Performances of Clinical Characteristics and Radiological Findings in Identifying COVID- 19 From Suspected Cases

Background: To identify effective factors and establish a model to distinguish COVID-19 patients from suspected cases.Methods: The clinical characteristics, laboratory results and initial chest CT findings of suspected COVID-19 patients in 3 institutions were retrospectively reviewed. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression were performed to identify significant features. A nomogram was constructed, with calibration validated internally and externally.Results: 239 patients from 2 institutions were enrolled in the primary cohort including 157 COVID-19 and 82 non-COVID-19 patients. 11 features were included for multivariate logistic regression analysis after LASSO selection. We found that the COVID-19 group are more likely to have fever (OR, 4.22), contact history (OR, 284.73), lower WBC count (OR, 0.63), left lower lobe involvement (OR, 9.42), multifocal lesions (OR, 8.98), pleual thickening (OR, 5.59), peripheral distribution (OR, 0.09), and less mediastinal lymphadenopathy (OR, 0.037). The nomogram developed accordingly for clinical practice showed satisfactory internal and external validation. Conclusions: In conclusion, fever, contact history, decreased WBC count, left lower lobe involvement, pleural thickening, multifocal lesions, peripheral distribution and absence of mediastinal lymphadenopathy are able to distinguish COVID-19 patients from other suspected patients. The corresponding nomogram is a useful tool in clinical practice.

Clinical and morphological factors that increase the risk of locoregional metastasis of papillary thyroid cancer

Background. The sensitivity of the ultrasound method to determine lymph node metastases of papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) to the central lymphatic collector of the neck at the preoperative stage is low, 49 % only, therefore assessment of the factors leading to the prolongation of the process is of great importance in the development of surgical treatment tactics.Aim — to evaluate factors that increase the risk of locoregional metastases of papillary thyroid cancer and substantiate the advisability of systematic central neck dissection (SCND).Materials and methods. A retro-prospective single center study of the risk of PTC prolongation in the form of locoregional metastases (LRM) was carried out. The data of 514 patients operated for papillary thyroid disease were processed. The main group included 240 patients in whom LRM was found according to the results of histopathological examination (HPE), control group consisted of 274 patients without LRMsigns. The following signs were taken into account: multifocal lesions of the thyroid gland, the patients’age, gender, presence of thyroiditis, the size of the dominant tumor, invasion of adipose tissue. In order to substantiate the expediency of the SCND, retrospective processing of the data of 514 patients, operated from 2018 to 2020, was carried out for PTC, in which the presence of metastases was not cytologically confirmed at the preoperative stage (cN0).Results. The mean age of patients of the main group was lower than in the control group (p < 0.001). The median size of the primary tumor in patients of the main group was significantly higher than in the control group (p < 0.001). The men portion in the main group was significantly higher than in the control group, and the part of women vice versa (p < 0.05). Invasion of the tumor into the adipose tissue in the main group occurred almost twice as often (p < 0.01). The number of patients with multifocal lesions in both groups was practically the same and did not differ statistically (p > 0.05). Ipsilateral and contralateral localization of tumors in both groups did not differ significantly (p > 0.05). The presence of thyroiditis in the control group was higher than in the main group (p < 0.05). The diagnostic efficiency (DE) of accounting for the factor of invasion into adipose tissue was 64.8 %, tumor size over 1.3 cm — 66.7 %, age up to 47 years — 60.0 %. The frequency of detecting metastases with cN0 at the preoperative stage, according to HPE results, was 25.8 %.Conclusions. The reliability of preoperative imaging and diagnostic methods does not allow to ignore the likelihood of LRM and not perform SCND. According to the obtained data, in 25.8 % of casesmetastases were verified based on HPE owing to thesystematic central neck dissection. Male gender (p < 0.01), age of patients (p < 0.001), size of primary tumor (p < 0.001), invasion of adipose tissue (p < 0.01) can serve as predictors of the increased LRMPTC risk. The presence of invasion of adipose tissue (diagnostic efficacy 64.8 %), tumor size more than 1.3 cm (66.7 % DE) and age < 47 (60.0 % DE) increased the risk of LRMPTC. The presence of thyroiditis (the frequency of thyroiditis exposure in control group was higher than in the main group (p < 0.05)), contralateral lesions of the thyroid gland (p > 0.05), multifocal lesions (p > 0.05) cannot serve as reliable prognostic factors for the increased LRMrisk.

Chronic Nonbacterial Osteomyelitis in Children

Chronic nonbacterial osteomyelitis (CNO) is an auto-inflammatory bone disorder with a wide spectrum of clinical manifestations, from unifocal to multifocal lesions. When it manifests with multifocal lesions, it is also referred to as chronic recurrent multifocal osteomyelitis (CRMO). CNO/CRMO can affect all age groups, with the pediatric population being the most common. Patients may present with systemic inflammation, but there is no pathognomonic laboratory finding. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is the gold standard radiological tool for diagnosis. In the absence of validated diagnostic criteria, CNO/CRMO remains an exclusion diagnosis. Bone biopsy does not show a specific disease pattern, but it may be necessary in unifocal or atypical cases to differentiate it from malignancy or infection. First-line treatments are non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), while bisphosphonates or TNF-α blockers can be used in refractory cases. The disease course is unpredictable, and uncontrolled lesions can complicate with bone fractures and deformations, underlying the importance of long-term follow-up in these patients.

Partial breast resection for multifocal lower quadrant breast tumour using virtual reality

Oncoplastic surgery allows an increase in the number of indications for conservative breast cancer treatments. However, uncertainty as to whether it can be performed still exists in certain situations such as with multicentric or multifocal lesions, even when the breast volume can accommodate it. With the aid of a virtual reality software, DIVA, allowing the precise visualisation of tumours and breast volumes based entirely on the patient’s MRI, we report the ability to rapidly confirm and secure an indication for partial surgery of multiple lesions in a 31-year-old patient. With the described approach, the patient did not have to suffer significant disfigurement from cancerous breast surgery without compromising safety.

Mutational concordance analysis provides supportive information for double cancer diagnosis

Background Mutation analysis using next-generation sequencing highlights the features of tumors with somatic alterations. However, the mutation profile of double cancer remains unclear. Here, we analyzed tumors derived from the same patient using whole exome sequencing (WES) to investigate the coherence of somatic mutations in double cancer. Methods First, the tumor mutational burden (TMB) was investigated using WES of 5521 tumor specimens from a Japanese pan-cancer cohort. The frequencies of mutation concordance were then compared in these cancers. Finally, we calculated the expected value of mutational concordance fitting a Poisson distribution to determine the relationship between double and metastatic cancers. Results In all, 44, 58, and 121 paired samples were diagnosed as double cancer, multifocal lesions (derived from identical tissues), and metastasis, respectively. Our analysis revealed that common somatic mutations were almost entirely absent in double cancer, whereas primary tumors and metastatic foci harbored several identical alterations. Concordance of the mutation profile in the same patient reflects the tumor origin and development, suggesting the potential for identifying double cancer based on common somatic mutations. Furthermore, according to a Poisson distribution, double cancer could be discriminated based on paired samples from the same patient. The probability of double cancer with more than 10 mutations was ≤1 part-per-billion (ppb, 10− 9). In multifocal lesions, 74% of tumor pairs accumulated ≤10 common mutations, implying a difference in tumor origin within identical tissues. Conclusions These findings indicate that counting common somatic mutations can indicate the differences in origin between tumors derived from the same patient. Our mutation coherence analysis can thus provide beneficial information for diagnosing double cancer.

Association between Thyroiditis and Multifocality in Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma

Introduction Hashimoto thyroiditis (HT) shares many characteristics with papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC), and some studies show that, when associated, PTC is diagnosed mostly with smaller lesions and multifocal pattern. Objective To evaluate the relationship between HT and PTC. Methods A retrospective study of 155 patients who underwent total thyroidectomy from 2009 to 2015. Demographical, clinical and ultrasonographical data, as well as anatomopathological findings were evaluated. Results There were signs of thyroidits in 35 patients, and 114 patients had a unifocal disease. There was no statistical significance between the variables studied and thyroiditis. However, when compared with the occurrence of unifocal or multifocal lesions, there was statistical significance regarding age (p = 0.038) and mass (p = 0.031). There was no direct relationship between thyroiditis and multifocality (p = 0.325) nor between thyroiditis and cervical extension of the disease (p = 0.300 e p = 0.434). Conclusion There was no relationship between thyroiditis and multifocality in cases of PTC.

Stereotactic laser interstitial thermal therapy for epilepsy associated with solitary and multiple cerebral cavernous malformations

OBJECTIVEThe authors sought to perform a preliminary assessment of the safety and effectiveness of stereotactic laser interstitial thermal therapy (LITT) for patients with cerebral cavernous malformation (CCM)–related epilepsy.METHODSThe authors retrospectively analyzed 6 patients with CCM-related epilepsy who underwent LITT. Pre-, intra-, and postoperative brain MRI studies were used to characterize preoperative CCM volume, ablation volume, and postablation hemosiderin volume. Clinical outcomes were assessed postoperatively during clinic follow-up visits or phone interviews.RESULTSLITT was performed in 7 CCMs in 6 patients. Two patients had familial CCM disease with multifocal lesions. Four treated CCMs were extratemporal, and 3 were in or near the visual pathways. The median follow-up was 25 (range 12–39) months. Five of 6 (83%) patients achieved seizure freedom (Engel I classification), of whom 4 (67%) were Engel IA and 1 was Engel IC after a single seizure on postoperative day 4. The remaining patient had rare seizures (Engel II). One patient had a nondisabling visual field deficit. There were no hemorrhagic complications. All patients were discharged within 24 hours postablation. MRI 3–11 months after ablation demonstrated expected focal necrosis and trace hemosiderin-related T2 hypointensity measuring 9%–44% (median 24%) of the original lesion volume, with significant (p = 0.04) volume reduction.CONCLUSIONSLITT is a minimally invasive option for treating CCM-related epilepsy with seizure outcomes comparable to those achieved with open lesionectomy. The precision of LITT allows for the obliteration of eloquent, deep, small, and multifocal lesions with low complication rates, minimal postoperative discomfort, and short hospital stays. In this study the feasibility and benefits of this method were demonstrated in 2 patients with multifocal lesions.

Hybrid surgery in treatment of patients with obliterating atherosclerosis of lower extremities (review)

The literature review presents the possibilities and current trends in the use of hybrid surgery in patients with multilevel multifocal lesions of the arterial bed of the lower extremities with obliterating lesions. Methods of open bypass surgery for chronic atherosclerosis of the arteries have long been developed, put into practice and can be considered individually for each patient. However, given the frequent complicated atherosclerotic history in patients with multifocal lesions of various arterial pools, most patients can be recommended more gentle endovascular methods of blood flow correction — balloon angioplasty or stenting. But given certain technical and general parameters (prolonged occlusion, severe calcification, kidney disease, an allergic reaction to a contrast drug, etc.), it is not yet possible to use intravascular correction in absolutely all patients, as a result of which the method of simultaneous or phased hybrid surgery seems to be very relevant and can be used even in patients at extremely high risk. The review describes the possible uses of hybrid technology depending on the level of steno-occlusive lesion and the general prolongation of narrowing of the arterial bed. Also considered are some features of the use of simultaneous or multi-stage hybrid operations. On the basis of modern literature data, the advantage of using a combination of open surgeries and endovascular interventions in comparison with any one revascularization method is shown.