A 48-year-old Man with Epigastric Pain and Melena

A 48-year-old male patient presented to the emergency department with the complaints of epigastric pain and melena for the past 3 days. The pain was started suddenly and has progressed and after a while, he passed melena stool. He also mentioned some episodes of vomiting that was not bloody. The pain score was about 8/10 (based on verbal quantitative scale) and slightly radiated to back. He loosed his appetite and the pain aggravated by meal. He did not use any drug regularly and had no positive medical history for specific disease or prior hospital admission. The patient was slightly pale and sweaty. His pulse rate was 80/minute and blood pressure was elevated as 180/100 mm Hg. Routine blood tests such as liver enzyme and serum amylase levels were normal. Complete blood cell count showed mild anemia (Haemoglobin =10 g/dl) and leucocytosis (16600/mm3). On physical examination, there were not any positive findings except mild epigastric tenderness without rebound or guarding. Electrocardiography revealed normal sinus rhythm without any pathologic findings. The patient was admitted in surgical ward and plain abdominal computed tomography (CT) scan and abdominal CT angiogram was done. The findings of CT are shown in figures 1A-D

Torsion of a wandering spleen presenting as acute abdomen

BACKGROUND: Wandering spleen is a rare condition which if uncorrected, can result in torsion and infarction. Clinical presentation of a wandering spleen can vary from asymptomatic abdominal mass to acute abdominal pain. Radiological investigations play a pivotal role in diagnosis as the clinical diagnosis is usually impossible. CASE REPORT: We present a case of wandering spleen with torsion and complete infarction that occurred in a 32-year-old multiparous female. The diagnosis was established preoperatively on colour Doppler and CT of the abdomen with subsequent confirmation on surgery. CONCLUSIONS: Wandering spleen is a rare clinical condition which can present as acute abdomen. An increased awareness of this entity together with the timely use of ultrasound and CT of the abdomen can play an important role in preoperative diagnosis and surgical management

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) characterization of perianal fistulous disease in a rural based tertiary hospital of North India

BACKGROUND: To diagnose and characterize the perianal fistulous disease using Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in a hilly and rural area of North India. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This prospective hospital based study was conducted for a period of one year from April 2014 to April 2015 in the departments of Radiodiagnosis and Surgery of our institute. A total of 50 consecutive patients presenting with perianal fistulous disease fulfilling the inclusion and exclusion criteria were included in the study and taken up for MRI. The perianal fistulae were classified according to St James University hospital classification and tracks were assessed with regard to anatomical plane, length, ramifications, abscess formation, enteric communication, external cutaneous opening, enhancement and suprasphincteric extension. Surgical correlation was done in 31 patients who opted for surgical treatment. Rest of the 19 patients preferred alternative medicine for treatment or chose to postpone their surgery. RESULTS: The disease was much more prevalent in males in comparison to females with male to female ratio of 24:1. Grade 4 was the most common type of fistula (34%) while Grade 5 was the least common type (4%).MRI showed a high sensitivity of 93.7% and positive predictive value (PPV) of 96.7% when correlated with surgical findings. A substantial number of patients (38%) preferred alternative medicine or non surgical form of treatment. CONCLUSIONS: MRI is a very sensitive modality for the evaluation of perianal fistula. In our study group, the disease predominantly affected middle aged men. Ramifications and abscesses were commonly seen, affecting nearly half of the patients and majority of the patients had active fistulous tracks with posteriorly located enteric opening. Overall, transsphincteric fistulae were most common. Significant number of patients avoided surgery or showed preference for non surgical treatment

Unusual case of sciatic nerve and deep pelvic endometriosis with lumbosacral plexus spread presenting with muscular atrophy and foot drop

Endometriosis is an important disorder which affects women in the childbearing age group. In addition to the commonly observed intrapelvic sites, it can very rarely affect extrapelvic location such as the sciatic nerve. We describe an uncommon case of sciatic endometriosis leading to gross muscular atrophy and foot drop. The patient additionally had perineural extension of endometriosis along the ipsilateral lumbosacral trunk and coexisting intrapelvic endometrial implants in retrocervical area, uterosacral ligament, and urinary bladder wall

A prospective comparative study of high resolution ultrasound and MRI in the diagnosis of rotator cuff tears in a tertiary hospital of North India

BACKGROUND: To evaluate the accuracy of high resolution ultrasound (USG) and MRI in the diagnosis of rotator cuff tears (RCT) and to determine if high resolution USG compares favorably in sensitivity and specificity to MRI in the diagnosis of rotator cuff injury. MATERIAL AND METHODS: In this prospective comparative study, 40 patients with clinically suspected rotator cuff tears underwent both ultrasound and MRI of the shoulder. Out of these 40 patients, 31 patients who had positive findings for rotator cuff tears on ultrasound and/or MRI were finally included in the study while the remaining 9 patients with negative or unrelated findings were excluded. The USG and MRI were interpreted by two radiologists experienced in musculoskeletal radiology and blinded to findings of each other. Comparison was done using MRI as a standard reference. RESULTS: The agreement between USG and MRI for diagnosis of RCTs was statistically excellent; USG showed a sensitivity of 86.7% and a specificity of 100% for full-thickness tears, and a sensitivity of 89.7% and a specificity of 98.8% for partial-thickness tears; observed accuracy for full thickness tears was 98.4% and 95.9% for partial thickness tears. The Kappa coefficient of association was 0.91 for full thickness tears and 0.90 for partial thickness tears. CONCLUSIONS: Considering the comparable diagnostic accuracy of USG and MRI, the former modality can be used as a first-line investigation for diagnosis of RCT. MRI should be used secondarily as a problem-solving tool either following an equivocal shoulder USG or for delineation of anatomy in cases where surgical correction is needed