Adolescent Hip Pain Due to Iliopsoas Abscess.

Hip pain in children and adolescents poses a diagnostic challenge due to various underlying causes, ranging from benign to severe conditions. Presented here is the case of an otherwise healthy 14-year-old boy who arrived at the emergency department with a two-day history of left hip pain, limping, fever, anorexia, and vomiting. Upon physical examination, tenderness was noted upon palpation of the left sacroiliac joint and with mobilization of the left lower limb.

Orchiectomy after torsion testis: Simultaneous prosthesis placement versus staged procedures.

Background/purpose: Testicular torsion(TT) with unsalvageable testis has a significant psychosocial impact. Orchiectomy can be performed with optional testicular prosthesis(TP) placement, commonly deferred(dTP). Orchiectomy and simultaneous testicular prosthesis placement(sTP) may be a feasible and safe option and has been implemented in our department since 2018.

Retinoic Acid-Mediated Control of Energy Metabolism Is Essential for Lung Branching Morphogenesis.

Lung branching morphogenesis relies on intricate epithelial-mesenchymal interactions and signaling networks. Still, the interplay between signaling and energy metabolism in shaping embryonic lung development remains unexplored. Retinoic acid (RA) signaling influences lung proximal-distal patterning and branching morphogenesis, but its role as a metabolic modulator is unknown.

Automatic multi-view pose estimation in focused cardiac ultrasound.

Focused cardiac ultrasound (FoCUS) is a valuable point-of-care method for evaluating cardiovascular structures and function, but its scope is limited by equipment and operator's experience, resulting in primarily qualitative 2D exams. This study presents a novel framework to automatically estimate the 3D spatial relationship between standard FoCUS views. The proposed framework uses a multi-view U-Net-like fully convolutional neural network to regress line-based heatmaps representing the most likely areas of intersection between input images.

Impact of polyurethane versus acellular dermal matrix coating on prepectoral reconstruction outcomes: Interface does matter.

Background: Interfaces continue to be used in prepectoral breast reconstruction to refine breast appearance, but more clinical data are required to assess their effectiveness. This study compares the rates of capsular contracture, breast esthetics, and patient satisfaction between two commonly used interface materials, acellular dermal matrix (ADM) and polyurethane (PU) foam.

Methods: A cross-sectional assessment was conducted on all patients who underwent prepectoral direct-to-implant reconstruction with an interface material between June 2018 and June 2022.

CycleGAN-Based Image to Image Translation for Realistic Surgical Training Phantoms.

Training in surgery is essential for surgeons to develop skill and dexterity. Physical training phantoms provide excellent haptic feedback and tissue properties for stitching and operating with authentic instruments and are easily available. However, they lack realistic traits and fail to reflect the complex environment of a surgical scene.

A Comparative Study of Deep Learning Methods for Multi-Class Semantic Segmentation of 2D Kidney Ultrasound Images.

Ultrasound (US) imaging is a widely used medical imaging modality for the diagnosis, monitoring, and surgical planning for kidney conditions. Thus, accurate segmentation of the kidney and internal structures in US images is essential for the assessment of kidney function and the detection of pathological conditions, such as cysts, tumors, and kidney stones. Therefore, there is a need for automated methods that can accurately segment the kidney and internal structures in US images.

Heterotopic ossification - A rare donor site complication after iliac crest free flap.

Iliac crest free flap is still essential as a source of vascularized bone tissue, having a definite role in osseous reconstruction of the face and other small bone defects. Some of its drawbacks include laborious dissection and donor site morbidity. We report a case of a patient that presented to our follow-up consultation ten years after iliac crest free flap harvest with new complaints of pain, gait disturbance and swelling in the right hip.

Diaphragmatic hernia repair porcine model to compare the performance of biodegradable membranes against Gore-Tex.

Background: Patch repair of congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) using Gore-Tex is associated with infection, adhesions, hernia recurrence, long-term musculoskeletal sequels and poor tissue regeneration. To overcome these limitations, the performance of two novel biodegradable membranes was tested to repair CDH in a growing pig model.

Methods: Twelve male pigs were randomly assigned to 3 different groups of 4 animals each, determined by the type of patch used during thoracoscopic diaphragmatic hernia repair (Gore-Tex, polycaprolactone electrospun membrane-PCLem, and decellularized human chorion membrane-dHCM).

Predicting Insulin Resistance in a Pediatric Population With Obesity.

Objectives: Insulin resistance (IR) affects children and adolescents with obesity and early diagnosis is crucial to prevent long-term consequences. Our aim was to identify predictors of IR and develop a multivariate model to accurately predict IR.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of demographical, clinical, and biochemical data from a cohort of patients attending a specialized Paediatric Nutrition Unit in Portugal over a 20-year period.

Objective structured assessment ultrasound skill scale for hyomental distance competence - psychometric study.

Background: Ultrasound assessment of the airway recently integrates the point-of-care approach to patient evaluation since ultrasound measurements can predict a difficult laryngoscopy and tracheal intubation. Because ultrasonography is performer-dependent, a proper training and assessment tool is needed to increase diagnostic accuracy. An objective, structured assessment ultrasound skill (OSAUS) scale was recently developed to guide training and assess competence.

Tumor-Infiltrating Lymphocytes in Localized Prostate Cancer: Do They Play an Important Role?

Background Localized prostate cancer is a heterogeneous entity, and new biomarkers are required for risk stratification. This study aimed to characterize tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) in localized prostate cancer and assess their potential prognostic markers. Methodology Radical prostatectomy specimens were analyzed to determine infiltration levels of CD4+, CD8+, T cells, and B cells (characterized by CD20+ cells) in the tumor tissue using immunohistochemistry and the recommendations of the International TILs Working Group 2014.

Comparing Polyurethane and Acellular Dermal Matrix Implant Cover in Prepectoral Breast Reconstruction: Short-term Complications.

Unlabelled: Implant covering with an interface material is the standard in prepectoral breast reconstruction. Acellular dermal matrix (ADM) is frequently used, but it is expensive and associated with complications. Alternatively, we have been using integrated devices consisting of a silicone implant coated with polyurethane (PU) foam.

Intraluminal chloride regulates lung branching morphogenesis: involvement of PIEZO1/PIEZO2.

Background: Clinical and experimental evidence shows lung fluid volume as a modulator of fetal lung growth with important value in treating fetal lung hypoplasia. Thus, understanding the mechanisms underlying these morphological dynamics has been the topic of multiple investigations with, however, limited results, partially due to the difficulty of capturing or recapitulating these movements in the lab. In this sense, this study aims to establish an ex vivo model allowing the study of lung fluid function in branching morphogenesis and identify the subsequent molecular/ cellular mechanisms.

Comparative study of e-cigarette aerosol and cigarette smoke effect on ex vivo embryonic chick lung explants.

Electronic cigarette usage has significantly expanded among young people and pregnant women in the last decade. Although there are already some data regarding the short- and long-term consequences of e-cigarettes on human health, their effect on embryo and lung development still needs to be fully disclosed. In this sense, this study describes, for the first time, the impact of electronic cigarette aerosol on early lung development.

Molecular insights of Hippo signaling in the chick developing lung.

Hippo signaling pathway and its effector YAP have been recognized as an essential growth regulator during embryonic development. Hippo has been studied in different contexts; nevertheless, its role during chick lung branching morphogenesis remains unknown. Therefore, this work aims to determine Hippo role during early pulmonary organogenesis in the avian animal model.

A deep learning method for kidney segmentation in 2D ultrasound images.

Ultrasound (US) is a medical imaging modality widely used for diagnosis, monitoring, and guidance of surgical procedures. However, the accurate interpretation of US images is a challenging task. Recently, portable 2D US devices enhanced with Artificial intelligence (AI) methods to identify, in real-time, specific organs are widely spreading worldwide.

Feasibility Study on Automatic Surgical Phase Identification based on Speech Recognition for Laparoscopic Prostatectomy.

An efficient capacity management of the Operation Room (OR) is crucial for the optimization of resources and consequent cost minimization. However, the duration of each surgery is hard to predict and often prone to variability and unforeseen events that may delay or accelerate each procedure. Automatic surgical phase identification strategies can lead to a more accurate and automated estimation of the surgery duration, improving OR schedule optimization.

Analysis of Current Deep Learning Networks for Semantic Segmentation of Anatomical Structures in Laparoscopic Surgery.

Semantic segmentation of anatomical structures in laparoscopic videos is a crucial task to enable the development of new computer-assisted systems that can assist surgeons during surgery. However, this is a difficult task due to artifacts and similar visual characteristics of anatomical structures on the laparoscopic videos. Recently, deep learning algorithms have been showed promising results on the segmentation of laparoscopic instruments.

Ultrasound-Guided Selective Bronchial Intubation: A Feasibility Study in Pediatric Animal Model.

Objective: Selective one-lung ventilation used to optimize neonatal and pediatric surgical conditions is always a demanding task for anesthesiologists, especially during minimally invasive thoracoscopic surgery. This study aims to introduce an ultrasound-guided bronchial intubation and exclusion technique in a pediatric animal model.

Methods: Seven rabbits were anesthetized and airway ultrasound acquisitions were done.

Distinct Epithelial Cell Profiles in Normal Versus Induced-Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia Fetal Lungs.

Background: Recent studies identified a great diversity of cell types in precise number and position to create the architectural features of the lung that ventilation and respiration at birth depend on. With damaged respiratory function at birth, congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) is one of the more severe causes of fetal lung hypoplasia with unspecified cellular dynamics.

Objectives:  To characterize the epithelial cell tissue in hypoplastic lungs, a careful analysis regarding pulmonary morphology and epithelial cell profile was conducted from pseudoglandular-to-saccular phases in normal versus nitrofen-induced CDH rat lungs.

Constipation: Prevalence in the Portuguese community using Rome IV-Associated factors, toilet behaviours and healthcare seeking.

Background: Chronic constipation (CC) is a major public health condition and CC management remains challenging.

Objective: We aimed to evaluate the CC (and subtypes) prevalence in a Southern Europe Mediterranean country using Rome IV criteria, and to assess related factors, toilet and healthcare seeking behaviours.

Methods: Cross-sectional epidemiological survey, conducted in general community and representing the Portuguese population according to sex and age.