PubMed HealthSearch

Biomedical subjects

M Oliphant

Publications and source records attributed to M Oliphant.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Zinc-induced copper deficiency in an infant.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the case of a 13-month-old girl who developed copper deficiency as a result of excessive zinc gluconate ingestion. SETTING: Tertiary care hospital in Syracuse, NY. INTERVENTIONS: Cessation of zinc ingestion followed by intravenous and oral copper chloride therapy. MEASUREMENTS/MAIN RESULTS: Ingestion of zinc gluconate, 120 mg/d for 6 months, and thereafter 180 mg/d for 1 month, preceded the clinical presentation of listlessness, anemia, neutropenia, poor weight gain, abnormal sparse hair, and scorbuticlike bone changes. Findings on a bone marrow examination included ring sideroblasts and suggested copper deficiency. Plasma zinc level was 36.7 mumol/L, serum ceruloplasmin level was 20 mg/L, and serum copper level was undetectable. Clinical and laboratory abnormalities resolved shortly after initiation of copper therapy. CONCLUSIONS: This case demonstrates the reciprocal relationship of copper and zinc metabolism and exemplifies the important interrelationships of dietary trace minerals.

Bone Diseases, Metabolic

Prenatal sonographic evaluation of short-limbed dwarfism: an algorithmic approach.

Prenatal sonographic evaluation of short-limbed dwarfism is initiated when a significantly shortened femur is found or by referral of a patient with a family history of skeletal dysplasia. If a short femur is demonstrated, all the long bones are measured and evaluated for bowing, fractures, and mineralization. The bone dysplasia is categorized according to whether it is mesomelic, rhizomelic, or micromelic and whether bowing or fractures are present. The fetal spine, head, thorax, hands, and feet are carefully evaluated to differentiate the type of bone dysplasia and to determine whether it is lethal. Serial examinations may be necessary. This approach will provide sufficient information to counsel the family, manage the pregnancy, and direct the postnatal evaluation.

Algorithms

Fetal central nervous system abnormalities.

The advances in the sonographic imaging of the fetus have made the detailed examination of the fetal central nervous system (CNS) a routine part of the prenatal sonogram. A logical sonographic approach to the diagnosis of fetal CNS abnormalities is presented, based on the normal sonographic anatomy and the understanding of CNS pathology. This approach results in a classification of CNS abnormalities derived from ultrasound findings. The main categories are (1) hydrocephalus, (2) entities that mimic hydrocephalus, and (3) neural tube defects. Once a disorder is classified and all ultrasound abnormalities identified, a differential diagnosis can be developed.

Brain

Grey Turner's sign and Cullen's sign in acute pancreatitis.

Four patients with acute pancreatitis presenting with Grey Turner's sign or Cullen's sign have been studied by computed tomography (CT). These observations help confirm the precise anatomic pathways by which the extravasated pancreatic enzymes and their effects lead to these cutaneous discolorations. Grey Turner's sign is produced by spread from the anterior pararenal space to between the two leaves of the posterior renal fascia and subsequently to the lateral edge of the quadratus lumborum muscle. Communication may be established to the posterior pararenal space and to the structures of the flank wall. The lumbar triangle, a site of anatomic weakness on the flank wall, may serve as a structural predisposition. Cullen's sign can be seen to be secondary to the tracking of liberated pancreatic enzymes to the anterior abdominal wall from the inflamed gastrohepatic ligament and across the falciform ligament. Another more direct pathway may be extension from inflammatory changes of the small mesentery or greater omentum to the round ligament, and then to properitoneal fat deep to the umbilicus.

Abdomen

Cingulate sulcus development in preterm infants.

Cranial ultrasounds performed during the first 3 d of life on 211 infants of 24 to 40 wk gestational age were examined to determine the in utero development of the cingulate sulcus. The sulcus was identified between 24 and 28 wk of gestational age as fragmented echoes in the region between the thalamus and the anterior fontanelle. Over the next several weeks, these fragments coalesced into a single linear echo. Branches then appeared off of the primary cingulate sulcus, increasing in number until a complex pattern of branching was noted near term gestation. This maturational sequence was similar to postnatal cortical development determined from serial ultrasounds performed on 144 infants who were less than or equal to 32 wk of gestational age at birth. The timing of postconceptional cingulate sulcus development was independent of gestational age at birth. However, severe brain insult, defined as intraventricular hemorrhage complicated by ventriculomegaly or intraparenchymal extension or periventricular leukomalacia, was associated with significant delays in all stages of cingulate sulcus development. Cranial ultrasound examinations in preterm infants allow a noninvasive means of staging qualitative brain development during the early postnatal period.

Age Factors

Imaging the direct bidirectional spread of disease between the abdomen and the female pelvis via the subperitoneal space.

This report expands the concept of the subperitoneal space (SS) as the potential conduit for direct spread of disease in the abdomen to include the female pelvis. The normal anatomy of the SS in the lower abdomen, the female pelvis, and its uninterrupted continuation between the abdomen and pelvis are demonstrated by several imaging modalities. Surgically proven cases of bidirectional spread of disease between the abdomen and female pelvis are reported. The unifying concept of the interrelationship formed by the SS provides an understanding of the basic concepts of the pathways of direct spread of disease and the pathogenesis of the clinical presentation of disease distant from its site of origin.

Abdomen

Mechanism of direct spread of abdominal neuroblastoma: CT demonstration and clinical implications.

Neuroblastoma, a malignant tumor of neural crest origin, is the most common extracranial solid tumor in children. In 1971 Evans et al. introduced a clinical staging for neuroblastoma. Over sixty percent of patients present with neuroblastoma beyond stage I. Despite more aggressive therapy there has been only minimal improvement in survival. Since 1978, all patients with neuroblastoma have had CT scanning as part of their initial evaluation at our institution. Children with abdominal neuroblastoma beyond stage I form the basis of this report. Selected cases illustrating the permeative nature of neuroblastoma and the mechanism of direct abdominal spread by CT scanning are presented. The tumor originates in the retroperitoneum and spreads to the abdominal aorta where it gains access to the subperitoneal space via the celiac axis and superior mesenteric artery. These vessels course from the aorta to their ultimate destination within their peritoneal folds. These folds form the interconnecting space (subperitoneal space) between the retroperitoneum and the peritoneal organs. Such scanning is extremely sensitive in detecting neuroblastoma with early infiltration into adjacent tissues and contiguous spread through abdominal spaces. The clinical implications of the permeative nature of neuroblastoma and the mechanism of contiguous abdominal spread are discussed.

Abdominal Neoplasms

The peritoneal ligaments and mesenteries: pathways of intraabdominal spread of disease.

The abdomen has been conveniently divided anatomically and clinically into specific intraperitoneal and extraperitoneal sites. A recognition of the pathways of spread and localizing features of infections, malignancies, and traumatic collections has immeasurably extended diagnostic imaging capabilities. Yet, while the abdomen may be visualized as subdivided into compartments, it must also be essentially appreciated that these compartments are an actual or potential interconnecting network. In the upper abdomen peritoneal reflections comprise 11 major ligaments and mesenteries. These are generally readily recognizable on computed tomographic scans by either their typical location and organ relationships or the landmarks provided by their major constituent vessels. These ligaments and mesenteries provide continuity of anatomic planes, which permits the spread of disease between intraperitoneal compartments, between extraperitoneal spaces, and between intraperitoneal and extraperitoneal localized sites.

Gastrointestinal Diseases

Coarctation of the midaortic arch presenting with monoparesis.

A 6 1/2-month-old infant was seen with right-arm monoparesis, right upper extremity hypertension, and findings of a coarctation located in the midaortic arch between the innominate and left common carotid arteries. Associated left cerebral atrophy (Dyke-Davidoff syndrome) was documented by computed tomography. Excision of the coarctation segment with primary repair of the arch and reanastomosis of the left carotid to the innominate artery was accomplished.

Aorta, Thoracic

The cervicothoracic continuum.

The anatomic communications between the neck and the mediastinum are described. Anatomic sections and drawing are used to demonstrate the normal compartments, their fascial envelopes, their contained structures, and their interrelationships. Selected cases are used to illustrate the spread of pathologic processes within the cervicothoracic region.

Child, Preschool

Hemophilia-like arthropathy of the knee associated with cutaneous and synovial hemangiomas. Report of 3 cases and review of the literature.

Three patients with cutaneous and/or synovial hemangiomas demonstrated roentgenographic alterations in the knees, simulating hemophilic arthropathy. In 2 cases, unilateral synovial hemangiomas appeared to be present; in the third patient, who had bilateral abnormalities, the Kasabach-Merritt syndrome was evident, resulting in a consumption coagulopathy and hemorrhagic tendency. The pathogenesis of this unusual arthropathy is discussed.

Adult

A spectrum of renal tubular ectasia and hepatic fibrosis.

Renal tubular cystic disease and hepatic fibrosis exhibit a specific genetic pattern and pathological findings. The renal collecting tubules are dilated and the liver shows fibrosis with proliferation and dilatation of the bile ducts. The findings fall into a spectrum with marked renal disease and mild liver involvement at one end and mild renal involvement with severe liver disease at the other. Between these extremes lies an intermediate form which is genetically and pathologically similar, but exhibits a wide range of clinical and radiological findings due to the variability of renal and liver involvement.

Adolescent

Anterior extrapleural line: superior extension.

Anatomic sections of the superior aspect of the anterior mediastinum reveal that normal structures can cause indentations upon the adjacent lung. On lateral chest films, the soft-tissue density of the anterior superior mediastinal structures contrasts with that of the normal lung, revealing a normal, undulating configuration of the anterior superior mediastinum. We have termed this the "vascular incisura," analogous to the cardiac incisura of the left lung seen inferiorly. An appreciation of normal variations within this space is essential when evaluating pathologic alterations.

Adult

Metastatic carcinoma simulating inflammatory colitis.

Metastatic carcinoma to the colon may be mistaken for inflammatory colitis, particulary Crohn's disease, both clinically and roentgenologically. Characteristic changes include mucosal thickening, nodular masses, multiple and eccentric strictures, asymmetric involvement, pseudosacculations, and spiculations of contour. This report, based upon experience with 12 cases, establishes the distinctive roentgen features of metastatic disease to the colon from a variety of primary sites. It is shown that these changes are dependent upon pathways of spread, growth characteristics, and local tissue response. The clinical importance of making this differential diagnosis is two-fold. A patient with an occult or a known primary malignancy may present clinically with metastatic disease to the colon masquerading as inflammatory colitis. Recognition of the characteristic roentgenologic changes immediately either leads to a search for the primary neoplasm or establishes the diagnosis of widespread disease.

Adult