Dillman, JR; Towbin, AJ; Imbus, R; Young, J; Gates, E; Trout, AT. Comparison of Two Neutral Oral Contrast Agents in Pediatric Patients A Prospective Randomized Study. Radiology. 2018; 288(1):245-251.
We compared two different oral contrast materials used for both CT and MR enterography (CT and MRI of the bowel) and found that the newer (versus conventional) contrast agent is much better tolerated, more likely to be consumed in its entirety, and has preferred taste and texture. Ultimately, our results suggest that the newer oral contrast material may improve the diagnostic quality of imaging in patients with inflammatory bowel disease, and hopefully improve patient outcomes.
Aungaroon, G; Trout, A; Radhakrishnan, R; Horn, PS; Arya, R; Tenney, JR; Arthur, TM; Holland, KD; Mangano, FT; Leach, JL; Rozhkov, L; Greiner, HM. Impact of radiotracer injection latency and seizure duration on subtraction ictal SPECT co-registered to MRI SISCOM performance in children. Clinical Neurophysiology. 2018; 129(9):1842-1848.
Subtraction ictal SPECT co-registered to MRI (SISCOM) allows quantification of blood flow to the brain both during seizure and at rest has been shown in adults to help localize epileptogenic (seizure causing) foci. In a study of 113 children who underwent SISCOM as part of their drug-resistant epilepsy work-up, SISCOM had only 64.8% sensitivity and 40.7% specificity for identification of a focus, generally outside of the temporal lobe, that when resected would lead to seizure freedom. These findings suggest that while SISCOM can contribute to the work-up of drug resistant epilepsy in children, SISCOM alone may not be sufficient to identify an epileptogenic focus and should be taken in context with other localizing examinations.
Walkup, LL; Towe, CT; Bdaiwi, A; Merrow, AC; Hammill, AM; Cleveland, ZI; Woods, JC. Evidence of Normal Alveolar Size in Pediatric Generalized Lymphatic Anomaly. American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine. 2018; 198(12):1573-1574.
In a rare case of generalized lymphatic anomaly, hyperpolarized 129Xe gas MRI suggested uniform lung ventilation and normal alveolar size despite long-term pleural effusions that likely reduced the overall lung volume. In the future, 129Xe MRI may be helpful for individualizing therapies with longitudinal, quantitative regional assessment and for investigating the pathophysiological mechanisms of rare-lung diseases and disorders.
Strauss, KJ; Somasundaram, E; Sengupta, D; Marin, JR; Brady, SL. Radiation Dose for Pediatric CT Comparison of Pediatric versus Adult Imaging Facilities. Radiology. 2019; 291(1):158-167.
The American College of Radiology Dose Index Registry stores the radiation doses of CT examinations as a function of patient characteristics and examination types for participating hospitals throughout the US. The hypothesis of this study was that academic pediatric CT facilities have optimized CT protocols that may result in a lower and less variable radiation dose in children. We found that academic pediatric facilities use lower CT radiation dose with less variation than do nonacademic pediatric or adult facilities for all brain examinations and for the majority of chest and abdomen-pelvis examinations analyzed as part of our study.
Yolton, K; Khoury, JC; Burkle, J; LeMasters, G; Cecil, K; Ryan, P. lifetime exposure to traffic-related air pollution and symptoms of depression and anxiety at age 12 years. Environmental Research. 2019; 173:199-206.
While air pollution has been associated with depression and anxiety in adults, its impact on childhood mental health is understudied. Traffic-related air pollution exposure during early life and across childhood was significantly associated with self-reported depression and anxiety symptoms in children. The negative impact of air pollution on mental health previously reported among adults may also be present during childhood.