Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) pediatric resident training course: a cross-sectional survey.

Background: Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) is becoming increasingly crucial in the Pediatric Emergency Department for objective patient examination. However, despite its growing interest and wide-ranging applications, POCUS remains relatively unexplored in general pediatric training and education. Many physicians still find it challenging to comprehend and implement.

Complex central venous catheter for dialysis: interventional radiology experience in insertion and management of their complications.

Background: CVCs are defined 'complex' when they are inserted through non-conventional accesses or positioned in non-usual sites or substituted by IR endovascular procedures. We report our experience in using diagnostic and interventional radiology techniques for complex CVC insertion and management; we recommend some precautions and techniques that could lead to long-term availability of central venous access and to avoid non-conventional sites CVC insertion.

Methods: We retrospectively evaluated 617 patients, between January 2010 and December 2019, (mean age 71 ± 13; male 448/617), treated in our department for insertion of tunnelled CVC for haemodialysis.

Three-Dimensional Deep Noninvasive Radiomics for the Prediction of Disease Control in Patients With Metastatic Urothelial Carcinoma treated With Immunotherapy.

Introduction: Immunotherapy is effective in a small percentage of patients with cancer and no reliable predictive biomarkers are currently available. Artificial Intelligence algorithms may automatically quantify radiologic characteristics associated with disease response to medical treatments.

Methods: We investigated an innovative approach based on a 3-dimensional (3D) deep radiomics pipeline to classify visual features of chest-abdomen computed tomography (CT) scans with the aim of distinguishing disease control from progressive disease to immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs).

Gynecological Malignancies: Bail-Out Interventional Radiology Treatments.

Interventional radiology presents nowadays a relevant role in the management of gynecological malignancies, especially in advanced stages where conventional surgery may be contraindicated. Progression to multiorgan failure may be related to cancer disease extension or, more acutely, to concomitant infections, bleedings or thromboembolic complications. Infiltration of adjacent organs, as ureters and biliary ducts, ascites and pelvic collections often occur in advanced stages: considering the clinical fragility of these patients, percutaneous procedures are frequently applied.

Treatment of juxta-anastomotic stenoses for failing distal radiocephalic arteriovenous fistulas: Drug-coated balloons versus angioplasty.

The aim of our study is to report the results of two types (type A, type B) paclitaxel drug-coated balloon compared with standard percutaneous transluminal angioplasty in the treatment of juxta-anastomotic stenoses of mature but failing distal radiocephalic hemodialysis arteriovenous fistulas. Two groups of 26 and 44 patients treated with two different drug-coated balloon are compared with a control group of 86 treated with standard percutaneous transluminal angioplasty. A color Doppler ultrasound was performed to evaluate stenosis and for treatment planning.

Predictive and Prognostic Value of Early Disease Progression by PET Evaluation in Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer.

Objective: To assess the predictive and prognostic value of progressive metabolic disease (PMD) by the use of early 18Fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (18FDG-PET) in patients with clinical stage IV non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) treated with first-line chemotherapy.

Methods: An 18FDG-PET performed following the first cycle of chemotherapy (PET-1) was compared with a pretreatment 18FDG-PET (PET-0) and a computed tomography (CT) scan after the third cycle (CT-3). The primary endpoint was the positive predictive value (PPV) of PMD.

Reoperation for aortic homograft failure using an Edwards Intuity valve.

We report the case of a 50-year old patient with deterioration of an aortic homograft, who successfully underwent aortic valve replacement using an Edwards Intuity sutureless bioprosthesis. The patient presented with rupture of the cusps and severe calcification of the aortic annulus of the homograft, which prevented us from using a standard bioprosthesis for the replacement.

Drug-eluting balloon for the treatment of failing hemodialytic radiocephalic arteriovenous fistulas: our experience in the treatment of juxta-anastomotic stenoses.

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to report our experience with drug-eluting balloons for the treatment of juxta-anastomotic stenoses of failing radiocephalic hemodialytic arteriovenous shunt and to evaluate the primary and secondary patency (PP and SP).

Methods: After approval by the local hospital's Ethical and Scientific Review Board, 26 consecutive patients with juxta-anastomotic stenosis of radiocephalic hemodialytic shunt were treated with angioplasty with drug-eluting balloon. The main objective was to evaluate PP defined, in accordance with the Kidney Disease Outcomes Quality Initiative recommendation, as the absence of dysfunction of the vascular access, patent lesion or residual stenosis <30% and no need for further reintervention of the target lesion (TL).

[Project work: formation of health-care personnel for self-care of tunnelled central venous catheters in hemodialysis patients of the territory].

Background: Scientific data from current literature demonstrate an incidence of bacteraemia due to tunnelled central venous catheter (tCVC) use accounting for 1.6 / 1000 days per tCVC, with a range of 1.5 to 1.

Treatment of anastomotic stenoses of peripheral bypass grafts with cutting balloon angioplasty.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy of cutting-balloon angioplasty (CBA) in the treatment of anastomotic stenoses of peripheral arterial bypass grafts.

Materials And Methods: Seventeen patients (12 men and five women; age range 54-79 years, mean age 66.5) with stenosis or occlusion at the proximal or distal anastomoses of peripheral bypass grafts were treated with CBA.

Application of a new combined guiding technique in RF ablation of subphrenic liver tumors.

We present an unreported technique used to treat with RF ablation hepatic subphrenic hepatocellular carcinoma. It consists in the combination of fluoroscopic and computed tomography guidance for lesions already embolized with lipiodol located at the hepatic dome, approached in parallel fashion with a 22-gauge chiba "finder" needle followed by the RF electrode.

Percutaneous nitinol stent implantation in the treatment of nutcracker syndrome in young adults.

The present report describes three young adults with nutcracker syndrome caused by left renal vein stenosis managed with nitinol stent implantation. The patients treated included a 20-year-old woman with persistent microhematuria and dyspareunia and two 18-year-old men with proteinuria, hematuria, and flank pain. All three patients were asymptomatic after a follow-up of 14-18 months.

Nutcracker syndrome due to left renal vein compression by an aberrant right renal artery.

Classic nutcracker syndrome is caused by left renal vein compression between the superior mesenteric artery and aorta, leading to retrograde venous hypertension associated with such urinary abnormalities as hematuria or proteinuria. We describe a case of symptomatic nutcracker syndrome treated by means of stent placement in which hypertension in the left renal vein was caused by stenosis of this vein compressed by an aberrant right renal artery at a point closer to the inferior vena cava.

Prevalence of "high-riding" superior pericardial recesses on thin-section 16-MDCT scans.

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of "high-riding" superior pericardial recess (HRSPR) on thin-section (1 mm) 16-multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) scans.

Materials And Methods: Three hundred and fourteen consecutive chest CT scans obtained with a thin-section 16 MDCT were retrospectively evaluated. The prevalence and characteristic of HRSPR were analyzed.

[Prevalence and significance of type-2 diabetes mellitus in chronic liver disease, correlated with hepatitis C virus].

A high prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus in patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV)-related chronic liver diseases has been reported in numerous studies. Other studies failed to confirm this observation. We have studied the relative prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus in two groups of patients respectively presenting with HCV-related chronic liver disease (224 patients) and chronic liver diseases of other etiologies (30 hepatitis B virus-HBV-related chronic liver disease, 22 alcoholic liver cirrhosis), in order to confront them.

Significance of microalbuminuria in atherosclerotic vascular disease.

Microalbuminuria is considered as a sign of high risk of renal disease in type 1 diabetes mellitus, and of cardiovascular disease in types 1 and 2 diabetes. In recent years numerous studies have suggested that microalbuminuria may be associated with atherosclerotic vascular disease, independently from diabetes mellitus. The presence of microalbuminuria was investigated in 30 patients suffering from atherosclerotic vascular disease: ischemic heart disease, cerebrovascular disease or arterial disease of the lower extremities.

[The prevalence of serum anti-hepatitis C virus antibodies in hemodialyzed patients].

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is responsible for a high percentage of cases of transfusional hepatitis and is often considered the etiological agent of numerous cases of non-A, non-B hepatitis in which parenteral transmission has not been documented. Patients undergoing hemodialysis are at risk for HCV infection. We used an immunoenzymatic method and confirmatory test (neutralization test) to determine serum anti-HCV antibody positivity in order to identify the factors associated with increased risk of HCV infection.

[Evaluation of the risk of hepatitis delta virus (HDV) infection in a population of hemodialyzed patients: significance of the determination of anti-delta antibodies in the blood].

Hepatitis delta virus (HDV) is a defective virus which requires the helper function of hepatitis B virus (HBV) for replication. HDV infection occurs only during or after HDV infection. Viral infection spreads parenterally in both cases.