One hundred consecutive patients with symptoms suggestive of Morton neuroma were examined with sonography, and 134 intermetatarsal masses were demonstrated. Forty-five patients underwent surgical exploration, which revealed Morton neuromas. The typical sonographic appearance is that of an ovoid, hypoechoic mass oriented parallel to the long axis of the metatarsals. Most masses were between the second and third or third and fourth metatarsals and seemed to produce symptoms when reaching a diameter of 5 mm.

Background & aims: There has been a move to increased emphasis on delivering parenteral nutrition to patients at home, which may improve patient care and reduce costs. However, safe provision of home, and indeed any, parenteral nutrition necessitates consideration of the physical and chemical stability of the parenteral nutrition and its components.Methods: Medline and Embase were used to search for all English-language publications on vitamin stability. Identified publications were then analysed and summarised in the following review.Results: Vitamins are one of the least stable components in PN and there are three main ways in which they have been shown to degrade: photodegradation, oxidation and through storage material interaction.Previous research on vitamins has demonstrated that significant losses can occur in the bag, which could have clinical consequences, particularly for long-term users of parenteral nutrition. These losses are most dramatic for vitamin C, which is rapidly degraded by oxygen, and vitamin A, which is rapidly degraded in the presence of sunlight.Conclusions: There are a number of stability issues associated with vitamins in parenteral nutrition and further investigation is needed to assure their stability and compatibility with other parenteral nutrition constituents.