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Portal vein congestion index has shown promise in detecting early portal venous hemodynamic changes in chronic liver disease. The aim of this study was to compare the portal vein congestion index of adult patients with chronic liver disease to that of healthy controls, and to evaluate the differences in portal vein congestion index, if any, between the common etiologies of chronic liver disease (chronic viral hepatitis, alcoholic liver disease, and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease).

BACKGROUND: The accurate identification of unknown human remains plays a critical role in natural disaster scenarios and medico-legal cases in forensic anthropology and forensic medicine. This study aimed to determine normal reference values for the breadth of the talus bone using ankle radiographs from a Teaching Hospital in Delta State, Nigeria. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This cross-sectional study retrospectively reviewed 107 digital ankle radiographs from patients aged 20 to 60 years (60 males and 47 females). Ethical clearance was obtained before accessing the digital images archived in a radiological unit of a Hospital in Delta State, Nigeria. The talus breadth was measured using digital calipers and the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used to compare the means based on gender and age. The association of variables was done using the Pearson's correlation test. Statistical significance was considered at P < 5%. RESULTS: The mean talus breadth was significantly larger in males (41.76 mm) than in females (38.59 mm). However, the means had no significant association with age. The right talus breadth had a strong positive correlation with the left talus breadth. CONCLUSION: The findings are useful to orthopedic surgeons managing ankle pathologies. In addition, the study reveals the potential use of the talar breadth in sex determination when other methods are inconclusive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The thickness of extraocular muscles (EOMs) is important in the management of several conditions associated with EOM enlargement. This study determined the normative values of EOM diameters in adult patients seen at a teaching hospital in Nigeria. Materials and Methods: The study measured the thickness of the EOMs and the interzygomatic line (IZL) on brain images of 300 patients with non-orbital conditions (150 computed tomography [CT] and 150 magnetic resonance imaging [MRI]) archived in the radiological database of Delta State University Hospital, Nigeria, after ethical clearance. The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (version 23) was used to obtain descriptive statistics and further compare the variables based on gender, age groups and laterality. The association between parameters was tested using Pearson's correlation test. A probability value of <5% was considered significant. Results: The thickest muscles were the medial rectus (0.42 ± 0.08 cm) and superior muscle group (0.42 ± 0.33 cm) on CT and the inferior rectus (0.40 ± 0.08 cm) on MRI. The diameters were symmetrical with sexual dimorphism in the superior muscle group on CT, medial and lateral recti on MRI and sum of all EOMs on both imaging groups (P < 0.05). The superior muscle group and the sum of all EOMs showed significant age group variations and a positive correlation with age. We noted a positive correlation between each EOM diameter and the sum of all EOMs besides the IZL (P < 0.05). Conclusion: This study offers normative data regarding EOMs that radiologists and ophthalmologists can use to diagnose disease conditions that cause EOM enlargement and further assess their response to treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The measurements of the sphenoid and ethmoid sinuses (ESs) are essential in forensic investigations and during endoscopic sinus and skull base surgeries. This study aimed at assessing the dimensions of these sinuses and elucidating their role in sex determination. Materials and Methods: This retrospective assessment was conducted using brain-computed tomographic images stored in the Department of Radiology in a Tertiary hospital in Delta State, Nigeria. After institutional ethical approval, images of 292 patients (115 females and 177 males) aged >20 years, were used to measure the dimensions of the ethmoid and sphenoid sinuses (SSs) bilaterally. These were analyzed and summarized using descriptive statistics. Their association with gender, side, or age was assessed using inferential statistics and considered statistically significant at P < 0.05. Discriminant function analysis of the sinus measurements was conducted to evaluate their accuracy in correct sex prediction. Results: Both sphenoid and ESs showed significant sexual dimorphism. The ESs showed significant asymmetry (P < 0.05). The anterior width of the left ES (79.8%) was the best sex-discriminating variable. The combination of the left sinus dimensions was more accurate (74.3%, 85.3%) than the right sinuses (72.6%, 81.2%) in sex allocation. Using the bilateral ES dimensions yielded a higher accuracy (89.0%) than using bilateral SS parameters (80.1%). Conclusion: The sphenoid and ESs may be used in predicting the sex of an unknown skull bone recovered within the studied population with acceptable accuracy levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To determine the correlation between cerebral infarct volume, carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT), and plaque echotexture in patients with ischemic stroke., Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional study of 70 patients with ischemic stroke who were imaged using the head coil of a 1.5T Toshiba magnetic resonance machine. The volumes of infarcts were documented and calculated using the manual tracing of the infarct perimeter method. The common carotid CIMT was measured on ultrasound using a linear high-frequency 7.5 MHz transducer., Results: Seventy subjects were evaluated. The mean magnetic resonance imaging cerebral infarct volume was 8.07% volume. Hyperechoic plaques were the most prevalent (36.7%) compared to the hypoechoic (33.3%) and isoechoic (30%) plaques. There was a moderate positive correlation between CIMT and infarct volume ( r = 0.70; P = 0.001) in the entire study population. Similarly, positive correlations between CIMT and infarct volume were recorded in both the male ( r = 0.73; P = 0.001) and female ( r = 0.67; P = 0.001) subjects. Furthermore, subjects who presented in the acute phase (1-3 days) of ictus showed a moderate positive correlation ( r = 0.621; P = 0.0001) between CIMT and infarct volume, while there was a strong positive correlation ( r = 0.74; P = 0.0001) in subjects that presented in the subacute phase (4-7 days)., Conclusion: Common carotid artery CIMT correlated positively with cerebral infarct volume in patients with ischemic stroke. Furthermore, hyperechoic plaques were associated with significantly larger infarct volumes compared to hypoechoic and isoechoic plaques., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts of interest., (Copyright: © 2023 Journal of the west African college of surgeons.)