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Opsoclonus myoclonus syndrome (OMS) is an extremely rare neurological syndrome typically affecting as few as 1 in 10,000,000 people annually. OMS is characterized by the presence of involuntary, saccadic eye movements, as well as ataxia, including gait incoordination, rigidity, and tremor. The origin of OMS is unclear, but a significant percentage of OMS cases are indicative of an underlying malignancy, most commonly neuroblastoma and small cell lung cancer. Here we describe an adult patient with OMS, who was ultimately diagnosed with a small ductal adenocarcinoma of the pancreas. To our knowledge, this is the third published report of an association between OMS and pancreatic malignancy, and the only case where the pancreatic malignancy was detected prior to metastasis or autopsy at death. This case report highlights the importance of careful, aggressive malignancy screening with OMS, as the pancreatic duct cut-off sign may be overlooked if pancreatic malignancy is not suspected.

Abstract Background: Research shows that religion and spirituality are important when persons cope with serious and life-threatening illness. Patients who receive good spiritual care report greater quality of life and better coping, and such support is strongly associated with greater well-being, hope, optimism, and reduction of despair at end of life. Despite these benefits, evidence shows that many patients and caregivers (P/C) refuse spiritual care when a hospice team offers it, possibly resulting in unnecessary suffering. Objective: To better understand what contributes to spiritual support acceptance in hospice care. Design: Quasi-experimental quantitative study. Setting/Subjects: 200 patients admitted to hospice. Measurements: Participants were divided equally into intervention and control arms. Control participants received standard information about the availability of chaplain support and an offer for referral to chaplain services. Intervention participants received educational intervention that explained hospice chaplain services and the evidence-based benefits of spiritual support. The association of chaplain acceptance was measured with treatment group, patient age, disease, church affiliation and support, sex, bereavement risk, and place of residence. Results: Among intervention participants, 64 (64%) accepted spiritual support versus 52 (52%) of control participants. The intervention arm's acceptance rate was higher than the control arm after adjustment for other variables. The variables associated with acceptance were age, primary diagnosis, and place of residence. Conclusions: This research suggests that educational intervention that explains spiritual care in hospice and its benefits contributes importantly to greater acceptance and allows P/C to gain the benefits of spiritual support during end-of-life care.

ObjectiveThe present study was undertaken to evaluate changes in knee magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings over the course of 18 months in subjects with osteoarthritic change and meniscal tear treated with arthroscopic partial meniscectomy (APM) or nonoperatively with physical therapy (PT).MethodsWe used 18‐month follow‐up data from the Meniscal Tear in Osteoarthritis Research Trial. MRI results were read with reference to the MRI Osteoarthritis Knee Score. We focused on 18‐month change in bone marrow lesions (BMLs), cartilage thickness, cartilage surface area, osteophyte size, effusion‐synovitis, and Hoffa‐synovitis. We used multinomial logistic regression to assess associations between MRI‐based changes in each feature and treatment type.ResultsA total of 351 subjects were randomized, and 225 had both baseline and 18‐month MRI results. In both treatment groups, patients experienced substantial changes in several MRI‐based markers. In 60% of the APM group, versus 33% of the PT group, cartilage surface area damage advanced in ≥2 subregions (adjusted odds ratio 4.2 [95% confidence interval 2.0–9.0). Patients who underwent APM also had greater advancement in scores for osteophytes and effusion‐synovitis. We did not find significant associations between treatment type and change in cartilage thickness, BMLs, or Hoffa‐synovitis.ConclusionThis cohort of patients with meniscal tear and osteoarthritis showed marked advancement in MRI‐based features over 18 months. Patients treated with APM showed more advancement in some features compared to those treated nonoperatively. The clinical relevance of these early findings is unknown and requires further study.

AbstractBone marrow edema (BME) can be a late finding in osteoarthritis or a sign of subchondral insufficiency. The purpose of this study was to describe the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) finding we refer to as “osteomeniscal impact edema” (OMIE), or reactive BME adjacent to a displaced meniscus flap tear. In addition, this edema pattern is compared with a control group of medial meniscus posterior root tears (MMPRT) with subchondral insufficiency edema. MRI records from 2000 to 2017 were retrospectively reviewed for studies that showed the presence of a medial meniscus displaced flap tear and an adjacent area of BME. The selected MRIs were matched to an equal number of MMPRT MRI studies. All MRI studies were assessed for cartilage surface grade using the modified Outerbridge classification system and for the extent of accompanying structural abnormalities using the whole-organ magnetic resonance imaging score. Descriptive statistics and hypothesis testing were utilized to compare the MRI findings between groups. Twenty-two flap tear (OMIE group) patients with a mean age of 57 (SD: 15) and 22 root tear (MMPRT) group patients with a mean age of 61 (SD: 10) were included. MRIs in the OMIE group showed a distinctive pattern of focal, peripheral edema adjacent to the meniscus flap tear, compared with more diffuse, central edema in the MMPRT group. Quantitatively, MRIs of the MMPRT group showed significantly worse mean femoral Outerbridge scores (3.72 vs. 2.68, p < 0.0001), more severe central (1.63 vs. 0.5, p = 0.0007) and posterior (0.31 vs. 0.0, p = 0.04) subchondral edema grades, and a higher incidence of tibial subchondral fractures (3 vs. 0, p = 0.036). Meniscus flap tears may present with a distinct MRI pattern of focal, adjacent, peripheral edema, which we refer to as OMIE. Patients with meniscus flap tears showed significantly less arthritic change, lower subchondral edema grades, and a lower incidence of insufficiency fractures and subchondral collapse compared with the diffuse overload edema pattern found with root tears. The Level of Evidence for this study is III.