An Unusual Complication of Otitis Media: Luc's Abscess

Luc's abscess is an extremely rare complication of otitis media, caused by the spread of the middle ear infection to the subperiosteal area and its accumulation beneath the temporal muscle. Unlike other subperiosteal abscesses relating to otitis media, infection may not be associated with mastoid bone involvement. Therefore, it is defined as a benign complication of otitis media. However, its rare occurrence may lead to delayed diagnosis and treatment. Here we report a case of an 11-year-old boy diagnosed with Luc's abscess with mastoid involvement. We discuss its clinical presentation and treatment with a review of the literature

Possible alendronate-induced polyarticular synovitis

We present a case of polyarticular synovitis following alendronate treatment for osteoporosis. The patient had no evidence of rheumatoid arthritis, pyrophosphate arthropathy, or seronegative/seropositive arthritis. Our main aim in this study is to highlight the potential adverse effects of alendronate and to warn orthopedic surgeons about the possibility of such a side effect that might lead orthopedic surgeons to administer wrong and unnecessary treatments like arthrocentesis. The withdrawal of alendronate is found to be the treatment of choice. Alendronate should be considered as a possible cause of synovitis or polyarthritis in patients treated with this agent in the absence of any other pathology. An association between alendronate and synovitis has rarely been described in the literature. We present a patient who developed polyarticular synovitis after treatment with alendronate and responded to its withdrawal

The prognostic value of pneumonia severity score and pectoralis muscle Area on chest CT in adult COVID-19 patients.

PURPOSE: To assess the prognostic value of pneumonia severity score (PSS), pectoralis muscle area (PMA), and index (PMI) on chest computed tomography (CT) in adult coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients. METHOD: The chest CT images of COVID-19 patients were evaluated for the PSS as the ratio of the volume of involved lung parenchyma to the total lung volume. The cross-sectional areas of the pectoralis muscles (PMA, cm(2)) were also measured automatically on axial CT images, and PMI was calculated as the following formula: PMI = PMA / patient's height square (m(2)). The relationship between clinical variables, PSS, PMA, sex-specific PMI values, and patient outcomes (intubation, prolonged hospital stay, and death) were investigated using multivariable logistic regression analysis. All patients were followed for more than a month. RESULTS: One-hundred thirty patients (76 males, 58.46 %) were included in the study. Fifteen patients (11.54 %) were intubated, 24 patients (18.46 %) had prolonged hospital stay, and eight patients (6.15 %) died during follow-up. Patients with comorbidity had a higher mean of PSS (6.3 + 4.5 vs 3.9 + 3.8; p = 0.001). After adjusting the confounders, PSS was an independent predictor of intubation (adjusted Odds Ratio [OR]: 1.73, 95 % CI 1.31-2.28, p < 0.001), prolonged hospital stay (OR: 1.20, 95 % CI 1.09-1.33, p < 0.001), and death (OR: 2.13, 95 % CI 1.1-4.13, p = 0.026. PMI value was a predictor of prolonged hospital stay (OR: 0.83, 95 % CI 0.72-0.96, p = 0.038) and death (OR: 0.53, 95 % CI 0.29-0.96, p = 0.036). Incrementally increasing PMA value was a predictor of prolonged hospital stay (OR: 0.93, 95 % CI 0.89-0.98, p = 0.01) and intubation (OR: 0.98, 95 % CI 0.96-1, p = 0.036). CONCLUSION: PSS, PMA, and PMI values have prognostic value in adult COVID-19 patients and can be easily assessed on chest CT images

Quiz case of the month - Fibrolipomatous hamartoma of the median nerve.

WOS: 000086150100031PubMed ID: 1075701

Inter-Observer Agreement

Introduction: Diaphragm thickness (DT) measurement in computed tomography (CT) has become popular in recent years. Our aim was to assess the intra- and inter-observer agreement of DT measurement and to investigate the best points for DT assessment in CT based on the most reliable measurement.Methods: Thoraco-abdominal CT angiography scans of 44 patients (23 males, mean age: 49.9 +/- 17.8 years) were retrospectively evaluated. All of the CT images were evaluated independently by four radiologists. Each observer evaluated images twice to assess intra-observer reproducibility. On both axial and coronal reconstructed CT images, the crura of 88 hemidiaphragms were measured at five different points. A p value less than 0.05 was considered to indicate statistical significance. Intra- and inter-observer agreement was evaluated by using intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) scores with a 95% confidence interval.Results: In intra-observer analysis, ICC scores demonstrated substantial to almost perfect agreement for all measurements (ICC score range: 0.758-1). When we analyzed the inter-observer agreement, there was a moderate to almost perfect agreement for each measurement point (ICC score range: 0.523-0.895). All axial measurements showed the highest inter-observer agreement (ICC scores were 0.926 and 0.886 for first and second measurements, respectively). The maximum inter- and intra-observer agreement for single point DT measurements were found in maximum DT at the level of the origin of the celiac artery and in anterior DT at the level of the upper part of the L1 vertebral body.Conclusion: CT is a reliable tool DT measurement with excellent intra- and inter-observer agreement.C1 [Ufuk, Furkan; Cakmak, Pinar; Sagtas, Ergin; Herek, Duygu; Arslan, Muhammet; Yagci, Ahmet Baki] Pamukkale Univ, Dept Radiol, Fac Med, Denizli, Turkey

Multiple Sclerosis

Background: Developmental venous anomalies (DVAs) can be determined on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and they may be associated with multiple sclerosis (MS) lesions.Purpose: The objective was to evaluate the MRI findings of DVAs in the brain, to compare the prevalence of them between MS patients and control subjects, and to investigate the correlation of DVA-associated fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) hyperintensities and MRI-derived parameters between MS patients and control subjects having DVA.Methods: Total 160 patients with a mean age of 45 +/- 16 years who underwent multiparametric MRI including susceptibility-weighted imaging (SWI), diffusion-weighted imaging, 3D FLAIR, and contrast-enhanced imaging were included in this retrospective study. First, the presence of DVA was compared between the MS and control groups using the Chi-square test. Then, among the subjects having DVA, age, gender, and MRI-derived parameters such as the signal increase of DVA on FLAIR, location, and drainage of DVA were compared between the MS and control groups using Chi-square test.Results: The presence of DVA did not differ between the MS and control groups (P = 0.828). Signal increase around DVA on FLAIR (P = 0.03) and the age of less than 45 years demonstrated a significant correlation with MS group (P = 0.022).Conclusion: In our study, DVAs were effectively detected using SWI and 3D contrast-enhanced T-1-weighted imaging on MRI. The signal increase of DVA was better revealed on 3D FLAIR on MRI, and it was the only significant MRI-derived parameter in patients with MS.C1 [Sagtas, Ergin; Yavas, Huseyin Gokhan; Cakmak, Pinar; Ufuk, Furkan] Pamukkale Univ, Dept Radiol, Sch Med, Denizli, Turkey.[Guneyli, Serkan] Koc Univ, Dept Radiol, Sch Med, Davutpasa Cad,4 Topkapi, TR-34010 Istanbul, Turkey.[Akyilmaz, Dincer Aydin] Gaziantep Hatem Hosp, Dept Radiol, Gaziantep, Turkey