PocketRadiologist-PedsNeuro: Top 100 Diagnoses

American Journal of Neuroradiology

Susan I. Blaser, Anna Illner, Mauricio Castillo, Gary L. Hedlund, Anne G. Osborn, eds. Salt Lake City: Amirsys; 2003, 330 pages, 200 drawings and radiographic images, paperback $64.95.

Another in the PocketRadiologist series, this one edited by Drs. Blaser, Illner, Castillo, Hedlund, and Osborn, is PedsNeuro. It follows the same format as the other publications in the series (reviewed in the AJNR Am J Neuroradiol 2005;26:436; AJNR Am J Neuroradiol 2003;24:770). A compilation of 100 cases, designated by the editors as the “top diagnoses” are demonstrated with pertinent imaging, followed by a series of bulleted points under the headings of “Key Facts,” “Imaging Findings,” “Differential Diagnosis,” “Pathology,” “Clinical Issues,” and “Selected References.” Major diagnoses are included in the following disease categories: congenital, neurocutaneous, infection, inflammation, vascular, ischemic, metabolic/toxic, metabolic/inherit, neoplastic, trauma, and CSF spaces. Although some of the entities have been covered in the other books in the neuroimaging set, this particular 330-page soft-cover publication nicely complements the entire series. Once again (and as we now are accustomed to seeing in these books), the images are of high quality and appear to be of recent vintage. I counted 32 beautiful color drawings (not to be greedy, but this reviewer wished there could have been close to 1 such drawing for each of the diagnoses, but the metabolic disorders, for example, did not lend themselves well to an artist’s rendition). I believe the drawings will stick in the reader’s mind better than the MR images themselves—that is not a disadvantage but rather a testimony to the value of the drawings.

The title of this book belies, to some extent, the contents. By “Top 100 Diagnoses,” one would think the 100 most common diagnoses would be the focus of the book. That is not the situation. Maybe these are in the editors’ minds the 100 most interesting cases, but they are certainly not the most common. For instance, included here are entities such as the Kallman syndrome, neurocutaneous melanosis, and rhomboencephalosynapsis. For the latter, it is said that only 20 cases have been reported in the literature, and that places the diagnosis of rhomboencephalosynapsis and others in the collection well beyond inclusion in a common group. Missing are many spine diagnoses that are not as rare, such as cord tumors of various sorts, demyelinating processes, spinal abscesses, and so forth.

All of this is not said to detract from the value of the book but is mentioned so a prospective buyer knows that he or she is getting many zebras mixed in with the more commonly encountered diseases. I particularly like the inclusion of a fair number of pediatric ear, nose, and throat cases, both congenital and acquired, which made the book even more valuable. One area in pediatric neuroradiology that frequently arises is the issue of the pattern, time sequencing, and MR imaging techniques/pulse parameters to use in evaluating the 0- to 18-month-old infant. Although it is understood that such an insertion would not fit easily into a top 100 diagnoses, if the editors plan a new edition, this reviewer would urge a section at the beginning of the book on this topic. With that information in one’s pocket, the book would be consulted often in reading sessions.

In summary, this would be a valuable book for anyone involved with a substantial amount of pediatric neuroradiology.