326. Radiologic Findings of COVID-19 Associated Mucormycosis (CAM) from India

Background The unique feature of the second wave of the COVID -19 pandemic in India has been the alarming surge of acute invasive fungal infection among COVID -19 patients. The increased incidence of rhino-orbito-cerebral mucormycosis is a matter of concern, as this fulminant infection has high morbidity and mortality. Hence, it is imperative to understand it’s imaging features, for early diagnosis, staging and treatment. Methods We systematically reviewed 32 COVID-19 cases with imaging diagnosis of acute invasive fungal rhino-sinusitis or rhino-orbital-cerebral disease between March to May 2021. These patients underwent contrast MRI of the paranasal sinus, orbit and brain. Contrast enhanced CT chest and paranasal sinuses were done as needed. Results The age group ranged between 30 to 71 yrs with male preponderance. The most common predisposing factors were intravenous steroid therapy and supplemental oxygen. All cases were confirmed by fungal culture and most common was Mucor. The rhino-orbito-cerebral mucormycosis was staged as below In our study we found that the most common site in the nasal cavity was the middle turbinate /meatus and the earliest sign was non-enhancing / “black” turbinate. Premaxillary and retroantral fat necrosis was the earliest sign of soft tissue invasion. Spread via the sphenopalatine foramen and pterygopalatine fossa was more common than bony erosions. Orbital cellulitis and optic neuritis were the most common among stage 3 cases. Of patients with CNS involvement, the most common were cavernous sinus thrombosis and trigeminal neuritis. Two patients with pulmonary mucormycosis showed large necrotic cavitary lesions, giving the characteristic “bird’s nest” appearance. Figure 1. Black turbinate Contrast enhanced coronal T1 FS images of paranasal sinuses shows necrotic non-enhancing right superior and middle turbinates (*) Figure 2: Axial contrast enhanced T1 FS image showing necrotic non enhancing premaxillary (arrowhead) and retroantral fat (straight arrow) walled off by thin enhancing rim. Figure 3: Contrast enhanced axial T1 FS images of paranasal sinuses shows necrotic non-enhancing left middle meatus spreading along sphenopalatine foramen in to pterygopalatine fossa (arrow head) Conclusion The mortality rate was 20% in our study. In our short term follow up, 30 % of recovered patients had relapse on imaging due to incomplete clearance and partial antifungal treatment. High clinical suspicion and low imaging threshold are vital for early Mucormycosis detection in COVID-19 patients. Familiarity with early imaging signs is critical to prevent associated morbidity /mortality. Figure 4: Contrast enhanced coronal T1 FS and diffusion weighted images shows necrotic non-enhancing left middle meatus with left orbital cellulitis (*) and optic neuritis (white arrow) Figure 5. Bird’s nest Axial CT chest image in lung window shows necrotic right upper lobe cavity with internal septations and debris on a background of surrounding COVID-19 changes. Disclosures All Authors: No reported disclosures

Analysis of the effect of dexmedetomidine combination with regional anesthesia on the cognitive state in the post-anesthesia period in ophthalmic surgery

Given a reduced cognitive reserve in patients in ophthalmic surgery, an anesthesiologist should pay special attention when choosing a method of anesthesia to prevent the development of postoperative cognitive dysfunction. The concept of multimodal anesthesia makes it possible to reduce the total number of narcotic analgesics and ataractics used intraoperatively while maintaining an adequate level of anesthesia and sedation, both intraoperatively and in the postoperative period. In ophthalmic surgery, regional anesthesia (pterygopalatine fossa blockade) is used before surgery in combination with infusion of dexmedetomidine. Materials and methods. The study was conducted at the premises of Dnipropet­rovsk Regional Clinical Ophthalmologic Hospital, 61 patients were examined after penetrating keratoplasty. The age of the subjects ranged from 18 to 60 years (mean age of 52.1 ± 2.0 years). Patients were randomized into two groups. Group d (n = 30) are patients who received anesthesia according to the following scheme: premedication for 40 min — infusion of dexmedetomidine, ondansetron 4 mg, dexamethasone 4 mg, ketorolac 30 mg intravenously; induction — propofol 2–2.5 mg/kg fractionally until the onset of the clinical signs of anesthesia, fentanyl 0.005% 0.1 mg; relaxation on the background of atracurium besylate 0.3–0.6 mg/kg, tracheal intubation; maintenance of anesthesia: oxygen — sevoflurane mixture with FiO2 50–55 %, end-expired sevoflurane 1.4–1.8 vol.% (1–1.5 minimum alveolar concentration), use of low-flow technique. In the second group (db, n = 31), anesthesia was performed as in group d with the addition of pterygopalatine fossa blockade. Group d included 18 (60 %) men and 12 (40 %) women, mean age of 49.5 ± 2.5 years; db group — 16 (51.61 %) men and 15 (48.39 %) women (p = 0.583 according to the chi-square), mean age of 55.5 ± 3.2 years (p = 0.142 according to the t-test). Results. A comparative analysis of changes in cognitive status between db and d groups has shown no significant changes (p < 0.05) at different stages of neuropsychological testing. When considering the results of testing to assess short-term verbal memory in db and d groups, there was a 25 % decrease in the first 6 hours after surgery. After all, in d group, the indicators remained low compared to baseline until the 7th day of the postoperative period, while in the db group the recovery of short-term memory occurred one day after surgery. In both groups, the result of the Luria test on day 21 exceeded the baseline by 12.5 % in both groups. Examination using visual analogue scale has demonstrated that patients in db group felt better than those in d group. Conclusions. Thus, we see that the combination of dexmedetomidine with regional anesthesia in addition to less impact on the cognitive state improves the subjective well-being in the postoperative period in patients in ophthalmic surgery. Due to this, another link of influence on the etiological factors of postoperative cognitive dysfunction formation seems to appear.

A novel dosimetric metrics-based risk model to predict local recurrence in nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients treated with intensity-modulated radiation therapy

Background To develop a risk model based on dosimetric metrics to predict local recurrence in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) patients treated with intensive modulated radiation therapy (IMRT). Methods 493 consecutive patients were included, among whom 44 were with local recurrence. One-to-two propensity score matching (PSM) was used to balance variables between recurrent and non-recurrent groups. Dosimetric metrics were extracted, and critical dosimetric predictors of local recurrence were identified by Cox regression model. Moreover, recurrent sites and patterns were examined by transferring the recurrent tumor to the pretreatment planning computed tomography. Results After PSM, 44 recurrent and 88 non-recurrent patients were used for dosimetric analysis. The univariate analysis showed that eight dosimetric metrics and homogeneity index were significantly associated with local recurrence. The risk model integrating D5 and D95 achieved a C-index of 0.706 for predicting 3-year local recurrence free survival (LRFS). By grouping patients using median value of risk score, patients with risk score ˃ 0.885 had significantly lower 3-year LRFS (66.2% vs. 86.4%, p = 0.023). As for recurrent features, the proportion of relapse in nasopharynx cavity, clivus, and pterygopalatine fossa was 61.4%, 52.3%, and 40.9%, respectively; and in field, marginal, and outside field recurrence constituted 68.2%, 20.5% and 11.3% of total recurrence, respectively. Conclusions The current study developed a novel risk model that could effectively predict the LRFS in NPC patients. Additionally, nasopharynx cavity, clivus, and pterygopalatine fossa were common recurrent sites and in field recurrence remained the major failure pattern of NPC in the IMRT era.

Analysis of the pterygopalatine fossa in patients undergoing surgically-assisted rapid maxillary expansion: a morphometric study using cone beam

This retrospective, observational, longitudinal study performed a morphometric analysis of the pterygopalatine fossa (PPF) in patients undergoing surgically assisted rapid maxillary expansion (SARME) using cone beam CT (CBCT). CBCT scans of 41 consecutive patients were assessed and the following measurements were performed: PPF volume (PPFV), height (PPFH), length (PPFL) and angle (PPFA). The sample was divided into groups D (patients undergoing SARME; n=26) and control (n=15). Group D was subdivided into D+ (with pterygomaxillary disjunction – PMD) and D- (without PMD). The differences between the pre and postoperative periods were tested using the U Mann-Whitney or the t-test. Groups D+ and D- were compared using the one-way ANOVA or Kruskal-Wallis tests (level of significance set at 5%). In general, there were morphometric variations in PPF, with lower values after SARME. Differences for PPFH, PPFL and PPFA were not significant (p>0.05). On the right side, there were differences in PPFV, with lower values in patients from group D+ (p<0.05). These findings indicate a morphometric reduction of PPF after SARME, with differences when the disjunction is performed or not. The maxillofacial surgeon must be aware of these changes when performing SARME with or without disjunction.

Efficacy of a combination of regional methods of anesthesia with general anesthesia in corneal transplantation

Background. Despite the significant development of modern anesthesiology, the pain relief of surgical patients is still unsatisfactory. Inadequate pain management causes psychological discomfort and complications. The combination of general anesthesia with various options for local anesthesia allows one to get closer to solving the problem of pain. The aim of the study was to compare the effect of multicomponent balanced anesthesia (intravenous + inhalation) and multicomponent balanced anesthesia, supplemented by pterygopalatine fossa blockade on the safety and efficacy of anesthesia for corneal transplantation. Materials and methods. The study included 73 patients, divided into two groups. Group С received multicomponent balanced anesthesia, group B — pterygopalatine fossa blockade additionally. The main criteria for evaluating the results of the study were: stability of hemodynamics and gas exchange during surgery, the severity of intraoperative pain syndrome by recording the analgesia nociception index, the severity of postoperative pain syndrome and the incidence of postoperative nausea and vomiting. Results. Both schemes of anesthetic management made it possible to avoid pronounced fluctuations in hemodynamic and gas exchange parameters at all stages of the study. Analyzing the severity of intraoperative pain, we found that in group С, pain relief could be considered insufficient during the first 7 minutes of the most traumatic stage of the operation, while in group B the analgesia nociception index did not decrease below 50. Statistically significant differences were obtained during 8 out of 10 minutes of the stage. Analysis of the pain relief quality in the postoperative period has shown that the level of pain according to the visual analogue scale upon awakening was equal to 0 in both groups, at the next three stages of the study (two and six hours after surgery and on the morning of the next day) the level pain in group C was significantly higher than in group B. Conclusions. The addition of regional blockade to multicomponent general anesthesia allows for adequate control of postoperative pain without compromising the safety profile.

Pterygopalatine Fossa: A Way to Spread Mucormycosis with Multiple Cranial Nerve Involvement

Background: Mucormycosis is a rare, aggressive, and fatal infection caused by fungi of the Mucorales order of Zygomycete fungi. Mucormycosis is mainly found in patients with chronic conditions, and clinical cases are observed only in immunocompromised patients and patients with uncontrolled diabetes mellitus. Rhinocerebral type is the most prevalent type of mucormycosis which has a characteristic method of spread. Although the involvement of cranial nerves is not common, it can be multiple with facial nerve involvement. Case Presentation: We described an unusual route of fungus spread in a 50-year-old woman with the involvement of many cranial nerves, without obvious necrosis or significant involvement of paranasal sinuses. Pterygopalatine fossa was a way to spread mucormycosis. Conclusion: In every diabetic patient with cranial nerve palsy and sinusitis, invasive mucormycosis must be considered.