A rare case of non-traumatic intrasplenic pseudoaneurysms in a patient with acute T-cell lymphoblastic leukemia

Combined DSA- and US-guided management of acute bleeding: effectiveness of percutaneous glue embolization in six cases

AIMS

This study aims to report on safety and effectiveness of glue embolization of acute hemorrhages performed by US-guided percutaneous direct puncture, in patients where the standard endovascular approach is technically unfavourable.

METHODS

In this single center retrospective analysis, patients affected by traumatic or non traumatic acute hemorrhages were treated with glue embolization technically performed by US-guided direct puncture. Patients suffered from active bleeding detected at contrast-enhanced Computer Tomography and confirmed at Digital Subtracted Arteriography, with concomitant hemoglobin drop and blood pressure reduction. Six patients were reviewed; hemorrhages occurred in liver parenchima (1), gallbladder (1) and lower limbs (4). Bleedings etiologies were post-traumatic (5) and inflammatory (1); four had extraluminal blushes while 2 were pseudoaneurysms. In five cases (4 limbs and 1 hepatic bleedings) the direct-puncture approach was adopted because of technically unfavourable vascular anatomy for superselective embolization; in one case (cystic artery pseudoaneurysm), an endovascular embolization would entail a high risk of gallbladder ischemia because of its terminal arterial supply. Technical success was defined disappearance of bleeding signs at last arteriography; clinical success was considered stabilization and/or improvement of hemoglobin values and arterial pressure without additional interventions.

RESULTS

Both technical and clinical successes were obtained in 100% of the cases without major complications. No needle occlusion occurred during glue injection.

CONCLUSIONS

In this study percutaneous US-guided embolization by direct puncture was a safe and effective approach to manage acute bleedings; it could be considered as an alternative in patients with unfavourable vascular anatomy for the standard catheter-directed endovascular embolization.

Prevention of life-threatening bleeding complication from splenic venous ectasia by B-mode-, color Doppler- and contrast-enhanced ultrasound in a patient with ALL

Aim of the study

Spontaneous splenic rupture is a serious complication of pathologically altered spleen tissue, associated with a high mortality rate.

Case description

We describe a spontaneous splenic rupture in a patient with acute lymphoblastic leukemia undergoing chemotherapy. Ultrasound revealed splenomegaly, and diffuse splenic acute lymphoblastic leukemia-infiltration was suspected. In addition, only color Doppler sonography and contrast-enhanced ultrasound diagnosed splenic vascular ectasias with a venous-flow-profile. During therapy, short-term sonographic follow-up examinations were able to reveal an increase in the size of venous ectasias and the associated increased risk of spontaneous splenic rupture. Based on these sonographic findings, immediate surgical splenectomy was performed in the spontaneous splenic rupture case and the patient survived.

Conclusions

Ultrasound is an important diagnostic method in patients with newly diagnosed malignant hematological diseases to detect disease-related splenic pathologies. Short-term follow-up examinations of splenic vascular pathologies can detect size progression and a potential risk of spontaneous splenic rupture with life-threatening bleeding.

Incidental Focal Spleen Lesions: Integrated Imaging and Pattern Recognition Approach to the Differential Diagnosis

Spleen lesions and pseudolesions, detected incidentally in imaging, are not uncommon and may require further work-up. The imaging appearance of focal splenic lesions (FSLs) may not be pathognomonic, because of considerably overlapping features. Consequently, all imaging techniques lack specificity to fully characterize FSLs. Clinical correlation is mandatory, so as, first of all, to categorize the patient as having or not having a history of solid or hematologic malignancy. Nowadays, many patients have old imaging studies available for comparison and, consequently, it is important to understand if the lesion was previously present or not, and if the size is the same or has changed. In the absence of comparison studies, and with a lack of imaging features of benignity, further investigation may be necessary, using PET, biopsy, or short-term follow-up. Some algorithms have been proposed to manage incidental FSLs; however, none of these strategies has been validated by prospective studies to date. In this review we illustrate the topic of incidental FSLs and we analyze a number of published algorithms.

Clinical, Hematological, Biochemical and Radiological Characteristics for Patients With Splenic Infarction: Case Series With Literature Review

Background

Splenic infarction is a frequently missed diagnosis in acute clinical conditions and is often under-diagnosed due to the lack of high-quality evidence on pathophysiology of splenic infarction. Due to the scarcity of such evidence, no consensus guidelines regarding the diagnostic approach and management of patients with splenic infarction exist. Most of published articles on splenic infarction are case reports and there was no systematic review on splenic infarction.

Methods

We conducted a retrospective analysis of all radiologically confirmed cases of splenic infarction patients with any history of admission at National Center for Global Health and Medicine Kohnodai Hospital, from 2014 to 2020. Further, to understand the pathophysiology that causes splenic infarction, we searched the literatures on splenic infarction.

Results

We found 18 patients with splenic infarction. The average age was 78 years, and about half of patients had abdominal pain; however, the other half did not have abdominal pain. One-third of patients with splenic infarction died. Leukocytosis with neutrophilia, a decrease of lymphocytes, anemia, hypoalbuminemia, and liver dysfunction were observed. Fibrinogen was decreased and D-dimer was remarkably elevated. Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and C-reactive protein (CRP) were remarkably increased. Six patients (33.3%) had cancer, four patients (22.2%) had atrial fibrillation, and four patients (22.2%) had infection. We found 466 case reports on splenic infarction published from 1975 to 2021. Recently, the number of case reports on splenic infarction due to infection, especially, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), has been remarkably increasing. Furthermore, we found that leukocytosis, a decrease of lymphocytes, elongated activated partial thromboplastin time, decrease of fibrinogen, liver dysfunction, elevation of LDH and blood urea nitrogen can be the prognosis predicting factors for patients with splenic infarction.

Conclusion

Our study elucidated clinical, hematological, biochemical and radiological characteristics for patients with splenic infarction. We newly found significant differences in blood cell counts, coagulation markers, transaminases, LDH and blood urea nitrogen between patients who died and those who survived, suggesting that these parameters can be the prognosis predicting factors for splenic infarction. Further, our systematic review on case reports about splenic infarction showed the etiology of splenic infarction and the trend of the causative diseases.

Can contrast enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) be useful in the diagnosis of ovarian torsion in pediatric females? A preliminary monocentric experience

PURPOSE

To describe contrast enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) characteristics of ovarian torsion in pediatric females, assessing the potential diagnostic advantages of method as well as its limitations.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A retrospective study design was used. Between January 2018 and December 2020 we analyzed all pediatric females who underwent explorative surgery with a suspected diagnosis of ovarian torsion, and who were previously evaluated by conventional ultrasound (US), color-Doppler ultrasound (CDUS) and CEUS.

RESULTS

We examined twenty pediatric females with a median age of 12 years. US identified 9/20 ovarian complex masses against 13/20 by CEUS. At US abdominal free fluid was shown in 13/20 patients and in 18/20 cases with CEUS. In our case series the evaluation of contrast enhancement at CEUS in the detection of ovarian torsions revealed a sensitivity of 94.1%, a specificity of 100% and an overall accuracy of 95%.

CONCLUSION

Although there is a known ultrasound semeiotics suggestive of ovarian torsion, it is not always possible to obtain a diagnosis of certainty with conventional US even with CDUS. The study reports that complementation with CEUS showed excellent agreement with surgery obtaining a diagnosis in almost all the pediatric females examined.

Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasound (CEUS) in Non-Traumatic Abdominal Emergencies

Conventional ultrasound imaging (US) is the first-line investigation in acute non-traumatic abdominal emergencies, but sometimes it needs further examinations, such as computed tomography (CT), to reach a certain diagnosis. Contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS), through injection of contrast medium, may provide the radiologist with additional information that could not be investigated with baseline US. It could help reach a diagnosis and rapidly determine the proper therapy in an emergency setting. The purpose of this review is to explain and illustrate the various possibilities and limitations of CEUS in acute non-traumatic abdominal diseases, in particular acute inflammation, parenchymal infarcts, and hemorrhages.

Usefulness of doppler techniques in the diagnosis of peripheral iatrogenic pseudoaneurysms secondary to minimally invasive interventional and surgical procedures: imaging findings and diagnostic performance study

The pseudoaneurysm (PA) is a perfused sac directly connecting with the arterial lumen by an interruption of the vessel wall continuity, more commonly secondary to trauma or iatrogenic causes. Aim of our study was to determine the accuracy and usefulness of Doppler techniques in the diagnosis of peripheral iatrogenic PAs secondary to minimally invasive procedures. From a three year prospective research, 20 Duplex Ultrasound (DUS) studies in as many patients presenting with periarterial pulsating mass clinically suspected for PA secondary to minimally invasive procedures were selected. The PA final diagnosis was confirmed by angiography in 12 patients (60% cases), by computed tomography angiography in 5 patients (25%), by surgery in 2 patients (10%), and by magnetic resonance angiography in 1 patient (5%). The vessels involved by PA formation were: common femoral artery in 8 cases (40%); superficial femoral artery in 4 cases (20%); brachial artery in 3 cases (15%); popliteal artery in 2 cases (10%); superficial temporal artery (STA) in 2 cases (10%); dorsal medial digital artery of the foot in 1 case (5%). Our study confirmed the usefulness of doppler techniques in the diagnosis of peripheral iatrogenic PAs. Specifically, a sensitivity of 90-95%, a specificity of 100% and predictive values of 100% (VPP) and 83-90% (VPN) were reported. The radiologist must always suspect a PA in the differential diagnosis of lesions contiguous to an artery vessel. This is to prevent potential complications such as e.g. massive haemorrhage. In this order, DUS allows a careful selection of patients who require to undergo in-depth imaging methods or surgical therapy, thus contributing to a significant reduction of contrast medium and exposure to ionizing radiation.