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Infective native abdominal aortic aneurysms are a life-threatening condition with a high mortality rate. We report the case of a 53-year-old male patient who presented with abdominal pain and fever. Laboratory results showed an elevated white blood cell count and C-reactive protein levels. Blood cultures detected Salmonella species, and computed tomography revealed a saccular abdominal aortic aneurysm. After 14 days of preoperative antibiotic therapy, the patient underwent a successful surgical bypass from the descending thoracic aorta, through the diaphragm and muscle layers of the anterior abdominal wall, to the bilateral common femoral arteries. The patient was discharged after 30 days of hospitalization and continued antibiotic treatment for another 30 days. Follow-up clinical evaluations and imaging studies showed good recovery and no signs of infection. This case highlights the importance of combining appropriate antibiotic therapy with surgical intervention in managing infective native aortic aneurysms. In particular, an extra-anatomical approach from the descending aorta can be a viable option in selected cases of infected aortic aneurysms, providing an effective means to achieve thorough debridement and prevent future graft infections.

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Surgical treatment is indicated for both symptomatic and asymptomatic bronchogenic cysts. The goal of treatment is total removal of the cyst. Percutaneous aspiration and absolute ethanol sclerotherapy is an effective, minimally invasive, and safe alternative method. We present the case of a 74-year-old woman with a symptom of persistent dry cough for 5 months. Plain and contrast-enhanced chest computed tomography revealed a large superior mediastinal cyst that could be easily accessed percutaneously. The cyst was treated by aspiration and ethanol sclerotherapy under ultrasound guidance and fluoroscopy. The patient was discharged a day later without complications. Chest CT at 6 months follow-up showed complete regression of the cyst.

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Traumatic rupture of the thoracic aorta is a rare condition, with a high mortality rate. Over the last 2 decades, strategies for managing aortic injury caused by blunt chest trauma have changed substantially, resulting in significantly improved outcomes. The recent development of endovascular repair offers a less invasive alternative to conventional open repair, particularly in patients with multiple injuries. Here, we report the case of a 31-year-old man who was referred to our emergency department with blunt chest trauma following a motorcycle-truck collision. Computed tomography confirmed acute traumatic rupture of the thoracic aorta, and the patient was successfully treated with endovascular repair.

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Background: Thymic epithelial tumors (TETs) are clinically the most frequently encountered neoplasm of the prevascular mediastinum in adults. The role of chest magnetic resonance (MR) imaging has been increasingly stressed thanks to its excellent contrast resolution, freedom from ionizing radiation, and capability to provide additional information regarding tumors' cellular structure and vascularity. Methods: This study aimed to establish the relationship between the MR findings and pathological classification of TETs, focusing on diffusion-weighted (DW) and dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE) imaging. This retrospective cross-sectional study included 44 TET patients who underwent chest MR scanning. The tumors were classified into three groups according to the WHO classification: low-risk thymoma (LRT), high-risk thymoma (HRT), and non-thymoma (NT). Along with morphological characteristics, the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) value, time-intensity curve (TIC) pattern, and time to peak enhancement (TTP) of the tumors were recorded and compared between the three groups. Results: A smooth contour and complete or almost complete capsule were suggestive of LRTs. The median ADC value of the 44 tumors was 0.95 × 10-3 mm2/sec. Among the three groups, LRTs had the highest ADC values, while NTs had the lowest. The differences between the ADC values of the three groups were statistically significant (p = 0.006). Using an ADC cutoff of 0.82 × 10-3 mm2/sec to differentiate between LRTs and tumors of the two remaining groups, the area under the curve was 0.775, sensitivity was 100%, specificity was 50%, and accuracy was 65.91%. The washout (type 3) TIC pattern was the most prevalent, accounting for 45.45% of the population; this pattern was also predominantly observed in LRTs (71.43%). Although the median TTP of LRTs was lower than that of HRTs or NTs, no statistically significant differences were found between the TTPs of the three groups (p = 0.170). Conclusions: MR is a good imaging modality to preoperatively assess TETs. Morphological features, ADC value, TIC pattern, and TTP are helpful in preoperatively predicting TET pathology.

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Diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) is considered to be a useful biomarker to characterize the cellularity of lesions, yet its application in the thorax to evaluate anterior mediastinal lesions has not been well investigated. The aims of our study were to describe the magnetic resonance (MR) characteristics of anterior mediastinal masses and to assess the role of apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) value in distinguishing benign from malignant lesions of the anterior mediastinum. We conducted a retrospective cross-sectional study including 55 patients with anterior mediastinal masses who underwent preinterventional MR scanning with the following sequences: T1 VIBE DIXON pre and post-contrast, T2 HASTE, T2 TIRM, DWI-ADC map (b values of 0 and 2000 sec/mm2). The ADC measurements were obtained by two approaches: hot-spot ROI and whole-tumor histogram analysis. The lesions were grouped by three distinct ways: benign versus malignant, group A (benign lesions and type A, AB, B1 thymoma) versus group B (type B2, B3 thymoma and other malignant lesions), lymphoma versus other malignancies. The study was composed of 55 patients, with 5 benign lesions and 50 malignant lesions. The ADCmean, ADCmedian, ADC10, ADC90 in the histogram-based approach and the hot-spot-ROI-based mean ADC of the malignant lesions were significantly lower than those of benign lesions (P values< 0.05). The hot-spot-ROI-based mean ADC had the highest value in differentiation between benign and malignant mediastinal lesions, as well as between group A and group B; the ADC cutoffs (with sensitivity, specificity) to differentiate malignant from benign lesions and group A from group B were 1.17 x 10-3 mm2/sec (80%, 80%) and 0.99 x 10-3 mm2/sec (78.4%, 88.9%), respectively. The ADC values obtained by using the hot-spot-ROI-based and the histogram-based approaches are helpful in differentiating benign and malignant anterior mediastinal masses.

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Background: Children are at high risk of drug-related problems, increased risk of treatment failures, and high treatment costs. We aimed to evaluate the effect of pharmacist-led interventions on physicians' prescribing for pediatric outpatients. Methods: A prospective study with pre- and post-intervention measurement assessment was conducted to collect pediatric outpatients' prescriptions during the pre-intervention period (January 2020) and post-intervention (August 2020) at a children's hospital in Vietnam. Drug-related problems were identified and categorized according to Pharmaceutical Care Network Europe (PCNE), version 9.1. The intervention program was developed based on the results of pre-intervention observations. After the intervention, prescriptions were evaluated. Statistical tests were used to compare the proportions of drug-related problems before and after the intervention and to identify factors related to drug-related problems. Results: There were 2788 out of 4218 (66.1%) prescriptions with at least one drug-related problem before the intervention. Of these drug-related problems, the most common was inappropriate timing of administration and incorrect dosage (36.1% and 35.6%, respectively). After the intervention, the percentage of prescriptions with at least one drug-related problem was 45.5% (p < 0.001). Most of the drug-related problem types decreased significantly (p < 0.05). The binary logistic regression analysis results showed that in addition to pharmacists' intervention, patients' gender, primary disease, comorbidity status, and the total number of drugs prescribed were also factors related to drug-related problems. Conclusions: Drug-related problems in pediatric outpatients were quite common. Pharmacists' intervention helped to improve the prevalence and types of drug-related problems.

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Selecting treatment options in acute arterial thrombosis of the lower extremity, which threatens limb viability, is still a challenge for vascular surgeons. Early restoration of blood flow is crucial and is conducted by surgical thrombectomies or endovascular procedures, depending on patient condition. Catheter-directed thrombolysis with or without percutaneous mechanical thrombectomy for acute limb ischemia has been widely implemented from the early 1990s. Here, we present 2 cases of acute thrombosis of below-the-knee arteries, where we successfully saved the involved limbs using catheter-directed thrombolysis and thrombus aspiration.

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Surgical treatment of abdominal aortic aneurysm in patients with a transplanted kidney is true a challenge. Conventional open repair of the aneurysm requires aortic cross-clamping. Therefore, it can pose a risk of ischemic injury to the transplanted kidney. Endovascular repair, which limits the duration of interruption of blood flow to the transplanted kidney, is a suitable alternative for repair of abdominal aortic aneurysm, if feasible anatomically. Here, we present a case of a 62-year-old woman who was transferred to our hospital because of abdominal pain and had a history of renal transplant 14 years ago. Computed tomography confirmed a large infrarenal fusiform abdominal aortic aneurysm 6 cm in maximal diameter and another 4 cm fusiform aneurysm in the left common iliac artery. We successfully performed endovascular aneurysm repair combined with femoro-femoral bypass. The postoperative course was uneventful, and the patient was discharged on the 5th postoperative day.

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Mature cystic teratoma (MCT) is a benign, slow-growing tumor and accounts for approximately 75% of mediastinal germ cell tumors. Patients with MCT are often asymptomatic when the tumors are small. Most of the symptoms are frequently related to compression of the mediastinal structures. We herein describe 3 adult cases of MCT. The patients were a 37-year-old man, a 35-year-old woman, and a 54-year-old woman. They were hospitalized with compression-related symptoms, such as chest pain, dyspnea, and cough. Findings from conventional chest radiograph, computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging were characterized. Conventional chest radiography still plays a major role in the initial evaluation of MCT, while CT remains the preferred modality for initial cross-sectional imaging evaluation of mediastinal lesions. However, thoracic magnetic resonance imaging provides more detailed and often definitive evaluation of mediastinal masses than CT because of its superior tissue characterization.

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BACKGROUND: Benign thyroid nodules are common, and must be treated when symptomatic. Non-surgical minimally invasive modalities, including radiofrequency ablation (RFA), have been widely used with good results. The factors related to the efficacy of RFA are still debated. This study was to evaluate the safety, efficacy and related factors of RFA in the treatment of benign thyroid nodules. METHODS: A retrospective single-center study was conducted on 251 benign thyroid nodules in 184 patients treated with RFA. The procedure was performed under ultrasound (US) guidance using the trans-isthmic approach and the moving-shot technique. Clinical and US examinations were performed at 1, 3, 6, 12 months, and then at 6 month intervals. Study outcomes were volume reduction ratio (VRR) and complications. RESULTS: There were 153 women and 31 men included in the study. The mean age was 43.9 years. The median initial largest diameter and volume of nodules were 30 mm and 6.18 ml. The median length of follow-up was 12 months. Two minor complications were found. The mean VRR was 66.8; 74.3; and 81% after 3, 6, and 12 months, respectively. Initial solidity was a factor related to the efficacy: cystic nodules had higher VRR compared to solid ones. CONCLUSIONS: RFA is safe, effective and can be used as a routine treatment for benign thyroid nodules. More prospective multicenter studies with long-term follow-up are required to improve the safety and efficacy of RFA.

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