Scimitar syndrome with bicuspid aortic valve. A case report of cross-sectional non- invasive imaging allowing a complete anatomical and functional assessment.

Scimitar syndrome is a variant of partial anomalous pulmonary venous return with an aberrant vein, the Scimitar vein, draining the right lung to the inferior vena cava instead of the left atrium, resulting in a left-to-right shunt. The classic frontal radiographic finding, designated as "the scimitar sign", is of a scimitar (a Turkish sword) shaped density along the right cardiac border. The diagnosis can be made by echocardiography, and cardiac catheterisation remains the gold standard to assess the left-to-right shunt.

A rare case of ectopic intrathoracic kidney in a 1-year-old child.

Congenital thoracic ectopic kidney is a rare developmental anomaly, with the thorax being the rarest and higher location of ectopic kidneys. This anomaly is usually asymptomatic and discovered incidentally on routine chest radiography. At least 200 cases of thoracic kidney have been described, with the vast majority of cases documented in adults.

Independent effect of visceral adipose tissue on metabolic syndrome in obese adolescents.

Background/aims: Obesity is linked to metabolic complications, even in children, but the role of the distribution of adiposity is unclear. We aimed to assess which compartment of fat mass - total (TFM), visceral (VFM) or subcutaneous (SCFM)--is related to metabolic complications in overweight and obese children and adolescents.

Design: Analyses were conducted in 159 overweight or obese children and adolescents (median body mass index 4.

Impact of fetal growth restriction on body composition and hormonal status at birth in infants of small and appropriate weight for gestational age.

Background: Fetal growth restriction (FGR) has been related to several health risks, which have been generally identified in small-for-gestational age (SGA) individuals.

Objective: To evaluate the impact of FGR on body composition and hormonal status in infants born either small- or appropriate-for-gestational age (AGA).

Methods: Fetal growth was assessed by ultrasound every 4 weeks from mid-gestation to birth in 248 high-risk pregnancies for SGA.

Lower bone mineral content in children with type 1 diabetes mellitus is linked to female sex, low insulin-like growth factor type I levels, and high insulin requirement.

Context: Studies on bone mineral characteristics in children with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) have generated conflicting results.

Objective: Our objective was to investigate bone mineral characteristics in children with T1DM and to analyze their associations with bone metabolism and the IGF-I system.

Design: We recruited a cohort of Caucasian patients with T1DM for at least 3 yr and healthy children between January 2003 and June 2004.

Evaluation of intestinal absorption after longitudinal intestinal lengthening for short bowel syndrome.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to answer if the longitudinal intestinal lengthening and tailoring (LILT) by Bianchi, modified by Aigrain, can allow the child to be weaned from parenteral nutrition (PN) and if the length of the bowel after the procedure can influence the results of the absorption test such as Schilling or D-xylose test.

Patients And Methods: We reviewed the files of 7 children who have had LILT from 1980 to 2003. We performed to explore 2 intestinal function tests: the D-xylose and the Schilling tests.

Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery for pulmonary sequestration in children.

Background: The purpose of this report is to describe our experience with video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery for pulmonary sequestration in children.

Methods: From May 2001 to June 2004, video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery was attempted for antenatally diagnosed pulmonary sequestration in 8 consecutive infants. Mean age at the time of surgery was 10 months (range, 4 to 44 months).

Improvement in bone mineral density and body composition in survivors of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia: a 1-year prospective study.

Objectives: Abnormalities in bone mineral density (BMD), body composition, and bone metabolism have been reported in children who were treated for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) during and after completion of therapy. However, these studies are cross-sectional, and no longitudinal data are available in a large group of patients after completion of therapy. In the present study, 1-year longitudinal changes in BMD, body composition, and bone metabolism were evaluated in children with ALL during the first 3 years after completion of therapy without cranial irradiation.

Open vs thorascopic surgical management of bronchogenic cysts.

Background: The aim of this study was to compare the operative outcome in children undergoing open vs thoracoscopic resection of bronchogenic cysts.

Methods: The medical records of children who underwent the resection of bronchogenic cysts from 1990 through 2000 were reviewed. Four cyst resections were performed by the open technique and five using a thoracoscopic procedure.

[Low bone mineral density in children with Crohn's disease].

Unlabelled: Recent studies have reported low bone mineral density in children with Crohn's disease. The aims of this retrospective study were to quantify its frequency and to search for risk factors.

Population And Methods: Bone mineral density of 29 children with Crohn's disease was measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry.

Isolated pericardial effusion in the human fetus: a report of three cases.

Objective: Our objective was to determine the possible underlying etiologies and outcome in isolated fetal pericardial effusion.

Methods: Doppler fetal echocardiography allowed the diagnosis of pericardial effusion in three patients and revealed the etiology in two.

Results: We present the findings in three cases of isolated pericardial effusion.

Femoral head vascularisation in Legg-Calvé-Perthes disease: comparison of dynamic gadolinium-enhanced subtraction MRI with bone scintigraphy.

Background: It has been reported that MRI using a dynamic gadolinium-enhanced subtraction technique can allow the early identification of ischaemia and the pattern of revascularisation in Legg-Calvé-Perthes (LCP) disease with increased spatial and contrast resolution. Therefore, dynamic gadolinium-enhanced subtraction (DGS) MRI may be a possible non-ionising substitute for bone scintigraphy.

Objective: The purpose of this prospective study was to compare DGS MRI and bone scintigraphy in the assessment of femoral head perfusion in LCP disease.