scholarly journals Development and Validation of a Predictive Model to Identify Patients With an Ascending Thoracic Aortic Aneurysm

Author(s):  
Makoto Mori ◽  
Geliang Gan ◽  
Yanhong Deng ◽  
Sameh Yousef ◽  
Gabe Weininger ◽  
...  

Background Screening protocols do not exist for ascending thoracic aortic aneurysms (ATAAs). A risk prediction algorithm may aid targeted screening of patients with an undiagnosed ATAA to prevent aortic dissection. We aimed to develop and validate a risk model to identify those at increased risk of having an ATAA, based on readily available clinical information. Methods and Results This is a cross‐sectional study of computed tomography scans involving the chest at a tertiary care center on unique patients aged 50 to 85 years between 2013 and 2016. These criteria yielded 21 325 computed tomography scans. The double‐oblique technique was used to measure the ascending thoracic aorta, and an ATAA was defined as >40 mm in diameter. A logistic regression model was fitted for the risk of ATAA, with readily available demographics and comorbidity variables. Model performance was characterized by discrimination and calibration metrics via split‐sample testing. Among the 21 325 patients, there were 560 (2.6%) patients with an ATAA. The multivariable model demonstrated that older age, higher body surface area, history of arrhythmia, aortic valve disease, hypertension, and family history of aortic aneurysm were associated with increased risk of an ATAA, whereas female sex and diabetes were associated with a lower risk of an ATAA. The C statistic of the model was 0.723±0.016. The regression coefficients were transformed to scores that allow for point‐of‐care calculation of patients' risk. Conclusions We developed and internally validated a model to predict patients' risk of having an ATAA based on demographic and clinical characteristics. This algorithm may guide the targeted screening of an undiagnosed ATAA.

2015 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 209-214 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chantal Robitaille ◽  
Esther Dajczman ◽  
Andrew M Hirsch ◽  
David Small ◽  
Pierre Ernst ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND: Targeted spirometry screening for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) has been studied in primary care and community settings. Limitations regarding availability and quality of testing remain. A targeted spirometry screening program was implemented within a presurgical screening (PSS) clinic to detect undiagnosed airways disease and identify patients with COPD/asthma in need of treatment optimization.OBJECTIVE: The present quality assurance study evaluated airflow obstruction detection rates and examined characteristics of patients identified through the targeted screening program.METHODS: The targeted spirometry screening program was implemented within the PSS clinic of a tertiary care university hospital. Current or ex-smokers with respiratory symptoms and patients with a history of COPD or asthma underwent prebronchodilator spirometry. History of airways disease and smoking status were obtained during the PSS assessment and confirmed through chart reviews.RESULTS: After exclusions, the study sample included 449 current or ex-smokers. Abnormal spirometry results were found in 184 (41%) patients: 73 (16%) had mild, 93 (21%) had moderate and 18 (4%) had severe or very severe airflow obstruction. One hundred eighteen (26%) new cases of airflow obstruction suggestive of COPD were detected. One-half of these new cases had moderate or severe airflow obstruction. Only 34% of patients with abnormal spirometry results had reported a previous diagnosis of COPD. More than one-half of patients with abnormal spirometry results were current smokers.CONCLUSIONS: Undiagnosed airflow obstruction was detected in a significant number of smokers and ex-smokers through a targeted screening program within a PSS clinic. These patients can be referred for early intervention and secondary preventive strategies.


2015 ◽  
Vol 2015 ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
Yohei Kawatani ◽  
Yoshitsugu Nakamura ◽  
Yujiro Hayashi ◽  
Tetsuyoshi Taneichi ◽  
Yujiro Ito ◽  
...  

Infectious abdominal aortic aneurysms often present with abdominal and lower back pain, but prolonged fever may be the only symptom. Infectious abdominal aortic aneurysms initially presenting with meningitis are extremely rare; there are no reports of their successful treatment. Cases withStreptococcus pneumoniaeas the causative bacteria are even rarer with a higher mortality rate than those caused by other bacteria. We present the case of a 65-year-old man with lower limb weakness and back pain. Examination revealed fever and neck stiffness. Cerebrospinal fluid showed leukocytosis and low glucose levels. The patient was diagnosed with meningitis and bacteremia caused byStreptococcus pneumoniaeand treated with antibiotics. Fever, inflammatory response, and neurologic findings showed improvement. However, abdominal computed tomography revealed an aneurysm not present on admission. Antibiotics were continued, and a rifampicin soaked artificial vascular graft was implanted. Tissue cultures showed no bacteria, and histological findings indicated inflammation with high leukocyte levels. There were no postoperative complications or neurologic abnormalities. Physical examination, blood tests, and computed tomography confirmed there was no relapse over the following 13 months. This is the first reported case of survival of a patient with an infectious abdominal aortic aneurysm initially presenting with meningitis caused byStreptococcus pneumoniae.


2017 ◽  
Vol 68 (4) ◽  
pp. 387-391
Author(s):  
Matthew Walker ◽  
Joy Borgaonkar ◽  
Daria Manos

Purpose Technological advancements and the ever-increasing use of computed tomography (CT) have greatly increased the detection of incidental findings, including tiny pulmonary nodules. The management of many “incidentalomas” is significantly influenced by a patient's history of cancer. The study aim is to determine if CT requisitions include prior history of malignancy. Methods Requisitions for chest CTs performed at our adult tertiary care hospital during April 2012 were compared to a cancer history questionnaire, administered to patients at the time of CT scan. Patients were excluded from the study if the patient questionnaire was incomplete or if the purpose of the CT was for cancer staging or cancer follow-up. Results A total of 569 CTs of the chest were performed. Of the 327 patients that met inclusion criteria, 79 reported a history of cancer. After excluding patients for whom a history of malignancy could not be confirmed through a chart review and excluding nonmelanoma skin cancer, dysplasia, and in situ neoplasm, 68 patients were identified as having a history of malignancy. We found 44% (95% confidence interval [0.32-0.57]) of the chest CT requisitions for these 68 patients did not include the patient's history of cancer. Of the malignancies that were identified by patient questionnaire but omitted from the clinical history provided on the requisitions, 47% were malignancies that commonly metastasize to the lung. Conclusions A significant number of requisitions failed to disclose a history of cancer. Without knowledge of prior malignancy, radiologists cannot comply with current guidelines regarding the reporting and management of incidental findings.


2014 ◽  
Vol 128 (7) ◽  
pp. 618-620 ◽  
Author(s):  
H-Y Lin ◽  
Y-K Fan ◽  
K-C Wu ◽  
M-T Shu ◽  
C-C Yang ◽  
...  

AbstractObjective:To estimate the incidence of tympanogenic labyrinthitis ossificans.Methods:The records of patients treated with mastoidectomy for various tympanogenic aetiologies from January 2007 to December 2011 were retrospectively reviewed. Patients whose high-resolution computed tomography scans showed evidence of labyrinthine calcification of the temporal bone were enrolled. Patients with a history of head and neck cancer, meningitis, and otosclerosis, and patients with cochlear implants, were excluded from this study.Results:A total of 195 patients were enrolled in this study; 4 of the patients presented with calcification in the inner ear. Therefore, the incidence of tympanogenic labyrinthitis ossification was 2 per cent. The computed tomography findings revealed: (1) cochlear calcifications of the basal and middle turn in two patients; and (2) vestibular, superior semicircular canal, posterior semicircular canal and lateral semicircular canal calcification in one, four, three and two patients, respectively.Conclusion:The incidence of tympanogenic labyrinthitis ossification in patients who had undergone a mastoidectomy was 2 per cent.


2015 ◽  
Vol 61 (2) ◽  
pp. 287-290 ◽  
Author(s):  
Atsushi Akai ◽  
Yoshiko Watanabe ◽  
Katsuyuki Hoshina ◽  
Yukio Obitsu ◽  
Juno Deguchi ◽  
...  

2014 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alissa R. Carver ◽  
Ashraf M. Aly ◽  
Mary B. Munn

AbstractCongenital abdominal aortic aneurysms are rare but have chronic and life-threatening sequelae including hypertension, thromboses, and death. A fetal ultrasound at 27 weeks’ gestation diagnosed a giant abdominal aortic aneurysm. The patient delivered at another tertiary care center where pediatric cardiovascular surgery care was available. Her term 3096-g female infant developed hypertension, biventricular hypertrophy, and right kidney ischemia. She underwent surgical repair at 2 months of life but subsequently lost all residual renal function and was not a candidate for dialysis. Support was withdrawn and she expired. Although isolated fetal AAA is rare, prenatal diagnosis is feasible and facilitates early referral for multi-disciplinary postnatal care. Outcome depends on the size and location of the aneurysm as well as on peri-operative complications.


2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (6) ◽  
pp. 2038
Author(s):  
Karthick Jayapal ◽  
Hassan Adnan Mansour

Background: The presentation of minor head trauma warrants immediate and accurate diagnosis for early clinical management among children. Computed Tomography is the gold standard tool for the diagnosis of Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) among the children. The timing of presentation may have a significant role in predicting the incidence of TBI. This study was done to compare the CT findings among children who presented within and after 24 hours with minor head trauma.Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out among 992 children between 2-15 years reporting with a history of head injury. All the participants were clinically examined, and relevant history of type of injury and timing of presentation was recorded. CT scan was taken as per PECARN criteria. Data was entered and analysed using SPSS ver 15 software.Results: Majority of the participants belonged to 6-10 years of age (45.2%) and were males (58.5%). About 81.7% of the participants presented within 24 hours. The overall prevalence of TBI among the study participants was 58.6% [55.5-61.6].It was observed that hematoma predominantly presented after 24 hours (74.2%) and majority of the falls presented after 24 hours (92.8%).Patients who presented after 24 hours were at increased risk of presenting as TBI (67.03%) compared to those presenting within 24 hours (56.8%;p<0.05).Conclusions: This study has emphasized the need for including the timing of presentation as a key factor for facilitating early diagnosis and rapid case management of pediatric head trauma.


Author(s):  
Chintan Upadhyay ◽  
Nisha Upadhyay

Background: When clinical pregnancy is established, the risk of spontaneous pregnancy loss is ~12-14%, and therefore the incidence of Recurrent Pregnancy Loss (RPL) by chance alone would be in the order of 0.35%. It occurs in 0.5-3% of women. The objective of this study was to evaluate the obstetric outcome in pregnancies with history of one or more abortions.Methods: It is a retrospective cross-sectional study done at Obstetrics and Gynecology Department, Dr. B. R. Ambedkar Medical College and Hospital, Bangalore. Record review of cases was done from January 2005 to December 2009. Inclusion criteria were pregnancies with history of previous abortions.Results: There were 400 cases with previous history of abortions. There were 266 (66.4%) booked cases while 134 (33.5%) were unbooked cases. 272 (68.0%) patients crossed viable period of pregnancy (more than 28 weeks). Around 56 (14.0%) cases had repeat abortions, 276 (69.0%) cases underwent vaginal delivery and 124 (31.0%) underwent cesarean section. Almost 91 (22.8%) of Babies were low birth weight while others were above 2.5 kg. There were 52 (13.0%) preterm babies and 28 (7.0%) Intrauterine demise of fetuses.Conclusions: Patients with previous history of abortions are at increased risk of adverse maternal and perinatal outcome.


Author(s):  
Vanithamani Sivapragasam ◽  
Anitha A. Manjappa ◽  
Aruna B. Patil ◽  
Monicka Kalaimani

Background: Up to 85% of the women experience some type of mood disturbance in the postnatal period. Postpartum depression affects bonding with infant which may lead to malnutrition and other complications in the infant. This article focuses on the prevalence of depression among postnatal women attending a tertiary care institute in Chennai and to identify the risk factors that affect postpartum depression.Methods: This study was a cross sectional study, performed over a period of three months from January 2019 to March 2019. 200 postnatal mothers were recruited for the study, who were in postpartum period from 1 to 6 weeks after delivery. Specially designed proforma was used to record various determinants to assess the risk factors which could contribute to postpartum depression. The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale was used to detect the depressive symptoms in postnatal mother.Results: A total of 200 cases were studied. Prevalence of postpartum depression was found to be 25%. Primi gravida, history of miscarriage and unplanned pregnancy were associated with increased risk of developing depression in the postnatal period. Fear regarding gender of the child and failure of lactation were not contributing risk factors to postpartum depression. Spacious house and partner support were found to be protective factors to combat depression in postnatal women.Conclusions: Prevalence of postpartum depression was 25%. Significant association was found between primi gravida, history of miscarriage, unplanned pregnancy and postpartum depression. Early screening of the women will reduce the adverse outcomes among both mother and the child.


Stroke ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 48 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ali Mahta ◽  
Alexander E Merkler ◽  
Michael E Reznik ◽  
Hooman Kamel

Background: Whether emphysema is associated with the development and rupture of cerebral and abdominal aortic aneurysms is unclear. Methods and Materials: We performed a retrospective cohort study using outpatient and impatient claims data from a nationally representative 5% sample of Medicare beneficiaries > 66 years of age. Our predictor variable was emphysema and our outcome was a hospitalization for aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) or ruptured aortic aneurysm. All predictors and outcomes were defined using previously reported International Classification of Diseases, 9 th Revision, Clinical Modification ( ICD-9-CM ) diagnosis code algorithms. Survival statistics were used to calculate incidence rates and Cox regression was used to measure the association between emphysema and outcomes while adjusting for demographics and previously reported risk factors for aneurysm rupture: hypertension, diabetes, and tobacco and alcohol use. Results: We identified 133,337 patients with emphysema and 1,484,760 patients without emphysema. Over a mean follow-up period of 4.3 (+/-1.9) years, we identified 5,396 cases of aneurysm rupture, 477 of which occurred in patients with emphysema. The annual incidence of aneurysm rupture was 159 (95% confidence interval [CI], 146-174) per 100,000 in patients with emphysema and 74 (95% CI, 72-76) per 100,000 in patients without emphysema. After adjusting for demographics and other risk factors, emphysema was independently associated with aneurysm rupture (hazard ratio [HR], 1.6; 95% CI, 1.4-1.8). In secondary analyses, emphysema was associated with both aneurysmal SAH (HR, 1.4; 95% CI, 1.2-1.6) and ruptured aortic aneurysm (HR, 2.1; 95% CI, 1.7-2.5). Conclusion: Patients with emphysema faced an increased risk of developing SAH and aortic aneurysm rupture. This finding is consistent with the hypothesis that protease/anti-protease imbalance, which is seen in emphysema, may play a role in vessel wall weakening and the development and rupture of aneurysms.


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