Follow-up of non-palpable testicular incidentalomas under 1 cm: does growth rate differentiate malignant and non-malignant lesions?

Objective: To determine whether small, incidentally detected testicular lesions can be safely followed up, by assessing growth rate and volume threshold for benign vs. malignant lesions.

Methods: This retrospective observational study includes a consecutive series of 130 testicular incidentalomas < 1 cm and with negative tumour markers identified from October 2001 to November 2022, which were initially followed up with ultrasound.

Management of intra-abdominal infections: recommendations by the Italian council for the optimization of antimicrobial use.

Intra-abdominal infections (IAIs) are common surgical emergencies and are an important cause of morbidity and mortality in hospital settings, particularly if poorly managed. The cornerstones of effective IAIs management include early diagnosis, adequate source control, appropriate antimicrobial therapy, and early physiologic stabilization using intravenous fluids and vasopressor agents in critically ill patients. Adequate empiric antimicrobial therapy in patients with IAIs is of paramount importance because inappropriate antimicrobial therapy is associated with poor outcomes.

Zinner's Syndrome: Case report of a Developmental Anomaly of the Mesonephric Duct.

Zinner's syndrome is a rare congenital malformation characterized by the association of unilateral renal agenesis with ipsilateral seminal vesicle cyst and ejaculatory duct obstruction. Most patients are asymptomatic until the third or fourth decade of life when the syndrome is associated with dysuria, perineal pain, infertility, and painful ejaculation. In this report, we present the common imaging findings of this rare developmental anomaly involving the mesonephric duct in a 48-year-old male patient experiencing pelvic pain, recurrent dysuria, and pollakiuria.

Eosinophilic cystitis: a case report of a pseudotumoral lesion.

Eosinophilic cystitis is a rare inflammatory disorder of the bladder, characterized by eosinophilic infiltration of the bladder wall, fibrosis of the mucosa, and muscle necrosis. Ultrasonography, when performed, shows a pseudotumoral mass that can be mistaken for malignancy. We report a case of a woman referred to our department in which an ultrasound showed a bladder mass and the biopsy demonstrated the presence of eosinophilic cystitis.

Assessing and managing frailty in emergency laparotomy: a WSES position paper.

Many countries are facing an aging population. As people live longer, surgeons face the prospect of operating on increasingly older patients. Traditional teaching is that with older age, these patients face an increased risk of mortality and morbidity, even to a level deemed too prohibitive for surgery.

Reduced graphene oxide on silicon-based structure as novel broadband photodetector.

Heterojunction photodetector based on reduced graphene oxide (rGO) has been realized using a spin coating technique. The electrical and optical characterization of bare GO and thermally reduced GO thin films deposited on glass substrate has been carried out. Ultraviolet-visible-infrared transmittance measurements of the GO and rGO thin films revealed broad absorption range, while the absorbance analysis evaluates rGO band gap of about 2.

The management of surgical patients in the emergency setting during COVID-19 pandemic: the WSES position paper.

Background: Since the COVID-19 pandemic has occurred, nations showed their unpreparedness to deal with a mass casualty incident of this proportion and severity, which resulted in a tremendous number of deaths even among healthcare workers. The World Society of Emergency Surgery conceived this position paper with the purpose of providing evidence-based recommendations for the management of emergency surgical patients under COVID-19 pandemic for the safety of the patient and healthcare workers.

Method: A systematic review was conducted in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-analysis Protocols (PRISMA-P) through the MEDLINE (PubMed), Embase and SCOPUS databases.

Nonscrotal Causes of Acute Scrotum.

Acute scrotum is characterized by intense acute scrotal pain, which may be associated with other symptoms and signs such as abdominal pain, inflammation, and fever. Many pathologic conditions can present in this way, most which involve the scrotal contents. Nonscrotal conditions, however, can rarely present clinically only as acute scrotum: among them, renal colic, aneurysm rupture or other causes of retroperitoneal hemorrhage, primary abdominal or pelvic tumors and metastases, pancreatitis, pelvic inflammation, and muscle injuries.

Detection of Magnetomechanical Effect in Structural Steel Using GMR 2nd Order Gradiometer Based Sensors.

The magneto-mechanical behaviour of structural steel specimens stressed up to the plastic deformation stage was investigated using a 2nd order gradiometer based on Giant Magneto Resistive (GMR) sensors. The correlation between the gradient of the magnetization and the dislocation density before the crack initiation inside the test material was reported. The capability of the GMR scanning sensor to detect the residual magnetization due to the tensile stress with a non-invasive technique was demonstrated.

Fine-Tuning and Optimization of Superconducting Quantum Magnetic Sensors by Thermal Annealing.

In the present article, we present the experimental results concerning the fine-tuning and optimization of superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) parameters by thermal annealing. This treatment allows for the modification of the parameters in order to meet a specific application or to adjust the device parameters to prevent the increase of magnetic field noise and work instability conditions due to a different critical current with respect to the design value. In particular, we report the sensor critical current, the voltage-flux (V-Φ) characteristics and the spectral density of the magnetic field of SQUID magnetometers for different annealing temperatures.

2017 WSES guidelines on colon and rectal cancer emergencies: obstruction and perforation.

ᅟ: Obstruction and perforation due to colorectal cancer represent challenging matters in terms of diagnosis, life-saving strategies, obstruction resolution and oncologic challenge. The aims of the current paper are to update the previous WSES guidelines for the management of large bowel perforation and obstructive left colon carcinoma (OLCC) and to develop new guidelines on obstructive right colon carcinoma (ORCC).

Methods: The literature was extensively queried for focused publication until December 2017.

Contrast-enhanced ultrasound for characterizing renal masses.

On cross-sectional imaging studies performed for other indications, incidental discovery of renal lesions is not uncommon. In daily use, grey-scale ultrasonography (US) and conventional Doppler modes are often the modality of choice for the initial assessment. While simple cysts are fully characterized with US, other lesions require further characterization, which is traditionally obtained by multiphase imaging, such as contrast-enhanced CT and MRI.

Diagnostic imaging and CEUS findings in a rare case of Desmoid-type fibromatosis. A case report.

Desmoid-type fibromatosis (DF), also known as aggressive fibromatosis, is a locally aggressive benign fibroblastic neoplasm that can infiltrate or recur but cannot metastasize. It is rare, with an estimated annual incidence of two to four new cases per million people. Most DFs occur sporadically, but it may also be associated with the hereditary syndrome familial adenomatous polyposis.

Anomalous evolution of broadband optical absorption reveals dynamic solid state reorganization during eumelanin build-up in thin films.

The origin of eumelanin optical properties remains a formidable conundrum preventing a detailed understanding of the complex photo-protective role of these widespread natural pigments and the rational design of innovative bioinspired materials for optoelectronic applications. Here we report the unusual kinetic and thickness-dependent evolution of the optical properties of black eumelanin polymers generated by spontaneous aerial polymerization of 5,6-dihydroxyindole (DHI) thin films (0.1-1 μm), consistent with peculiar solid state reorganization mechanisms governing broadband absorption.

Graphene-polymer coating for the realization of strain sensors.

In this work we present a novel route to produce a graphene-based film on a polymer substrate. A transparent graphite colloidal suspension was applied to a slat of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA). The good adhesion to the PMMA surface, combined with the shear stress, allows a uniform and continuous spreading of the graphite nanocrystals, resulting in a very uniform graphene multilayer coating on the substrate surface.

Grayscale and color Doppler features of testicular lymphoma.

Pooled data from 16 radiology centers were retrospectively analyzed to seek patients with pathologically proven testicular lymphoma and grayscale and color Doppler images available for review. Forty-three cases were found: 36 (84%) primary and 7 (16%) secondary testicular lymphoma. With unilateral primary lymphoma, involvement was unifocal (n = 10), multifocal (n = 11), or diffuse (n = 11).

Incidentally detection of non-palpable testicular nodules at scrotal ultrasound: what is new?

The increased use of ultrasound in patients with urological and andrological symptoms has given an higher detection of intra-testicular nodules. Most of these lesions are hypoechoic and their interpretation is often equivocal. Recently, new ultrasound techniques have been developed alongside of B-mode and color-Doppler ultrasound.

Contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) in nephrology: Has the time come for its widespread use?

Grey-scale ultrasound has an important diagnostic role in nephrology. The absence of ionizing radiations and nephrotoxicity, rapidity of execution, excellent repeatability, the possibility to perform the test at the patient's bed and the low cost represent important advantages of this technique. Paired with real-time sonography and colour-power-Doppler contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) reduces the diagnostic gap with computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance (MR) and represents a major step in the evolution of clinical ultrasound.

Diagnostic value of chest ultrasound after cardiac surgery: a comparison with chest X-ray and auscultation.

Objective: Chest auscultation and chest x-ray commonly are used to detect postoperative abnormalities and complications in patients admitted to intensive care after cardiac surgery. The aim of the study was to evaluate whether chest ultrasound represents an effective alternative to bedside chest x-ray to identify early postoperative abnormalities.

Design: Diagnostic accuracy of chest auscultation and chest ultrasound were compared in identifying individual abnormalities detected by chest x-ray, considered the reference method.

Children and adults varicocele: diagnostic issues and therapeutical strategies.

Varicocele is defined as abnormally dilated scrotal veins. It is present in 15 % of normal males and in 40 % of males with infertility. This disorder is a challenge for the physicians involved in the diagnosis and treatment, as the pathophysiology of varicocele is not yet completely understood.

The role of CEUS in the assessment of haemodynamically stable patients with blunt abdominal trauma.

Computed tomography (CT) still represents the preferred imaging method in the assessment of patients presenting with multiple trauma. Nevertheless, in patients with low-energy abdominal trauma, the use of CT is debated because of the possible unnecessary radiation exposure. Accordingly, conventional ultrasound (US) imaging has been increasingly employed as the initial imaging modality in the workup of minor traumatic emergency conditions.