Objective To determine the prevalence and site of varicocele and varicocele-related testicular atrophy in children and adolescents. Patients and methods The study included 4052 boys aged of 2±19 years, divided into four age groups; the ®ndings of a physical examination, any testicular atrophy and testicular volume were recorded. Results Varicocele was detected in 293 (7.2%) of the 4052 boys; the prevalence was 0.79% in those aged 2±6 years, 0.96% at 7±10 years, 7.8% at 11±14 years and 14.1% at 15±19 years. The prevalence was 0.92% in 1232 children aged 2±10 years and 11.0% in 2531 adolescents aged 11±19 years (P<0.001). The prevalence increased signi®cantly at age 13 years (P<0.005). The varicocele was unilateral in 263 of the 293 (89.7%) boys with varicocele; of these, one (0.38%) was on the right and the others on the left side. Varicoceles were bilateral in 30 of 279 boys (10.8%) aged 11±19 years but none were detected in those aged <11 years. Varicocelerelated testicular atrophy was not present in those aged <11 years, but seven boys (7.3%) aged 11±14 years and 17 (9.3%) aged 15±19 years had testicular atrophy. The difference in prevalence between the last two age groups with atrophy was not signi®cant. Conclusion These ®ndings support the view that varicocele is a progressive disease and that the prevalence of varicocele and testicular atrophy increases with the puberty.

In this retrospective study, the computed tomography (CT) archives of paranasal sinus examinations were reviewed and three cases of antroliths are presented. The archives of paranasal sinus CT studies of 1957 patients (1023 females, 934 males, mean age 36.5 years) were surveyed. CT studies were performed using 3 mm collimation and interval in the coronal, axial or both coronal and axial planes. Three out of 1957 patients demonstrated antroliths, all in the left maxillary sinus. Associated sinusitis was detected in all three patients. Only one patient was operated. The chemical analysis of the antrolith revealed it to be a calcium oxalate stone. All the relevant literature is reviewed and only 25 other cases of true antrolithiasis were encountered. The clinical and radiological features of antroliths, as well as differential diagnosis were discussed. Antrolithiasis should be considered in any case of sinusitis, that does not respond to appropriate medical therapy.

AIM:This prospective randomized clinical study was conducted to compare radioguided occult lesion localization (ROLL) with wire-guided localization to evaluate optimum localization techniques for non-palpable breast lesions.METHODS:A total of 108 patients who were undergoing an excisional biopsy for non-palpable breast lesions requiring pathologic diagnosis were randomly assigned to the ROLL group (n = 56) and wire-guided localization group (n = 52). In the study, patients' characteristics, radiological abnormalities, radiological technique of localization, localization time, operation time, weight of the excised specimen, clearance margins, pathological diagnosis and perioperative complications were assessed.RESULTS:There were no differences between the two groups in terms of age, radiological abnormalities and localization technique (p = non-significant for all). ROLL techniques resulted in 100% retrieval of the lesions; for the wire-guided localization technique, 98%. Both localization time and operation time were significantly reduced with the ROLL technique (p = significant for all). The weight of the specimen was significantly lower in the ROLL group than in the wire-guided localization group (p = significant). The overall complication rate and pathological diagnosis were similar for both groups (p = non-significant for all). Clear margins were achieved in 91% of ROLL patients and in 53% of wire-guided localization patients, and the difference was significant.CONCLUSIONS:The present study indicated that the ROLL technique is as effective as wire-guided localization for the excision of non-palpable breast lesions. In addition, ROLL improved the outcomes by reducing localization and operation time, preventing healthy tissue excision and achieving clearer margins.

Abdominal cocoon, the idiopathic form of sclerosing encapsulating peritonitis, is a rare condition of unknown etiology that results in an intestinal obstruction due to total or partial encapsulation of the small bowel by a fibrocollagenous membrane. The early clinical features are nonspecific, are often not recognized and it is difficult to make a definite pre-operative diagnosis. Clinical suspicion may be generated by the recurrent episodes of small intestinal obstruction combined with relevant imaging findings and lack of other plausible etiologies. Surgery is important in the management of this disease. Careful dissection and excision of the thick sac with the release of the small intestine leads to complete recovery in the vast majority of cases. Here a case of abdominal cocoon in a 45 years old male is presented due to its rarity and difficulty in preoperative diagnosis.

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Cough headache (CH) is a relatively rare, but an important complication of cough. The aim of this cross-sectional clinical study was to evaluate the frequency, characteristics and etiology of CH among the patients referred to our Outpatient Department with the complaint of cough, and to investigate the relationship between their cough and headache characteristics. We evaluated 96 females and 69 males, a total of 165 patients with cough. Among those, 57 patients (34.5%) had one or more cough complications and 32 patients (19.3%) were diagnosed as CH. Although it was known that most of the patients with CH had benign headache characteristics, the ratio of the symptomatic CH was not low (37.5% of the CH patients and 7% of patients with cough). Also, there was a significant correlation between the frequency of cough and the severity of headache. Logistic regression analysis showed that the incidence of CH was increased 0.4-fold, when frequency of cough increased. Age, sex, tobacco use ad the duration of cough were not found to be predictive factors for CH. Logistic regression analysis showed that the rate of cough complications increased 2.08-fold, when the duration of cough was longer than eight weeks (p=0.03) and 0.4-fold when the frequency of cough increased (p=0.02). In conclusion, CH is a relatively rare, but an important complication of cough and it commonly has an effective treatment available. Radiological work-up was crucial in ruling out other causes of headache and to confirm that the CH was truly benign.

Choanal polyps usually originate from the maxillary sinus. Unusual origins such as the sphenoid sinus, ethmoid sinus, nasal septum and hard and soft palate have been reported in the literature. Herein, we report a rare case of choanal polyp originating from the middle turbinate that was removed by an endoscopic surgery technique. The computed tomographic findings are described and the literature is reviewed.

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