Hallazgos nasosinusales por tomografía computada en dacriocistitis crónica pediátrica

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the preoperative tomographic characteristics of the nose and paranasal sinuses of children with chronic dacryocystitis.

METHOD

Prospective, observational, cross-sectional, and descriptive study. CT scans of the paranasal sinuses of patients candidates for endoscopic dacryocystorhinostomy were evaluated for two years. Demographic characteristics, radiological findings, inflammatory processes and anatomical variants were identified using the Lund-Mackay classification. Statistic analysis. Stata 10.0, descriptive analysis, Student's t: mean difference and χ². Logistic studies to estimate the probability between variables.

RESULTS

27 men and 11 women (n = 38) were included. Of these, 22 had unilateral and 16 bilateral nasolacrimal duct involvement. Lund-Mackay score range: 2-20. Eleven patients had associated pathology. The most affected were anterior and maxillary ethmoidal sinus (69%), osteomeatal complex (68%), posterior ethmoidal (51%). Patients with severe rhinosinusitis are 12 times more likely to develop dacryocystitis than patients with < 12 points. Men presented greater severity, affectation, and clinical repercussion.

CONCLUSIONS

There is radiological rhinosinusal involvement in dacryocystitis, which must be evaluated and treated preoperatively to avoid postoperative complications or reinfections.

Reliability of the talocalcaneal angle for the evaluation of hindfoot alignment

INTRODUCTION

Recent studies suggest that hindfoot deformity should be considered in the surgical treatment of tarsal coalitions. Many authors have used the angle between the talus and the calcaneus (TCA) for decision-making. However, its reliability has not been demonstrated and the measurement technique has not been standardized. The objective of this study was to standardize the TCA measurement technique, and to evaluate the inter and intra-observer reproducibility of the proposed technique.

METHODS

The foot CT scans of a group of 30 patients between 10 and 17 years of age were analysed. Ten patients had talocalcaneal coalitions, ten calcaneonavicular coalitions and ten had no coalitions. The inter and intra-observer reproducibility of the TCA was evaluated by the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICCs). A mixed-effects ANOVA model was used to calculate the ICCs for ICC2 agreement (A, 1). This procedure was applied to the three observers (inter-observer variability), and to the test-retest of observer 1 (intra-observer variability). A two-tailed p value of ≤.05 was considered significant.

RESULTS

The inter-observer and intra-observer agreements were excellent for the TCA. Inter-observer agreement: ICC2 (A, 1)=.95 (p<.001, CI 95%: .77-.93). Intra-observer agreement: ICC2 (A, 1)=.99 (p<.001, CI 95%: .97-.99).

CONCLUSION

The TCA is a reliable way to evaluate hindfoot alignment. This method of measurement, as described in this study, can be safely used for surgical planning in patients with tarsal coalitions.

[Complicated diverticular disease debuting as necrotising fasciitis of pelvic limb. A case report]

BACKGROUND

Diverticular disease, and the diverticulitis, the main complication of it, are widely studied diseases with multiple chronic cases reported in the literature, but there are no atypical presentations with extra-abdominal symptoms coupled with seemingly unrelated entities, such as necrotising fasciitis.

CLINICAL CASE

Female 52 years old, was admitted to the emergency department with back pain of 22 days duration. History of importance: Chronic use of benzodiazepines intramuscularly. Physical examination revealed the presence of a gluteal abscess in right pelvic limb with discoloration, as well as peri-lesional cellulitis and crepitus that stretches across the back of the limb. Fasciotomy was performed with debridement of necrotic tissue. Progression was torpid with crackling in abdomen. Computed tomography showed free air in the cavity, and on being surgically explored was found to be complicated diverticular disease.

DISCUSSION

It is unusual for complicated diverticular disease to present with symptoms extra-peritoneal (< 2%) and even more so that a diverticulitis is due to necrotising fasciitis (< 1%). The absence of peritoneal manifestations delayed the timely diagnosis, which was evident with the crackling of the abdomen and abdominal computed tomography scan showing the parietal gaseous process.

CONCLUSION

All necrotising fasciitis needs an abdominal computed tomography scan to look for abdominal diseases (in this case diverticulitis), as their overlapping presentation delays the diagnosis and consequently the treatment, making a fatal outcome inevitable.

[Neck bronchogenic cyst. Case report and review of the literature]

BACKGROUND

Bronchogenic cyst is a malformation of the ventral portion of the intestine, which is limited by bronchial epithelium and produces alterations in the development of the tracheobronchial tree. They may be single or multiple, and are usually confined to one lung or to the mediastinum, rarely to the neck, which is a subcutaneous tissue.

OBJECTIVE

The case of a 9 year old girl is reported, who presented with a clinical picture characterized by a slow-growing, asymptomatic tumour on the left side of the neck of 4 years onset. Chest X-ray, neck ultrasound and computed tomography of the neck and chest ruled out any other injury. A complete resection was performed, and the histopathological study confirmed the diagnosis of bronchogenic cyst.

CONCLUSION

The symptomatology of a bronchogenic cyst is due to the compression of the vascular, digestive or air structures, as well as its size, infection and location. The treatment of choice is a surgical resection, even when asymptomatic.