Yatish Agarwal

MRI of perianal fistulae: a pictorial kaleidoscope

Perianal fistulae are an abnormal communication between the anorectum and the perianal skin. A seemingly benign condition, it can be a cause of considerable distress to the patient if it is not mapped out adequately before embarking upon surgical correction. The persistence of residual disease complicates and up-stages the grade of the remnant fistula with increased risk of anal incontinence following surgery secondary to damage to the anal sphincter complex. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can play a critical role in mapping the fistulae tract in relation to the anal sphincter complex and hence, act as a reliable guide for the surgeon to chart the optimised management of perianal fistulae. This review illustrates the role of MRI in the imaging evaluation of perianal fistulae, to facilitate a well-planned surgical course.

Pulmonary tuberculosis: A collage of radiological portraits

For close to a hundred years, diagnostic radiology has been an invaluable ally of physicians engaged in the diagnosis and treatment of various forms of tuberculosis. Over time, its realm has benefited with quantum expansion in imaging technology and emergence of greater understanding of morphological signs, which can play a decisive role in diagnosis, in monitoring the response to treatment, in screening the close contacts of sputum smear positive pulmonary tuberculosis patients, and in guiding thoracic interventions. This photomontage unveils the classic changes of pulmonary manifestations of the disease through its primary and post-primary forms, expressions in an immunocompromised host, and presentations in multidrug-resistant tuberculosis and in nontubercular mycobacterial infection.

Role of galactomannan assay in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid in the diagnosis of invasive aspergillosis in high risk patients with hematological disorders

Introduction: Invasive aspergillosis (IA) is the most frequent invasive fungal infection occurring in high risk patients with haematological disorders and also an important cause of morbidity and mortality in them. Lungs comprise the primary site of IA in the vast majority of cases, and the most frequently occurring form of IA. Early diagnosis followed by early initiation of therapy improves outcome. The current culture based diagnostic methods are insensitive and slow. Detection of Aspergillus galactomannan (GM) in serum using the platelia Aspergillus enzyme immunoassay (GM EIA) represents sensitive, non-culture-based tool for the early diagnosis of IA. Recent studies have shown that during IPA, GM is released earlier and in higher concentration in the BAL fluid than in serum. Thus, an early and accurate diagnosis of IPA can be reached by detecting antigen in BAL samples. Materials and Methods: Thirty consecutive high risk patients with haematological disorders satisfying the inclusion and exclusion criteria according to EORTC-MSG diagnostic criteria and undergoing indoor treatment were recruited between November 2013 and December 2014 into the study. In all the patients, bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid GM and serum GM assays were assayed. Results: The diagnostic accuracy of the two tests was measured by calculating the sensitivity, specificity, predictive values and receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC). The optimal BAL GM index for diagnosing probable and possible IPA was >1.00 OD, resulting in a sensitivity and specificity of 93.75% and 78.57% respectively. As per ROC curve, when the optimal BAL GM index for the diagnosis of probable and possible invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (IPA) was OD >0.5, it resulted in sensitivity and specificity of 50% and 71.43% respectively. BAL GM was thus found to have a significantly higher sensitivity as compared to serum GM. Conclusion: In all high-risk patients with haematological disorders where the clinical and radiological findings favour the possibility of invasive pulmonary aspergillosis, conducting a GM assay in BAL fluid sample is far more rewarding than carrying out the traditional serum GM assay. BAL GM has a high diagnostic accuracy when correlated with the EORTC/MSG diagnostic criteria, and this high diagnostic yield is useful in obviating the unnecessary widespread use and abuse of empirical antifungal therapy in patients with IPA.

Parosteal lipoma of the foot: Radiological and correlative pathologic features

We wish to report the radiological and correlative pathologic features in a rare case of parosteal lipoma of the foot, which presented clinically with a bony excrescence in a 33‐year‐old male. The patient had a gradually increasing painless swelling over the dorsomedial aspect of the left foot for the last 13 years. On clinical examination, the mass measured 9 cm × 6 cm and appeared to be twin‐humped [Figure 1]. The mass had a firm to hard consistency and was fixed to the underlying bone. No associated neurodeficit or vascular compromise was observed. Systemic examination and laboratory findings were unremarkable. The mass was nontender and did not elicit any rise in local temperature, skin ulceration, or hyperemia. No history of trauma was elicited.

Evaluation and certification of Foreign Medical Graduates: Roots, global practice, and methodology

Instituted by the Medical Council of India in 2002 through a duly vetted legal process, the Foreign Medical Graduates Examination conducted by the National Board of Examinations is a licensure exam, which aims to sift the charlatans from those who have acquired their medical degrees from another country, but are knowledgeable and skilled enough to bolster the countrys physician workforce. Set up on the lines of similar screening exams held by countries across the world, the exam is an exercise in transparency, with a well-defined curriculum, which specifies the distribution and weightage of each subject, has no negative marking, and no limit on the number of attempts. Bereft of any competitive edge, the exam is extremely candidate-friendly, and yet, a positive step intent on preserving the piety and nobility of the medical profession.

Tissue and organ transplantation: Myths, miracles, and triumphs

Notwithstanding the unfulfilled quest for immortality, man′s endeavor to outdo organ failure and prolong life has been a journey bejeweled with hues of ingenuity. This exciting odyssey has been marked with chimerical events and miracles in the olden times, and, in the more recent, by triumphs of technical and cognitive advances in organ preservation, surgical skill, immunology, management of infectious diseases, and multidisciplinary innovative approaches, which have collated to fructify the realm of tissue and organ transplantation. The remarkable evolution-colored with serendipitous discoveries, tragic accidents, abandoned paths, and incidents that have produced ethical and legal predicaments-stems from a confluence of cultural, legal, and political acceptance of the need to facilitate organ donation, procurement, and allocation. This serial narrative, punctuated with historic pictures, captures some of the major milestones in the saga of transplant medicine.