Meningiomas are extra-axial neoplasms representing 15 - 20% of primary intracranial neoplasms. Incidence peaks in patients aged 40 - 60 years, and they more commonly affect women than men. Most meningiomas arise from arachnoidal cells on the inner surface of the dura and they thefore grow inward toward the brain to form bulky intradural tumour masses. Most meningiomas are benign, but ~6% are atypical or aggressive, and 1 - 2% are frankly malignant. Common locations for meningiomas include the cerebral convexity, parasagittal region, sphenoid wing, olfactory groove, tuberculum sella, posterior fossa, and cavernous sinus.

Blunt chest trauma related acute thoracic aortic injury (TAI) is a life-threatening condition that requires prompt diagnosis and appropriate management because of high mortality. Computed tomography angiography (CTA) is the imaging of choice for evaluation of patients with major chest trauma findings suspicious of TAI on chest radiography. This case series describes the CTA findings in four high-velocity incident survivors with associated TAIs, discusses the injury type and treatment, and reviews the literature.

No abstract

No abstract

Radiographic retrograde urethrography (RUG) has traditionally been the preferred technique used by urologists to image the anterior urethra. Since originally described by McAninch et aL in 1988, ultrasonic imaging of the urethra has evolved into a powerful and clinically useful tool for the accurate delineation of urethral pathology. However the posterior urethra cannot be assessed reliably using this technique. Sonourethrography has proved to be more accurate than conventional radiographic urethrography in measuring stricture length throughout the anterior urethra. The objective and purpose of this study was to assess the efficacy of sonourethrography in the evaluation of anterior urethral strictures and also to explain its many advantages over traditional imaging technique.

We were recently intrigued by a baby born at Kalafong Hospital with fused lower extremities resembling a mermaid, which caused us to search for the background and origin of this entity called sirenomelia. Case reportA 40-year-old woman delivered a baby at 36 weeks with fused lower limbs. There was no maternal history of ingestion of teratogenic agents or diabetes mellitus. Initial X-rays (Figs 1 and 2) showed fused feet, lower limbs with 2 tibiae, 2 femurs and a single fibula. There was a single femoral head and incomplete development of the pelvis with absent acetabulum, ischium and pubic bones. The neonate did not survive this lethal abnormality and died a few hours after birth. The parents declined a postmortem examination.

Accessory articulation of the transverse processes of the cervical vertebrae is an extremely rare congenital anomaly. We present two cases of accessory articulation of the transverse processes of the left C5/C6 and C6/C7 cervical vertebrae. The articulation at C5/C6 was found in a 34-year-old male following a mob assault, the C6/C7 accessory articulation occurred in a 28-year-old female involved in a high velocity motor-vehicle accident. Cervical spine fractures were suspected in both cases. Recognition of this variant anatomy and differentiation from a fracture is important especially in an acute trauma setting to prevent unnecessary immobilization and inappropriate specialist referral of these patients. Our search revealed only five previously reported cases in the literature mostly occurring at the C5/C6 level. This is only the second case ever described at the C6/C7 level.

Real-time data is essential for policymakers to adapt to a rapidly evolving situation like the COVID-19 pandemic. Relying on Google search interest data across 207 countries and territories, we demonstrate the capacity of publicly-available, real-time data to anticipate COVID-19 cases; evaluate the economic, mental health, and social impacts of containment policies; and identify demand for (mis)information about COVID-19 vaccines. We show that: (1) search interest in COVID-specific symptoms can anticipate rising COVID-19 cases across both high- and low-income settings; (2) countries with more restrictive containment policies experienced larger socio-economic externalities; in addition, lower-income countries experienced less searches for unemployment, but more pronounced mental health externalities; and (3) high vaccination rates are associated with strong demand for information about vaccine appointments and side effects; in some settings, high interest in misinformation search terms is associated with low vaccination rates. Overall, the results demonstrate that real-time search interest data can be a valuable tool for both high- and low-income countries to inform policies across multiple stages of the pandemic.