Diagnostyka obrazowa kręgosłupa z uwzględnieniem nowych technik obrazowania

Autorzy przedstawili obecny pogląd na diagnostykę obrazową kręgosłupa, z uwzględnieniem najnowszych technik diagnostycznych — tomografii komputerowej (TK) i rezonansu magnetycznego (MR, magnetic resonance). Celem nowoczesnej diagnostyki kręgosłupa jest precyzyjna ocena zmian patologicznych umożliwiająca rozpoznanie, optymalne planowanie i monitorowanie leczenia. Nowe wielorzędowe aparaty TK umożliwiają dokładną ocenę struktur kostnych kręgosłupa i monitorowanie leczenia, w szczególności chirurgicznego. Nowa generacja aparatów MR pozwala na precyzyjną lokalizację zmian w zakresie kręgów i rdzenia kręgowego. Najnowsze techniki MR, zwłaszcza obrazowanie tensora dyfuzji, otwierają nowe możliwości szczegółowej diagnostyce i monitorowaniu chorób rdzenia kręgowego. Autorzy opisali rolę każdej z metod obrazowych oraz algorytm diagnostyczny w poszczególnych zmianach patologicznych kręgosłupa Polski Przegląd Neurologiczny 2010; 6 (1): 38–4

Znaczenie badań obrazowych w diagnostyce nieurazowych zespołów bólowych kręgosłupa

Bóle kręgosłupa są jedną z najczęstszych przyczyn zgłaszania się do lekarza pierwszego kontaktu. Ocenia się, że około 70% osób po 30. roku życia przynajmniej raz doświadczyło dolegliwości bólowych kręgosłupa. Bóle tego typu stanowią zatem poważny problem społeczny i medyczny. Ich przyczyn jest wiele. W większości przypadków jest to tak zwany prosty ból o etiologii mechanicznej. Nadrzędnym celem diagnostycznym jest wykluczenie poważnych przyczyn zespołów bólowych kręgosłupa. Autorzy omówili zalecaną kolejność wykonywania badań obrazowych u pacjentów z zespołem bólowym kręgosłupa, uwzględniając zagadnienia ochrony radiologicznej, wskazania, przeciwwskazania, dostępność aparatury i aspekt ekonomiczny. Przedstawiono również zakres możliwej odpowiedzi na pytania kliniczne, jakich można oczekiwać w opisach badań radiologicznych. Omówili także sposób przygotowania pacjenta do poszczególnych badań obrazowych, z uwzględnieniem zagadnień dotyczących stosowania środków kontrastowych. Z opracowania wyłączono urazy kręgosłupa (zagadnienie to dotyczy standardów medycyny ratunkowej). Polski Przegląd Neurologiczny 2010; 6 (2): 92–10

Pneumocystis jirovecii colonization in preterm newborns with respiratory distress syndrome

© The Author(s) 2021. Published by Oxford University Press for the Infectious Diseases Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, e-mail: [email protected] describe the prevalence of Pneumocystis jirovecii in mother-infant pairs of very low birth weight newborns <32 weeks gestation. Molecular and microscopic methods were used for detection of P. jirovecii in patients' specimens. Pneumocystis DNA was detected in eight nasopharyngeal aspirates (14%) of 56 newborns and in seven oral washes (21%) of 34 mothers. Pneumocystis detection immediately after birth suggests the possibility of its transplacental transmission. Comparing to non-colonized infants, more frequent occurrence of bronchopulmonary dysplasia was seen in colonized ones (P=0.02), suggesting a potential clinical importance of this pathogen in abnormal lung development.publishersversionpublishe

Clinical and radiological features of nonfamilial cherubism : a case report

Background: Cherubism is an uncommon hereditary benign fibro-osseous disorder characterized by bilateral enlargement of the mandible and the maxilla that presents with varying degrees of involvement and a tendency toward spontaneous remission. On radiography cherubic lesions appear as cystic multilocular radiolucencies limited to the jaw bones. Case Report: A 5-year-old boy was referred to the Department of Maxillo-Facial Surgery due to deformation of the lower and middle section of the face and displacement or absence of teeth. A panoramic radiograph and a computed tomography revealed extensive multilocular, bilateral radiolucent areas and marked bony expansion in the mandible and maxilla, with sparing of the mandibular condyles. Histopathological evaluation of an incisional biopsy of the left maxilla and genotypic characterization confirmed the diagnosis of cherubism. Conclusions: The radiologic characteristics of cherubism are not pathognomonic but the diagnosis is strongly suggested by bilateral relatively symmetric jaw involvement that is limited to the jaw bones and, together with clinical and histopathologic findings, enables the diagnosis of cherubism. Genotypic characterization confirms the diagnosis

Odontogenic inflammatory processes of head and neck in computed tomography examinations

Background: Infections of odontogenic origin are the most common cause of inflammatory disease of head and neck region. Computed tomography allows for defining localization and extent of inflammatory lesions, visualizes soft tissue involvement, presence of an abscess or an osteolytic lesion around causative tooth. The aim of this study was to assess pathways, by which odontogenic infections spread into respective deep head and neck structures in computed tomography examination, taking into account the following criteria: frequency of involvement of respective deep cervical spaces, possibility to determine a probable causative tooth and concordance with the results of clinical examination. Material/Methods: Thirty-eight patients cervicofacial inflammatory disease had undergone CT examination of head and neck region with a 64-slice CT scanner after intravenous contrast administration. Results: Abscess was reported in 30 (79%) cases, while inflammatory infiltration was diagnosed in remaining 8 (21%) patients. There was full concordance between radiological report and intraoperative report In 33 cases (87%). The most commonly involved cervical space was masticator space - 31 patients (82%), followed by submandibular space - 27 patients (71%). Dental examination was impossible in 29 patient because of trismus. During analysis of CT studies we evaluated maxillary and mandibular alveolar processes for presence of osteolytic bone lesions around causative teeth roots and we found them in 30 cases (79%). In 32 cases (84%) cervicofacial infection were of mandibular odontogenic origin. Conclusions: In most cases CT study in patients suspected of odontogenic craniofacial infection revealed presence of an abscess, needing urgent surgery. Inflammatory infiltration of dental origin most frequently involves masticator space, followed by submandibular space. In most cases CT scanning allows for identification of causative teeth, especially when trismus makes detailed clinical examination impossible

Development of Scientific Thinking Facilitated by Reflective Self-Assessment in a Communication-Intensive Food Science and Human Nutrition Course

A one-credit seminar on controversies in food science and human nutrition was a platform to introduce students to learning frameworks for thinking-like-a-scientist. We hypothesized that explicitly engaging students in thinking about their thinking abilities within these frameworks would enhance their self-perception of scientific thinking, an important general ability for food scientists. Our objectives were to assess thinking-like-a-scientist using a student self-assessment survey, and analyze their self-reflections for evidence of such thinking. For students enrolled in one of the offerings of this course among five semesters from 2012-2014, differences in scores on a survey instrument for thinking-like-a-scientist from the beginning to the end of the course showed gains in self-assessed abilities (N = 21-22 students/semester). In each of the first 2 semesters in which we introduced thinking-like-a-scientist frameworks, students thought they were better at defining problems scientifically by 13-14%. In the third course offering, students’ self-assessment of their abilities to seek evidence improved by 10%. In the fourth and fifth semester course offerings, students’ self-assessed abilities to develop plans based on evidence improved by 7-14%. At the end of each semester, students’ self-reflections on scientific thinking (N = 20-24/semester) included specific reference to asking questions (45-65% of reflections) and making plans based on evidence (26-50% of reflections). These data support the usefulness of self-reflection tools as well as specific learning frameworks to help students to think about and practice thinking-like-a-scientist.This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Hendrich, Suzanne, Barbara Licklider, Katherine Thompson, Janette Thompson, Cynthia Haynes, and Jan Wiersema. "Development of Scientific Thinking Facilitated by Reflective Self‐Assessment in a Communication‐Intensive Food Science and Human Nutrition Course." Journal of Food Science Education 17, no. 1 (2018): 8-13, which has been published in final form at doi:10.1111/1541-4329.12127. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Use of Self-Archived Versions.</p

Mindset about Intelligence and Meaningful and Mindful Effort: It's Not My Hardest Class Any More!

College students’ implicit theories (or mindsets) about intelligence can affect not only their motivations toward learning, but also their cognitive habits and behaviors while learning thus impacting academic achievement. In this paper we describe learning experiences we used with our learning community to 1) introduce students to the concept of implicit theories (mindsets) about intelligence, 2) encourage them to move toward growth mindsets rather than fixed mindsets about their abilities to learn, 3) challenge them to identify learning as more than memorization and recall, and 4) hold them accountable for doing the work of the mind (meaningful and mindful effort) required for learning. Questionnaires given at the beginning and again at the end of the semester revealed increases in students’ self-reported knowledge of mindset about intelligence and the effect it has on their abilities to learn, about the impact meaningful and mindful effort has on learning, and about the meaning of effort. More important, students also reported positive changes in behaviors as they took more responsibility for their own growth and development by practicing the work of the mind. Leaders of learning communities can use this set of learning experiences to help their students achieve even more academic success.This article is from Learning Communities Research and Practice 3 (2015): 3. Posted with permission.</p

Mindset about Intelligence and Meaningful and Mindful Effort: It\u27s Not My Hardest Class Any More!

College students’ implicit theories (or mindsets) about intelligence can affect not only their motivations toward learning, but also their cognitive habits and behaviors while learning thus impacting academic achievement. In this paper we describe learning experiences we used with our learning community to 1) introduce students to the concept of implicit theories (mindsets) about intelligence, 2) encourage them to move toward growth mindsets rather than fixed mindsets about their abilities to learn, 3) challenge them to identify learning as more than memorization and recall, and 4) hold them accountable for doing the work of the mind (meaningful and mindful effort) required for learning. Questionnaires given at the beginning and again at the end of the semester revealed increases in students’ self-reported knowledge of mindset about intelligence and the effect it has on their abilities to learn, about the impact meaningful and mindful effort has on learning, and about the meaning of effort. More important, students also reported positive changes in behaviors as they took more responsibility for their own growth and development by practicing the work of the mind. Leaders of learning communities can use this set of learning experiences to help their students achieve even more academic success