Faster magnetic resonance imaging in emergency room patients with right lower quadrant pain and suspected acute appendicitis

Purpose: Emergency Departments (ED) are becoming busier, with a resultant increase in the number of imaging referrals. The purpose of this study was to assess the diagnostic accuracy of an abbreviated two sequence magnetic resonance (MR) protocol for evaluating ED patients with right lower quadrant pain and suspected acute appendicitis, with a view to expediting patient turnaround times and imaging costs. Material and methods: Fifty patients (49 females, one male; mean age 25.4 ± 5.2 years) who underwent ED MR imaging from July 2014 to March 2015 for right lower quadrant pain were retrospectively reviewed. MR abdomen/pelvis was performed on 1.5 T MR obtaining axial T1 gradient echo in/out of phase, transverse fast spin echo T2 with fat sat/motion correction, axial/coronal T2 HASTE (half-Fourier acquisition single-shot turbo spin-echo), and axial DWI (diffusion-weighted imaging) sequences. Images were reviewed by two fellowship-trained radiologists on a five-point confidence scale. Mean acquisition/interpretation times for the standard departmental protocol and the proposed abbreviated MR protocol (comprising T2 HASTE and DWI images) were calculated. Sensitivity, specificity, and diagnostic accuracy for the abbreviated protocol against the full protocol were also calculated. Results: Mean scanning time for abbreviated protocol and standard protocol was calculated to be 21.1 minutes and 40.5 minutes, respectively. Mean interpretation time for abbreviated protocol for reader one and two was 4.1 ± 1.5 minutes and 4.5 ± 1.4 minutes, respectively, and for standard protocol was 8.1 ± 1.8 minutes and 7.1 ± 1.4 minutes, respectively. Sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy for the FAST protocol were calculated to be 100% each for reader one and 75%, 100%, and 94%, respectively, for reader two. Conclusions: The proposed abbreviated MR protocol has comparable diagnostic accuracy in diagnosing ED patients with right lower quadrant pain, with significant reduction in imaging/interpretation times. It thus has the potential to be implemented in ED imaging with significant reduction in patient turnaround times and costs

CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM RELAPSE OF MULTIPLE MYELOMA

Multiple myeloma (MM) is a plasma cell disorder primarily involving bone marrow. Extramedullary involvement is less common, with central nervous system (CNS) myelomatosis being a rare entity and such presentation carries extremely dismal prognosis. We present case of a 40 years old male with MM who was initially treated with 6 cycles of Cyclophosphamide, Thalidomide and Dexamethasone resulting in complete response. 2 years later he presented with CNS myelomatosis and scrotal involvement and was initially treated with Bortezomib and dexamethasone, cranial irradiation and intrathecal Methorexate, Cytarabine, Hydrocortisone (TRIO IT), along with radical orchiectomy and testicular radiation during the course of treatment. However, after initial response his disease showed clinical and radiological progression after 4 months of therapy. He was switched to high dose Methotrexate (HD-MTX) with TRIOITand later Lenalidamide and dexamethasone (Len/dex) was added to the above regimen. He continued to show good clinical response but his cytology remained persistently positive, therefore, HD-MTX was discontinued in the later course of treatment. Subsequently he was started on best supportive care only, when his neurological status deteriorated further. He survived almost 9 months after a diagnosis of CNS myelomatosis. Patients with multiple myeloma, presenting with neurological symptoms should always be investigated for the possibility of CNS MM. CNS relapse is a fatal disease with poor prognosis. Recommended treatment must include a systemic anti-MM regimen that crosses the BBB (ideally Immunomodulatory drugs (IMiDs) IMiDs-dexamethasone based therapy), CNS irradiation and intrathecal chemotherapy.Key words: Multiple myeloma, central nervous system myelomatosis, therap