Publications by authors named "Luigi Castellano"
Background: The value of ultrasound (US) in assessing gastrointestinal diseases is well documented, but its demand in clinical practice is unknown. This survey evaluated the demand for bowel US in Italy.
Methods: Twelve sonographers of the Gastroenterology Section of the Italian Society of Ultrasound participated in a 1-month survey; they compiled a questionnaire assessing total number of patients referred for abdominal US and for gastrointestinal tract US, type of referring physician, indications and results of examinations.
Objectives: Abdominal ultrasound can assess the extent and localization of Crohn's disease, and an increased bowel wall thickness is the most common finding. Our aim was to correlate bowel wall thickness at ultrasound, with the risk of short-term surgical outcome in patients with Crohn's disease.
Materials And Methods: From 1997 to 2000 we performed ultrasound in 174 consecutive patients with Crohn's disease.
Purpose: To determine the prevalence of the coarse nodular ultrasonographic (US) pattern and its prognostic importance in terms of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) risk in hepatic cirrhosis caused by hepatitis B virus (HBV); HBV with hepatitis D virus (HDV), formerly known as hepatitis delta virus; hepatitis C virus (HCV); and alcoholic cirrhosis (ALC) or primary biliary disease (primary biliary cirrhosis [PBC]).
Materials And Methods: Four hundred two cases of hepatic cirrhosis caused by HBV (94 patients), HDV (100 patients), HCV (100 patients), ALC (63 patients), or PBC (45 patients) were retrospectively reviewed to identify the US pattern present at diagnosis and its possible association with the cause of the disease and subsequent development of HCC during a mean follow-up of 43.9 months +/- 29.