Globally, at the time of writing (20 March 2021), 121.759.109 confirmed COVID-19 cases have been reported to the WHO, including 2.690.731 deaths. Globally, on 18 March 2021, a total of 364.184.603 vaccine doses have been administered. In Italy, 3.306.711 confirmed COVID-19 cases with 103.855 deaths have been reported to WHO. In Italy, on 9 March 2021, a total of 6.634.450 vaccine doses have been administered. On 15 March 2021, Italian Medicines Agency (AIFA) decided to temporarily suspend the use of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine throughout the country as a precaution, pending the rulings of the European Medicines Agency (EMA). This decision was taken in line with similar measures adopted by other European countries due to the death of vaccinated people. On 18 March 2021, EMA’s safety committee concluded its preliminary review about thromboembolic events in people vaccinated with COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca at its extraordinary meeting, confirming the benefits of the vaccine continue to outweigh the risk of side effects, however, the vaccine may be associated with very rare cases of blood clots associated with thrombocytopenia, i.e., low levels of blood platelets with or without bleeding, including rare cases of cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT). We report the case of a 54-year-old woman who developed disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) with multi-district thrombosis 12 days after the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine administration. A brain computed tomography (CT) scan showed multiple subacute intra-axial hemorrhages in atypical locations, including the right frontal and the temporal lobes. A plain old balloon angioplasty (POBA) of the right coronary artery was performed, without stent implantation, with restoration of distal flow, but with persistence of extensive thrombosis of the vessel. A successive thorax angio-CT added the findings of multiple contrast filling defects with multi-vessel involvement: at the level of the left upper lobe segmental branches, of left interlobar artery, of the right middle lobe segmental branches and of the right interlobar artery. A brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in the same day showed the presence of an acute basilar thrombosis associated with the superior sagittal sinus thrombosis. An abdomen angio-CT showed filling defects at the level of left portal branch and at the level of right suprahepatic vein. Bilaterally, it was adrenal hemorrhage and blood in the pelvis. An evaluation of coagulation factors did not show genetic alterations so as the nasopharyngeal swab ruled out a COVID-19 infection. The patient died after 5 days of hospitalization in intensive care.
(1) Background: Dural arteriovenous fistulas (DAVF) represent a rare acquired intracranial vascular malformation, with a variety of clinical signs and symptoms, which make their diagnosis difficult. Intracranial hemorrhage is one of the most serious clinical manifestations. In this paper the authors’ goal was to verify the accuracy and utility of contrast-enhanced brain CT angiography (CTA) for the identification and the characterization of dural arteriovenous fistulas (DAVFs) in patients who presented with brain hemorrhage compared to 3D digital subtraction angiography (3D DSA); (2) a retrospective study of 26 patients with DAVFs who presented with intracranial hemorrhage to our institution was performed. The information reviewed included clinical presentation, location and size of hemorrhage, brain CTA and 3D DSA findings; (3) results: 61% (16/26) of DAVFs were identified by CTA. The vast majority of patients were male (69%, 18/26) and the most common presenting symptom was sudden onset headache. All DAVFs had cortical venous drainage and about one-third were associated with a venous varix. The most common location was tentorial (73%, 19/26); (4) conclusions: CTA can represent a valid alternative diagnostic method to 3D DSA for the study of DAVF in the initial and preliminary diagnostic approach, especially in emergency situations. In fact, it represents a fast, inexpensive, non-invasive and above all, easily accessible and available diagnostic technique, unlike DSA or MRI, allowing to provide information necessary for the identification, classification and treatment planning of DAVFs.
Purpose To assess and compare the clinical effectiveness of percutaneous intradiscal ozone therapy in patients affected by lumbar disc herniation, with and without history of COVID-19 infection. Materials and Methods After the rising of COVID-19 pandemics in Italy, 47 consecutive percutaneous intradiscal ozone therapies were performed on patients with low back pain and/or sciatic pain due to lumbar disc herniation. Among these, 19 had suffered from COVID-19 and successively recovered with no residual symptoms, while the remaining 28 had not previously been affected by COVID-19 and were not convalescent. Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) was administered before the treatment and at 1-month and 3-month follow-up in order to assess the clinical outcome. Results The two groups were similar in terms of patient age ( p -value 0.54), treated levels ( p -value 0.26) and pre-procedure ODI ( p -value 0.33). Technical success was achieved in all cases. In patients previously affected by COVID-19, mean ODI decrease was 11.58 ± 9.51 (35.72%) at 1-month follow-up and 20.63 ± 9.87 (63.63%) at 3-month follow-up. In patients never affected by COVID-19, mean ODI decrease was 20.93 ± 10.53 (58.73%) at 1-month follow-up and 22.07 ± 11.36 (61.92%) at 3-month follow-up. Eventually, clinical success was registered in 84.21% (16/19) of patients with history of COVID-19 infection and in 85.71% (24/28) of patients with no history of COVID-19 infection. No major complication was registered. Conclusions In case of lumbar disc herniation treated with percutaneous intradiscal ozone therapy, patients previously affected by COVID-19 showed a significantly longer recovery time.
In patients with epiphora, unenhanced MR showed to be highly reliable and even more effective than enhanced MR in the preoperative characterization of NLD stenosis, with no need of performing complex, time-wasting and expensive procedures for the administration of topical contrast media.
We describe a case of adult-onset biphasic Rasmussen's encephalitis who presented seizures and left dyskinesias at the onset and, after 1 year, language disorder. Serial MRI and [(18)F] FDG-PET scans were performed showing involvement of the right cerebral hemisphere in the first phase and of the contralateral one in the second.
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