with CT. Postoperative MR studies suggested tumor recurrence in three children who had unremarkable CT examinations. Second-look surgery showed recurrent tumor in two and fibrosis with chronic inflammation at the surgical margin in the third child.

Adolescent

Effect of sex steroids on peak bone density of growing rabbits.

To determine the effect of sex hormones on bone density (BD) during growth, longitudinal quantitative computed tomography (QCT) measurements were obtained in growing, castrated New Zealand White rabbits following administration of normal saline, testosterone, or estrogen from 6 wk of age until the time of skeletal maturity. Vertebral QCT densities increased during growth, were highest at the time of epiphyseal closure, and were significantly greater (P less than 0.001) in hormone-treated animals. In vivo QCT measurements in 12 vertebraes correlated strongly (r = 0.92) with percentage of calcium per weight assessed in vitro by neutron activation analysis.

Animals

Pulmonary sulcus metastases simulating intraabdominal malignancy in childhood tumors.

Wilms tumor, the most common solid childhood malignancy, is frequently associated with pulmonary metastases, while hepatic metastases occur less frequently. Metastases to the lower lobes of the lungs, when deep in the costophrenic sulcus, may simulate an intraabdominal mass. The differentiation of these lesions is important both diagnostically and therapeutically. Three cases are presented in whom pulmonary sulcus metastases simulated abdominal lesions on computed tomography and could not be clearly localized as thoracic in origin on liver/spleen scintigraphy. Ultrasound evaluation was the most useful; however, integration with other imaging techniques was necessary to correctly identify these lesions as being of pulmonary origin.

Adolescent

A comparison of staging methods for Hodgkin's disease in children.

Potential long-term complications of radiotherapy and chemotherapy in the pediatric patient with Hodgkin's disease necessitate accurate staging. To determine the accuracy of abdominal computed tomography (CT) and gallium citrate Ga 67 scans in staging Hodgkin's disease, we reviewed the charts of all children with Hodgkin's disease seen at Childrens Hospital of Los Angeles from 1975 to 1985. Patients with pathologically proved stage IV disease (ie, bone marrow involvement) and those who only underwent staging laparotomy were excluded. A total of 40 children underwent staging by laparotomy and staging by abdominal CT and/or 67Ga scan. The CT and 67Ga scans were reviewed by radiologists in a blinded manner and compared with the results of a formal staging laparotomy. Of the 38 patients whose disease was staged with 67Ga scan, disease in ten was understaged and in four overstaged, for a 37% incorrect staging rate. Of the 14 patients whose disease was staged by CT scan, disease in three was understaged and in one overstaged, for a 29% incorrect staging rate. In view of the inaccuracy of noninvasive studies and the impact of incorrect staging on treatment, we recommend that a staging laparotomy be performed in all children with Hodgkin's disease who are not proved to have stage IV disease.

Adolescent

Pediatric hypertension: an approach to imaging.

Since 1981, we have made diagnoses of secondary hypertension using state of art imaging equipment in 18 pediatric patients. The most valuable tests were ultrasound in identifying renal parenchymal disease, computed body tomography for adrenal tumors and intra-arterial renal angiography for renovascular disorders. Based on our experience, we have formulated an algorithm for the evaluation of the hypertensive pediatric patient. The initial step is careful clinical and laboratory screening to identify those patients that are likely to have essential hypertension and who should not undergo imaging tests. In the cases where there is a possible secondary etiology, renal ultrasound is usually performed first to identify parenchymal disease. If catecholamines are elevated, then abdominal computed tomography is the initial test. If no etiology is identified from these noninvasive studies, then direct intraarterial renal angiography is performed. The authors do not feel that excretory urography, radionuclide renography, intravenous digital subtraction angiography or selective renal vein sampling for renin are useful or practical screening tests for renovascular hypertension.

Adolescent

Inflammatory bowel disease in glycogen storage disease type Ib.

We have observed the development of chronic inflammatory bowel disease, indistinguishable from Crohn disease, in two boys with glycogen storage disease type Ib (GSD-Ib). A chance association of these diseases in two patients is unlikely. Studies of their neutrophils showed severe chronic neutropenia (mean absolute granulocyte counts of less than 500 cells/microliter) and markedly deficient chemotactic response (less than 5% of reference values) in the patients with GSD-Ib and normal neutrophil values in four patients with glycogen storage disease type Ia (GSD-Ia). Monocyte counts and responses to chemotactic stimulation were normal in both GSD-Ia and GSD-Ib. Chronic inflammatory bowel disease appears to be associated with GSD-Ib, and neutrophil abnormalities may be involved in the pathogenesis of the bowel inflammation.

Adolescent

Hydrothorax, ascites, and right diaphragmatic hernia.

Hydrothorax and/or ascites may be the most striking finding in children with right diaphragmatic hernia. The clinical, radiographic, and pathologic findings of five children with right diaphragmatic defects through which the liver had herniated are described. Three presented with a right hydrothorax, one with a right hydrothorax and ascites, and another with ascites. All four children with large right hydrothoraxes were found to have an incarcerated peritoneal sac filled with fluid in the right side of the chest at surgery or autopsy. Lymphatic congestion and obstruction was the probable cause for the fluid collection, which tended to enlarge with time. This condition may be life threatening, and two of the four patients died soon after birth because of hypoplasia of the lungs. Fetal ultrasonography in both had disclosed right intrathoracic cystic masses, and in one, intrauterine aspiration to decompress the lungs had been attempted. The other two patients are alive and well following surgical repair at 1 week and 7 months of age. Ascites was present in two patients and was believed to be due to hepatic venous obstruction, a mechanism similar to that responsible for the Budd-Chiari syndrome.

Ascites

Ossification centre of the hyoid bone in DiGeorge syndrome and tetralogy of Fallot.

The incidence of radiographic visibility of the ossification centre of the body of the hyoid bone in radiographs taken during the first month of life was analysed for 34 autopsied infants: 16 with DiGeorge syndrome (DGS), 14 with tetralogy of Fallot (TOF), four with interrupted aortic arch (IAA) and a further 13, surviving infants with non-DGS TOF or non-DGS IAA. The incidence of visible hyoid ossification centre (HOC) was 75.7% in a control series of infants with neither congenital heart disease (CHD) nor DGS. Autopsied patients with DGS, TOF without DGS, and IAA without DGS showed a significantly low incidence of visible HOC. Infants with TOF (and possibly those with IAA) who did not have DGS and who did not die during infancy showed a normal incidence of visible HOC in radiographs taken during the first post-natal month. Radiological visibility of the HOC in the first post-natal month appears useful in the diagnosis of DGS and forms of CHD often seen in association with DGS and in assessing prognosis of neonates with certain types of CHD.

Age Factors

Ossification centre of the hyoid bone in complete transposition of great vessels, Ivemark asplenia syndrome, and Down's syndrome with congenital heart disease: correlation with the humeral capital epiphysis.

The incidence of radiographic visibility of the ossification centres of the body of the hyoid bone and of the humeral capital epiphysis in antero-posterior or lateral chest radiographs taken during the first month of life of 63 autopsied infants were analysed. The group comprised patients with Down's syndrome (DS) with congenital heart disease, 15; complete transposition of the great vessels (TGV), 10; Ivemark asplenia syndrome (IS), 17; and a control group of infants with congenital heart disease (CHD) who had none of the above conditions, nor tetralogy of Fallot, interrupted aortic arch, DiGeorge syndrome or hypoplastic left-heart complex, 31. The incidence of radiographically visible hyoid ossification centre (HOC) in the control group was 71% and of humeral capital epiphysis (HE), 16.1%. Autopsied infants with TGV, IS or DS with CHD showed increased visibility of HOC (100%); the incidence of visible HE was increased in neonates with IS (71.4%) and with TGV (50%). The differences in the incidence of radiographic visibility of HOC and HE in neonates with CHD, in this study and in others in the literature, appear to have diagnostic value.

Age Factors

CT scanning in patients with opsomyoclonus: importance of nonenhanced scan.

Children with neuroblastoma presenting with opsomyoclonus are a diagnostic dilemma; they may not have a palpable mass or elevated urine catecholamines and the neurologic manifestation often precedes the discovery of a primary tumor by several months. The delay in diagnosis probably reflects the difficulty in detecting small lesions. Even with high-resolution computed tomography (CT), difficulty was recently experienced in identifying small retroperitoneal lesions in three patients who presented with opsomyoclonus. Calcifications in these small neoplasms resembled contrast material within adjacent small-bowel loops that were not discernible until additional, unenhanced scans were obtained. It is recommended that the initial CT evaluation in patients presenting with opsomyoclonus be performed without bowel or intravenous contrast enhancement.

Eye Movements

Mesenchymal hamartomas of the liver in childhood: sonographic and CT findings.

Mesenchymal hamartomas of the liver usually present within the first 2 years of life. Abdominal enlargement and respiratory distress are the most common presenting features. Pathologically, the lesion is composed of large cysts separated by septations. Review of sonograms and CT scans in nine patients shows that a large, predominantly cystic mass with internal septae is characteristic of the tumor. Angiography shows peripheral hypervascularity with a septated avascular center. A confident preoperative diagnosis of mesenchymal hamartoma based on these features is possible.

Angiography

Aortic aneurysm in a 5-year-old girl.

Computed tomography in a 5-year-old girl revealed a central calcified retroperitoneal mass which was shown on subsequent arteriography to be an aortic aneurysm.

Aorta, Abdominal

Nephrolithiasis in premature infants.

The clinical records of ten premature infants with nephrolithiasis were reviewed. The probable mechanism of stone formation was hypercalciuria due to furosemide therapy (nine patients) and congenital hyperparathyroidism (one patient). The relatively high rates of urinary excretion of calcium from immature kidneys predisposed these neonates to the development of calcium stones. Renal calculi in neonates are complications of distinct, treatable conditions, and premature babies receiving furosemide treatment should be screened by ultrasonography for renal calcifications.

Female

Early costochondral calcification in adolescent hyperthyroidism.

The finding of extensive costochondral calcification in five adolescents, aged 14-16 years, with hyperthyroidism prompted a retrospective study of all young persons with this condition seen in the last 10 years. Thirty-six patients with hyperthyroidism (ages 13-18 years) were evaluated. Of 32 thyrotoxic teenage girls, 21 (66%) showed some degree of calcification, compared with 73 of 600 (12%) in the control group. Only four boys were evaluated, but one had grade 2 (mild) calcification that was not seen in any boy in the control group. Costochondral calcification increases with age and continues throughout life, reflecting the aging process. The much higher incidence of early costochondral calcification in thyrotoxic adolescents than in the general population is a radiographic indication of advanced bone maturation not previously recognized.

Adolescent