Clinical symptoms in mycoplasma infection are nonspecific. Pulmonary involvement may be widespread or focal and segmental and is accompanied by signs including rales, rhonchi, and decreased breath sounds. Although manifestations of mycoplasma infection are usually confined to the respiratory tract, a wide variety of extrarespiratory manifestations can also occur, including more severe associated diseases such as myocarditis, acute disseminated encephalomyelitis, and cerebral arteriovenous occlusion. The radiographic findings in mycoplasma pneumonia are also nonspecific and in some cases closely resemble those seen in children with viral infections of the lower respiratory tract. Focal reticulonodular opacification confined to a single lobe is a radiographic pattern that seems to be more closely associated with mycoplasma infection than with other types of pediatric respiratory illnesses, and the diagnosis of mycoplasma pneumonia should be considered whenever focal or bilateral reticulonodular opacification is seen. Hazy or ground-glass consolidations frequently occur, but dense homogeneous consolidations like those seen with bacterial pneumonias are uncommon. Atelectasis or transient pseudoconsolidations due to confluent interstitial shadows are often seen. Radiographic findings alone are not sufficient for the definitive diagnosis of mycoplasma pneumonia, but in combination with clinical findings they can significantly improve the accuracy of diagnosis in this disease.

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Congenital deficiency or acquired laxity of the suspensory ligaments of the spleen may result in extreme splenic mobility. This rare condition, which is termed wandering or ectopic spleen predisposes the elongated splenic pedicle to torsion. We present a case of splenic torsion with a new CT finding consisting of a whorled appearance of the splenic pedicle. To our knowledge this finding has not been described before.

We report the MRI features in a series of four patients with primary angiitis of the central nervous system (PACNS). Based on MRI features, clinical presentation, paraclinical investigations and laboratory tests, including cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) analysis, various differentials were considered. In two patients with MRI findings of cortical, subcortical and deep white matter lesions, lack of mass effect, focal areas of bleed and heterogeneous parenchymal, leptomeningeal or pial enhancement and a normal magnetic resonance angiography, a differential diagnosis of primary angiitis of the CNS was also considered. In all patients, an open brain biopsy was advised to establish a definitive diagnosis of PACNS. Here, we briefly discuss the MRI features, correlation with clinical presentation and paraclinical parameters for the diagnosis of this entity. We also briefly review the literature.

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The Image Gently campaign raises awareness of opportunities for lowering radiation dose while maintaining diagnostic quality of images of children. The newest initiative in the campaign, Back to Basics, addresses methods for standardizing the approach to pediatric digital radiography, highlighting challenges related to the technology in imaging of patients of widely varying body sizes.

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