Update on Rheumatic Diseases in Clinical Practice: Recent Concepts and Developments.

Diagnostic imaging is essential in the diagnostic process of rheumatic diseases. Given the heterogeneity of this group of diseases and the tremendous impact of novel therapeutic options, guidelines and recommendations regarding the optimal choice of the most appropriate technique/s are continuously revised and radiologists should always be up-to-date. Last, because of the continuous technological innovations, we will assist to the progressive application of advanced techniques and tools in rheumatology.

Neonatal cerebral ultrasound: anatomical variants and age-related diseases.

Cerebral ultrasound is a non-invasive imaging technique widely used for the assessment of brain anatomy and diseases in neonates and infants. Indeed, it allows a precise characterization of common variants such as cavum septum pellucidum or diseases like intraventricular hemorrhage. The aim of this pictorial review is to provide a comprehensive overview of the main ultrasound features of the most common cerebral anatomical variants and disorders detectable by cerebral ultrasound using an age-related approach which could support non-subspecialized radiologists.

Indeterminate pulmonary nodules in non-rhabdomyosarcoma soft tissue sarcoma: A study of the European paediatric Soft Tissue Sarcoma Study Group.

Background: The aim of this study was to assess the clinical impact of indeterminate pulmonary nodules (no more than four pulmonary nodules of less than 5 mm or one nodule measuring between 5 and less than 10 mm by computed tomography [CT]) in children and adolescents with adult-type non-rhabdomyosarcoma soft tissue sarcoma (NRSTS) at diagnosis.

Methods: Patients with NRSTS treated in 11 centers as part of the European paediatric Soft Tissue Sarcoma Study Group (EpSSG) were retrospectively assessed. Local radiologists, blinded to clinical information except for patients' age and tumor histotype, reviewed the chest CT at diagnosis and filled out a case report form.

Corrigendum: Diagnostic and therapeutic management of the thoracic outlet syndrome. Review of the literature and report of an Italian experience.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fcvm.2022.

Radiomics of spinal muscles: toward a radiological biomarker for allograft rejection in lung transplant.

Purpose: To assess the role of muscle composition and radiomics in predicting allograft rejection in lung transplant.

Material And Methods: The last available HRCT before surgery of lung transplant candidates referring to our tertiary center from January 2010 to February 2020 was retrospectively examined. Only scans with B30 kernel reconstructions and 1 mm slice thickness were included.

Muscle magnetic resonance characterization of STIM1 tubular aggregate myopathy using unsupervised learning.

Purpose: Congenital myopathies are a heterogeneous group of diseases affecting the skeletal muscles and characterized by high clinical, genetic, and histological variability. Magnetic Resonance (MR) is a valuable tool for the assessment of involved muscles (i.e.

Tumor cellularity beyond the visible in soft tissue sarcomas: Results of an ADC-based, single center, and preliminary radiomics study.

Purpose: Soft tissue sarcomas represent approximately 1% of all malignancies, and diagnostic radiology plays a significant role in the overall management of this rare group of tumors. Recently, quantitative imaging and, in particular, radiomics demonstrated to provide significant novel information, for instance, in terms of prognosis and grading. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prognostic role of radiomic variables extracted from apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) maps collected at diagnosis in patients with soft tissue sarcomas in terms of overall survival and metastatic spread as well as to assess the relationship between radiomics and the tumor grade.

Radiomic features as biomarkers of soft tissue paediatric sarcomas: preliminary results of a PET/MR study.

Background: Pediatric soft tissue sarcomas are rare tumors with rhabdomyosarcoma being the most frequent histotype. Diagnostic imaging plays a significant role in the evaluation of this type of tumors. Thus, aim of this study was to assess the prognostic and diagnostic value of radiomic features extracted from axial T2w images of the primary lesion in children with soft tissue sarcomas examined by PET/MR for staging.

Coronary Artery Disease and Gallbladder Inflammatory Pseudopolyps.

Axial MR image demonstrating multiple small gallbladder polypoid lesions characterized by contrast enhancement in a 78-year-old male hospitalized for acute chest pain due to coronary artery disease who showed fever and emesis during hospitalization and had signs of acute acalculous cholecystitis at computed tomography. Given the overall clinical conditions and the MR features, the inflammatory origin of the polyps was considered. The patient underwent cholecystectomy and the histological diagnosis of gallbladder inflammatory pseudopolyps was confirmed.

Reduced muscle mass as predictor of intensive care unit hospitalization in COVID-19 patients.

Purpose: To evaluate if reduced muscle mass, assessed with Computed Tomography (CT), is a predictor of intensive care unit (ICU) hospitalization in COVID-19 patients.

Methods: In this Institution Review Board approved study, we retrospectively evaluated COVID-19 patients treated in our tertiary center from March to November 2020 who underwent an unenhanced chest CT scan within three weeks from hospitalization.We recorded the mean Hounsfield Unit (Hu) value of the right paravertebral muscle at the level of the 12th thoracic vertebra, the hospitalization unit (ICU and COVID-19 wards), clinical symptoms, Barthel Index, and laboratory findings.

Subclinical enthesopathy of the midfoot: could it be a peculiar feature in early psoriatic arthritis?

Objectives: Bone scintigraphy (BS) is a sensitive tool that provides functional imaging to evaluate bone abnormalities in psoriatic arthritis (PsA). Our aims were to analyse the prevalence of increased BS uptake in the midfoot of PsA patients and to evaluate whether BS midfoot abnormalities could herald ultrasonography (US) and x-ray lesions in the same site.

Methods: Out of 88 consecutive BS performed in patients with early musculoskeletal symptoms (January-December 2010) and retrospectively analysed, 32 exams were carried out on subjects 3 months after being diagnosed with PsA.

T2-weighted, apparent diffusion coefficient and F-FDG PET histogram analysis of rectal cancer after preoperative chemoradiotherapy.

Background: The aim of our study was to investigate the correlation among T2-weighted (T2w) images, apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) maps, F-fluorodeoxyglucose (F-FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) images, histogram analysis and the pathological response in locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC) after preoperative chemoradiotherapy (pCRT).

Methods: Patients with LARC were prospectively enrolled between February 2015 and August 2018 and underwent PET/magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). MRI included T2w and diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI)-sequences.

Volumetric histograms-based analysis of apparent diffusion coefficients and standard uptake values for the assessment of pediatric sarcoma at staging: preliminary results of a PET/MRI study.

Purpose: To assess the relationship between apparent diffusion coefficients (ADC) and standard uptake values (SUV) of pediatric sarcomas at staging by using volumetric histograms analyses.

Methods: Children with histologically proven sarcoma, referring to our tertiary center for a whole-body F-FDG PET/MRI for staging and including diffusion weighted imaging in the MRI protocol were investigated. Firstly, turbo inversion recovery magnitude (TIRM) and PET images were resliced and resampled according to the ADC maps.

Sternal transplant using cadaveric allograft: quantitative and qualitative assessment of bone healing by computed tomography.

Background: Sternal transplant using cadaveric allograft (STCA) is a complex and rarely performed surgical procedure usually applied for massive bone tissue loss, sternotomy complications, or neoplastic resections. Although radiological imaging and especially computed tomography (CT) is routinely applied for the post-surgical assessment, up to now, a standardized approach evaluating the outcome of STCAs is missing. Therefore, aim of this study was to qualitatively and quantitatively evaluate, by CT, bone healing after STCA.

[18F]FDG PET/MRI in rectal cancer.

We conducted a systematic literature review on the use of [18F]FDG PET/MRI for staging/restaging rectal cancer patients with PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science, based on the PRISMA criteria. Three authors screened all titles and abstracts and examined the full texts of all the identified relevant articles. Studies containing aggregated or duplicated data, review articles, case reports, editorials, and letters were excluded.

[F]FDG PET/MRI versus contrast-enhanced MRI in detecting regional HNSCC metastases.

Objective: To compare the accuracy of contrast-enhanced MRI using established dimensional and morphological criteria versus integrated [F]FDG PET/MRI in identifying regional lymph node metastases in patients with newly diagnosed head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). For this purpose, we compare MRI and PET/MRI using the histopathological findings in dissected lymph nodes as the gold standard.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 26 patients with histologically proven HNSCC who underwent gadolinium-enhanced [F]FDG PET/MRI as part of their staging.

Pediatric Rhabdomyosarcomas: Three-Dimensional Radiological Assessments after Induction Chemotherapy Predict Survival Better than One-Dimensional and Two-Dimensional Measurements.

Radiological response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy is currently used to assess the efficacy of treatment in pediatric patients with rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS), but the association between early tumor response on imaging and survival is still controversial. The aim of this study was to investigate the prognostic value of assessing radiological response after induction therapy in pediatric RMS, comparing four different methods. This retrospective, two-center study was conducted on 66 non-metastatic RMS patients.

Spontaneous portosystemic shunts in cirrhosis: Detection, implications, and clinical associations.

Background: Spontaneous portosystemic shunts (SPSS) are common in cirrhosis. Their characterization and clinical implications remain unclear.

Aims: To devise a system of assessment of these shunts, and assess their clinical implications METHODS: We retrospectively studied patients with cirrhosis who underwent imaging in a liver transplant program.

Validation of a composed COVID-19 chest radiography score: the CARE project.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to validate a composed coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) chest radiography score (CARE) based on the extension of ground-glass opacity (GG) and consolidations (Co), separately assessed, and to investigate its prognostic performance.

Methods: COVID-19-positive patients referring to our tertiary centre during the first month of the outbreak in our area and with a known outcome were retrospectively evaluated. Each lung was subdivided into three areas and a three-grade score assessing the extension of GG and Co was used.