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OBJECTIVE: To analyze the association between basilar invagination (BI) and stenosis in the hypoglossal canal (HC). METHODS: A case-control study with magnetic resonance images (MRIs) of the head from a local database was performed. The study used MRIs of 31 patients with BI (type B) and 36 controls, both groups over 18 years of age and without sex distinction. The internal (ID) and external (ED) diameters of the HC were measured on the coronal plane using the Osirix in its free version 3.9.2 (Mac-Apple platform). We used the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test (with Lilliefors adjustment) to evaluate the normality of the variables, the Levine test to verify the homogeneity of the variances, and Student's t test to verify differences between groups. All analyses were within the 95% confidence interval. RESULTS: Control group presented right and left ED values of 4.7 ± 0.8 mm and 4.6 ± 0.9 mm, respectively, while the right and left ID showed 4.4 ± 0.9 mm and 4.3 ± 0.8 mm, respectively. The group with BI showed right and left ED values of 3.3 ± 0.9 mm and 3.1 ± 0.9 mm, and the right and left ID had values of 2.8 ± 0.7 mm and 2.7 ± 0.7 mm, respectively. Both ED and ID were smaller in the group with BI (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Patients with BI of type B presented the narrowing of HC when compared with control participants.

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Information infrastructures involve the notion of a shared, open infrastructure, constituting a space where people, organizations, and technical components associate to develop an activity. The current infrastructure for medical image sharing, based on PACS/DICOM technologies, does not constitute an information infrastructure since it is limited in its ability to share in a scalable, comprehensive, and secure manner. This paper proposes the DICOMFlow, a decentralized, distributed infrastructure model that aims to foment the formation of an information infrastructure in order to share medical images and teleradiology. As an installed base, it uses the PACS/DICOM infrastructure of radiology departments and the internet e-mail infrastructure. Experiments performed in real and simulated environments have indicated the feasibility of the proposed infrastructure to foment the formation of an information infrastructure for medical image sharing and teleradiology.

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OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of classical measurements for basilar invagination (BI) of type B at MRI. METHODS: This study used head MRIs from 31 participants with BI type B and 96 controls. The radiological criterion for BI was the odontoid process invagination using the obex as reference. It based on the independent prospective reading of two neuroradiologists. Concordance between the two neuroradiologists was analysed through the KAPPA index, and the discrepancy was resolved in a consensus meeting. A third examiner measured in two occasions (double blind) the distance of the odontoid apex to Chamberlain's line (DOCL) and McGregor's line (DOMG), clivus canal angle (CCA), Welcker's basal angle (WBA), and Boogaard's angle (BOA). Intra-examiner reproducibility of the measurements was evaluated with the intraclass correlation coefficient and the diagnostic accuracy by ROC curve. All analyses were at 95% confidence interval. RESULTS: Agreement between the two neuroradiologists was statistically relevant (KAPPA = .91; P = .0001). The intra-examiner reproducibilities were .98 (DOCL), .97 (DOMG), .96 (CCA), .94 (WBA), and .95 (BOA) (P < .05). The areas under the ROC curve were .963 (DOCL), .940 (DOMG), .880 (CCA), .867 (WBA), and .951 (BOA) (P < .05). The cut-off criteria were ≥ 7 mm (DOCL), ≥ 8 mm (DOMG), ≤ 145° (CCA), ≥ 142° (WBA), and ≥ 136° (BOA). The diagnostic accuracies were .904 (DOCL), .870 (DOMG), .844 (CCA), .810 (WBA), and .899 (BOA). CONCLUSION: The DOCL and BOA presented the highest diagnostic accuracy for BI type B. These slides can be retrieved under Electronic Supplementary Material.

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BACKGROUND: Basilar invagination (BI) is an abnormality characterized by a superior projection at the craniovertebral junction (CVJ). The high prevalence of BI in Northeastern Brazil associated with brachycephaly, which is measured by the cranial index (CI), has been widely reported by several neurosurgeons and radiologists from that region since the 1950s. However, strong evidence for this relationship is still pending. The aim of this study is to investigate whether there is a relationship between BI and CI in a sample with participants from Northeastern Brazil. METHODS: The study used magnetic resonance images (MRIs) from 34 patients with BI and 92 controls. These participants had the CI correlated with radiological measurements used in BI diagnosis: Welcker's basal angle (WBA), clivus-canal angle (CCA), apex distance of the odontoid process to Chamberlain's line (DOCL), and Boogaard's angle (BOA). Craniometry was performed using the software Osirix, version 3.9.2 and statistical analysis by SPSS. We used Pearson's test for correlation analysis and the ROC curve was used for depicting CI accuracy related to BI diagnosis. All tests were calculated at the 95% confidence interval. RESULTS: The BI group showed a moderate correlation between CI and CVJ measurements (P < 0.05). The control group had a weak correlation between CI and DOCL, and no statistical significance was verified for other correlations (P > 0.05). The area under the ROC was 0.659 and a CI greater than 86 had a specificity of approximately 80% for BI (P = 0.002). CONCLUSIONS: The results indicated a greater cephalic projection of the CVJ in patients with high CI in the BI group. Moreover, a CI above 86 has a good diagnosis specificity for BI, showing evidence of a relationship between hyperbrachycephaly and CVJ anomalies in Northeastern Brazil.

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OBJECTIVE: To determine whether the presence of opacification in the paranasal sinuses of children and adolescents without rhinosinusitis implies an increased risk of later development of upper respiratory tract symptoms. METHODS: This was a prospective study of a cohort of patients aged 0 to 18 years who underwent computerized tomography (CT) scans for indications unrelated to rhinosinusitis. Sinus opacification was evaluated using an opacification/development ratio score. The patients' clinical progression was followed up using a questionnaire for 1 month after the scans. RESULTS: Fifty-six percent (56%) of the 106 patients enrolled in the study had opacity, the majority due to mucosal thickening. Intense opacification was defined as "suspected" (score ≥ 15) and patients in this subset had a greater risk of developing symptoms during follow-up (odds ratio = 2.74; 95%CI 1.10-6.83) compared to those with no findings or discrete findings. CONCLUSIONS: Intense incidental sinus opacity on CT indicates a risk of future development of a clinical respiratory condition.

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OBJETIVO: Verificar se, em crianças e adolescentes sem rinossinusite, a presença de opacificações dos seios paranasais implica em maior risco de desenvolvimento posterior de sintomas do trato respiratório superior. MÉTODOS: Estudo prospectivo de coorte, com pacientes entre 0 e 18 anos, submetidos à tomografia computadorizada do crânio por indicações não relacionadas à rinossinusite. As opacificações sinusais foram aferidas pelo escore razão opacificação/desenvolvimento. A evolução clínica dos pacientes foi então avaliada por questionários durante o mês que se seguia ao exame. RESULTADOS: Dos 106 pacientes incluídos, as opacidades acometeram 56 por cento, a maioria de espessamento mucoso. Opacidades intensas, ditas suspeitas (escore > 15), impuseram maior risco de desenvolvimento de sintomas no seguimento (odds ratio = 2,74; IC95 por cento:1,10-6,83), em comparação aos exames normais ou às opacidades discretas. CONCLUSÃO: Opacidades tomográficas sinusais incidentais em crianças e adolescentes oferecem risco de desenvolvimento futuro de quadro clínico respiratório quando intensas.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether the presence of opacification in the paranasal sinuses of children and adolescents without rhinosinusitis implies an increased risk of later development of upper respiratory tract symptoms. METHODS: This was a prospective study of a cohort of patients aged 0 to 18 years who underwent computerized tomography (CT) scans for indications unrelated to rhinosinusitis. Sinus opacification was evaluated using an opacification/development ratio score. The patients’ clinical progression was followed up using a questionnaire for 1 month after the scans. RESULTS: Fifty-six percent (56 percent) of the 106 patients enrolled in the study had opacity, the majority due to mucosal thickening. Intense opacification was defined as "suspected" (score > 15) and patients in this subset had a greater risk of developing symptoms during follow-up (odds ratio = 2.74; 95 percentCI 1.10-6.83) compared to those with no findings or discrete findings. CONCLUSION: Intense incidental sinus opacity on CT indicates a risk of future development of a clinical respiratory condition.

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