Publications by authors named "Miraglia R"

Article Synopsis
  • * It aims to provide interventional radiologists with best practice guidelines for performing TIPS, including patient selection, procedural management, and follow-up care, particularly in pediatric cases.
  • * A group of European clinicians reviewed recent literature and reached a consensus to develop updated recommendations, demonstrating TIPS's proven effectiveness in treating portal hypertension and outlining safe operational practices.
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Background And Aims: Post-surgical biliary leaks (PSBL) are one of the most prevalent and significant adverse events emerging after liver or biliary tract surgeries. Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) alone or combined with another approach (Rendez Vous) as treatment of PSBL obtains optimal outcomes due to the possibility of modifying the resistances in the biliary tree.

Methods: A retrospective double-center study was conducted in two tertiary centers.

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In this work an innovative approach was developed to address a significant challenge in the field of radiation dosimetry: the accurate measurement of spatial dose distributions using Fricke gel dosimeters. Hydrogels are widely used in radiation dosimetry due to their ability to simulate the tissue-equivalent properties of human tissue, making them ideal for measuring and mapping radiation dose distributions. Among the various gel dosimeters, Fricke gels exploit the radiation-induced oxidation of ferrous ions to ferric ions and are particularly notable due to their sensitivity.

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Purpose: To evaluate the role of radiomics in preoperative outcome prediction in cirrhotic patients who underwent transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) using "controlled expansion covered stents".

Materials And Methods: This retrospective institutional review board-approved study included cirrhotic patients undergoing TIPS with controlled expansion covered stent placement. From preoperative CT images, the whole liver was segmented into Volumes of Interest (VOIs) at the unenhanced and portal venous phase.

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Transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) emerges as a key treatment for portal hypertension (PH) complications. While international guidelines provide clear indications for its use in cirrhosis, empirical knowledge is notably scarcer in non-cirrhotic PH, particularly in nonmalignant noncirrhotic portal vein thrombosis (NNPVT) and in patients with portosinusoidal vascular disorder (PSVD). Patients afflicted by these rare diseases exhibit distinct clinical profiles compared to their cirrhotic counterparts, often characterized by a younger age, predominantly preserved hepatic functionality even in cases of severe PH, and a higher propensity for extensive splanchnic thrombosis, which intricately complicates TIPS placement, posing unique challenges for its creation.

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This article introduces an open-source tool to experimentally compare blood residence time in biomedical devices using an image-based method. The experimental setup and the postprocessing workflow are comprehensively elucidated in a detailed report that conducts a thorough comparison of the residence times of a blood analog within three distinct blood oxygenator prototypes. To enable widespread accessibility and ease of use, the user-friendly MATLAB App developed for the analysis is available on the Mathworks repository: https://www.

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Keeping up with the shift towards personalized neuroscience essentially requires the derivation of meaningful insights from individual brain signal recordings by analyzing the descriptive indexes of physio-pathological states through statistical methods that prioritize subject-specific differences under varying experimental conditions. Within this framework, the current study presents a methodology for assessing the value of the single-subject fingerprints of brain functional connectivity, assessed both by standard pairwise and novel high-order measures. Functional connectivity networks, which investigate the inter-relationships between pairs of brain regions, have long been a valuable tool for modeling the brain as a complex system.

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Budd-Chiari syndrome (BCS) is a rare hepatic vascular disorder defined by the presence of partial or complete impairment of hepatic venous drainage in the absence of right heart failure or constrictive pericarditis. Several conditions can lead to BCS, from hypercoagulable states to malignancies. Primary BCS is the most common subtype, and usually bartends hypercoagulability states, while secondary BCS involves tumor invasion or extrinsic compression.

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Article Synopsis
  • Liver transplantation (LT) offers the best survival rates for patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), with guidelines (Milan criteria) established to select candidates and reduce recurrence risk.
  • Despite careful selection, HCC can recur in up to 20% of patients post-transplant, posing a significant risk due to its poor prognosis.
  • This paper aims to review and discuss the imaging characteristics of recurrent HCC after LT, helping radiologists recognize and appropriately manage this complication.
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Background: To explore the feasibility and image quality of ultra-low volume contrast-saline mixture injection with dual-flow injection technique in a computed tomography angiography (CTA) protocol in patients scheduled for transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI).

Methods: Forty (40) TAVI candidates underwent investigation with CTA using a third-generation dual-source CT scanner between September and November 2020. Different volumes of a monophasic contrast-saline mixture at an 80:20 ratio were administered at an infusion rate of 3 mL/s in 20 patients (group A).

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Purpose: To describe the social interactions and institutional structures that influence the consistent practice of 24-hour rooming-in of new mothers and newborns in the hospital setting.

Study Design And Method: Using an institutional ethnographic design, data were gathered via semistructured interviews and on-unit observations. Data were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed for themes.

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Purpose: To retrospectively compare outcomes of TIPS performed by puncturing left portal vein (LPV) vs right portal vein (RPV) to access the portal system.

Materials And Methods: One hundred ninety-three consecutive patients underwent TIPS with controlled expansion covered stent by using the LPV (37 patients) or the RPV (156 patients). Patients were followed until the last clinical evaluation, liver transplantation, or death.

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Objectives: To assess the outcomes of transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) creation using PTFE-covered stents in liver transplant (LT) recipients and to analyze the technical result of TIPS creation in split grafts (SG) compared with whole liver grafts (WG).

Methods And Materials: Single-center, retrospective study, analyzing LT patients who underwent TIPS using PTFE-covered stents. Clinical and technical variables were analyzed.

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A 61-year-old woman was admitted to our institution to characterize an incidentally found mass in the porta hepatis. An episode of pulmonary embolism (18 months ago) and a pulmonary abscess (15 months ago) were reported. The patient had no history of known liver disease, previous cancer diagnosis, or trauma.

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Transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) is an effective therapy for portal hypertension complications and can successfully treat variceal bleeding and refractory ascites. Although TIPS is relatively safe, procedural- or shunt-related morbidity can reach 20%, and procedural complications have a fatality rate of 2%. Delayed recognition and treatment of TIPS complications can lead to life-threatening clinical scenarios.

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Background And Aims: Implantation of a transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) improves survival in patients with cirrhosis with refractory ascites and portal hypertensive bleeding. However, the indication for TIPS in older adult patients (greater than or equal to 70 years) is debated, and a specific prediction model developed in this particular setting is lacking. The aim of this study was to develop and validate a multivariable model for an accurate prediction of mortality in older adults.

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A 61-year-old woman was admitted to our institution to characterize an incidentally found mass in the porta hepatis. An episode of pulmonary embolism (18 months ago) and a pulmonary abscess (15 months ago) were reported. The patient had no history of known liver disease, previous cancer diagnosis, or trauma.

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Purpose: Hepatic encephalopathy (HE) is a potential complication of cirrhosis. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) may demonstrate hyperintense T1 signal in the globi pallidi. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the performance of MRI-based radiomic features for diagnosing and grading chronic HE in adult patients affected by cirrhosis.

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Background: Cerebral small vessels disease (cSVD) is an age-related disorder and risk factor for stroke and cognitive/motor impairments. Neurological complications (NCs) are among the causes of adverse outcomes in older liver transplant recipients. This study sought to determine whether cSVD predicts acute NCs in over 65-year-old liver transplant patients.

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Purpose: To support the wellbeing of both patients and their families, our aim was to investigate the satisfaction of non-COVID in- and out-patients regarding safety measures implemented at our radiology unit of a transplant institute against COVID infection.

Materials And Methods: Over a five-month period, adult patients' feedback was obtained by a questionnaire on the fear of contracting COVID-19 during a radiology examination, the perceived delay in treatment, and the following safety measures implemented: modified schedules to limit the number of patients in the waiting area and to maximize social distancing; assistance by staff when visitors were not admitted; cleaning and disinfection of machines; mask wearing and hand hygiene of staff; and staff advice on hand hygiene and infection control precautions.

Results: Over a five-month period, our preliminary results (387 patients) showed general patient satisfaction (99.

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