Intraoperative thrombus formation in the artificial tube graft in a fenestrated extracardiac Fontan procedure-to trust our eyes or instincts?

Unlabelled: Appearance of a thrombus in the graft intraoperatively during Fontan surgery is not reported and warrants careful evaluation. Our patient was an 18-year-old lady who underwent fenestrated extracardiac Fontan surgery. Intraoperatively, transesophageal echocardiography revealed an echogenic structure inside the conduit.

Quantitative MRI in outpatient childhood epilepsy.

Purpose: In adult studies, MRI volumetrics is a proven technique in presurgical assessment of epilepsy. Hippocampal volume loss is maximal in the syndrome of mesial temporal lobe epilepsy. We aimed (a) to validate this methodology in a pediatric outpatient epilepsy population (b) to determine the relationship of hippocampal asymmetry (HA) to epileptic syndromes and risk factors.

A dose-intensive, cyclophosphamide-based regimen for the treatment of recurrent/progressive or advanced solid tumors of childhood: a report from the Australia and New Zealand Children's Cancer Study Group.

Background: Children with solid tumors that progress or recur after conventional multimodality therapies have a very poor prognosis. In a pilot study, vincristine, etoposide, and dose-escalated cyclophosphamide (VETOPEC) was shown to be a promising salvage regimen. Continued accrual of patients and increased duration of follow-up has resulted in substantial experience with VETOPEC.

Two cases of chronic recurrent multifocal osteomyelitis: radiological and scintigraphic findings.

Chronic recurrent multifocal osteomyelitis (CRMO) is an extremely rare condition, of uncertain aetiology. Since first described, in 1972, under 100 cases have been reported. It is being reported with increasing frequency, and many cases of this disease go unreported.

The site of anti-arthritic action of the kappa-opioid, U-50, 488H, in adjuvant arthritis: importance of local administration.

1. Currently available pharmacological therapies treat arthritis inadequately. We have previously found that the kappa (kappa)-opioid, U-50,488H (trans-(+/-)- 3,4-dichloro-N-methyl-N-[2-(1-pyrrolidinyl) cyclohexyl]- benzene-acetamide methane sulphonate), possesses anti-arthritic effects.

Non-ketotic hyperglycinaemia presenting as pachygyria.

A 2-day-old infant with lethargy and hypoventilation had pachygyria and agenesis of the corpus callosum on CT scan. Increased concentrations of glycine in plasma and CSF, together with an increased CSF/plasma ratio, confirmed a clinical diagnosis of non-ketotic hyperglycinaemia. This is the first report of pachygyria in this disorder, although agenesis of the corpus callosum is well recognized, and non-specific gyral malformations have been described previously.

Anti-inflammatory effects of kappa-opioids in adjuvant arthritis.

Current therapies for arthritis are unsatisfactory and cause serious side effects and morbidity. It has been postulated that opioid drugs may block inflammatory mediators and attenuate the joint damage in adjuvant arthritis. However, the importance of opioid receptor subtypes involved in inflammation remains to be determined because data are conflicting in this regard.

Dose-intensive cyclophosphamide with etoposide and vincristine for pediatric solid tumors: a phase I/II pilot study by the Australia and New Zealand Childhood Cancer Study Group.

Purpose: This pilot study of the Australia and New Zealand Childhood Cancer Study Group investigated the effectiveness and toxicity of a regimen incorporating vincristine (VCR), etoposide, and divided-dose, escalating cyclophosphamide (CPA) (VETOPEC) in 23 patients aged 1 to 20 years with solid tumors.

Patients And Methods: Seventeen patients (group A) had recurrent or refractory tumors after prior multiagent therapy, and six patients (group B) with adverse prognostic indicators were treated at initial presentation. Treatment cycles were 21 to 28 days and consisted of vincristine (0.

Postoperative chemotherapy without radiation in young children with malignant non-astrocytic brain tumours. A report from the Australia and New Zealand Childhood Cancer Study Group (ANZCCSG).

Young children with malignant brain tumours have particularly poor survival and manifest severe sequelae of radiation therapy. A multi-institutional pilot study of post-operative primary chemotherapy for children under 3 years with primitive neuroectodermal tumours (PNET) or ependymoma was initiated in 1987. The chemotherapy protocol comprised carboplatin, vincristine and the "eight drugs in 1 day" regimen.

Pediatric solid tumors: evaluation by gallium-67 SPECT studies.

A retrospective review of 37 children with a variety of solid tumors who underwent 60 67Ga single-photon emission computed tomographic (SPECT) studies was performed. These studies were correlated with clinical and radiological findings and, where possible, histopathologic confirmation. In all studies, SPECT gave better definition and better anatomic localization of disease sites than obtained with planar views.

Suprasellar arachnoid cysts: management by cyst wall resection.

Five children with ventricular dilatation (4 boys, 1 girl) had features seen on computer tomographic scan that were consistent with suprasellar arachnoid cysts. All children were investigated with a CT ventriculogram and/or CT cisternogram, and no communication with the cyst was demonstrated. Three children were seen in the 1st year of life and the remaining 2 children were between 1 and 5 years of age.

Hereditary pancreatitis presenting in childhood: case report with family studies.

A 12-year-old boy presented with recurrent abdominal pain and failure to thrive and was shown to have chronic calcific pancreatitis. Investigations failed to show any of the demonstrable causes of pancreatitis, but on family study four close paternal relatives were found to have had chronic pancreatitis, three with radiological calcification. No definable cause for pancreatitis had been determined in any of these relatives.

Primary bone tumours in infants. Short literature review and report of 10 cases.

Ten cases of primary bone tumours in infants (1 osteosarcoma, 3 Ewing's sarcoma, 1 chondroblastoma and 5 angiomatosis) are reported. All cases of angiomatosis showed characteristic radiographic findings. In all the other tumours the X-ray appearances were different from those usually seen in older children and adolescents.

Role of radionuclide imaging in the diagnosis of chondrosarcoma.

The diagnosis of chondrosarcoma may be difficult if there is an atypical radiographic appearance or an inconclusive biopsy. Radionuclide bone scans of 13 patients with chondrosarcoma were reviewed to assess if a pattern of scan features could be recognised in association with this tumour. A combination, including increased blood pool activity, moderate intensity of uptake, patchy uptake with cortical predominance of activity, minimal distortion of bony outline, and a well-defined scintigraphic margin, occurred regularly in the series.

Skeletal changes in preterm infants.

The skeletal changes in 19 very low birthweight infants (less than 1500 g) were observed from birth to 10 weeks, by means of clinical, biochemical, and radiological techniques. All infants were receiving a supplement of 800 IU vitamin D a day from age 2 weeks. None of the infants showed any specific physical sign of rickets during the period of study.