Publications by authors named "J. Costamagna"

Objective: Redo mitral valve surgery still represents a challenging and high-risk procedure in cardiac surgery. The incidence of cardiac structural injuries during re-sternotomy remains consistent and is reported to be an independent risk factor for hospital mortality. Minimally invasive cardiac surgery with retrograde femoral arterial perfusion and endo-aortic clamping avoids re-entry injuries and reduces the requirement for dissection of adhesions and the risk of damage to cardiac structures.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Achieving competence in endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) requires extensive training. Recognizing the potential of simulator-based education for safe and effective skill development, we aimed to assess whether initial training with the Boškoski-Costamagna ERCP Trainer (BCT) is beneficial compared with conventional training alone (i.e.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • The study looked at heart failure (HF) patients and how being a man or a woman affects their treatment and outcomes in the hospital.
  • They found that women were generally older and had different health issues compared to men, but both were treated similarly when leaving the hospital.
  • Overall, gender didn’t have a big impact on how well patients did after being treated, meaning women weren't at a disadvantage compared to men.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Destructive aortic prosthetic valve endocarditis has a high risk of complications that often require complex surgery, with homograft root replacement being the preferred method due to its biocompatibility.
  • A study of 61 patients who had this surgery since 2010 showed a 13% mortality rate within 30 days, with specific factors like baseline AST levels and additional mitral procedures impacting survival outcomes.
  • Survival rates were approximately 86% at 3 months and 70% at 3 years, indicating that while the procedure is generally successful, some patients may require reoperations, particularly if they had high AST levels or prolonged aortic cross-clamp time.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Early diagnosis of occult cancer in acute ischemic stroke (AIS) patients might lead to quicker treatment and better outcomes, prompting this study to compare mortality rates based on when cancers were diagnosed.
  • The research analyzed data from AIS patients treated between 2015 and 2020, finding that out of 3894 patients, 1.5% were diagnosed with new cancer within a year, with a nearly even split between those diagnosed during hospitalization and after discharge.
  • Results indicated no significant difference in long-term mortality between the two groups, suggesting that the timing of cancer diagnosis does not impact survival rates, highlighting the need for larger studies to verify these findings.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

. Severe tricuspid valve (TV) disease has a strong association with right ventricle dysfunction, heart failure and mortality. Nevertheless, surgical indications for isolated TV disease are still uncommon.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The orange wheat blossom midge, Sitodiplosis mosellana (Géhin) (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae), is a significant wheat pest in the Prairie Provinces of Canada and northern regions of the USA. Wheat phenology plays a critical role in wheat midge oviposition. We hypothesized that S.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Capsule endoscopy reading is time consuming, and readers are required to maintain attention so as not to miss significant findings. Deep convolutional neural networks can recognise relevant findings, possibly exceeding human performances and reducing the reading time of capsule endoscopy. Our primary aim was to assess the non-inferiority of artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted reading versus standard reading for potentially small bowel bleeding lesions (high P2, moderate P1; Saurin classification) at per-patient analysis.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Aim of this study was to compare redo MV surgery patients undergoing right mini-thoracotomy and EAC with redo MV patients undergoing surgery through other approaches. Redo MV patients from 7 European centers were analyzed. Primary endpoint was 30-day mortality; secondary endpoints were stroke, re-exploration, low cardiac output syndrome (LCOS), respiratory failure, and intensive care unit (ICU) and in-hospital length-of-stay.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • The study compares demographics, clinical characteristics, and outcomes of acute ischemic stroke (AIS) patients with active cancer (AC) to those without cancer using data from a registry spanning 2003 to 2021.
  • Among 6686 AIS patients, 365 had active cancer, and these patients were generally older and less likely to receive reperfusion therapies, showing a higher risk for death and cerebrovascular recurrence at 12 months.
  • The findings suggest that AIS patients with active cancer have a more challenging prognosis, indicating the potential benefit of antithrombotic medications at discharge to lower the risks associated with their condition.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background And Aims: Endoscopic treatment of recurrent/residual colonic lesions on scars is a challenging procedure. In this setting, endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) is considered the first choice, despite a significant rate of complications. Endoscopic full-thickness resection (eFTR) has been shown to be well-tolerated and effective for these lesions.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Inconsistent alterations in skeletal muscle histology have been reported in adolescents with cerebral palsy (CP) and whether alterations are present in young children and differ from older children is not yet known. This study aimed to define histological alterations in the medial gastrocnemius (MG) of ambulant CP (gross-motor classification system, GMFCS I-III) stratified in two age groups (preschool children, PS: 2-5 and school age children, SA: 6-9-yr old) compared with age-matched typically developing (TD) children. We hypothesized that alterations in muscle microscopic properties are already present in PS-CP and are GMFCS level specific.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Parasternal intercostal blocks (PSB) have been proposed for postoperative analgesia in patients undergoing median sternotomy. PSB can be achieved using two different approaches, the superficial parasternal intercostal plane block (SPIP) and deep parasternal intercostal plane block (DPIP) respectively.

Methods: We designed the present prospective, observational cohort study to compare the analgesic efficacy of the two approaches.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background And Aims: Pancreas divisum (PD) is a congenital variant of the pancreatic ductal system and a potential cause of acute recurrent pancreatitis (ARP). Endoscopic minor papilla sphincterotomy (MiES) is the most common procedure performed in the management of PD-related ARP. The aim of this study is to perform a meta-analysis estimating the efficacy and the safety of MiES in the management of patients with PD-related ARP.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The application of gaseous signaling molecules like NO, HS or CO to overcome the multidrug resistance in cancer treatment has proven to be a viable therapeutic strategy. The development of CO-releasing molecules (CORMs) in a controlled manner and in targeted tissues remains a challenge in medicinal chemistry. In this paper, we describe the design, synthesis and chemical and enzymatic stability of a novel non-metal CORM () able to release intracellularly CO and, simultaneously, facilitate fluorescent degradation of products under the action of esterase.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background And Objectives: IV thrombolysis (IVT) for suspected ischemic stroke in patients with intracranial neoplasms is off-label. However, data on risks of intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) are scarce.

Methods: In a multicenter registry-based analysis within the European Thrombolysis in Ischemic Stroke Patients (TRISP) collaboration, we assessed frequencies of symptomatic and fatal ICH after IVT for suspected ischemic stroke in patients with intracranial tumors by descriptive statistics and analyzed associations with clinical and imaging characteristics by binary logistic regression.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • The first single-use duodenoscope was approved for use in the US in December 2019, and doctors needed more information on how well it worked in different situations.
  • A study involved 61 doctors from 22 hospitals in 11 countries who performed a procedure called ERCP on adult patients, checking how many were successful and if there were any problems.
  • Out of 551 patients treated, most (96%) had successful procedures using the single-use duodenoscope, with doctors expressing high satisfaction with its performance, despite some patients experiencing complications.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background And Aims: Fluoroscopy-free endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography for common bile duct stone (CBDS) clearance is usually offered only to pregnant patients. We initiated a multicenter, randomized controlled trial comparing clearance of non-complex CBDSs using fluoroscopy-free direct solitary cholangioscopy (DSC) to standard endoscopic retrograde cholangiography (ERC) to evaluate the wider applicability of the DSC-based approach. Here we report the initial results of stone clearance and safety in roll-in cases for the randomized controlled trial.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background & Aims: For patients with achalasia experiencing persistent or recurrent symptoms after laparoscopic Heller myotomy (LHM), pneumatic dilation (PD) is the most frequently used treatment. Per-oral endoscopic myotomy (POEM) is increasingly being investigated as rescue therapy. This study aimed to determine the efficacy of POEM vs PD for patients with persistent or recurrent symptoms after LHM.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Cerebrovascular diseases represent a leading cause of disability, morbidity, and death worldwide. In the last decade, the advances in endovascular procedures have not only improved acute ischemic stroke care but also conceded a thorough analysis of patients' thrombi. Although early anatomopathological and immunohistochemical analyses have provided valuable insights into thrombus composition and its correlation with radiological features, response to reperfusion therapies, and stroke etiology, these results have been inconclusive so far.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background And Aim: Anal intraepithelial neoplasia (AIN) is the precursor of anal squamous carcinoma, frequently underappreciated by most gastroenterologists. Purpose of the study is to assess the diagnostic accuracy of narrow-band imaging (NBI) in predicting the histology of anal lesions, considering a new NBI classification.

Methods: This is a retrospective analysis of consecutive patients with suspected anal squamous intraepithelial lesions (SILs) and superficially invasive squamous cell carcinoma (SISCCA) who underwent anorectal-sigmoidoscopy.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Obesity is a chronic, relapsing disease representing a global epidemic. To date, bariatric surgery is the most effective treatment for morbid obesity in the long-term. Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) is one of the most performed bariatric interventions, with excellent long-term outcomes.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF