Search

In children with underlying Human Immunodeficiency virus infection and AIDS, hematolymphoid cancers, especially non-hodgkin lymphomas are common. Plasmablastic lymphoma is one such non-hodgkin lymphomas arising from the head and neck region (especially sinonasal) but extremely rare. We describe the clinical course in a 4-year-old boy who presented with a solitary bony swelling of the right knee joint, which on diagnostic work-up turned out to be plasmablastic lymphoma. With combination chemotherapy, intrathecal chemotherapy, and early institution ofHighly active anti-retroviral therapy, the child continues to be in remission.

Background Liposomal bupivacaine (LB) is increasingly being used for postoperative pain control, but there are conflicting efficacy data when compared with immediate-release bupivacaine (IRB).Objective To evaluate the comparative efficacies of LB and IRB for postoperative pain control in order to assess the formulary status of LB at our institution.Methods A single-center, retrospective, institutional review board–approved, noninferiority matched cohort study at a tertiary care academic medical center. Adult surgical patients admitted for >24 hours who received LB or IRB were included. The primary outcome was total opioid consumption within 24 hours postoperatively. Secondary outcomes included total opioid consumption within 72 hours postoperatively, nonopioid analgesic use within 24 and 72 hours postoperatively, time to rescue analgesic use, and postoperative length of stay (LOS).Results A total of 326 patients were included in the matched cohort. Median 24-hour opioid consumption was significantly lower in the IRB group compared with the LB group (81 mg [30, 153] vs 103 mg [46, 241]; P= 0.01). Patients receiving IRB compared with LB also had a decrease in total opioid consumption 72 hours postoperatively (110 mg [45, 258] vs 165 mg [68, 402]; P= 0.005) and shorter postoperative LOS (2.8 days [1.7, 4] vs 3.3 days [2, 5.1]; P< 0.001). There was no difference in time to rescue analgesic use.Conclusion and Relevance Across a variety of surgical procedures, administration of IRB compared with LB was associated with a reduction in total opioid consumption within 24 and 72 hours postoperatively and shorter LOS in adult surgical patients.

Clinicopathologic profile and outcome of 15 children (15 years or above) with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma treated with MCP-842 protocol are reported. Eleven of 15 presented with advanced (stage-III/IV) disease. Post-2 cycles of chemotherapy, complete metabolic and morphologic response was documented in 10 (66%) and rest 5 (33%) with partial response achieved complete metabolic remission by end of treatment. At a median follow-up of 44 months (range: 16 to 79 mo), the 3-year event-free survival and overall-survival were 77.1%±11.7% and 85.7%±9.4%, respectively. Though majority of our patients had advanced disease, outcome on MCP-842 protocol was satisfactory.

Sporadic cerebellar hemangioblastomas are rare with majority of these tumors presenting as a part of von Hippel–Lindau syndrome. We demonstrate an unusual case of a symptomatic sporadic cerebellar hemangioblastoma mimicking a meningioma on MRI and 68Ga-DOTANOC PET imaging.

Solitary bone plasmacytoma is an extremely rare entity and is characterized by localized proliferation of monoclonal plasma cells. Plasmacytomas are extremely rare in the pediatric population. The median age at diagnosis is usually the fifth or sixth decade, with axial skeleton being more commonly involved than appendicular. We hereby, report the case of a 13-year-old boy with solitary bone plasmacytoma of the right humerus. Though extremely rare in the pediatric age group, plasmacytomas may be considered as one of the remote differentials in children presenting with solitary bone tumors.

Background:Self-reported penicillin allergies may be outdated or inaccurate, leading to the use of alternative antimicrobials that may be less effective, more toxic, and/or more expensive. Although penicillin skin tests can provide accurate assessments of penicillin allergies, these procedures are not feasible at all institutions. Another solution is to conduct a detailed penicillin allergy interview (DPAI), which can potentially lead to optimization of antimicrobial therapy. Objective:The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of a pharmacist-driven DPAI protocol. The primary objective was to measure the number of patients requiring a change to their allergy profile following DPAI. Secondary objectives included characterizing allergy profile updates and measuring the number of recommendations to switch to a β-lactam agent, provider acceptance rate, and patient tolerance. Methods:Standardized pharmacist-driven DPAIs were conducted prospectively on adult patients admitted with a documented penicillin allergy. The allergy profile within the electronic health record (EHR) was updated and a recommendation to switch to noncarbapenem β-lactam therapy was made when indicated by a decision algorithm. Results:A total of 175 (37.5%) patients received a DPAI. Of these, 133 (76.0%) required a change to their allergy profile. Additionally, 135 (77.1%) patients interviewed were on antimicrobial therapy, with 42 (31.1%) meeting criteria to switch to noncarbapenem β-lactam therapy; of which 31 (73.8%) patients were successfully transitioned, with no signs or symptoms of intolerance. Conclusions and Relevance:Implementation of pharmacist-driven DPAIs can provide updated and corrected allergy information within the EHR, allowing for de-escalation and/or optimization of antimicrobial therapy.

Medulloblastomas, especially the sonic hedgehog subgroup, are treated aggressively with surgery and chemoradiotherapy, as they are associated with high local site recurrence rate and poor overall survival. Radiation-induced meningioma is the most common delayed complication of craniospinal irradiation. This needs to be differentiated from meningeal or ependymal metastases as the later need aggressive management. We report one such rare case, in a patient who completed treatment for medulloblastoma 11 years ago, was in remission, and now presented with dural-based lesions.

Carcinoma of breast with neuroendocrine differentiation is an extremely rare entity, especially in male population. Although the “garden variety” of male breast cancers is often metastatic at presentation, with an aggressive course, there is hardly any literature about neuroendocrine variants. We report a case of a 57-year-old man who had pituitary symptoms, which on 68Ga-DOTANOC PET/CT imaging turned out to be a metastatic lesion, with somatostatin expressing primary in breast and other sites, with histopathological confirmation of neuroendocrine differentiation in breast cancer.

Fibrolamellar hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a variant of HCC. It is a malignant tumor, but its imaging features often overlap focal nodular hyperplasia, which is a benign entity. FDG PET/CT is also not much help in these cases because both lesions do not concentrate FDG. We present one such case of fibrolamellar HCC with FAPI PET/CT positivity.

Secondary involvement of inferior vena cava is a common presentation in aggressive solid malignancies, especially arising from kidneys, adrenals, and hepatobiliary system, mostly resulting from local infiltration. Rarely, primary tumors are seen arising from vascular tissue. The Ewing family of tumors commonly arises from bone, but there is a high propensity of these tumors to originate from nonosseous sites of mesenchymal cell origin. We would herewith demonstrate a rare presentation of Ewing sarcoma, seen originating from inferior vena cava, presenting as extensive intravascular tumor thrombosis, evaluated on FDG PET/CT imaging in a 12-year-old girl.

The incidence of congenital melanocytic nevi (CMNs) is 1% to 6% for small- to intermediate-size nevi to 1 in 500,000 for giant size nevi. Large and satellite CMNs are known to be associated with neurocutaneous melanosis and central nervous system malformations such as Dandy-Walker malformation, defects of the vertebra-skull, and intraspinal lipomas. We hereby present a case of CMN syndrome in an 18-year-old girl with leptomeningeal melanoma, evaluated with MRI, adequately staged, and screened with FDG PET.

Mantle cell lymphoma is a rare and aggressive non-Hodgkin lymphoma with a high propensity for extranodal involvement, typically seen in the liver, marrow, and gastrointestinal system. Being an FDG-avid disease and a sensitive modality for detecting both nodal and extranodal disease, FDG PET/CT is recommended in the workup of mantle cell lymphoma. We present a rare pattern of cutaneous involvement of the head-neck region in a patient with mantle cell lymphoma, which can be described on FDG PET/CT as a “hood sign.”

We present the findings of 18F-FDG PET and 68Ga–fibroblast activation protein PET scans done in a case of bilateral breast carcinoma with 2 different histopathology, left breast tubulolobular carcinoma and right breast invasive breast carcinoma of no special type.

Delayed-onset radiation-induced myelitis is a rare but serious complication of radiation exposure to the spinal cord. In this report, we describe the 18F-FDG PET/CT findings of radiation-induced myelitis in a patient with carcinoma of buccal mucosa treated with external beam radiotherapy.

68Ga-PSMA PET/CT is one of the most common imaging uses for prostate cancer imaging. Although initially thought to be specific for prostate cancer, there are many evidences that are coming of its concentration in many other neoplastic and nonneoplastic pathologies. Helicobacter pyloriis the most common bacteria causing gastric inflammation and usually presents with gastroduodenal ulcer. Here we present one unusual case of benign gastric mass formation caused by H. pyloriinfection with PSMA concentration.