Risk Factors of Mortality in Hospitalized Patients With COVID-19 Applying a Machine Learning Algorithm.

Introduction: Risk stratification of patients with COVID-19 can be fundamental to support clinical decision-making and optimize resources. The objective of our study is to identify among the routinely tested clinical and analytical parameters those that would allow us to determine patients with the highest risk of dying from COVID-19.

Material And Methods: We carried out a retrospective cohort multicentric study by consecutively, including hospitalized patients with COVID-19 admitted in any of the 11 hospitals in the healthcare network of HM Hospitals-Spain.

Deep learning method for aortic root detection.

Background: Computed tomography angiography (CTA) is a preferred imaging technique for a wide range of vascular diseases. However, extensive manual analysis is required to detect and identify several anatomical landmarks for clinical application. This study demonstrates the feasibility of a fully automatic method for detecting the aortic root, which is a key anatomical landmark in this type of procedure.

Automatic detection of anatomical landmarks of the aorta in CTA images.

Computed tomography angiography (CTA) is one of the most common vascular imaging modalities. However, for clinical use, it still requires laborious manual analysis. This study demonstrates the feasibility of a fully automated technology for the accurate detection and identification of several anatomical reference points (landmarks), commonly used in intravascular imaging.

Automatic estimation of the aortic lumen geometry by ellipse tracking.

Purpose: The shape and size of the aortic lumen can be associated with several aortic diseases. Automated computer segmentation can provide a mechanism for extracting the main features of the aorta that may be used as a diagnostic aid for physicians. This article presents a new fully automated algorithm to extract the aorta geometry for either normal (with and without contrast) or abnormal computed tomography (CT) cases.

Automatic characterization of thoracic aortic aneurysms from CT images.

Accurate determination of the diameter is an important step for diagnosis and follow-up of aortic abnormalities such as aneurysms, caused by dilation of the vessel lumen. In this work we focus on the development of an automatic method for measuring the calibre of the thoracic aorta. The method is based on the application of principal component analysis on normal planes extracted from the aorta to establish the main axis of each section of the vessel.

Symptoms and reason for a medical visit in lung cancer patients.

Background: Patients with lung cancer usually present with symptoms at the time of diagnosis, but it is common that neither the doctor nor the patient initially associate them with the possibility of a malignant tumour.

Objectives: The aim of our study is to analyse the symptoms of patients with lung cancer and the relationship with the personal characteristics or the oncological disease.

Material And Methods: A retrospective study was conducted on all patients diagnosed with lung cancer in the Pontevedra Health Area over a period of three years.

Semi-automatic segmentation and detection of aorta dissection wall in MDCT angiography.

Aorta dissection is a serious vascular disease produced by a rupture of the tunica intima of the vessel wall that can be lethal to the patient. The related diagnosis is strongly based on images, where the multi-detector CT is the most generally used modality. We aim at developing a semi-automatic segmentation tool for aorta dissections, which will isolate the dissection (or flap) from the rest of the vascular structure.

A hybrid method based on level set and 3D region growing for segmentation of the thoracic aorta.

This study sought to develop a completely automatic method for image segmentation of the thoracic aorta. We used a total of 4682 images from 10 consecutive patients. The proposed method is based on the use of level set and region growing, automatically initialized using the Hough transform.

Impact of parental smoking on childhood asthma.

Objective: To evaluate the exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) of the childhood population in this community and its relationship with asthma symptoms.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted using the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) questionnaire on children and adolescents in this community. The symptoms "wheezing ever", "current asthma", "severe asthma", and "exercise-induced asthma" were defined by this questionnaire.

[Hemodynamic depression in carotid artery stent without angioplasty].

Introduction: Hemodynamic depression is a frequent complication related to carotid artery stenting with angioplasty. The aim of this study was to assess our results regarding hemodynamic depression, in patients who underwent carotid artery stenting without angioplasty.

Patients And Methods: Between October 2002 and April 2010, 261 carotid stenosis (in 242 patients) were treated with the use of self-expanding stents without angioplasty.

Quantification of Right and Left Ventricular Function in Cardiac MR Imaging: Comparison of Semiautomatic and Manual Segmentation Algorithms.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the performance of a semiautomatic segmentation method for the anatomical and functional assessment of both ventricles from cardiac cine magnetic resonance (MR) examinations, reducing user interaction to a "mouse-click". Fifty-two patients with cardiovascular diseases were examined using a 1.5-T MR imaging unit.

Exposure to paracetamol and asthma symptoms.

Background: Paracetamol is one of the factors that have been associated with the observed increase in asthma prevalence in the last few years. The influence of environmental or genetic factors in this disease may be different in some countries than in others. The purpose of this study was to analyse the relationship between the paracetamol consumption and asthma prevalence in our community.

Trends in adult asthma hospitalization: gender-age effect.

Background: Hospital admissions due to asthma are a reliable source of information on the morbidity of the disease which, after the increase observed in the last quarter of the last century, shows a declining trend in the last few years. The aim of this study was to look at hospital admission trends due to asthma in our community and analyze some of its associated factors.

Methods: Retrospective analysis of all hospital admissions involving adults aged 15 years and older with asthma as the primary or secondary diagnosis (if the first diagnosis was respiratory failure or respiratory infection) in Public Health Service hospitals in the Galician region of Spain between the years 1995-2009 (total 24,766 admissions).

Endovascular treatment of an acutely ruptured intracranial aneurysm in pregnancy: report of eight cases.

Treatment of acutely ruptured intracranial aneurysms in pregnancy represents a clinical challenge requiring a meticulously selected strategy. We report eight cases of ruptured cerebral aneurysms in eight pregnant patients treated safely and effectively via an endovascular approach.

Long-term follow-up of Symphony nitinol stents in iliac arteriosclerosis obliterans.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the long-term results of iliac artery stent placement with use of the symphony stent for the treatment of patients with intermittent claudication. In a prospective study, 31 cases of iliac occlusive arterial disease were treated in 26 patients. Stenoses (n = 27) were treated after failed angioplasty, and occlusions (n = 4) were treated with primary stent placement.

Bilateral hypogastric artery occlusion in endovascular repair of abdominal aortic aneurysms and its clinical significance.

Purpose: Endovascular treatment of aortoiliac aneurysms near or involving the hypogastric artery (HGA) requires HGA occlusion before endografting to avoid retrograde filling of the aneurysm. The purpose of this study is to evaluate clinical outcomes of bilateral HGA occlusion and determine if benefits gained by endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) outweigh the morbidity associated with the procedure.

Materials And Methods: Between 1999 and 2004, 128 patients with abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) were treated with bifurcated endograft placement.

Free-response receiver operating characteristic evaluation of lossy JPEG2000 and object-based set partitioning in hierarchical trees compression of digitized mammograms.

Purpose: To assess the effects of two irreversible wavelet-based compression algorithms--Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG) 2000 and object-based set partitioning in hierarchical trees (SPIHT)--on the detection of clusters of microcalcifications and masses on digitized mammograms.

Materials And Methods: The use of the images in this retrospective image-collection study was approved by the institutional review board, and patient informed consent was not required. One hundred twelve mammographic images (28 with one or two clusters of microcalcifications, 19 with one mass, 17 with both abnormal findings, and 48 with normal findings) obtained in 60 women who ranged in age from 25 to 79 years were digitized and compressed at 40:1 and 80:1 by using the JPEG2000 and object-based SPIHT methods.

Long-term follow-up of iliac wallstents.

We evaluated the long-term results of the iliac artery stent placement for the treatment of patients with intermittent claudication. From November 1988 to December 1998, 303 legs were treated with metal stents in 259 patients with iliac occlusive arterial disease in a follow-up study approved by the institutional review board. Stenoses (n = 162) were treated after failed angioplasty and occlusions (n = 141) were treated with primary stent placement.