Chronic otitis media and middle ear variants: Is there relation?

BACKGROUND

Chronic otitis media (COM) is an inflammatory disease that lasts for a long time. It is common in developing countries. Hearing loss can result from COM. The relationship between variations in middle ear anatomy and COM was investigated in our study.

AIM

To compare the prevalence of middle ear anatomic variations between the cases with COM and healthy individuals.

METHODS

This retrospective study included 500 patients with COM and 500 healthy controls. The presence of those variants was determined: Koerner’s septum, facial canal dehiscence, high jugular bulb, jugular bulb dehiscence, jugular bulb diverticulum, sigmoid sinus anterior location and deep tympanic recesses.

RESULTS

A total of 1000 temporal bones were examined. The incidences of these variants were respectively (15.4%-18.6%), (38.6%-41.2%), (18.2%-4.6%), (2.6%-1.2%), (1.2%-0%), (8.6%-0%), (0%-0%). It was observed that only high jugular bulb (P < 0.001) and anteriorly located sigmoid sinus frequencies (P = 0.002) in the case group were statistically significantly higher than the control groups.

CONCLUSION

COM is a multifactorial disease and variants of middle ear have always been important in terms of potential risk for complication during surgery but rarely associated with COM as an etiology or as a consequence of the disease. We didn't find a positive correlation between COM and Koerner’s septum and facial canal defect. We ended up with a significant conclusion with the variants of dural venous sinuses -high jugular bulb, dehiscence of jugular bulb, diverticulum of jugular bulb and anteriorly located sigmoid sinus- that have been studied less and frequently associated with inner ear illnesses.

A rare cause of postpartum vaginal bleeding

Background

Invasive mole is a trophoblastic disease (GTD) caused by trophoblast cells invading the myometrium during pregnancy. The GTD range also includes mole hydatidiform, choriocarcinoma, and placental site trophoblastic tumor (PSTT). Invasive moles are most common following molar pregnancies; however, they can even rarely occur after a full-term birth. Despite the fact that pathology is the only way to make a clear diagnosis, clinic and radiologic evaluation can be helpful. We wanted to highlight a rare incidence of invasive mole following a healthy full-term delivery in this case.

Case presentation

A 28-year-old female patient presented with intermittent prolonged severe vaginal bleeding for 2 weeks after a term healthy vaginal delivery. In workup, beta human chorionic gonadotropin levels (b-hCG) value was 7540 mIU/ml. After suspicion of gestational trophoblastic neoplasm (GTN), the patient was sent to ultrasonography (US) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). GTN was confirmed by radiological and clinical findings, and a conclusive diagnosis of an invasive mole was made histopathologically.

Conclusion

Invasive mole should be considered in the differential diagnosis in patients with postpartum bleeding and a persistently high b-hCG level after a healthy term delivery.

DTI-MRI findings in synthetic cannabinoid users

Background/aim

Synthetic cannabinoids (SCs) are full agonists of both cannabinoid receptors. Conventional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings of SC users are mainly defined as diffusion restriction and T2/FLAIR hyperintensity. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) studies examining SC users have shown contradictory results. The aim of this study was to define white matter (WM) changes of SC users using DTI.

Materials and methods

The study included 22 patients with a history of using SC for 5–37 months, and 22 healthy, age and sex-matched control subjects. A total of 41 diffusion gradient directions were used in the acquisition of diffusion imaging data. Fractional anisotropy (FA) and apparent diffusion coefficients (ADC) values were obtained. ROIs were placed on WM areas of normal appearance.

Results

In the SC users, significantly lower FA values were determined in the left temporal lobe (216.2 ± 58.9 vs. 263 ± 27.4; P = 0.002) and right hippocampus (224.5 ± 61.5 vs. 255 ± 24.3; P = 0.040). The ADC values of the hippocampus and temporal lobe were significantly higher than those of the control group on both the left and right sides.

Conclusion

The SC use causes WM microstructural changes, especially in the hippocampus and temporal lobes. DTI is a useful tool to reveal WM changes in SC addicts and can be used earlier than conventional MRI.

Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network head injuryprediction rules: on the basis of cost and effectiveness

Background/aim: Head injuries are commonly seen in the pediatric population. Noncontrast enhanced cranial CT is the method of choice to detect possible traumatic brain injury (TBI). Concerns about ionizing radiation exposure make the evaluation more challenging. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network (PECARN) rules in predicting clinically important TBI and to determine the amount of medical resource waste and unnecessary radiation exposure.Materials and methods: This retrospective study included 1041 pediatric patients presented to the emergency department. The patients were divided into subgroups of "appropriate for cranial CT", "not appropriate for cranial CT" and "cranial CT/observation of patient; both are appropriate". To determine the effectiveness of the PECARN rules, data were analyzed according to the presence of pathological findings Results: "Appropriate for cranial CT" results can predict pathology presence 118,056-fold compared to the "not appropriate for cranial CT" results. With "cranial CT/observation of patient; both are appropriate" results, pathology presence was predicted 11,457-fold compared to "not appropriate for cranial CT" results.Conclusion: PECARN rules can predict pathology presence successfully in pediatric TBI. Using PECARN can decrease resource waste and exposure to ionizing radiation.

Comparison of multidetector computed tomography findings with clinical and laboratory data in pulmonary thromboembolism

Background

Pulmonary thromboembolism (PTE) is a common disease with a high mortality rate that is difficult to diagnose and treat. Because of the variety of clinical symptoms and signs, it is difficult to diagnose. Therefore, the diagnosis of PTE is mainly confirmed by imaging techniques. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether there is any corelation of the Wells rule, D-dimer and LDH values with computerized tomography pulmonary angiography (CTPA) findings in PTE diagnosis.

Material/Methods

A consecutive series of 62 patients, which included 31 males and 31 females, with high/moderate/low risk of embolism according to Wells pulmonary embolism score, selected from the emergency service and/or outpatient clinic, enrolled in this prospective study. The patients with clinical or laboratory findings of elevated D-dimer level or elevated lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) level were suspected of embolism and underwent tomography.

Results

PTE was detected in 26 patients (42%). A significant difference was not detected between tomography finding positive and negative embolisms in the patient group in terms of age or gender distribution (P=0.221 and P=0.416, respectively).

No significant difference was detected between tomography finding positive and negative embolisms in the patient group in terms of elevated LDH or/and D-dimer levels (P=0.263 and P=1.000, respectively).

The distribution of low-risk-factor patients in the non-embolism group, and the distribution of high-risk-factor patients in the embolism-positive group was statistically significantly high (P<0.001). There was no statistically significant difference between the groups (P=0.053).

Correlation test showed no correlation between LDH and D-dimer levels. (r=0.214, P=0.180).

Conclusions

In conclusion, when a patient presents with chest pain, our carrying out LDH and D-Dimer tests will not exclude PTE without CTPA. However, we suggest that LDH isoenzymes should be studied in further research.

Follow-up sonographic results for Graf type 2A hips: association with risk factors for developmental dysplasia of the hip and instability

OBJECTIVES

The purpose of the study was to evaluate the association of sonographic worsening in type 2a hips with risk factors of developmental dysplasia of the hip, stability of the hip, and initial sonographic findings.

METHODS

Among infants who were referred for hip sonography between 2007 and 2009, 3450 were included in this study. Sonographic examinations were performed by combining the static Graf technique and the dynamic Harcke technique. The rate of sonographic worsening in type 2a hips and the relationship between sonographic worsening and risk factors for developmental dysplasia, instability of the hip, lateralization (right or left) of immaturity, and the presence of unilateral and bilateral immature hips were evaluated.

RESULTS

Type 2a hips were observed in 529 infants (15.3%; 780 hips [11.3%]). Of these, in 36 cases (6.8%; 44 hips [5.6%]), the sonographic results worsened. Twenty-five of these 36 cases (32 of 44 hips) were diagnosed as type 2 b; in others, the dysplasia worsened, and 6 cases (7 hips) were classified as type 2 c, 3 cases (3 hips) as type D, and 2 cases (2 hips) as type 3. Instability, unilateral type 2a hips, and associated central nervous system anomalies were found to be independent predictors of sonographic worsening in type 2a hips.

CONCLUSIONS

Type 2a hips may worsen sonographically at a rate of 5.6%; hence, sonographic follow-up is needed. Instability, central nervous system anomalies, and unilateral type 2a hips were found to be independent predictors of sonographic worsening. Our study shows that cases with these risk factors should be followed more carefully.