Correlation between Computed Tomography Clinical Diagnosis and Findings in Pediatric Computed Tomography

<b>Background and Objective:</b> Pediatric Computed Tomography (CT) is a fast, accurate imaging examination using ionizing radiation to create detailed images of pathological conditions. The radiation benefit should be outweighing the risk through the procure justification and dose optimization. The study aimed to investigate the correlation between the physician's initial diagnosis and the CT findings to build procedure justification for a pediatric patient's head scan. <b>Materials and Methods:</b> The study included 81 children examined clinically and by CT scan to diagnose cranial and cerebral pathology. Eighty-one pediatric patients were investigated by CT scan and clinical diagnosis. <b>Results:</b> The patient age ranged between 1-15 years old, (44%) were male and (56%) females. The patients referred to the CT scan from emergency department n = 10 (7%), outpatient clinics n = 66, (84%) and inpatients clinics n = 5, (9%). The study showed that 46% of patients were normal with no CT findings. Almost half of the cases were negative and did not confirm the clinical diagnosis. <b>Conclusion:</b> The study concluded that most head CT scans in children were not justified. An effort towards improving the refereeing physician's awareness about radiation dose and request justification should be conducted.

Chest Radiological Findings and Clinical Characteristics of Laboratory-Confirmed COVID-19 Patients from Saudi Arabia

Background

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a viral respiratory disease that first emerged in China in December 2019 and quickly spread worldwide. As the prevalence of COVID-19 increases, radiological examination is becoming an essential diagnostic tool for identifying and managing the disease’s progression. Therefore, we aimed to identify the chest imaging features and clinical characteristics of patients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 in Saudi Arabia.

Material/Methods

In this retrospective study, data of laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 patients were collected from 4 hospitals in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Their common clinical characteristics, as well as imaging features of chest X-rays and computed tomography (CT) images, were analyzed.

Results

A total of 297 patients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 who underwent chest imaging were investigated in this study. Of these patients, 77.9% were male and 22.2% were female. Their mean age was 48 years old. The most common clinical symptoms were fever (187 patients; 63%) and cough (174 patients; 58.6%). The predominant descriptive chest imaging findings were ground-glass opacities and consolidation. Locations of abnormalities were bilateral, mainly distributed peripherally, in the lower lung zones, and in the middle lung zones.

Conclusions

This study provides an understanding of the most common clinical and radiological features of patients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 in Saudi Arabia. The majority of COVID-19 patients in our study cohort had either stable or worse progression of lung lesions during follow-ups; thus, they presented moderate disease cases. Elderly males were more affected by COVID-19 than females, with fever and cough being the most common clinical symptoms.

The recent advances, drawbacks, and the future directions of CMRI in the diagnosis of IHD

Ischemic heart disease (IHD), also known as coronary artery disease (CAD), is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in adults. The aims of this research were to study the recent advances on the prognostic and diagnostic value, drawbacks, and the future directions of cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMRI) in the diagnosis of IHD. One hundred patients with IHD who had been clinically diagnosed were enrolled in this study prospectively. CMRI; Siemens Magnetom Sola 1.5 T MRI scanner was used to examine the patients. To confirm the diagnosis, conventional coronary angiography was used. CMRI revealed that the left ventricular (LV) volumes and systolic function of male and female patients differed by age decile were 28.9 ± 3.5%; 32 ± 1.7%, 53.3 ± 11.2; 58 ± 6.6 ml, 100.6 ± 7.1; 98.3 ± 14.7 bpm, 5.4 ± 1.4; 5.8 ± 1.5 L/min, 189 ± 14.3; 180 ± 10.9 ml, and 136 ± 3.1; 123 ± 4.4 ml for the left ventricle ejection fraction (LVEF), stroke volume (SV), heart rate, cardiac output, end diastolic volume (EDV), and end systolic volume (ESV), respectively. CMRI has sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of 97%, 33.33%, and 95.15%, respectively. Finally, CMRI provides a comprehensive assessment of LV function, myocardial perfusion, and viability, as well as coronary anatomy.

Sensitivity and Features of Computed Tomography in Diagnosis of COVID-19 Pneumonia: A Meta-analysis

Introduction: Early diagnosis of COVID-19 is important for disease treatment and management. Computed Tomography (CT) is a fast and easy modality for diagnosis and management plan of patients with COVID-19. In the literature, several studies were done to assess the sensitivity of CT for diagnosis of COVID-19 infection in comparison to Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR). Some studies stated that CT was more sensitive diagnostic modality for COVID-19 than RT-PCR. However, the sensitivity of CT for COVID-19 varies in these studies. Aim: This literature review and meta-analysis was designed to determine the CT features of COVID-19 pneumonia, to verify the pooled sensitivity of CT for the diagnosis of COVID-19 and to review the different reasons (e.g., the disease stage or severity and the negative or positive RT-PCR results) for the variations in CT sensitivity. Materials and Methods: This review analysed 31 articles selected from the Europe BMC, PubMed, Science Direct, and Scopus databases. Participant gender mean and median age, CT features of COVID-19 pneumonia were sought for and reviewed. The data was analysed using Microsoft excel version 10 and OpenMeta (Analyst) software (http://www.cebm.brown.edu/openmeta/) to verify the pooled sensitivity of CT in detection and diagnosis of COVID-19 pneumonia using meta-analyses forest plot, Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve, cumulative meta-analyses forest plot and leave one forest plot. Results: The most common CT findings of COVID-19 pneumonia were bilateral lung involvement, Ground Glass Opacity (GGO), and consolidation, and Crazy-paving pattern. The CT finding is more prominent in symptomatic and severe cases than in a symptomatic and mild cases specifically the presence of consolidation and peripherals lesion distribution. The pooled sensitivity of CT is 90% in diagnosis and detection of COVID-19 pneumonia (ranged 60-100%). Conclusion: Combination of CT chest and laboratory tests along with clinical manifestation and epidemiological features should be considered to confirm the final diagnosis of COVID-19 pneumonia.

Knowledge of COVID-19 infection control among healthcare workers in radiology departments in Saudi Arabia

Radiological examinations have played a crucial role in the identification and management of COVID-19 patients. Therefore, knowledge and awareness of infection control among healthcare workers in radiology departments are important to prevent disease transmission. This study aimed to assess the knowledge and practice of infection control for COVID-19 among healthcare workers in radiology departments in Saudi Arabia. A cross-sectional, online questionnaire was administered among healthcare workers in radiology departments in Saudi Arabia in May 2020. The questionnaire consisted of demographic characteristics, profession, knowledge of infection control for COVID-19, and good practice of infection control measures for COVID-19 in radiology departments. A descriptive statistical analysis and chi-square test were performed using SPSS software. A total of 234 (91%) of healthcare workers replied that they have good knowledge about the precautions needed during the examination of positive COVID-19 cases in radiology departments, and 216 (84%) replied that they knew the necessary precautions when using portable X-ray machine. Moreover, 191 (>74%) of those surveyed agreed that wearing personal protective equipment and following the CDC sequence. There was significant association between profession and good clinical practices in radiology departments regarding COVID-19. Such knowledge could limit the spread of COVID-19 among the healthcare workers in radiology departments.

Evaluation of occupational and patient radiation doses in orthopedic surgery

This study intends to measure the radiation dose to patients and staff during (i) Dynamic Hip Screw (DHS) and (ii) Dynamic Cannula Screw (DCS) and to evaluate entrance surface Air kerma (ESAK) dose and organ doses and effective doses. Calibrated Thermoluminescence dosimeters (TLD-GR200A) were used. The mean patients' doses were 0.46mGy and 0.07mGy for DHS and DCS procedures, respectively. The mean staff doses at the thyroid and chest were 4.69mGy and 1.21mGy per procedure. The mean organ and effective dose for patients and staff were higher in DHS compared to DCS. Orthopedic surgeons were exposed to unnecessary radiation doses due to the lack of protection measures. The radiation dose per hip procedure is within the safety limit and less than the previous studies.

Toxicity of cadmium and protective effect of bee honey, vitamins C and B complex

The present work aimed to study the toxic effect of cadmium (Cd) on rabbits' blood indices, as well as the therapeutic effect of the antioxidant agents, vitamins C and B complex and bee honey on Cd intoxicated rabbits. Cadmium chloride (CdCl2) was injected subcutaneously at a dose of 3 mg/kg of body weight. The results showed a significant increase in serum glucose, triglycerides, cholesterol, total protein, albumin, globulin, urea and creatinine, compared to the control group. In addition, CdCl2 intoxication increased the levels of uric acid, aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase and bilirubin. Concerning haematological parameters, the more obvious changes were an increase in mean corpuscular volume and a decrease in white blood cells count, platelets, lymphocytes, heamatocrit, haemoglobin and red blood cells count. Treatment of CdCl2-intoxicated animals with vitamins C and B complex and bee honey showed a decrease in the harmful effects of Cd by restoring haematological and biochemical changes. Bee honey treatment was the most effective in providing recoveries in the altered blood parameters.

Breast cancer in Arabic women

A case-control study of breast cancer was conducted in Cairo, Egypt and in Kuwait. This is the first such report from Arabic countries and the most significant finding is the animal incidence rate of 7.67 per 100,000 in Kuwaiti women, which ranks amongst the lowest thus far reported in the world. Factors which contribute to this low rate are a short period of active menstruation, low family history, first childbirth at very early age and most likely significant dietary factors. More than 45% of Egyptian women give birth to a child before the age of 20, with 56.5% of controls and 42.3% of patients (p less than 0.01). Many patients already have extensive disease at time of diagnosis as a result of considerable delay. However, this delay did not result in a high incidence of inflammatory breast carcinoma, such as has been reported in Tunisia.