Liver nodules after the Fontan operation: role of the computerised tomography scan

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
Saviga Sethasathien ◽  
Suchaya Silvilairat ◽  
Rekwan Sittiwangkul ◽  
Krit Makonkawkeyoon ◽  
Yupada Pongprot ◽  
...  

Abstract Currently, there is an increasing prevalence of liver nodules in patients following the Fontan operation. The appropriate non-invasive modalities have been applied to assess a diagnosis of Fontan-associated liver disease. The aims of this study were to determine the prevalence and associated factors for the presence of liver nodules using CT scan. A cross-sectional study of 34 patients older than 15 years of age was recruited. Ultrasound upper abdomen, ultrasound liver elastography, and CT scan of the upper abdomen were performed after the Fontan operation. The median age of patients was 20 years (range 14–36 years). The median age at the Fontan operation was 7 years (range 5–17 years) and the duration after the Fontan operation was 12 years (range 4–22 years). The prevalence of liver nodules was 62% as detected by CT scans. Hepatic vein pressure in patients with liver nodules was significantly higher than in those without liver nodules. Hepatic vein pressure above 13 mmHg was a factor associated with liver nodules. There was little agreement between the ultrasound of the upper abdomen and CT scan of the upper abdomen in the evaluation of liver nodules. Hepatic pressure was the only associated factor for the occurrence of liver nodules in patients following the Fontan operation. The prevalence of liver nodules was very high after the Fontan operation. The upper abdomen CT scan should be performed for the surveillance of liver nodules in every Fontan patient over the age of 15 years.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seyed Alireza Mousavi ◽  
Reyhaneh Sadat Mousavi-Roknabadi ◽  
Fateme Nemati ◽  
Somaye Pourteimoori ◽  
Arefeh Ghorbani ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Since December 2019, a type of coronavirus has emerged in Wuhan, China, which has become the focus of global attention due to an epidemic of pneumonia of unknown cause, called COVID-19. This study aimed to investigate the factors affecting in-hospital mortality of patients with COVID-19 hospitalized in one of the main hospital in central Iran. Methods This retrospective cross-sectional study (February 2019-May 2020) was conducted on patients with confirmed diagnosis COVID-19, who were admitted in Yazd Shahid Sadoughi Hospital, in middle of Iran. The patients with uncompleted or missed medical files were excluded from the study. Data were extracted from the patients' medical files and then analyzed. The patients were categorized as survivors and non-survivors groups, and they were compared. Results Totally, 573 patients were enrolled, that 356 (62.2%) were male. The mean ± SD of age was 56.29 ± 17.53 years, and 93 (16.23%) were died. All the complications were more in non-survivors. Intensive care unit (ICU) admission was in 20.5% of the patients which was more in non-survivors (P < 0.001). The results of multivariate logistic regression test showed that plural effusion in lung computed tomography (CT) scan (OR = 0.055, P = 0.009), white blood cell (WBC) (OR = 1.417, P = 0.022), serum albumin (OR = 0.009, P < 0.001), non-invasive mechanical ventilation (OR = 34.315, P < 0.001), and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) (OR = 66.039, P = 0.001) were achieved as the predictive factors for in-hospital mortality were the predictive factors for in-hospital mortality. Conclusion In-hospital mortality in patients with COVID-19 was about 16%. Plural effusion in lung CT scan, WBC, albumin, non-invasive mechanical ventilation, and ARDS were obtained as the predictive factors for in-hospital mortality.


2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (6) ◽  
pp. 1450
Author(s):  
Jyothi S. M. ◽  
Santosh U. Karpur

Background: All suspected cases of acute pancreatitis should undergo CT scan. It is non invasive and reliable. CT scan is able to give complete picture of acute pancreatitis. The objective of the presentMethods: The present study was hospital based. 60 cases with evidence of acute pancreatitis were included. They were studied for 3 years from June 2015 to May 2018. CT scan was performed in all cases. CT features of the pancreas were noted and described.Results: Acute pancreatitis incidence was four times more in males compared to females i.e. 80% vs. 20%. CT scan showed that pancreatic gland was normal only in 16.7% of the cases. The contour was irregular in 66.7% of the cases. Eight cases showed necrosis. Less than 30% three patients (10%) had grade A acute pancreatitis. 28 cases were showing Phlegmonous changes. In 24 cases it was observed that lesser sac was affected.Conclusions: Authors conclude that for grading and staging of the pancreatitis of acute nature, CT scan is must and is very helpful to the clinicians. CT scan helps not only in precise diagnosis but also in predicting the proper prognosis of the patients who are affected by the pancreatitis of acute in nature.


2016 ◽  
Vol 23 (12) ◽  
pp. 1531-1536
Author(s):  
Afshan Noreen ◽  
Azhar Mehmood Javed ◽  
Maria Zahoor ◽  
Afshan Shakir ◽  
Maria Afzal Bodla ◽  
...  

Objectives: The objective was to determine accuracy of ultrasound in thediagnosis of ureteric calculi confirmed on non-contrast Computed Tomography amongpatients with acute ureteric colic. Study Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: EmergencyDepartment of Nishtar Hospital, Multan. Period: 11-07-2012 to 10-01-2013. Materials andMethods: 100 consecutive patients presenting with acute severe ureteric colic and fulfillingthe inclusion and exclusion criteria were enrolled for the study from the emergency departmentof Nishtar Hospital Multan. Ultrasonography was done in all patients and USG findings wererecorded for the presence or absence of hyperechoic shadows in the ureteric. All the patientsunderwent CT scan to confirm or refute the findings of Ultrasonography. Result: Mean age ofthe patients was 37.85 + 12.60 years. Males were 53 (53%) while females were 47 (47%). Meanduration of pain before presentation was 14.81 + 6.20 hours. Mean severity of pain on visualanalogue scale was 9.40 + 0.8. Overall 79 patients were diagnosed as having ureteric calculi.Ultrasonography detected the ureteric stone in 75 patients and was all found to have stoneon CT scan and represented true positives. Among 25 patients in whom ultrasound did notdemonstrate any stone, 4 were found to have ureteric stone on CT scan thus representing falsenegative whereas 21 (84%) were confirmed on CT scan not to have any stone, thus representingTrue negatives. The sensitivity of USG for detection of ureteric stone was found to be 94.9%,the specificity was 100%, and positive predictive value was 100% while negative predictivevalue was 84% .There was no significant effect of age or gender on the accuracy of ultrasound.Conclusion: Ultrasonography is a readily available, non-invasive and reliable investigation inpatients presenting with acute flank pain to diagnose ureteric stones with a specificity of 100%and a sensitivity approaching 95%. Thus it is recommended that it should be used routinely forthe evaluation of patients presenting with acute flank pain.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sowmiya Kalyanasundaram ◽  
Suresh Fernando

Objective: An 87-year-old attended the emergency department with sharp upper abdominal pain, radiating to back with a pain score of 10/10. On examination, severe epigastric tenderness was noted. Past surgical history: bilateral salphingo-oopherectomy. Repair for paraumblical hernia and right total hip replacement. No history of cholecystectomy. Inflammatory markers were raised. Cholecystitis/gall bladder perforation was suspected and contrast CT was performed. Methods: CT abdomen and pelvis – in comparison to the previous CT scan which was done in 2018, where gall bladder was in the correct anatomical location, the gall bladder was not seen in the gall bladder fossa in the current study. However, a gall bladder like suspicious structure was noticed within the upper abdomen to the left of midline anterior to the gastric pylorus with significant inflammatory changes. Therefore, considering the clinical picture and CT findings, it was suggestive of acute cholecystitis with torsion of gall bladder. Results: Patient was started on i.v. antibiotics and laparoscopic assessment was carried out on the following day. Intraoperatively, the surgeons were unable to locate the gall bladder in its normal anatomical position, but incidentally found a mass in the left upper abdomen which appeared gangrenous. This was removed and sent for histopathology. Histology report confirmed that the specimen was gall bladder with features suggestive of pre-existing chronic cholecystitis, with recent venous infarction. Conclusion: Torsion of gall bladder is a very rare entity and if left untreated could lead to fatal sequelae of gangrene and perforation resulting in biliary peritonitis. There is evidence which suggest that torsion of gall bladder is more common in elderly females due to loss of visceral fat but the pre-operative diagnosis using imaging modalities has always been challenging. But in this particular case, the radiologist was able to make the precise diagnosis pre-operatively using the cross-sectional study of an advanced imaging modality like the CT scan with contrast which also helped the surgeons in making the decision for immediate surgery rather than planning for routine conservative management for acute cholecystitis. The importance of cross-sectional study with intravenous contrast in diagnosing unusual presentation of gall bladder related and potentially life-threatening abdominal pathology has been highlighted in this case study. It is also evident that how imaging modalities play a significant role in altering acute management plan.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Michal Kulecki ◽  
Dariusz Naskret ◽  
Mikolaj Kaminski ◽  
Dominika Kasprzak ◽  
Pawel Lachowski ◽  
...  

AbstractThe non-dipping pattern is nighttime systolic blood pressure (SBP) fall of less than 10%. Several studies showed that the non-dipping pattern, increased mean platelet volume (MPV), and platelet distribution width (PDW) are associated with elevated cardiovascular risk. Hypertensives with the non-dipping pattern have higher MPV than the dippers but this relationship was never investigated among people with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM). This study aimed to investigate the association between the central dipping pattern and platelet morphology in T1DM subjects. We measured the central and brachial blood pressure with a validated non-invasive brachial oscillometric device—Arteriograph 24—during twenty-four-hour analysis in T1DM subjects without diagnosed hypertension. The group was divided based on the central dipping pattern for the dippers and the non-dippers. From a total of 62 subjects (32 males) aged 30.1 (25.7–37) years with T1DM duration 15.0 (9.0–20) years, 36 were non-dippers. The non-dipper group had significantly higher MPV (MPV (10.8 [10.3–11.5] vs 10.4 [10.0–10.7] fl; p = 0.041) and PDW (13.2 [11.7–14.9] vs 12.3 [11.7–12.8] fl; p = 0.029) than dipper group. Multivariable logistic regression revealed that MPV (OR 3.74; 95% CI 1.48–9.45; p = 0.005) and PDW (OR 1.91; 95% CI 1.22–3.00; p = 0.005) were positively associated with central non-dipping pattern adjusting for age, sex, smoking status, daily insulin intake, and height. MPV and PDW are positively associated with the central non-dipping pattern among people with T1DM.


BMJ Open ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 4 (10) ◽  
pp. e005947 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cheng-Shyuan Rau ◽  
Hang-Tsung Liu ◽  
Shiun-Yuan Hsu ◽  
Tzu-Yu Cho ◽  
Ching-Hua Hsieh

ObjectivesTo provide an overview of the demographic characteristics of patients with positive blood alcohol concentration (BAC) and to investigate the performance of brain CT scans in these patients.DesignCross-sectional study.SettingTaiwan.Participants2192 patients who had undergone a test for blood alcohol of 13 233 patients registered in the Trauma Registry System between 1 January 2009 and 31 December 2012. A BAC level of 50 mg/dL was defined as the cut-off value. Detailed information was retrieved from the patients with positive BAC (n=793) and was compared with information from those with a negative BAC (n=1399).Main outcome measuresGlasgow Coma Scale (GCS) and Injury Severity Score (ISS) as well as the performance and findings of obtained brain CT scans.ResultsPatients with positive BAC had a higher rate of face injury, but a lower GCS score, a lower rate of head and neck injury, a lower ISS and New Injury Severity Score. Alcohol use was associated with a shorter length of hospital stay (8.6 vs 11.4 days, p=0.000) in patients with an ISS of <16. Of 496 patients with positive BAC who underwent brain CT, 164 (33.1%) showed positive findings on CT scan. In contrast, of 891 patients with negative BAC who underwent brain CT, 389 (43.7%) had positive findings on CT scan. The lower percentage of positive CT scan findings in patients with positive BAC was particularly evident in patients with an ISS <16 (18.0% vs 28.8%, p=0.001).ConclusionsPatients who consumed alcohol tended to have a low GCS score and injuries that were less severe. However, given the significantly low percentage of positive findings, brain CT might be overused in these patients with less severe injuries.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlo De Matteis ◽  
Marica Cariello ◽  
Giusi Graziano ◽  
Stefano Battaglia ◽  
Patrizia Suppressa ◽  
...  

AbstractVisceral obesity is characterized by a low-grade inflammatory systemic state that contributes to the genesis of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), frequently associated with liver fibrosis. Non-invasive serum markers have recently emerged as reliable, easy-to-use scores to predict liver fibrosis. NAFLD is often linked to metabolic and cardiovascular risk. Thus, in this cross-sectional study, we investigated in a population of 1225 subjects if AST to Platelet Ratio Index (APRI), one of the non-invasive liver fibrosis serum markers, can predict cardiovascular risk (CVR). APRI has been previously validated as an efficient score to predict liver fibrosis in viral hepatitis patients with a cut-off of 0.5 for fibrosis and 1.5 for cirrhosis. Our study showed that APRI significantly correlates with CVR and determines, when elevated, a significant increase in CVR for both genders, especially females. This spike in CVR, observed when APRI is elevated, is relatively high in patients in the age of 51–65 years, but it is significantly higher in younger and premenopausal women, approaching risk values usually typical of men at the same age. Taken together, our data highlighted the role of APRI as a reliable predictor easy-to-use score for CVR in metabolic patients.


2014 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 189-193
Author(s):  
T Islam ◽  
SA Azad ◽  
ME Karim ◽  
L Khondker ◽  
K Rahman

A cross sectional study carried out with patients having suspected paranasal sinus (PNS) mass during January 2009 to October 2010 to evaluate the fungal diseases in PNS by computed tomographic(CT) image and comparison of the findings of this modality with histopathological result. Among the total 76 patients, the mean age of the patients was 35.95 ± 18.24 and common complaints of the patients were nasal obstruction (73.7%) and maximum 53.9% patients had PNS mass in maxillary sinuses. Out of all cases 10 were diagnosed as having fungal infection/mass by CT scan and confirmed by histopathological evaluation. Two cases were diagnosed as having fungal infection/mass by CT scan but not confirmed by histopathological findings. Of 64 cases of other than fungal infection/mass, which were diagnosed by CT scan, six were confirmed as having fungal infection/mass and 58 were other than having fungal infection/mass by histopathology. Sensitivity of CT scan to diagnose fungal infection/mass was 62.5%, specificity 96.7%, positive predictive value 83.3%, negative predictive value 90.6% and accuracy 89.5%. CT scan of the fungal diseases in paranasal sinus provides more information and better image quality and CT diagnosis correlate well with the findings of histopathology. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/jbcps.v31i4.21002 J Bangladesh Coll Phys Surg 2013; 31: 189-193


1992 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 109-113 ◽  
Author(s):  
MJ Filteau ◽  
E Pourcher ◽  
RH Bouchard ◽  
P Baruch ◽  
J Mathieu ◽  
...  

Brain alterations have been sought since the beginning of the century to explain the ‘dementia’ of dementia præcox. Kraepelin suggested in 1913 that it might have its internal origins in early childhood, while Southard (1915) considered likely a congenital or early acquired basis for the development of the disease. Afterwards, degenerative processes were described for decades until neurodevelopmental theories emerged recently (Lewis, 1988).Using pneumoencephalography, Jacobi and Winkler (1927) first reported that some patients with schizophrenia presented enlarged ventricles. Johnstone et al (1976, 1978), in CT-scan studies, observed an increase in mean lateral ventricular size in a group of institutionalized schizophrenic patients. This finding has been replicated by other studies (Weinberger et al, 1983) but challenged by others (Gluck et al, 1980; Jernigan et al, 1982).


2022 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 375
Author(s):  
Magdalena Żychowska ◽  
Adam Reich

Background: (Video)dermoscopy is a non-invasive diagnostic technique that has a well-established role in dermatooncology. In recent years, this method has also been increasingly used in the assessment of inflammatory dermatoses. So far, little is known about the (video)dermoscopic features of dermatomyositis (DM). Methods: Consecutive patients with DM were included in the study and videodermoscopic assessments of the nailfolds, scalp, and active skin lesions were performed. Results: Fifteen patients with DM (10 women and 5 men) were included. Capillaroscopy showed elongated capillaries (90.9%), avascular areas (81.8%), disorganized vessel architecture (81.8%), tortuous capillaries (72.7%), dilated capillaries (72.7%), and hemorrhages (72.7%). The trichoscopic findings included linear branched vessels (80.0%), linear vessels (60.0%), linear curved vessels (53.3%), perifollicular pigmentation (40.0%), perifollicular erythema (33.3%), scaling (20.0%), white (20.0%) or yellow (20%) interfollicular scales, and white (20.0%) or pinkish (13.3%) structureless areas. Polymorphic vessels of an unspecific distribution and white or pink structureless areas were frequently observed under dermoscopy in cutaneous manifestations of DM, including Gottron’s papules and Gottron’s sign. Conclusions: Dermoscopy of the nailfolds (capillaroscopy), scalp (tricoscopy), and active cutaneous lesions may be of value in the preliminary diagnosis of DM.


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