Radiological case of the month. Reflex sympathetic dystrophy

The authors report a case of pregnancy in a rudimentary horn diagnosed by laparotomy. The location could not be suspected by any clinical sign. This pregnancy stopped at 19 weeks of amenorrhoea. Any attempts of induction of labour failed. Laparotomy was necessary to assess the diagnosis and to allow the resection of the uterine horn. The authors present a review of literature.     

Radiological case of the month. Childhood intervertebral disk calcification

BACKGROUND: Cisplatin is an active drug in head and neck cancer. Paclitaxel seems a promising drug. This article reports a phase II assessment of the combination of the two. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Twenty-three patients were treated with paclitaxel 90 mg/m2 over three hours plus cisplatin 60 mg/m2 every other week. Sixteen patients had locoregional disease and seven had metastatic disease. None of the patients had previously been treated with chemotherapy. Nine patients had had radiotherapy to the target lesions. RESULTS: One patient was not evaluable for response. Partial responses were observed in 32% of evaluable patients. Toxicity included asthenia (56%), neutropenia, peripheral neuropathy, anemia and vomiting. CONCLUSIONS: The overall response rate observed in this study does not seem to justify the use of this chemotherapy regimen in the palliative setting.     

Radiological case of the month. Cystic meningioma of the posterior fossa

This short report serves as a warning to the unwary of possible "pseudoclusters" of infection with Aspergillus fumigatus as shown by the typing system, random amplification of polymorphic DNA (RAPD). This was demonstrated by typing 10 epidemiologically distinct isolates of A fumigatus using two different preparations of Taq DNA polymerase. One of the enzymes did not discriminate between the isolates, giving the false impression that a cluster of infection had occurred. Enzyme source is thus a key variable when using RAPD to distinguish between isolates of A fumigatus.