BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE:Modic type 1 degenerative signal changes can mimic/suggest infection, leading to additional costly and sometimes invasive investigations. This retrospective study analyzes the utility and accuracy of a novel, diffusion-weighted "claw sign" for distinguishing symptomatic type 1 degeneration from vertebral diskitis/osteomyelitis.

Diagnosis of frontal osteoma is usually by chance, but rarely these can produce exceptional ophthalmologic and neurological complications apart from cosmetic disfigurement. Etiology of frontal osteoma may be multifactorial. Surgical management should be site and size specific. A combination of open surgery and endoscopic methods would help confirm complete removal of the tumor. Here we report a fronto-ethmoidal osteoma of size 7.1 × 5.3 × 5.1 cm which is one of the largest reported in literature. Also, we have done an extensive web search and text based review of the literature on frontal osteoma in terms of its incidence, etiology, pathology, clinical presentation, complications and important developments in management. The available literature and our own experience suggest that even large osteoma arising in the fronto-ethmoid region can be completely removed surgically with minimum complications. The surgical approach can be varied according to the extent of the tumor and patient considerations. A regular follow up is necessary in asymptomatic cases being treated conservatively, in view of the potential complications.

Background: No single confirmatory device can accurately distinguish between endotracheal, endobronchial, and esophageal intubation. Bedside ultrasound (US) shows promising potential for endotracheal tube (ETT) verification. Image acquisition depends on the approach used and the experience of the sonographer. Air within the trachea remains a challenge for interpretation of US images. Insufflation of the ETT cuff with saline helps overcome this difficulty and allows easy visualization of the cuff. This novel approach has not been studied in ETT verification among novice sonographers.