Publications by authors named "Silvia Bertolo"

Congenital pulmonary airway malformations (CPAMs) represent a well-known cluster of rare lung malformations affecting 1 in 2500 live births. The natural history of many CPAMs is to increase their size in the second trimester, reach a plateau, and, in about 50% of cases, regress and to become barely detectable during the third trimester. Little is known about cases of affected neonates born prematurely: only six cases are described in the literature, recording different conduct and outcomes.

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Respiratory tract exacerbations play a crucial role in progressive lung damage of people with cystic fibrosis, representing a major determinant in the loss of functional lung tissue, quality of life and patient survival. Detection and monitoring of respiratory tract exacerbations are challenging for clinicians, since under- and over-treatment convey several risks for the patient. Although various diagnostic and monitoring tools are available, their implementation is hampered by the current definition of respiratory tract exacerbation, which lacks objective "cut-offs" for clinical and lung function parameters.

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The calcification of ligamentum arteriosum occurs after the normal closure of the ductus arteriosus. Foreign body ingestion is a common event in the pediatric age, and it is frequently addressed in the Emergency Room. We report a case of foreign body in a patient with unknown calcification of the ligamentum arteriosum.

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Purpose: To test respiratory-triggered ultrashort echo-time (UTE) Spiral VIBE-MRI sequence in systemic sclerosis-interstitial lung disease assessment compared with computed tomography (CT).

Material And Methods: Fifty four SSc patients underwent chest CT and UTE (1.5 T).

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Background: Practice guidelines suggest the use of implantable cardioverter-defibrillators in patients with left ventricular ejection fractions (LVEF) ≤ 35% despite 3 to 6 months of guideline-directed medical therapy (GDMT). It remains unclear whether this strategy is appropriate for patients with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), who can experience reverse ventricular remodeling for up to 24 months after the initiation of GDMT. The aim of this study was to assess the longitudinal dynamic relationship between LVEF ≤ 35% and arrhythmic risk in patients with recent-onset nonischemic DCM on GDMT.

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Objective: Imaging represents an important noninvasive means to assess cystic fibrosis (CF) lung disease, which remains the main cause of morbidity and mortality in CF patients. While the development of new imaging techniques has revolutionised clinical practice, advances have posed diagnostic and monitoring challenges. The authors aim to summarise these challenges and make evidence-based recommendations regarding imaging assessment for both clinicians and radiologists.

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: In the early stages, lung involvement in cystic fibrosis (CF) can be silent, with disease progression occurring in the absence of clinical symptoms. Irreversible airway damage is present in the early stages of disease; however, reliable biomarkers of early damage due to inflammation and infection that are universally applicable in day-to-day patient management have yet to be identified.: At present, the main methods of detecting and monitoring early lung disease in CF are the lung clearance index (LCI), computed tomography (CT), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

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Article Synopsis
  • * Imaging is necessary for patients with worsening respiratory symptoms, while those with mild symptoms and negative tests may not require it.
  • * CT patterns specific to COVID-19, like ground-glass opacities, assist clinicians, and lung ultrasounds are emerging as useful diagnostic tools alongside traditional chest X-rays.
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The aim was to investigate whether diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DWI) detects and monitors inflammatory and lung function changes during respiratory tract exacerbations (RTE) treatment in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF).29 patients with RTE underwent DWI pre- and post-antibiotic treatment. A control group of 27 stable patients, matched for age and sex, underwent DWI with the same time gap as those undergoing RTE treatment.

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Objectives: To explore the feasibility of diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) to assess inflammatory lung changes in patients with Cystic Fibrosis (CF) METHODS: CF patients referred for their annual check-up had spirometry, chest-CT and MRI on the same day. MRI was performed in a 1.5 T scanner with BLADE and EPI-DWI sequences (b = 0-600 s/mm).

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Objectives: To date, PROPELLER MRI, a breathing-motion-insensitive technique, has not been assessed for cystic fibrosis (CF) lung disease. We compared this technique to CT for assessing CF lung disease in children and adults.

Methods: Thirty-eight stable CF patients (median 21 years, range 6-51 years, 22 female) underwent MRI and CT on the same day.

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