Epicardial and liver fat implications in albuminuria: a retrospective study.

Background: Albuminuria is considered an early and sensitive marker of kidney dysfunction, but also an independent cardiovascular risk factor. Considering the possible relationship among metabolic liver disease, cardiovascular disease and chronic kidney disease, we aimed to evaluate the risk of developing albuminuria regarding the presence of epicardial adipose tissue and the steatotic liver disease status.

Methods: A retrospective long-term longitudinal study including 181 patients was carried out.

Diagnostic and Prognostic Potential of Multiparametric Renal MRI in Kidney Transplant Patients.

Background: Multiparametric MRI provides assessment of functional and structural parameters in kidney allografts. It offers a non-invasive alternative to the current reference standard of kidney biopsy.

Purpose: To evaluate the diagnostic and prognostic utility of MRI parameters in the assessment of allograft function in the first 3-months post-transplantation.

Lung Cancer Screening in People With COPD: The Pamplona-IELCAP Experience.

Introduction: The Global Initiative for Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) recommends lung cancer screening for patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), but data is lacking regarding results of screening in this high-risk population. The main goal of the present work is to explore if lung cancer screening with Low Dose Chest Tomography (LDCT) in people with COPD, allows lung cancer (LC) diagnosis in early stages with survival compatible with curative state.

Methods: This is a post hoc exploratory analysis.

Comparison of Myocardial Blood Flow Quantification Models for Double ECG Gating Arterial Spin Labeling MRI: Reproducibility Assessment.

Background: Arterial spin labeling (ASL) allows non-invasive quantification of myocardial blood flow (MBF). Double-ECG gating (DG) ASL is more robust to heart rate variability than single-ECG gating (SG), but its reproducibility requires further investigation. Moreover, the existence of multiple quantification models hinders its application.

Impact of Applying the Global Lung Initiative Criteria for Airway Obstruction in GOLD Defined COPD Cohorts: The BODE and CHAIN Experience.

Introduction: The Global Lung Function Initiative (GLI) has proposed new criteria for airflow limitation (AL) and recommends using these to interpret spirometry. The objective of this study was to explore the impact of the application of the AL GLI criteria in two well characterized GOLD-defined COPD cohorts.

Methods: COPD patients from the BODE (n=360) and the COPD History Assessment In SpaiN (CHAIN) cohorts (n=722) were enrolled and followed.

Enhancing radiomics and Deep Learning systems through the standardization of medical imaging workflows.

Recent advances in computer-aided diagnosis, treatment response and prognosis in radiomics and deep learning challenge radiology with requirements for world-wide methodological standards for labeling, preprocessing and image acquisition protocols. The adoption of these standards in the clinical workflows is a necessary step towards generalization and interoperability of radiomics and artificial intelligence algorithms in medical imaging.

A deep learning image analysis method for renal perfusion estimation in pseudo-continuous arterial spin labelling MRI.

Accurate segmentation of renal tissues is an essential step for renal perfusion estimation and postoperative assessment of the allograft. Images are usually manually labeled, which is tedious and prone to human error. We present an image analysis method for the automatic estimation of renal perfusion based on perfusion magnetic resonance imaging.

Sex-based differences in late gadolinium enhancement among patients with acute myocarditis.

Objective: The aims of our study were to investigate the sex differences in late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) using cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) in a single-centre cohort of consecutive patients with acute myocarditis (AM).

Method: This retrospective study performed CMR scans in 135 consecutive patients with AM that met the Lake Louise criteria. On CMR, LV ventricular strain functions were performed on conventional cine SSFP sequences.

Safety, feasibility, and hemodynamic response of regadenoson for stress perfusion CMR.

Owing to its pharmacodynamics and posology, the use of regadenoson for stress cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) has potential advantages over other vasodilators. We sought to evaluate the safety, hemodynamic response and diagnostic performance of regadenoson stress-CMR in routine clinical practice. All regadenoson stress-CMR examinations performed between May 2017 and July 2020 at our institution were retrospectively reviewed.

Exploring the EVolution in PrognOstic CapabiLity of MUltisequence Cardiac MagneTIc ResOnance in PatieNts Affected by Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy Based on Machine Learning Analysis: Design and Rationale of the EVOLUTION Study.

Purpose: Takotsubo cardiomyopathy (TTC) is a transient but severe acute myocardial dysfunction with a wide range of outcomes from favorable to life-threatening. The current risk stratification scores of TTC patients do not include cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) parameters. To date, it is still unknown whether and how clinical, trans-thoracic echocardiography (TTE), and CMR data can be integrated to improve risk stratification.

Magnetic resonance in patients with cardiovascular devices. SEC-GT CRMTC/SEC-Heart Rhythm Association/SERAM/SEICAT consensus document.

Magnetic resonance has become a first-line imaging modality in various clinical scenarios. The number of patients with different cardiovascular devices, including cardiac implantable electronic devices, has increased exponentially. Although there have been reports of risks associated with exposure to magnetic resonance in these patients, the clinical evidence now supports the safety of performing these studies under specific conditions and following recommendations to minimize possible risks.

Cardiometabolic characterization in metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease.

Background: To better understand the patient's heterogeneity in fatty liver disease (FLD), metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) was proposed by international experts as a new nomenclature for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). We aimed to evaluate the cardiovascular risk, assessed through coronary artery calcium (CAC) and epicardial adipose tissue (EAT), of patients without FLD and patients with FLD and its different subtypes.

Methods: Cross sectional study of 370 patients.

Assessment of Splenic Switch-Off With Arterial Spin Labeling in Adenosine Perfusion Cardiac MRI.

Background: In patients with suspected coronary artery disease (CAD), myocardial perfusion is assessed under rest and pharmacological stress to identify ischemia. Splenic switch-off, defined as the stress to rest splenic perfusion attenuation in response to adenosine, has been proposed as an indicator of stress adequacy. Its occurrence has been previously assessed in first-pass perfusion images, but the use of noncontrast techniques would be highly beneficial.

Multiparametric renal magnetic resonance imaging: A reproducibility study in renal allografts with stable function.

Monitoring renal allograft function after transplantation is key for the early detection of allograft impairment, which in turn can contribute to preventing the loss of the allograft. Multiparametric renal MRI (mpMRI) is a promising noninvasive technique to assess and characterize renal physiopathology; however, few studies have employed mpMRI in renal allografts with stable function (maintained function over a long time period). The purposes of the current study were to evaluate the reproducibility of mpMRI in transplant patients and to characterize normal values of the measured parameters, and to estimate the labeling efficiency of Pseudo-Continuous Arterial Spin Labeling (PCASL) in the infrarenal aorta using numerical simulations considering experimental measurements of aortic blood flow profiles.

Deep learning-based lesion subtyping and prediction of clinical outcomes in COVID-19 pneumonia using chest CT.

The main objective of this work is to develop and evaluate an artificial intelligence system based on deep learning capable of automatically identifying, quantifying, and characterizing COVID-19 pneumonia patterns in order to assess disease severity and predict clinical outcomes, and to compare the prediction performance with respect to human reader severity assessment and whole lung radiomics. We propose a deep learning based scheme to automatically segment the different lesion subtypes in nonenhanced CT scans. The automatic lesion quantification was used to predict clinical outcomes.

Transient elastography and serum markers of liver fibrosis associate with epicardial adipose tissue and coronary artery calcium in NAFLD.

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is associated with cardiovascular disease morbimortality. However, it is not clear if NAFLD staging may help identify early or subclinical markers of cardiovascular disease. We aimed to evaluate the association of liver stiffness and serum markers of liver fibrosis with epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) and coronary artery calcium (CAC) in an observational cross-sectional study of 49 NAFLD patients that were seen at Clínica Universidad de Navarra (Spain) between 2009 and 2019.

Reduction of motion effects in myocardial arterial spin labeling.

Purpose: To evaluate the accuracy and reproducibility of myocardial blood flow measurements obtained under different breathing strategies and motion correction techniques with arterial spin labeling.

Methods: A prospective cardiac arterial spin labeling study was performed in 12 volunteers at 3 Tesla. Perfusion images were acquired twice under breath-hold, synchronized-breathing, and free-breathing.

Psoas Muscle Density Evaluated by Chest CT and Long-Term Mortality in COPD Patients.

Rationale: Poor muscle quality in COPD patients relates to exercise intolerance and mortality. Muscle quality can be estimated on computed tomography (CT) by estimating psoas density (PsD). We tested the hypothesis that PsD is lower in COPD patients than in controls and relates to all-cause mortality.

Long-Term Prognostic Value of Coronary CTA in Orthotopic Heart Transplant Recipients.

This study aimed to evaluate the long-term prognostic value of coronary CTA (CCTA) in heart transplant recipients. The records of 114 patients who had undergone a heart transplant (mean age, 61.7 ± 11.