Positron Emission Tomography Can Support the Diagnosis of Dialysis-Related Amyloidosis

Background: The improvements in dialysis have not eliminated long-term problems, including dialysis-related amyloidosis (DRA), caused by Beta-2 microglobulin deposition. Several types of scintigraphy have been tested to detect DRA, none entered the clinical practice. Aim of the study was to assess the potential of PET-FDG scan in the diagnosis of DRA. Methods: Forty-six dialysis patients with at least one PET scan (72 scans) were selected out 162 patients treated in 2016–2018. Subjective global assessment (SGA), malnutrition inflammation score (A), Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI), were assessed at time of scan; 218 age-matched cases with normal kidney function were selected as controls. PET scans were read in duplicate. Carpal tunnel syndrome was considered a proxy for DRA. A composite “amyloid score” score considered each dialysis year = 1 point; carpal tunnel-DRA = 5 points per site. Logistic regression, ROC curves and a prediction model were built. Results: The prevalence of positive PET was 43.5% in dialysis, 5% in controls (p < 0.0001). PET was positive in 14/15 (93.3%) scans in patients with carpal tunnel. PET sensitivity for detecting DRA was 95% (specificity 64%). Carpal tunnel was related to dialysis vintage and MIS. A positive PET scan was significantly associated with dialysis vintage, MIS and amyloid score. A prediction model to explain PET positivity combined clinical score and MIS, allowing for an AUC of 0.906 (CI: 0.813–0.962; p < 0.001). Conclusions: PET-FDG may identify DRA, and may be useful in detecting cases in which inflammation favours B2M deposition. This finding, needing large-scale confirmation, could open new perspectives in the study of DRA

Spontaneous Renal Artery Dissection in Ehler-Danlos Syndrome.

Renal infarction is a relatively infrequent condition, most commonly occurring in the presence of predisposing factors, including atherosclerosis, valvular or ischemic heart disease, atrial fibrillation, endocarditis, hypercoagulability, malignancy, vasculitis, and kidney trauma. [...

Non-surgical Management of Blunt Splenic Trauma: A Comparative Analysis of Non-operative Management and Splenic Artery Embolization—Experience from a European Trauma Center

Purpose: The objective of our study was to retrospectively compare the outcomes of non-operative management (NOM) and splenic artery embolization (SAE) in the management of hemodynamically stable patients with splenic injuries. Materials and Methods: In a 5-year period, 109 patients were recorded; 60/109 were treated with NOM and 49/109 with SAE. For each patient, the following parameters were assessed: Glasgow coma scale, injury severity score, American Association for the Surgery of Trauma splenic injury grade, transfusion requirements, hemoglobin level, presence of a splenic vascular lesion (SVL) and amount of hemoperitoneum (Bessoud scale). Different SAE techniques (proximal, distal, combined) with different materials were employed. Clinical success was defined as spleen conservation at 30 days; failure was defined as spleen re-bleeding within 30 days, requiring splenectomy. Student’s t test or Chi-square analysis and the Kaplan–Mayer curve were used to analyse each group’s results and compare them with those of the other group. Results: In the SAE group, AAST splenic injury grade was higher and serum hemoglobin levels were lower. The SAE group had significantly more SVL and hemoperitoneum compared to the NOM group. The clinical success rate was not significantly different between groups (NOM = 95%, SAE = 87.8%; p = 0.16). Sixty-six percent of NOM failures were related to inadequate patient selection, while 67% of SAE failures were due to technical/procedural issues. Conclusion: Our study observed a high splenic salvage rate with the use of SAE as an adjunct to NOM, and suggests that it may be further improved with appropriate patient selection and an improved embolization technique