Abscess of the lacrimal sac due to chronic or subacute dacryocystitis:Treatment with temporary stent placement in the nasolacrimal duct

Stents were placed temporarily in 10 obstructed lacrimal systems in patients with a chronic or subacute lacrimal abscess that did not respond to conventional antibiotic therapy. In all 10 cases, the abscess was treated successfully. Long-term patency of the lacrimal system was restored in five cases. Temporary stent placement appears to be a promising method to treat a chronic or subacute lacrimal abscess

Differences between first and subsequent rounds of the MRISC breast cancer screening program for women with a familial or genetic predisposition

BACKGROUND. within the Dutch MRI Screening (MRISC) study, a Dutch multicenter screening study for hereditary breast cancer, the authors investigated whether previously reported increased diagnostic accuracy of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) compared with mammography would be maintained during subsequent screening rounds. METHODS. From November 1999 to October 2003,1909 eligible women were included in the study. Screening parameters and tumor characteristics of different rounds were calculated and compared. The authors defined 3 different types of imaging screening rounds: first round in women never screened by imaging before, first round in women screened by imaging (mainly mammography) before, and subsequent rounds. RESULTS. The difference in sensitivity for invasive cancers between mammography and MRI was largest in the first round of women previously screened with mammography (20.0 vs. 93.3%; P =.003), but also in subsequent rounds, there was a significant difference in favor of MRI (29.4 vs. 76.5%; P =.02). The difference in false-positive rate between mammography and MRI was also largest in the first round of women previously screened with mammography (5.5 vs. 14.0%; P CONCLUSIONS. in subsequent rounds, a significantly higher sensitivity and better discriminating capacity of MRI compared with mammography was maintained, and a favorable tumor stage compared with age-matched symptomatic controls. As results of these subsequent screening rounds were most predictive for long-term effects, the authors expect that this screening program will contribute to a decrease of breast cancer mortality in these high-risk women