Congenital mediastinal cysts are uncommon benign lesions generally caused by an abnormal embryological development of the foregut or coelomic cavity. They are expansive lesions, frequently asymptomatic that may manifest as a result from compression of adjacent structures. Bronchogenic, pericardial, enteric, thymic, esophageal duplication cysts and lymphangiomas are the main entities in this group of lesions. Congenital mediastinal cysts morphology is typical and imaging methods allow a correct diagnosis in a great number of cases. Surgical treatment is indicated only in cases of symptomatic lesions, considering that these lesions present no potential for malignant degeneration. The present study was aimed at commenting and illustrating the most relevant imaging findings of these lesions based on a retrospective review of ten cases collected in the records of the involved institutions.

Keywords: Congenital mediastinal cysts, Cystic neoplasms, Cysts

Thoracic asymmetries characterized by increased radiolucency of the lungs are important causes of morbidity in infants and children. Evaluation of affected patients frequently requires multiple imaging methods to diagnose the abnormality and to plan the surgical correction. The authors review and illustrate the characteristics of both common and rare thoracic asymmetries with emphasis on the radiological findings. The usefulness of different imaging methods in the diagnosis and treatment of these conditions is evaluated. The differential diagnosis as well the pitfalls and diagnostic difficulties are also discussed.

Keywords: Thoracic diseases, Congenital cystic adenomatoid malformation, Congenital lobar emphysema, Congenital diaphragmatic hernia

Although congenital heart defect is the most frequent anomaly in newborns, its antenatal detection rate through conventional ultrasound remains low. 3D and 4D ultrasound technology was developed early in the nineties, bringing great benefits in obstetrics, especially in cases of dubious diagnosis at 2D ultrasound. The spatio-temporal image correlation (STIC) is a significant development in the field of 4D ultrasound. A software coupled with a Voluson 730 Expert equipment allows a volumetric acquisition of the fetal heart and its vascular connections. Volumetric analyses are performed in multiplanar and surface rendering modes or, alternatively in association with color Doppler. Major advantages are fast images acquisition and the possibility of a later analysis by fetal echocardiography specialists. Differently from 2D ultrasound, this technique may be applied for evaluating any congenital cardiopathy because of the increased number of frames acquired from a specific anatomical region. Main disadvantage is related to the necessity of fetal immobility. The higher diffusion of this method may improve prenatal detection of heart malformations since volumes data captured by a sonographer may be sent through the Internet for analysis by fetal echocardiography specialists.

Keywords: Congenital heart defect, Prenatal diagnosis, STIC

We report the radiographic findings in the long bones of a newborn with confirmed diagnosis of congenital syphilis and discuss the differential diagnosis with battered child syndrome. The radiographic findings in the long bones from birth to the fourth month of life are presented. Clinical and laboratory data, the serial x-ray films and the characteristic radiological signs were essential to establish the correct diagnosis.

Keywords: Congenital syphilis, Battered child syndrome, Bone fractures

The authors report a case of a female patient with chronological age of 7 years and bone age of 11 years, presenting with bilateral breast stage Tanner III and gonadotrophin-dependent precocious puberty. Magnetic resonance imaging of the sellar region demonstrated duplication of the pituitary gland and stalk associated with a hypothalamic hamartoma.

Keywords: Magnetic resonance imaging. Pituitary gland. Duplication. Congenital malformation.

Acalvaria is a rare congenital malformation of unknown pathogenesis characterized by the absence of the flat bones of the cranial vault, dura mater and associated muscles, while the central nervous system is usually preserved. The most accepted physiopathogenic theory suggests the presence of a postneurulation defect with normal placement the embryonic ectoderm. The present report describes neonatal imaging findings of primary acalvaria.

Keywords: Primary acalvaria; Skull defect; Congenital malformation.

Objetivo: A principal utilidade da tomografia por emissão de pósitrons com 18-fluordeoxiglicose (FDG-PET) está no estadiamento do câncer de pulmão. Porém, ela também pode ser utilizada para diferenciar lesões pulmonares indeterminadas, mas seu impacto na ressecção cirúrgica de lesões benignas é desconhecido. O objetivo deste estudo foi comparar a prevalência de lesões benignas em toracotomias feitas por suspeição de câncer de pulmão, antes e após a introdução do FDG-PET, em um centro de referência de cirurgia torácica. Materiais e Métodos: Os autores analisaram, prospectivamente, uma base de dados cirúrgicos de todos os pacientes consecutivos submetidos a toracotomia por câncer de pulmão suspeito ou comprovado e compararam a prevalência de lesões benignas em dois grupos ao longo de dois anos consecutivos, respectivamente antes (grupo I) e depois (grupo II) da introdução da FDG-PET. Resultados: Ressecção cirúrgica foi feita em 1.233 pacientes durante o período do estudo. A prevalência de lesões benignas na cirurgia nos grupos I e II foi similar (44/626 e 41/607, ambas correspondendo a 7%), e também no grupo II, entre aqueles submetidos a FDG-PET e os restantes (21/301 e 20/306 respectivamente, ambos correspondendo a 7%). No grupo II, dos 21 pacientes com lesões benignas submetidos a FDG-PET, 19 tiveram um estudo falso-positivo (valor médio padrão de captação 5.3 [faixa 2.6–12.7]). Desses, respectivamente 13 e 4 pacientes tiveram broncoscopia não diagnóstica e biópsia transtorácica percutânea de pulmão antes da toracotomia. Não houve diferença na proporção de lesões benignas diferentes ressecadas entre o grupo I e aqueles submetidos a FDG-PET no grupo II. Conclusão: A introdução da FDG-PET não alterou a proporção de pacientes submetidos a toracotomia por lesões benignas, principalmente devido à avidez pelo isótopo de algumas lesões não malignas. Tais resultados falsos-positivos devem ser considerados nos casos em que se contempla a possibilidade de ressecção cirúrgica em pacientes com câncer de pulmão não confirmado.

Keywords: Tomografia por emissão de pósitrons; Tomografia computadorizada; Pulmão – lesões benignas ou congênitas; Câncer de pulmão – diagnóstico e estadiamento; Câncer de pulmão – cirurgia.

Association of basal sphenoethmoidal encephalocele with midline cleft lip and palate is extremely rare. The authors report the case of a nine-year-old girl presenting a midline facial cleft with meningocele that was noticeable through the palatine defect as a medial intranasal pulsatile mass. An analysis of clinical and radiological findings of the present case of cranial dysraphism is carried out.

Keywords: Encephalocele; Cleft palate; Congenital malformation.

Poland's syndrome is a rare non-inherited congenital anomaly. The authors describe the classic radiologic findings of Poland's syndrome by reporting the case of a male four-year old patient with asymmetry of hands and chest, illustrating the fundamental imaging criteria for a conclusive diagnosis.

Keywords: Poland's syndrome; Chest asymmetry; Congenital malformation.

Congenital upper urinary tract abnormalities imply a variable clinical spectrum of morphofunctional changes ranging from asymptomatic conditions to renal failure and incompatibility with life. Computed tomography, which has overcome excretory urography imaging, has been playing a key role in the diagnosis of congenital anomalies, serving as a better guidance in the therapeutic and surgical decision-making process, besides acting as an essential tool in the identification of associated complications and aiding in the performance of minimally invasive surgery techniques.

Keywords: Congenital abnormalities; Urinary tract; Multislice computed tomography.

Persistent stapedial artery is a rare congenital anomaly that occurs by a failure in the involution of such artery. Most patients with persistent stapedial artery are asymptomatic. The imaging diagnosis is made principally by means of multidetector computed tomography. In the present case, persistent stapedial artery was an incidental computed tomography finding. The authors discuss the embryogenesis, computed tomography findings and the importance of an early diagnosis of such anomaly.

Keywords: Persistent stapedial artery; Congenital; Tomography.

Inferior vena cava anomalies are rare, occurring in up to 8.7% of the population, as left renal vein anomalies are considered. The inferior vena cava develops from the sixth to the eighth gestational weeks, originating from three paired embryonic veins, namely the subcardinal, supracardinal and postcardinal veins. This complex ontogenesis of the inferior vena cava, with multiple anastomoses between the pairs of embryonic veins, leads to a number of anatomic variations in the venous return from the abdomen and lower limbs. Some of such variations have significant clinical and surgical implications related to other cardiovascular anomalies and in some cases associated with venous thrombosis of lower limbs, particularly in young adults. The authors reviewed images of ten patients with inferior vena cava anomalies, three of them with deep venous thrombosis. The authors highlight the major findings of inferior vena cava anomalies at multidetector computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging, correlating them the embryonic development and demonstrating the main alternative pathways for venous drainage. The knowledge on the inferior vena cava anomalies is critical in the assessment of abdominal images to avoid misdiagnosis and to indicate the possibility of associated anomalies, besides clinical and surgical implications.

Keywords: Inferior vena cava; Congenital abnormalities; Venous thrombosis.

OBJECTIVE: To establish benchmarks and study some sonographic characteristics of the thyroid gland in a group of euthyroid children aged up to 5 years as compared with age-matched children with congenital hypothyroidism. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty-six children (17 female and 19 male) aged between 2 months and 5 years were divided into two groups - 23 euthyroid children and 13 children with congenital hypothyroidism - and were called to undergo ultrasonography. RESULTS: In the group of euthyroid children (n = 23), mean total volume of the thyroid gland was 1.12 mL (minimum, 0.39 mL; maximum, 2.72 mL); a homogeneous gland was found in 17 children (73.91%) and 6 children (26.08%) had a heterogeneous gland. In the group of children with congenital hypothyroidism (n = 13), mean total volume of the thyroid gland was 2.73 mL (minimum, 0.20 mL; maximum, 11.00 mL). As regards thyroid location, 3 patients (23.07%) had ectopic thyroid, and 10 (69.23%) had topic thyroid, and out of the latter, 5 had a homogeneous gland (50%) and 5, a heterogeneous gland (50%). In the group with congenital hypothyroidism, 6 (46.15%) children had etiological diagnosis of dyshormoniogenesis, 3 (23.07%), of ectopic thyroid, and 4 (30.76%), of thyroid hypoplasia. CONCLUSION: Thyroid ultrasonography is a noninvasive imaging method, widely available, easy to perform and for these reasons could, and should, be performed at any time, including at birth, with no preparation or treatment discontinuation, to aid in the early etiological definition of congenital hypothyroidism.

Keywords: Congenital hypothyroidism; Ultrasonography; Main diagnosis.

Magnetic resonance imaging is a method with high contrast resolution widely used in the assessment of pelvic gynecological diseases. However, the potential of such method to diagnose vaginal lesions is still underestimated, probably due to the scarce literature approaching the theme, the poor familiarity of radiologists with vaginal diseases, some of them relatively rare, and to the many peculiarities involved in the assessment of the vagina. Thus, the authors illustrate the role of magnetic resonance imaging in the evaluation of vaginal diseases and the main relevant findings to be considered in the clinical decision making process.

Keywords: Magnetic resonance imaging; Vagina; Tumors; Congenital malformations.

Although infection with the Zika virus was first recognized in 1942, it received little attention until 2007, when a true pandemic spread throughout Africa, Asia, and the Americas. Since then, numerous forms of central nervous system involvement have been described, mainly malformations related to congenital infection. Although the neuroimaging findings in congenital Zika syndrome are not pathognomonic, many are quite suggestive of the diagnosis, and radiologists should be prepared to interpret such findings accordingly. The objective of this article is to review the computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging findings in congenital Zika syndrome.

Keywords: Magnetic resonance imaging; Computed tomography; Zika virus; Congenital Zika syndrome; Congenital infection.