Insights from experimental post-thrombotic syndrome and potential for novel therapies.

Post-thrombotic syndrome (PTS) is an end stage manifestation of deep vein thrombosis. This is an inherently inflammatory process, with consequent fibrosis. Multiple cellular types are involved, and are likely driven by leukocytes.

Yield of Image-Guided Needle Biopsy for Infectious Discitis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Background: Image-guided biopsy is routinely conducted in patients with suspected discitis, though the sensitivity reported in the literature ranges widely.

Purpose: We applied a systematic review and meta-analysis to estimate the yield of image-guided biopsy for infectious discitis.

Data Sources: We performed a literature search of 4 data bases: PubMed, Cochrane CENTRAL Register of Controlled Trials, Embase.

Pediatric Cardiopulmonary Arrest in the Postanesthesia Care Unit, Rare but Preventable: Analysis of Data From Wake Up Safe, The Pediatric Anesthesia Quality Improvement Initiative.

Background: Nearly 20% of anesthesia-related pediatric cardiac arrests (CAs) occur during emergence or recovery. The aims of this case series were to use the Wake Up Safe database to describe the following: (1) the nature of pediatric postanesthesia care unit (PACU) CA and subsequent outcomes and (2) factors associated with harm after pediatric PACU CA.

Methods: Pediatric CAs in the PACU were identified from the Wake Up Safe Pediatric Anesthesia Quality Improvement Initiative, a multicenter registry of adverse events in pediatric anesthesia.

Role of Sonography in Clinically Occult Femoral Hernias.

Objectives: The purpose of this article is to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of sonography in clinically occult femoral hernias and to describe our sonographic technique.

Methods: The clinical and imaging data for 93 outpatients referred by general surgeons, all of whom underwent sonographic evaluation and surgery, were reviewed retrospectively. Of these, 55 patients who underwent surgical exploration for groin hernias within 3 months of sonography and met all inclusion criteria were included in the study.

Screening in GI Cancers: The Role of Genetics.

Genetic and epigenetic alterations identified in tumors of different cancer types can provide insights regarding the roles played by different cell signaling pathways in carcinogenesis. Somatic mutation profiles of GI tumors are used to guide choice of chemotherapy and can facilitate identification of individuals whose cancers arise in the setting of genetic predisposition. This review provides a framework for how clinical history, family history of cancer, and tumor genomic phenotype can be used to screen patients with colorectal, gastric, or pancreatic cancer for hereditary cancer syndromes.

Sporadic lymphoplasmacytic cholecystitis: a clinicopathologic entity.

Objectives: To describe a sporadic form of lymphoplasmacytic cholecystitis (LPC), a condition known to occur in patients with chronic biliary tract disease.

Methods: One year's worth of cholecystectomies was reviewed for sporadic cases of LPC. Histologic, radiologic, and clinical findings were reviewed and compared with noninflamed controls.

Raise the bar and lower the dose: current and future strategies for radiation dose reduction in head and neck imaging.

Technologic advances in CT have generated a dramatic increase in the number of CT studies, with a resultant increase in the radiation dose related to CT scanning. Such increase in radiation dose is becoming a concern for the radiology community, especially with increasing public awareness of the dose burden related to examinations. To cope with the increase in CT-related radiation exposure, it is becoming necessary to optimize CT imaging protocols and apply radiation dose reduction techniques to ensure the best imaging with the lowest radiation dose.