Publications by authors named "Nicola Maria Lucarelli"

Purpose: The aim of the study was to evaluate the concordance between computed tomography (CT)/magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and histological examination in the evaluation of lymph nodal involvement (N+) and extranodal extension (ENE+) in patients with squamous cell cancer of the head-neck district (HNSCC). The second end point was to evaluate which of the imaging features was more sensitive and specific in establishing N+ and ENE+, and comparing the diagnostic accuracy between CT and MRI.

Material And Methods: 58 patients with HNSCC undergoing surgical treatment with lymph node dissection at the Policlinico of Bari were enrolled in this retrospective study.

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: The aim of this paper is to describe our experience in the embolization of hypervascular giant thoracic tumors before surgical excision. : A single-center retrospective review of five trans-arterial preoperative embolization procedures executed between October 2020 and July 2024. Patients' demographics, anatomical aspects, feasibility, technique, and outcomes were reviewed.

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Carotid body tumors (CBTs) are rare, hypervascular neuroendocrine neoplasms that can lead to significant complications during surgical resection due to the high risk of bleeding. We present the case of a 64-year-old male with a palpable neck mass on the left side, diagnosed as a CBT through imaging studies. Given the tumor's increasing size and rich vascularization, percutaneous preoperative embolization with Onyx under ultrasound and angiographic guide, was performed to minimize intraoperative complications.

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Cavernous malformations are rare vascular anomalies of the central nervous system, occurring in the spinal cord in just 5% of cases. Despite being documented in the literature, intramedullary cavernous malformations are exceedingly rare and often challenging to distinguish from other intramedullary lesions. We report a case of a 42-year-old patient with back pain, right-sided dysesthesias, and impaired proprioception in the distal limbs for approximately 3 months.

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Objective: The prognosis of colorectal cancer has continuously improved in recent years thanks to continuous progress in both the therapeutic and diagnostic fields. The specific objective of this study is to contribute to the diagnostic field through the evaluation of the correlation between superior hemorrhoidal vein (SHV) ectasia detected on computed tomography (CT) and Tumor (T), Node (N), and distant metastasis (M) examination and mesorectal fascia (MRF) invasion in the preoperative staging of rectal cancer.

Methods: Between January 2018 and April 2022, 46 patients with histopathological diagnosis of rectal cancer were retrospectively enrolled, and the diameter of the SHV was evaluated by CT examination.

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: Acute liver injury occurs most frequently due to trauma, but it can also occur because of sepsis or drug-induced injury. This review aims to analyze artificial intelligence (AI)'s ability to detect and quantify liver injured areas in adults and pediatric patients. : A literature analysis was performed on the PubMed Dataset.

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Amyloidosis is a rare infiltrative condition resulting from the extracellular accumulation of amyloid fibrils at the cardiac level. It can be an acquired condition or due to genetic mutations. With the progression of imaging technologies, a non-invasive diagnosis was proposed.

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Different insights into the connection between kidney [F]fluorodesoxyglucose ([F]FDG) uptake at positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) and renal function have been proposed in the past. The aim of this study was therefore to assess the presence of a correlation between these two parameters. Kidney uptakes were assessed and compared to the creatinine (Cr) values and estimated glomerular filtration rate (EGFR) among different classes of renal functional impairment or kidney status.

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Prostate cancer is one of the most common tumors among the male population. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), standardized by the PI-RADS version 2.1 scoring system, has a fundamental role in detecting prostate cancer and evaluating its aggressiveness.

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Purpose: The study focuses on the evaluation of the new Node Reporting and Data System 1.0 (Node-rads) scoring accuracy in the assessment of metastatic lymph nodes (LN) in patients with colon carcinoma.

Material And Methods: From April 2021 to May 2022, retrospective chart reviews were performed on 67 preoperative CT (Computed Tomography) of patients undergoing excisional surgery for colon cancer at the Polyclinic of Bari, Italy.

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Background: The aim of this multicenter study was to evaluate the prevalence and features of dual left anterior descending artery (LAD) subtypes using coronary CT angiography (CCTA).

Methods: A retrospective multicenter analysis of 2083 CCTA from December 2020 to November 2022 was conducted to search for the presence and morphological features of dual LAD. The two classifications used were the updated classification of Spindola-Franco and the Jariwala classification.

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COVID-19 has attracted worldwide attention ever since the first case was identified in Wuhan (China) in December 2019 and was classified, at a later time, as a public health emergency of international concern in January 2020 and as a pandemic in March 2020. The interstitial pneumonia caused by COVID-19 often requires mechanical ventilation, which can lead to pulmonary barotrauma. We assessed the relationship between pneumonia severity and the development of barotrauma in COVID-19-positive patients mechanically ventilated in an intensive care unit; we therefore analyzed the prevalence of iatrogenic barotrauma and its trends over time during the pandemic in COVID-19-positive patients undergoing mechanical ventilation compared to COVID-19-negative patients, making a distinction between different types of ventilation (invasive mechanical ventilation vs.

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Purpose: To assess the role of Uterine Artery Embolization (UAE) to treat cesarean scar pregnancy (CSP) using different embolic materials, focusing on its clinical and technical success rates; the association of UAE with methotrexate (MTX) and/or dilatation & curettage (D&C) was evaluated also.

Materials And Methods: A retrospective analysis 33 patients (mean age 35 years) affected by CSP and treated with UAE from March 2012 to 2020 was performed. Dynamic levels of serum β-HCG have been collected until they decreased to normal values after procedures.

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We present a rare case of pelvic splenosis, in a 46-year-old man, with a previous history of partial splenectomy, complaining of nonspecific pain in the lower abdominal quadrants. Splenosis is a benign acquired condition, defined as a heterotopic autotransplantation of splenic tissue in other compartments of the body, caused by rupture of the splenic capsule following trauma or splenectomy. Splenosis is often asymptomatic and incidentally found and does not require treatment.

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''TransIent Perivascular Inflammation of the Carotid artery (TIPIC) syndrome" is an unusual cause of unilateral neck pain, due to a nonspecific inflammation of the carotid artery. This entity has been for long known as "carotidynia" and described as a syndrome rather than a distinct pathologic entity. Recently, the presence of structural abnormalities of the carotid artery wall has been demonstrated, leading to the introduction of radiological criteria which, in the appropriate clinical context, allow to diagnose TIPIC syndrome.

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The literature describes a few case reports of bilateral accessory popliteus muscle, a rare variant of the popliteus muscle. We report a case of a 24-year-old male patient with acute pain and inability to flex the left knee, without a traumatic event. Additionally, the patient reported mild sensitive symptoms in the left calf region and no pain in the right knee.

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Purpose: To assess the percentage of computed tomography pulmonary angiography (CTPA) procedures that could have been avoided by methodical application of the Revised Geneva Score (RGS) coupled with age-adjusted D-dimer cut-offs rather than only clinical judgment in Emergency Department patients with suspected pulmonary embolism (PE).

Material And Methods: Between November 2019 and May 2020, 437 patients with suspected PE based on symptoms and D-dimer test were included in this study. All patients underwent to CTPA.

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Purpose: This study is aimed at assessing the prevalence of pulmonary artery filling defects (PAFDs) consistent with pulmonary artery embolism (PAE) in patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection and at investigating possible radiological or clinical predictors.

Materials And Methods: Computed Tomography Pulmonary Angiographies (CTPAs) from 43 consecutive patients with a confirmed COVID-19 infection were retrospectively reviewed, taking into consideration the revised Geneva score and the D-dimer value for each patient. Filling defects within the pulmonary arteries were recorded along with pleural and parenchymal findings such as ground glass opacities, consolidation, crazy paving, linear consolidation, and pleural effusion.

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Aims: Aim of this study is to describe a multicenter experience on percutaneous transhepatic biliary drainage (PTBD) performed with ultrasound-guidance to access the biliary tree, focusing on safety, effectiveness and radiation dose exposure; differences between right- and left-sided approaches have been also evaluated.

Methods: This is a multicenter prospective single-arm observational study conducted on patients affected by biliary tree stenosis/occlusion with jaundice and endoscopically inaccessible. The procedures have been performed puncturing the biliary system under US guidance and crossing the stenosis/occlusion under fluoroscopy.

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Background: Endovascular coiling is generally considered as an effective treatment option for ruptured intracranial aneurysms. Increasing operator experience and quality of tools determined an improvement of endovascular cerebral aneurysms' treatment. However, procedure-related complications still occur.

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Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of a virtual CT-guided navigation system (Sirio-MASMEC Biomed) in performing lung biopsies, with greater attention to lesions smaller than 1 cm, compared to the traditional procedure.

Methods: This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of our Institute. Two hundred patients were prospectively selected.

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Background: The therapeutic approach of gastric cancer strictly depends on TNM staging mainly provided by CT and PET/CT. However, the lymph node size criterion as detected by MDCT causes a poor differential diagnosis between reactive and metastatic enlarged lymph nodes with low specificity values. Our study aims to compare 320-row CT Net enhancement and fluorine-18 fluoro-2-deoxy-d-glucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (F-FDG PET/CT) SUV for N staging of gastric cancer.

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Background: Multi-detector computed tomography (MDCT) represents the gold standard in patients with acute abdomen syndrome and suspected bowel ischemia. It provides a correct diagnosis and contributes to appropriate treatment planning. This study aims to evaluate the role of 3D Tissue Transition Projection (TTP) transparent wall CT reconstruction for detecting the degree of bowel dilatation and to correlate this finding with the aetiology and prognosis in patients affected by mesenteric infarction.

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