Pediatric radiology
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Pediatric radiology · Dec 2018
Parasagittal vertex clots on head CT in infants with subdural hemorrhage as a predictor for abusive head trauma.
Abusive head trauma (AHT) is the most common cause of subdural hemorrhage (SDH) in infants younger than 12 months old. Clot formation in the parasagittal vertex seen on imaging has been associated with SDH due to AHT. There have been very few studies regarding these findings; to our knowledge, no studies including controls have been performed. ⋯ The finding of parasagittal vertex clots on CT scans should raise suspicion for abuse and prompt further investigation, especially in the setting of no known, uncertain or inconsistent mechanism of injury.
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Pediatric radiology · Dec 2018
Gauging potential risk for patients in pediatric radiology by review of over 2,000 incident reports.
Incident reporting can be used to inform imaging departments about adverse events and near misses. ⋯ Using incident report rates as a proxy for potential patient harm, the areas of our pediatric radiology service that are associated with the greatest potential for issues are interventional radiology, sedated patients, and inpatients. The areas associated with the least risk are ultrasound (US) and radiography. Safety improvement efforts should be focused on the high-risk areas.
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Pediatric radiology · Nov 2018
Multiphase acquisitions in pediatric abdominal-pelvic CT are a common practice and contribute to unnecessary radiation dose.
Many patients at our pediatric hospital have had a contrast-enhanced CT of the abdomen and pelvis performed by an outside imaging facility before admission. We have noticed that many of these exams are multiphase, which may contribute to unnecessary radiation dose. ⋯ Multiphase acquisitions in routine contrast-enhanced CT of the abdomen and pelvis exams at outside imaging facilities are more frequent than those at a dedicated pediatric institution and contribute to unnecessary radiation dose. A contrast-enhanced CT of the abdomen and pelvis exam from an outside imaging facility with two passes may have as much as four times to six times the dose as the same exam performed with a single pass at a pediatric imaging center. We advocate for imaging facilities with high multiphase rates to eliminate multiple phases from routine contrast-enhanced CT of the abdomen and pelvis exams in children.
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Neuroendocrine cell hyperplasia of infancy (NEHI) is a rare lung disease associated with significant air trapping. Although chest CT is crucial in establishing a diagnosis, CT and biopsy findings do not reveal airway abnormalities to explain the air trapping. ⋯ Lung and airway shapes were different between children with NEHI and control children in this cohort. Children with NEHI had an increased anteroposterior diameter of their lungs that might be useful in the diagnostic criteria.
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Pediatric radiology · Nov 2018
A comprehensive institutional overview of intrathecal nusinersen injections for spinal muscular atrophy.
Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is an autosomal-recessive neuromuscular disorder resulting in progressive muscle weakness. In December 2016, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the first treatment for SMA, a drug named nusinersen (Spinraza) that is administered intrathecally. However many children with SMA have neuromuscular scoliosis or spinal instrumentation resulting in challenging intrathecal access. Therefore alternative routes must be considered in these complex patients. ⋯ Although we achieved 100% technical success in intrathecal nusinersen administration, our practices evolved during the course of this study. As a result of our early experience we developed an algorithm to assist in promoting safe and effective nusinersen administration in children with spinal muscular atrophy regardless of SMA type, abnormal spinal anatomy and complex spinal instrumentation.