Osteonecrosis following alcohol, cocaine, and steroid use.

Alcohol, steroids and cocaine have all been shown to be independent risk factors for osteonecrosis when taken in excess. Here we present a case of a young girl who developed debilitating osteonecrosis secondary to low doses of alcohol, steroids and cocaine. We feel it is important to highlight to those caring for such patients of the potential devastating complication of these three agents.

Sacral insufficiency fractures: an easily overlooked cause of back pain in the ED.

Sacral insufficiency fractures are an important and treatable cause of severe back pain. Despite publication of several case reports since its original description in 1982, awareness of these injuries remains inadequate in emergency medicine. Most patients are elderly women presenting with intractable lower back pain.

Parotid lymphomas--clinical and computed tomographic imaging features.

Objective: To review the clinical presentation and computed tomography (CT) imaging characteristics of all parotid lymphomas diagnosed at the study institution over a 7-year period.

Design: Retrospective chart review of parotid lymphomas diagnosed between 1997 and 2004.

Subjects: A total of 121 patients with parotid lesions were identified.

Extranodal lymphoma: clinical presentation and diagnostic pitfalls.

Non-Hodgkin's lymphomas (NHL) are known to present extranodally in 25% of cases, in contrast to Hodgkin's disease which rarely involves extranodal sites. In this article, the authors will to review the presentation of extranodal head and neck NHL and the difficulties that can be encountered in making the diagnosis in these cases.