BACKGROUND: A venous pattern of infarction on neuroimaging is used as a clue to undiagnosed cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT); prevention of venous infarction is a goal of CVT management; and venous infarction is a factor used for clinical prognostication. Despite widespread use of the term venous infarct, the prevalence of true venous infarction is unclear. Our primary aim was to determine the prevalence of venous infarction in patients with CVT. We also measured the prevalence of diffusion abnormality without infarction, vasogenic edema, and intracranial hemorrhage. METHODS: Single-center, retrospective cohort study using a registry of 110 consecutive patients admitted to hospital with cerebral venous thrombosis between 2004 and 2014. Inclusion criteria were brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and contrast-enhanced venography at presentation, and repeat brain MRI ≥1 month later. Exclusion criteria were dural arteriovenous fistula, arteriovenous malformation, cavernous sinus thrombosis, or previous neurosurgical procedure. Main outcome was proportion of patients with venous infarction (irreversible ischemic injury) diagnosed using diffusion-weighted MRI at presentation, confirmed using T2-weighted fluid-attenuated inversion recovery MRI ≥1 month later, and reported with 95% CI using the Wilson score interval method. We also report the prevalence of transient diffusion MRI abnormality without infarction, vasogenic edema, and intracranial hemorrhage. RESULTS: Seventy-three patients met the inclusion criteria, and after exclusions, the final study population was 59 patients with median age 41 years (interquartile range, 32–57). Venous infarction occurred in 12% (7/59 [95% CI, 6%–23%]) of patients, and final infarct volume was >1 mL in only 5.1% (3/59) of patients. An additional 8% (5/59 [95% CI, 4%–18%]) of patients had a transient diffusion MRI abnormality without infarction. Prevalence of cerebral vasogenic edema and intracranial hemorrhage were 66% (39/59 [95% CI, 53%–77%]) and 54% (32/59 [95% CI, 41%–66%]), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: In patients with CVT, venous infarction is uncommon and venous infarcts are typically very small. Vasogenic edema and hemorrhage are more common consequences of CVT.

Background: Human anatomy is a crucial component of medical curricula, requiring innovative methods to enhance students’ learning outcomes. Recently, various technology-based methods have emerged to address the limitations of traditional anatomy teaching methods. Among these, serious games have emerged as a promising tool demonstrating effectiveness in achieving various learning outcomes. This systematic review aims to evaluate the effectiveness of serious games in anatomy education and identify gaps in literature. Methods: Following PRISMA guidelines, a comprehensive search of databases including PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar was performed. Of 900 records identified, 24 records were eligible for the full text review. Of these, 14 studies were included eventually for detailed analysis. Study quality was assessed using the Newcastle–Ottawa Scale. Results: The results showed that the key learning domains assessed were knowledge acquisition, engagement, perception, and skills development. Most studies reported positive outcomes in terms of students’ performance and satisfaction. Despite these findings, variations in study design, sample size, and assessment methods were noted, limiting the generalizability of results. Conclusions: Serious games represent a novel supplement to anatomy education, fostering improved learning outcomes and engagement. However, future work should focus on well-crafted randomized controlled trials to effectively evaluate the impact of using serious games in anatomy teaching with combined qualitative and quantitative evaluation approaches.

Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) can have a significant impact on quality of life. With persistent symptoms and the failure of initial medical treatments, surgical management is indicated. Despite the excellent results of endoscopic sinus surgery for persistent CRS, it is quite a challenging procedure for frontal sinusitis given the complex anatomy and location of the frontal sinus. Frontal recess cells significantly contribute to the complexity of the frontal sinus, and numerous studies have sought to establish their association with sinusitis. This review offers a comprehensive understanding of frontal recess cells, their different classifications, their prevalence among different populations, and their relationship to sinusitis. After an extensive review of the current literature, the International Frontal Sinus Anatomy Classification (IFAC) is the most recent classification method and a preferred practical preoperative assessment tool. Although the agger nasi cell is the most prevalent cell among all reported populations, ethnic variations are still influencing the other cells’ distribution. Studies are inconsistent in reporting a relationship between frontal recess cells and sinusitis, and that is mainly because of the differences in the classification methods used. More research using a standardized classification method is needed to understand the association between frontal recess cells and sinusitis.

Objectives: This study aimed to examined the frequency of physiological intracranial calcifications (PICs) in paediatric population using computed tomography (CT). Methods: The brain CT scans of consecutive patients (age range: 0–15 years) who had visited Sultan Qaboos University Hospital, Muscat, Oman, from January 2017 to December 2020 were retrospectively assessed for the presence of PICs. The presence of calcifications was identified using 3 mm-thick axial images and coronal and sagittal reformats. Results: A total of 460 patients were examined, with a mean age of 6.54 ± 4.94 years. The frequency of PIC in boys and girls was 35.1% and 35.4%, respectively. PICs were most common in choroid plexus, observed in 35.2% (age range: 0.4–15 years, median: 12 years) of subjects, followed by the pineal gland in 21.1% (age range: 0.5–15 years, median: 12 years) and the habenular nucleus in 13.0% of subjects (age range: 2.9–15 years; median: 12 years). PICs were less common in falx cerebri, observed in 5.9% (age range: 2.8–15 years; median: 13 years) of subjects, and tentorium cerebelli, observed in 3.0% (age range: 7–15 years, median: 14 years) of subjects. PICs increased significantly with increase in age (P <0.001). Conclusion: Choroid plexus is the most frequent site of calcification. Choroid plexus and pineal gland calcifications may be present in infants younger than one year. Recognising PICs is clinically important for radiologists as they can be mistaken for haemorrhage or pathological entities such as neoplasms or metabolic diseases.

Background: The pneumatization of the frontal sinus is variable between individuals, including monozygotic twins. The volumetric anatomic variants of the frontal sinus are classified into aplasia, hypoplasia, medium-sized, and hyperplasia. We aimed to study the frontal sinus morphology in Omani patients using computed tomography (CT) evaluations. Methods: Retrospectively, 1220 frontal sinus CT scans from 610 patients investigated at Sultan Qaboos University Hospital, Oman, from January 2019 to December 2020 were reviewed. The frontal sinus morphology was classified according to the classification proposed by Guerram et al. The Chi-square test was used to determine the influence of sex. Results: With regard to the unilateral occurrence, the most prevalent frontal sinus category observed was medium-sized (13.3%), followed by hyperplasia (7.9%), hypoplasia (5.4%), and aplasia (2%) categories. Similarly, in bilateral occurrence, the most common frontal sinus category observed was medium-sized (53%), followed by hyperplasia (13.1%), hypoplasia (3.4%) and aplasia (2%) categories. Right and left frontal sinus aplasia were observed in 2.1% and 1.8% of cases, respectively. In terms of sex influence, the left unilateral (p<0.01) and the bilateral hypoplasia (p<0.05) were significantly higher in females. On the other hand, the left unilateral (p<0.01) and the bilateral hyperplasia (p<0.05) were higher in males. Conclusions: The baseline data of frontal sinus category frequencies reported in the present study is helpful in the diagnostic evaluation of sinusitis in the clinical setting. The preoperative recognition of frontal sinus types, particularly frontal sinus aplasia in multiplanar CT scans, is crucial to avoid unexpected complications while performing endoscopic sinus surgery.