The present investigation aimed to point out some epidemiological and clinical features of renal colic in our region. All emergency department (ED) visits performed from 1 January to 31 December 2005 were reviewed to select those with diagnosis of renal colic or kidney stones. There were 70,621 visits to the University of Pisa ED. Renal colic or stone were diagnosed in 696 cases (1%); 21.6% of them were recurrent stone formers; the males to female ratio was 1.4-1. The age distribution showed a higher rate from 25 to 44 years of age, whereas seasonal distribution showed a higher risk during summer months, particularly in July. Ultrasonography (US) was the only examination in 70.2% cases, it was coupled with plain abdomen X-ray (KUB) in 10% of the cases. NSAIDs were always used (100%), sometimes in association with opiate (15.8%) or with anti-cholinergic (26.5%) medications. The data of our investigation are in a substantial agreement with the reported literature as far as concerns the main epidemiological features of renal colic and its treatment. On the contrary, the diagnostic approach is mainly based on US whereas KUB is rarely performed. Until the 31st of December 2005, CT-scan was not used as the first and only imaging study in cases of renal colic. This different diagnostic approach may be linked to financial and cultural reasons, and structural and functional organization of the National Health Service facilities.

OBJECTIVES To compare the diagnostic accuracy of lung ultrasound (LUS) and standard chest X‐ray (CXR) in older patients admitted to an acute‐care geriatric ward for suspected acute pneumonia, and to develop an easy‐to‐use diagnostic tool, now called Pneumonia Lung Ultrasound Score (PLUS), for early risk stratification. DESIGN Prospective, single‐center, cohort study. SETTING Acute‐care geriatric ward of tertiary care center. PARTICIPANTS Individuals, aged 65 years and older, with suspected acute pneumonia. MEASUREMENTS Participants were stratified according to the Multidimensional Prognostic Index. All the patients underwent CXR and LUS, whereas chest computed tomography was performed in case of mismatch between LUS and CXR. Using logistic multivariate regression, we assessed the influence of age, sex, multimorbidity, cognitive impairment, and clinical biomarkers in the misdiagnosis of acute pneumonia. Finally, an easy‐to‐perform diagnostic tool based on the combination of biomarkers (brain natriuretic peptide, high‐sensitivity C‐reactive protein, and partial pressure arterial oxygen/fraction of inspired oxygen ratio) and LUS was realized. A receiver operating characteristic curve was used to verify the predictive accuracy of PLUS, CXR, and LUS in pneumonia diagnosis. RESULTS A total of 132 subjects (69% women; mean age = 85.3 ± 6.9 years) were enrolled in the study. Acute pneumonia was diagnosed in 94 of 132 cases. LUS showed higher diagnostic accuracy compared with CXR (0.91 (95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.85–0.93) vs 0.67 (95% CI = 0.58–0.75)) in detecting pneumonic consolidations. A higher degree of cognitive impairment was associated with both LUS and CXR pneumonia misdiagnosis (odds ratio = 1.30 (95% CI = 1.04–1.65)). PLUS showed higher predictive accuracy in the diagnosis of acute pneumonia compared with LUS (AUC = 0.92 (95% CI = 0.87–0.98) vs 0.86 (95% CI = 0.80–0.96); P = .029). CONCLUSIONS This study confirms the higher diagnostic accuracy of LUS compared with CXR for acute pneumonia in older adults. Nonetheless, the accuracy of PLUS, an easy‐to‐use, biomarker‐derived diagnostic tool, was superior to LUS regardless of patientsʼ degree of frailty.

More than one half of elderly patients admitted to ED presented at least one expected DDI at the time of ED presentation. However, 9% of the expected DDIs were identified as actual DDIs, based on the consistency of the expected event with the ED discharge diagnosis.

KEYWORDSCEUS; NiemannePick disease; Nodular splenomegaly.Abstract Introduction: NiemannePick disease (NPD) types A and B are lipid storage disorders. NPD type A is a fatal disorder of infancy. Type B is a non-neuronopathic form observed in children and adults. It is associated with enlargement of the liver, spleen, or both, and nodular splenomegaly may be detected with ultrasound. Methods: A 21-year-old female was admitted to the Emergency Room with fever, pharyngitis, and left upper quadrant abdominal pain. Labwork revealed anemia, thrombocytopenia, increased levels of AST, ALT, GGT, AF, LDH, triglycerides, and total cholesterol and low levels of HDL-cholesterol. PCR blood assays for CMV and EBV were both negative. Chest X-ray was unremarkable. Transabdominal B-mode ultrasound (US) revealed splenomegaly (long axis: >22 cm), an irregular subcapsular hypoechoic lesion in the superior pole that was consistent with splenic infarction, and multiple round highly echogenic nodes measuring 1e5 cm in diameter. Contrast-enhanced ultrasonography (CEUS) was performed using SonoVue â (Bracco). Results: The presence of a splenic infarction was confirmed. The nodular lesions showed arterial-phase enhancement with late parenchymal phase wash-out. 18 F-FDG-PET revealed splenic * Corresponding author. Dipartimento di Oncologia, dei Trapianti e delle nuove Tecnologie in Medicina, Divisione di Ematologia Università di Pisa, Via Roma 67, 56126 Pisa, Italy.E-mail address: emilia@ipcf.cnr.it (E. Benedetti). nodular uptake. Primary splenic lymphoma was suspected, and the patient underwent open splenectomy. The diagnosis was type B NPD with splenic hemangiomas. Discussion: CEUS confirmed the diagnosis and extent of splenic infarction, but the nodular atypical enhancement pattern together with nodular 18 F-FDG-PET uptake was misleading, suggesting as it did lymphoproliferative involvement of the spleen.Sommario Introduzione: La malattia di Niemann-Pick (NPD) tipo A e B è una patologia da accumulo di lipidi. Il tipo A è un disordine fatale dell'infanzia. Il tipo B è una forma non-neuronopatica ossevata sia nei bambini che negli adulti con possibile riscontro di epatomegalia e/o splenomegalia (nodulare) durante un esame ecografico. Il tipo C dipende da un difetto nel trasporto del colesterolo. Metodi: Una donna di 21 anni si è presentata al Pronto Soccorso con febbre, faringodinia e dolore al quadrante addominale superiore sinistro. Gli esami ematochimici hanno evidenziato anemia, piastrinopenia, aumento delle AST, ALT, GGT, FA, LDH trigliceridi, colesterolo totale, e ridotto HDL. La PCR per CMV ed EBV era negativa. La radiografia del torace era negativa. L'ecografia transaddominale ha rilevato splenomegalia (>22 cm long axis) con una lesione ipoecogena irregolare subcapsulare al polo superiore compatibile con infarto splenico e la presenza di multiple lesioni nodulari iperecogene con diametro da 1 cm fino a 5. Risultati: È stata quindi eseguita una ecografia con mezzo di contrasto con SonoVue â (Bracco) che ha confermato la presenza di u...

No abstract