Renal and Splenic Infarction in a Patient with Familial Hypercholesterolemia and Previous Cerebral Infarction

Patient: Male, 47

Final Diagnosis: Acute renal and splenic infarction

Symptoms: Flank pain • low-grade fever

Medication: —

Clinical Procedure: CT scan

Specialty: Nephrology

Reliability of gadolinium-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging findings and their correlation with clinical outcome in patients with sciatica

BACKGROUND CONTEXT

Gadolinium-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (Gd-MRI) is often performed in the evaluation of patients with persistent sciatica after lumbar disc surgery. However, correlation between enhancement and clinical findings is debated, and limited data are available regarding the reliability of enhancement findings.

PURPOSE

To evaluate the reliability of Gd-MRI findings and their correlation with clinical findings in patients with sciatica.

STUDY DESIGN

Prospective observational evaluation of patients who were enrolled in a randomized trial with 1-year follow-up.

PATIENTS SAMPLE

Patients with 6- to 12-week sciatica, who participated in a multicentre randomized clinical trial comparing an early surgery strategy with prolonged conservative care with surgery if needed. In total 204 patients underwent Gd-MRI at baseline and after 1 year.

OUTCOME MEASURES

Patients were assessed by means of the Roland Disability Questionnaire (RDQ) for sciatica, visual analog scale (VAS) for leg pain, and patient-reported perceived recovery at 1 year. Kappa coefficients were used to assess interobserver reliability.

METHODS

In total, 204 patients underwent Gd-MRI at baseline and after 1 year. Magnetic resonance imaging findings were correlated to the outcome measures using the Mann-Whitney U test for continuous data and Fisher exact tests for categorical data.

RESULTS

Poor-to-moderate agreement was observed regarding Gd enhancement of the herniated disc and compressed nerve root (kappa<0.41), which was in contrast with excellent interobserver agreement of the disc level of the herniated disc and compressed nerve root (kappa>0.95). Of the 59 patients with an enhancing herniated disc at 1 year, 86% reported recovery compared with 100% of the 12 patients with nonenhancing herniated discs (p=.34). Of the 12 patients with enhancement of the most affected nerve root at 1 year, 83% reported recovery compared with 85% of the 192 patients with no enhancement (p=.69). Patients with and without enhancing herniated discs or nerve roots at 1 year reported comparable outcomes on RDQ and VAS-leg pain.

CONCLUSIONS

Reliability of Gd-MRI findings was poor-to-moderate and no correlation was observed between enhancement and clinical findings at 1-year follow-up.

Diagnostic accuracy of history taking to assess lumbosacral nerve root compression

BACKGROUND CONTEXT

The diagnosis of sciatica is primarily based on history and physical examination. Most physical tests used in isolation show poor diagnostic accuracy. Little is known about the diagnostic accuracy of history items.

PURPOSE

To assess the diagnostic accuracy of history taking for the presence of lumbosacral nerve root compression or disc herniation on magnetic resonance imaging in patients with sciatica.

STUDY DESIGN

Cross-sectional diagnostic study.

PATIENT SAMPLE

A total of 395 adult patients with severe disabling radicular leg pain of 6 to 12 weeks duration were included.

OUTCOME MEASURES

Lumbosacral nerve root compression and disc herniation on magnetic resonance imaging were independently assessed by two neuroradiologists and one neurosurgeon blinded to any clinical information.

METHODS

Data were prospectively collected in nine hospitals. History was taken according to a standardized protocol. There were no study-specific conflicts of interest.

RESULTS

Exploring the diagnostic odds ratio of 20 history items revealed a significant contribution in diagnosing nerve root compression for "male sex," "pain worse in leg than in back," and "a non-sudden onset." A significant contribution to the diagnosis of a herniated disc was found for "body mass index <30," "a non-sudden onset," and "sensory loss." Multivariate logistic regression analysis of six history items pre-selected from the literature (age, gender, pain worse in leg than in back, sensory loss, muscle weakness, and more pain on coughing/sneezing/straining) revealed an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.65 (95% confidence interval, 0.58-0.71) for the model diagnosing nerve root compression and an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.66 (95% confidence interval, 0.58-0.74) for the model diagnosing disc herniation.

CONCLUSIONS

A few history items used in isolation had significant diagnostic value and the diagnostic accuracy of a model with six pre-selected items was poor.

Influence of low back pain and prognostic value of MRI in sciatica patients in relation to back pain

BACKGROUND

Patients with sciatica frequently complain about associated back pain. It is not known whether there are prognostic relevant differences in Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) findings between sciatica patients with and without disabling back pain.

METHODS

The study population contained patients with sciatica who underwent a baseline MRI to assess eligibility for a randomized trial designed to compare the efficacy of early surgery with prolonged conservative care for sciatica. Two neuroradiologists and one neurosurgeon independently evaluated all MR images. The MRI readers were blinded to symptom status. The MRI findings were compared between sciatica patients with and without disabling back pain. The presence of disabling back pain at baseline was correlated with perceived recovery at one year.

RESULTS

Of 379 included sciatica patients, 158 (42%) had disabling back pain. Of the patients with both sciatica and disabling back pain 68% did reveal a herniated disc with nerve root compression on MRI, compared to 88% of patients with predominantly sciatica (P<0.001). The existence of disabling back pain in sciatica at baseline was negatively associated with perceived recovery at one year (Odds ratio [OR] 0.32, 95% Confidence Interval 0.18-0.56, P<0.001). Sciatica patients with disabling back pain in absence of nerve root compression on MRI at baseline reported less perceived recovery at one year compared to those with predominantly sciatica and nerve root compression on MRI (50% vs 91%, P<0.001).

CONCLUSION

Sciatica patients with disabling low back pain reported an unfavorable outcome at one-year follow-up compared to those with predominantly sciatica. If additionally a clear herniated disc with nerve root compression on MRI was absent, the results were even worse.

Predictive value of MRI in decision making for disc surgery for sciatica

Object

In a randomized controlled trial comparing surgery and prolonged conservative treatment for sciatica of 6–12 weeks' duration, more than one-third of patients assigned to conservative treatment underwent surgery. The objective of the present study was to evaluate whether MRI at baseline could have predicted this delayed surgery.

Methods

Independently evaluated qualitative and quantitative MRI findings were compared between those patients who did and those who did not undergo surgery during follow-up in the conservative care group. In addition, area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was used to assess how well MRI parameters discriminated between those who did and those who did not undergo delayed surgery (0.5–0.7 poor discrimination, ≥ 0.7 acceptable discrimination).

Results

Of 142 patients assigned to receive prolonged conservative care, 55 patients (39%) received delayed surgery. Of the 55 surgically treated patients, 71% had definite nerve root compression at baseline compared with 72% of conservatively treated patients (p = 0.76). Large disc herniations (size > 50% of spinal canal) were nearly equally distributed between those who did and those who did not undergo surgery (25% vs 21%, p = 0.65). The size of the dural sac was smaller in the patients who underwent surgery (101.2 vs 122.9 mm2, p = 0.01). However, the size of the dural sac discriminated poorly between those who did and those who did not undergo delayed surgery (area under ROC curve, 0.62).

Conclusions

In patients who suffered from sciatica of 6–12 weeks' duration, MRI at baseline did not distinguish between patients who did and those who did not undergo delayed surgery. Clinical trial registration no.: ISRCTN26872154 (http://www.controlled-trials.com/ISRCTN/).

Magnetic resonance imaging in follow-up assessment of sciatica

BACKGROUND

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is frequently performed during follow-up in patients with known lumbar-disk herniation and persistent symptoms of sciatica. The association between findings on MRI and clinical outcome is controversial.

METHODS

We studied 283 patients in a randomized trial comparing surgery and prolonged conservative care for sciatica and lumbar-disk herniation. Patients underwent MRI at baseline and after 1 year. We used a 4-point scale to assess disk herniation on MRI, ranging from 1 for "definitely present" to 4 for "definitely absent." A favorable clinical outcome was defined as complete or nearly complete disappearance of symptoms at 1 year. We compared proportions of patients with a favorable outcome among those with a definite absence of disk herniation and those with a definite, probable, or possible presence of disk herniation at 1 year. The area under the receiver-operating-characteristic (ROC) curve was used to assess the prognostic accuracy of the 4-point scores regarding a favorable or unfavorable outcome, with 1 indicating perfect discriminatory value and 0.5 or less indicating no discriminatory value.

RESULTS

At 1 year, 84% of the patients reported having a favorable outcome. Disk herniation was visible in 35% with a favorable outcome and in 33% with an unfavorable outcome (P=0.70). A favorable outcome was reported in 85% of patients with disk herniation and 83% without disk herniation (P=0.70). MRI assessment of disk herniation did not distinguish between patients with a favorable outcome and those with an unfavorable outcome (area under ROC curve, 0.48).

CONCLUSIONS

MRI performed at 1-year follow-up in patients who had been treated for sciatica and lumbar-disk herniation did not distinguish between those with a favorable outcome and those with an unfavorable outcome. (Funded by the Netherlands Organization for Health Research and Development and the Hoelen Foundation; Controlled Clinical Trials number, ISRCTN26872154.).

Outcome and medical costs of patients with invasive aspergillosis and acute myelogenous leukemia-myelodysplastic syndrome treated with intensive chemotherapy: an observational study

BACKGROUND

Invasive aspergillosis (IA) is a leading cause of mortality in patients with acute leukemia. Management of IA is expensive, which makes prevention desirable. Because hospital resources are limited, prevention costs have to be compared with treatment costs and outcome.

METHODS

In 269 patients treated for acute myelogenous leukemia-myelodysplastic syndrome (AML-MDS) during 2002-2007, evidence of IA was collected using high-resolution computed tomography and galactomannan measurement in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid specimens. IA was classified on the basis of updated European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer/Mycoses Study Group definitions. Outcome of infection was registered. Diagnostic and therapeutic IA-related costs, corrected for neutropenia duration, were comprehensively analyzed from a hospital perspective. Voriconazole treatment was given orally from day 1 if possible.

RESULTS

A total of 80 patients developed IA; 48 (18%) had probable or proven infection, and 32 (12%) had possible IA. Seventy-three patients were treated with voriconazole; 55 (75%) took oral voriconazole from day 1. In patients with IA, the mortality rate 12 weeks after starting antifungal therapy was 22% (16 of 73 patients). The overall mortality rate, registered 12 weeks after neutrophil recovery from the last dose of antileukemic treatment, was 26% in patients with IA versus 16% in patients without IA (P = .08), reflecting an IA-attributable mortality rate of 10%. In a Cox regression analysis, IA was associated with an increased mortality risk (hazard ratio, 2.4; 95% confidence interval, 1.3-4.4). Total IA-related costs increased to euro 8360 and euro 15,280 for patients with possible and probable or proven IA, respectively, compared with patients without IA (P<.001).

CONCLUSIONS

Early diagnosis and treatment of IA with oral voriconazole result in acceptable mortality rates. Nevertheless, IA continues to have substantial attributable mortality combined with a major impact on hospital resource use, so effective prevention in high-incidence populations has the potential to save lives and costs.