Percutaneous management in hepatic alveolar echinococcosis:A sum of single center experiences and a brief overview of the literature

BACKGROUND Hepatic alveolar echinococcosis(HAE)is a serious zoonotic infection that affects humans.It may have a tumor-like appearance at times.Percutaneous treatment of HAE patients is extremely relaxing for them.HAE is a significant human zoonotic infection caused by the fox tapeworm Echinococcus Multilocularis larvae.It possesses the characteristics of an invasive tumor-like lesion due to its infiltrative growth pattern and protracted incubation period.The disease is endemic over central Europe,Asia,and North America.AIM To characterize HAE patients who were treated percutaneously,their outcomes,and the major technical features of percutaneous treatment in HAE.METHODS Patients who were treated with percutaneous cyst drainage and/or percutaneous biliary drainage were included in the study.Uncorrected abnormal coagulation values and solid or non-infected HAE with minor necrotic change were excluded.RESULTS Thirty-two patients underwent percutaneous cyst drainage,two patients underwent percutaneous biliary drainage,and four patients underwent percutaneous biliary drainage alone.Interventional radiology is utilized to drain echinococcal necrosis and abscesses within/without the liver,as well as diseased and clogged bile ducts.CONCLUSION Percutaneous drainage of cyst contents and/or biliary channels using a minimally invasive technique is a very beneficial.Percutaneous cyst drainage with albendazole therapy improves quality of life in patients who are unable to undergo surgery,even when the mass resolves with long-term treatment.

COVID-19-related cardiomyopathy:Can dual-energy computed tomography be a diagnostic tool?

BACKGROUND No study on dual energy computed tomography(DECT)has been found in the literature to evaluate possibly fatal cardiac/myocardial problems in corona virus disease 2019(COVID-19)patients.Myocardial perfusion deficits can be found in COVID-19 patients even without any significant coronary artery occlusion,and these deficits can be shown via DECT with a perfect interrater agreement.AIM To assess lung perfusion alterations in COVID-19 patients.To our knowledge,no study using DECT has been performed to evaluate possibly fatal cardiac/myocardial problems in COVID-19 patients.The purpose of this study is to evaluate the role of DECT in the detection of COVID-19-related cardiac diseases.METHODS Two blinded independent examiners evaluated CT images using the 17-segment model according to the American Heart Association’s classification of the segmentation of the left ventricular myocardium.Additionally,intraluminal diseases and abnormalities in the main coronary arteries and branches were investigated.Following segment-by-segment analysis,perfusion deficiencies identified on the iodine map pictures on DECT were identified.RESULTS The study enrolled a total of 87 patients.Forty-two of these individuals were classified as COVID-19 positive,and 45 were classified as controls.Perfusion deficits were identified in 66.6%(n=30)of the cases.All control patients had a normal iodine distribution map.Perfusion deficits were found on DECT iodine map images with subepicardial(n=12,40%),intramyocardial(n=8,26.6%),or transmural(n=10,33.3%)anatomical locations within the left ventricular wall.There was no subendocardial involvement in any of the patients.CONCLUSION Myocardial perfusion deficits can be found in COVID-19 patients even without any significant coronary artery occlusion.These deficits can be shown via DECT with a perfect interrater agreement.Additionally,the presence of perfusion deficit is positively correlated with D-dimer levels.