ObjectiveMDCT is performed as first imaging examination for patients with acute abdomen in most E... more ObjectiveMDCT is performed as first imaging examination for patients with acute abdomen in most Emergency Departments. Clinical suspicion of ischemic colitis and infarction is related to specific findings, however, differential diagnosis as well as the staging for a confirmed ischemic affection may be critical. The individual signs from ischemia to infarction of large bowel is a captivating topic. In this
We report a case of male breast metastasis from a urothelial carcinoma. Only two cases of this ty... more We report a case of male breast metastasis from a urothelial carcinoma. Only two cases of this type of metastasis have been previously reported, and these were in the female breast. Clinical examination showed a progressive swelling of the left mammary region, with periareolar skin infiltration. Both mammography and ultrasound showed a rounded mass. Only histological examination with immunohistochemical staining
Gastric pneumatosis is a rare form of intestinal pneumatosis related to a wide range of abnormali... more Gastric pneumatosis is a rare form of intestinal pneumatosis related to a wide range of abnormalities, which by itself may not engender adverse consequences. Portal vein gas, on the other hand, has traditionally been regarded as a life-threatening condition associated with mesenteric ischemia and immediate surgery; however, recent observations have demonstrated a greater spectrum of etiologies associated with portal vein
To evaluate safety and efficacy of Trans-Arterial Ethanol-Lipiodol Embolization (TAELE) compared ... more To evaluate safety and efficacy of Trans-Arterial Ethanol-Lipiodol Embolization (TAELE) compared with conventional Trans-Arterial Chemo-Embolization (cTACE) in the treatment of small intermediate-HCC (BCLC-Stage B). A random sample of 87 patients (37.93% male; 62.07% female; age range, 36-86 years) with documented small intermediate-HCC and treated with TAELE (mixture 1:1 of Ethanol and Lipiodol) or cTACE (mixture of 50mg-Epirubicin and 5cc-Lipiodol) were retrospectively studied in an institutional review board approved protocol. The two procedures were compared with χ2-test, χ2-test with Yates correction, McNemar's exact test, ANOVA test and log-rank test. TAELE and cTACE therapies were performed in 45 and 42 patients, respectively. Thirty days after the procedure, a Multi-Detector Computed Tomography (MDCT) showed no significant difference in the number of patients with partial and complete response between the two groups (p-value = 0.958), according to mRECIST. Contrary, significant differences were found in tumor-devascularization, lesion-reduction and post-embolization syndrome occurrence (p-value = 0.0004, p-value = 0.0003 and p-value = 0.009, respectively). Similar survival was observed during 36-month follow-up (p-value = 0.884). Compared to cTACE, TAELE showed a better toxicity profile with similar 36-month survival and similar one-month anti-tumor effects, which makes it better tolerated by patients, especially in case of more than one treatment.
Objective: Gastric blunt traumatic injuries are uncommon and their radiological appearance has be... more Objective: Gastric blunt traumatic injuries are uncommon and their radiological appearance has been infrequently reported in medical literature. These injuries are difficult to diagnose preoperatively, though they require immediate recognition to minimize their otherwise high mortality and morbidity. The aim of our study is to describe the radiological appearance of blunt gastric traumatic injuries. Materials and methods: Retrospective evaluation of a 25 patients series observed between January 1997 and May 2005. Results: We observed rupture of the stomach in 20% of cases, in 44% of cases a partial lesion of the stomach, in one case a necrotic post-traumatic volvulus, five patients (20%) had benign portal pneumatosis, in three patients the stomach was secondarily involved because of a diaphragmatic hernia. The fundus resulted to be the most frequently damaged part of the stomach (80%). Conclusions: Blunt traumatic injuries need a careful and systematic approach given their economical and social relevance. For these reasons uncommon lesions require attention and may be important to search for specific findings of gastric lesions.
Purpose. Acute mesenteric ischaemia (AMI) is a lifethreatening vascular emergency with a high mor... more Purpose. Acute mesenteric ischaemia (AMI) is a lifethreatening vascular emergency with a high mortality rate. Early diagnosis is the key to reducing its mortality rate and improving the quality of life. Although computed tomography (CT) is still the gold standard for acute intestinal disorders, over the last few years, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has become a useful alternative tool. An animal model of AMI was developed in order to study the effectiveness of MRI in early detection of this condition and to observe lesion evolution. Methods. Thirty Sprague Dawley rats were randomly divided into two groups (n=15): in the fi rst group, after laparotomy, the animals underwent ligation of the superior mesenteric artery (SMA), followed by macroscopic monitoring and histological evaluation; in the second, ischaemia was induced by squeezing a loop around the SMA 3 days before evaluation with 7-T micro-MRI. Results. Macroscopically, a refl ex spastic ileus followed by refl ex hypotonic ileus and colour changes in some of the loops were detected. MRI evidenced luminal dilatation with air-fl uid levels, free intraperitoneal fl uid and bowelwall oedema. Histological analysis confi rmed ischaemia and earlier damage involving the central portion of the ileum. Conclusions. This model shows the correct sequence of events during arterial AMI and demonstrates that MRI can be recommended for early diagnosis of these lesions.
A 20-year-old man with massive ileal enterolithiasis was investigated with plain radiography, ult... more A 20-year-old man with massive ileal enterolithiasis was investigated with plain radiography, ultrasound, computed tomography, barium follow through and double contrast barium enema. Ileocecal valve agenesis was found at surgery. The enteroliths were located in the distal ileum, which communicated with the large intestine via an ileotransverse fistula.
Impaired intestinal function, negatively affecting food digestion and absorption, is called chron... more Impaired intestinal function, negatively affecting food digestion and absorption, is called chronic intestinal failure (CIF). The clinical conditions leading to CIF are: fistulas, wide resections and severe damage to small bowel, and chronic intestinal stasis. In the etiology of CIF, the most frequent conditions are: Crohn's disease, postoperative peptic ulcer, mesenteric arteriopathy, radiation enteropathy, acute pancreatitis, jejunoileal diverticulosis and intestinal pseudo-obstruction. The radiologic approach to CIF can aim at: 1) diagnosing the disease and the clinical conditions causing it; 2) morphometric analysis: lesion spread, length of the extant normal small bowel and adaptive changes. Digestive tube radiology has always been considered a fundamental investigation technique to study malabsorption. Double contrast enema has increased the diagnostic capabilities of radiology. Moreover, double contrast enema allows the extraoperative evaluation, in vivo, of a new anatomi...
Peutz-Jeghers syndrome is an autosomal dominant disease with incomplete penetrance and variable e... more Peutz-Jeghers syndrome is an autosomal dominant disease with incomplete penetrance and variable expression caused by germline mutation of serine threonine kinase 11/liver kinase B1; it is characterized by hamartomatous polyps in the gastrointestinal tract, mucocutaneous melanin pigmentation, and increased predisposition to neoplasms. In Peutz-Jeghers syndrome, bilateral Sertoli cell testicular tumors cause endocrine manifestations including gynecomastia and feminization. This study aimed to assess the role of breast ultrasound in the evaluation of the effectiveness of an innovative surgical approach. This report presents a pair of European 9-year-old identical male twins with Peutz-Jeghers syndrome, bilateral prepubertal gynecomastia, and testicular multifocal calcifications. Both twins were treated with anastrozole for 2 years. After finishing treatment, both underwent subcutaneous mastectomy performed by the "modified" Webster technique. Breast examination and ultrasound...
Journal of biological regulators and homeostatic agents
Pelvic floor disorders represent a significant cause of morbidity associated with a severe reduct... more Pelvic floor disorders represent a significant cause of morbidity associated with a severe reduction of quality of life. It represents a very common clinical problem that afflicts women three to seven time more often than men. The purpose of this study was to assess the diagnostic tools available to define the imaging strategy in patients with pelvic floor dynamic dysfunctions and to investigate their abilities in the diagnosis of enterocele, elytrocele and edrocele. From January 2008 to May 2011, 614 patients with symptoms related to pelvic floor dynamic dysfunctions were enrolled in our retrospective study. After anamnesis and clinical examination, entero-colpo-defecography (ECD) and supine entero-magnetic resonance (SE-MR) exams were performed in all patients. This study showed that the diagnostic efficacy of ECD is higher than that of SE-MR in the detection of enterocele and edrocele. Furthermore, elytrocele can be visualized only with ECD considering the position of patient dur...
Journal of biological regulators and homeostatic agents
Conjoined twins have fascinated human mankind for a long time. Until recently, their description ... more Conjoined twins have fascinated human mankind for a long time. Until recently, their description was limited to the dissection of non-viable cases, the description of external features and of bones by x-ray imaging. The introduction of ultrasonographic techniques gave the first in uterus images of conjoined twins, though the spatial resolution did not allow detailed descriptions. Subsequently, CT and MRI techniques allowed more precise definition of organs without any dissection, thus the need of formal interpretation of similar new images. As a matter of fact, few monstrosities have been studied by CT and MRI techniques. To this day very few cases still lack any CT/MRI documentation. Here we present a very rare type of cephalothoracopagus twins (joined at the head and the thorax). They have been accurately examined by CT and MRI imaging to study visceral structures. Pathophysiology and genetic aspects are also reviewed. These data offer precious details for accurate comprehension o...
Journal of biological regulators and homeostatic agents
The purpose of the study was to identify the correlation between functional lung parameters to th... more The purpose of the study was to identify the correlation between functional lung parameters to the extent of lung involvement evaluated by High Resolution Computed Tomography (HRCT) in systemic sclerosis (SSc), using a modified score scale. Forty-two patients with established clinical diagnosis of systemic sclerosis were retrospectively selected from the hospital information system and were prospectively included in the study protocol undergoing chest radiography, HRCT and functional lung testing. Lung involvement was assessed by HRCT, lesions were assessed in the individual segments and an additional severity score was introduced by assigning 3 points for bilateral lesions. The total new HRCT score was statistically related to severity of functional lung parameters. Thirty-six out of 42 patients showed an interstitial lung involvement by HRCT: Ground Glass (GG) n=36/42 of which n=27/36 were bilateral; IPM n=30/42, of which 24/30 were bilateral; SL n=33/42 of which 18/33 were bilate...
World journal of gastrointestinal endoscopy, Jan 16, 2011
Abdominal wall hernias are common diseases of the abdomen with a global incidence approximately 4... more Abdominal wall hernias are common diseases of the abdomen with a global incidence approximately 4%-5%. They are distinguished in external, diaphragmatic and internal hernias on the basis of their localisation. Groin hernias are the most common with a prevalence of 75%, followed by femoral (15%) and umbilical (8%). There is a higher prevalence in males (M:F, 8:1). Diagnosis is usually made on physical examination. However, clinical diagnosis may be difficult, especially in patients with obesity, pain or abdominal wall scarring. In these cases, abdominal imaging may be the first clue to the correct diagnosis and to confirm suspected complications. Different imaging modalities are used: conventional radiographs or barium studies, ultrasonography and Computed Tomography. Imaging modalities can aid in the differential diagnosis of palpable abdominal wall masses and can help to define hernial contents such as fatty tissue, bowel, other organs or fluid. This work focuses on the main radiol...
This paper describes the radiological and clinical findings identified in a group of patients wit... more This paper describes the radiological and clinical findings identified in a group of patients with H1N1 influenza. Between May and mid-November 2009, 3,649 patients with suspected H1N1 influenza presented to our hospital. Our study population comprised 167 (91 male, 76 female patients, age range 11 months to 82 years; mean age 29 years) out of 1,896 patients with throat swab positive for H1N1 and clinical and laboratory findings indicative of viral influenza. All 167 patients were studied by chest X-ray (CXR), and 20 patients with positive CXR and worsening clinical condition also underwent computed tomography (CT). The following findings were evaluated on both modalities: interstitial reticulation (IR), nodules (N), ground-glass opacities (GGO), consolidations (CONS), bacterial superinfection and pulmonary complications. Ninety of 167 patients had positive CXR results. Abnormalities identified on CXR, variously combined and distributed, were as follows: 53 IR, 5 N, 13 GGO, 50 CONS;...
Solitary rectal ulcer syndrome is a complex evacuation disorder characterized by a benign ulcerat... more Solitary rectal ulcer syndrome is a complex evacuation disorder characterized by a benign ulcerative lesion of the distal rectum; the main symptom is rectal bleeding, but mucus discharge and difficult evacuation may be associated. The clinical, endoscopic and radiologic findings of solitary rectal ulcer syndrome are evaluated in this study. The role of defecography in the diagnosis of mucosal ulceration and morphofunctional alterations such as rectal prolapse and intussusception are investigated. In the last 5 years, 27 patients (19 women and 8 men; mean age: 38 years; range: 13-70 years) complaining of obstructed evacuation and rectal bleeding were examined with fibrosigmoidoscopy with biopsy, and defecography combined with videoproctography. Defecography was carried out sitting the patients on a defecographic chair with the pelvis in lateral projection. The images were acquired at rest, under straining, during squeezing and evacuation. Endoscopy and biopsy showed 21 cases of solit...
The purpose of this study was to determine the role of plain chest radiography in the evaluation ... more The purpose of this study was to determine the role of plain chest radiography in the evaluation of patients with suspected foreign-body aspiration. During a 5-year period, 31 patients (18 men and 13 women; age range 6 months to 85 years) were referred to our observation for clinical suspicion of foreign-body aspiration. Clinically, the patients presented with cough in 27/31 cases (87.1%), decreased breath sounds in 22/31 (71%), choking in 18/31 (58.1%), fever in 7/31 (22.6%) and cyanosis in 5/31 (16.1%). Suspected foreign-body aspiration had occurred 2-72 h before hospitalisation. Within 2 h of hospitalisation, all patients underwent plain chest radiography performed in the upright position (two projections) in 10/31 (32.3%) patients and in the supine decubitus position in the remaining 21 (67.7%) patients. Plain chest radiography was subsequently integrated with multislice computed tomography (MSCT) of the chest in 3/31 (9.7%) patients and with bronchoscopy in 27/31 (87.1%) patien...
The main role of the radiologist in the management of patients with suspicion of small bowel obst... more The main role of the radiologist in the management of patients with suspicion of small bowel obstruction is to help triage patients into those that need immediate surgical intervention from those that require medical therapy or delayed surgery. Ultrasound examination is usually considered not helpful in bowel obstruction because of air in the intestinal lumen that interferes the evaluation of the intestinal loops, however recently some Authors attested the increasing important role of sonography in the acute abdominal disease. Aim of our report is to demonstrate the value of free fluid detected by US in differentiating between low and high-grade small bowel obstruction. The study is based on 742 consecutive patients who presented symptoms of the acute abdomen; all patients had undergone initial serial abdominal plain film and US examinations prior to any medical intervention. We reviewed the imaging findings of 150 cases in whom small bowel obstruction was clinically suspected and c...
ObjectiveMDCT is performed as first imaging examination for patients with acute abdomen in most E... more ObjectiveMDCT is performed as first imaging examination for patients with acute abdomen in most Emergency Departments. Clinical suspicion of ischemic colitis and infarction is related to specific findings, however, differential diagnosis as well as the staging for a confirmed ischemic affection may be critical. The individual signs from ischemia to infarction of large bowel is a captivating topic. In this
We report a case of male breast metastasis from a urothelial carcinoma. Only two cases of this ty... more We report a case of male breast metastasis from a urothelial carcinoma. Only two cases of this type of metastasis have been previously reported, and these were in the female breast. Clinical examination showed a progressive swelling of the left mammary region, with periareolar skin infiltration. Both mammography and ultrasound showed a rounded mass. Only histological examination with immunohistochemical staining
Gastric pneumatosis is a rare form of intestinal pneumatosis related to a wide range of abnormali... more Gastric pneumatosis is a rare form of intestinal pneumatosis related to a wide range of abnormalities, which by itself may not engender adverse consequences. Portal vein gas, on the other hand, has traditionally been regarded as a life-threatening condition associated with mesenteric ischemia and immediate surgery; however, recent observations have demonstrated a greater spectrum of etiologies associated with portal vein
To evaluate safety and efficacy of Trans-Arterial Ethanol-Lipiodol Embolization (TAELE) compared ... more To evaluate safety and efficacy of Trans-Arterial Ethanol-Lipiodol Embolization (TAELE) compared with conventional Trans-Arterial Chemo-Embolization (cTACE) in the treatment of small intermediate-HCC (BCLC-Stage B). A random sample of 87 patients (37.93% male; 62.07% female; age range, 36-86 years) with documented small intermediate-HCC and treated with TAELE (mixture 1:1 of Ethanol and Lipiodol) or cTACE (mixture of 50mg-Epirubicin and 5cc-Lipiodol) were retrospectively studied in an institutional review board approved protocol. The two procedures were compared with χ2-test, χ2-test with Yates correction, McNemar's exact test, ANOVA test and log-rank test. TAELE and cTACE therapies were performed in 45 and 42 patients, respectively. Thirty days after the procedure, a Multi-Detector Computed Tomography (MDCT) showed no significant difference in the number of patients with partial and complete response between the two groups (p-value = 0.958), according to mRECIST. Contrary, significant differences were found in tumor-devascularization, lesion-reduction and post-embolization syndrome occurrence (p-value = 0.0004, p-value = 0.0003 and p-value = 0.009, respectively). Similar survival was observed during 36-month follow-up (p-value = 0.884). Compared to cTACE, TAELE showed a better toxicity profile with similar 36-month survival and similar one-month anti-tumor effects, which makes it better tolerated by patients, especially in case of more than one treatment.
Objective: Gastric blunt traumatic injuries are uncommon and their radiological appearance has be... more Objective: Gastric blunt traumatic injuries are uncommon and their radiological appearance has been infrequently reported in medical literature. These injuries are difficult to diagnose preoperatively, though they require immediate recognition to minimize their otherwise high mortality and morbidity. The aim of our study is to describe the radiological appearance of blunt gastric traumatic injuries. Materials and methods: Retrospective evaluation of a 25 patients series observed between January 1997 and May 2005. Results: We observed rupture of the stomach in 20% of cases, in 44% of cases a partial lesion of the stomach, in one case a necrotic post-traumatic volvulus, five patients (20%) had benign portal pneumatosis, in three patients the stomach was secondarily involved because of a diaphragmatic hernia. The fundus resulted to be the most frequently damaged part of the stomach (80%). Conclusions: Blunt traumatic injuries need a careful and systematic approach given their economical and social relevance. For these reasons uncommon lesions require attention and may be important to search for specific findings of gastric lesions.
Purpose. Acute mesenteric ischaemia (AMI) is a lifethreatening vascular emergency with a high mor... more Purpose. Acute mesenteric ischaemia (AMI) is a lifethreatening vascular emergency with a high mortality rate. Early diagnosis is the key to reducing its mortality rate and improving the quality of life. Although computed tomography (CT) is still the gold standard for acute intestinal disorders, over the last few years, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has become a useful alternative tool. An animal model of AMI was developed in order to study the effectiveness of MRI in early detection of this condition and to observe lesion evolution. Methods. Thirty Sprague Dawley rats were randomly divided into two groups (n=15): in the fi rst group, after laparotomy, the animals underwent ligation of the superior mesenteric artery (SMA), followed by macroscopic monitoring and histological evaluation; in the second, ischaemia was induced by squeezing a loop around the SMA 3 days before evaluation with 7-T micro-MRI. Results. Macroscopically, a refl ex spastic ileus followed by refl ex hypotonic ileus and colour changes in some of the loops were detected. MRI evidenced luminal dilatation with air-fl uid levels, free intraperitoneal fl uid and bowelwall oedema. Histological analysis confi rmed ischaemia and earlier damage involving the central portion of the ileum. Conclusions. This model shows the correct sequence of events during arterial AMI and demonstrates that MRI can be recommended for early diagnosis of these lesions.
A 20-year-old man with massive ileal enterolithiasis was investigated with plain radiography, ult... more A 20-year-old man with massive ileal enterolithiasis was investigated with plain radiography, ultrasound, computed tomography, barium follow through and double contrast barium enema. Ileocecal valve agenesis was found at surgery. The enteroliths were located in the distal ileum, which communicated with the large intestine via an ileotransverse fistula.
Impaired intestinal function, negatively affecting food digestion and absorption, is called chron... more Impaired intestinal function, negatively affecting food digestion and absorption, is called chronic intestinal failure (CIF). The clinical conditions leading to CIF are: fistulas, wide resections and severe damage to small bowel, and chronic intestinal stasis. In the etiology of CIF, the most frequent conditions are: Crohn's disease, postoperative peptic ulcer, mesenteric arteriopathy, radiation enteropathy, acute pancreatitis, jejunoileal diverticulosis and intestinal pseudo-obstruction. The radiologic approach to CIF can aim at: 1) diagnosing the disease and the clinical conditions causing it; 2) morphometric analysis: lesion spread, length of the extant normal small bowel and adaptive changes. Digestive tube radiology has always been considered a fundamental investigation technique to study malabsorption. Double contrast enema has increased the diagnostic capabilities of radiology. Moreover, double contrast enema allows the extraoperative evaluation, in vivo, of a new anatomi...
Peutz-Jeghers syndrome is an autosomal dominant disease with incomplete penetrance and variable e... more Peutz-Jeghers syndrome is an autosomal dominant disease with incomplete penetrance and variable expression caused by germline mutation of serine threonine kinase 11/liver kinase B1; it is characterized by hamartomatous polyps in the gastrointestinal tract, mucocutaneous melanin pigmentation, and increased predisposition to neoplasms. In Peutz-Jeghers syndrome, bilateral Sertoli cell testicular tumors cause endocrine manifestations including gynecomastia and feminization. This study aimed to assess the role of breast ultrasound in the evaluation of the effectiveness of an innovative surgical approach. This report presents a pair of European 9-year-old identical male twins with Peutz-Jeghers syndrome, bilateral prepubertal gynecomastia, and testicular multifocal calcifications. Both twins were treated with anastrozole for 2 years. After finishing treatment, both underwent subcutaneous mastectomy performed by the "modified" Webster technique. Breast examination and ultrasound...
Journal of biological regulators and homeostatic agents
Pelvic floor disorders represent a significant cause of morbidity associated with a severe reduct... more Pelvic floor disorders represent a significant cause of morbidity associated with a severe reduction of quality of life. It represents a very common clinical problem that afflicts women three to seven time more often than men. The purpose of this study was to assess the diagnostic tools available to define the imaging strategy in patients with pelvic floor dynamic dysfunctions and to investigate their abilities in the diagnosis of enterocele, elytrocele and edrocele. From January 2008 to May 2011, 614 patients with symptoms related to pelvic floor dynamic dysfunctions were enrolled in our retrospective study. After anamnesis and clinical examination, entero-colpo-defecography (ECD) and supine entero-magnetic resonance (SE-MR) exams were performed in all patients. This study showed that the diagnostic efficacy of ECD is higher than that of SE-MR in the detection of enterocele and edrocele. Furthermore, elytrocele can be visualized only with ECD considering the position of patient dur...
Journal of biological regulators and homeostatic agents
Conjoined twins have fascinated human mankind for a long time. Until recently, their description ... more Conjoined twins have fascinated human mankind for a long time. Until recently, their description was limited to the dissection of non-viable cases, the description of external features and of bones by x-ray imaging. The introduction of ultrasonographic techniques gave the first in uterus images of conjoined twins, though the spatial resolution did not allow detailed descriptions. Subsequently, CT and MRI techniques allowed more precise definition of organs without any dissection, thus the need of formal interpretation of similar new images. As a matter of fact, few monstrosities have been studied by CT and MRI techniques. To this day very few cases still lack any CT/MRI documentation. Here we present a very rare type of cephalothoracopagus twins (joined at the head and the thorax). They have been accurately examined by CT and MRI imaging to study visceral structures. Pathophysiology and genetic aspects are also reviewed. These data offer precious details for accurate comprehension o...
Journal of biological regulators and homeostatic agents
The purpose of the study was to identify the correlation between functional lung parameters to th... more The purpose of the study was to identify the correlation between functional lung parameters to the extent of lung involvement evaluated by High Resolution Computed Tomography (HRCT) in systemic sclerosis (SSc), using a modified score scale. Forty-two patients with established clinical diagnosis of systemic sclerosis were retrospectively selected from the hospital information system and were prospectively included in the study protocol undergoing chest radiography, HRCT and functional lung testing. Lung involvement was assessed by HRCT, lesions were assessed in the individual segments and an additional severity score was introduced by assigning 3 points for bilateral lesions. The total new HRCT score was statistically related to severity of functional lung parameters. Thirty-six out of 42 patients showed an interstitial lung involvement by HRCT: Ground Glass (GG) n=36/42 of which n=27/36 were bilateral; IPM n=30/42, of which 24/30 were bilateral; SL n=33/42 of which 18/33 were bilate...
World journal of gastrointestinal endoscopy, Jan 16, 2011
Abdominal wall hernias are common diseases of the abdomen with a global incidence approximately 4... more Abdominal wall hernias are common diseases of the abdomen with a global incidence approximately 4%-5%. They are distinguished in external, diaphragmatic and internal hernias on the basis of their localisation. Groin hernias are the most common with a prevalence of 75%, followed by femoral (15%) and umbilical (8%). There is a higher prevalence in males (M:F, 8:1). Diagnosis is usually made on physical examination. However, clinical diagnosis may be difficult, especially in patients with obesity, pain or abdominal wall scarring. In these cases, abdominal imaging may be the first clue to the correct diagnosis and to confirm suspected complications. Different imaging modalities are used: conventional radiographs or barium studies, ultrasonography and Computed Tomography. Imaging modalities can aid in the differential diagnosis of palpable abdominal wall masses and can help to define hernial contents such as fatty tissue, bowel, other organs or fluid. This work focuses on the main radiol...
This paper describes the radiological and clinical findings identified in a group of patients wit... more This paper describes the radiological and clinical findings identified in a group of patients with H1N1 influenza. Between May and mid-November 2009, 3,649 patients with suspected H1N1 influenza presented to our hospital. Our study population comprised 167 (91 male, 76 female patients, age range 11 months to 82 years; mean age 29 years) out of 1,896 patients with throat swab positive for H1N1 and clinical and laboratory findings indicative of viral influenza. All 167 patients were studied by chest X-ray (CXR), and 20 patients with positive CXR and worsening clinical condition also underwent computed tomography (CT). The following findings were evaluated on both modalities: interstitial reticulation (IR), nodules (N), ground-glass opacities (GGO), consolidations (CONS), bacterial superinfection and pulmonary complications. Ninety of 167 patients had positive CXR results. Abnormalities identified on CXR, variously combined and distributed, were as follows: 53 IR, 5 N, 13 GGO, 50 CONS;...
Solitary rectal ulcer syndrome is a complex evacuation disorder characterized by a benign ulcerat... more Solitary rectal ulcer syndrome is a complex evacuation disorder characterized by a benign ulcerative lesion of the distal rectum; the main symptom is rectal bleeding, but mucus discharge and difficult evacuation may be associated. The clinical, endoscopic and radiologic findings of solitary rectal ulcer syndrome are evaluated in this study. The role of defecography in the diagnosis of mucosal ulceration and morphofunctional alterations such as rectal prolapse and intussusception are investigated. In the last 5 years, 27 patients (19 women and 8 men; mean age: 38 years; range: 13-70 years) complaining of obstructed evacuation and rectal bleeding were examined with fibrosigmoidoscopy with biopsy, and defecography combined with videoproctography. Defecography was carried out sitting the patients on a defecographic chair with the pelvis in lateral projection. The images were acquired at rest, under straining, during squeezing and evacuation. Endoscopy and biopsy showed 21 cases of solit...
The purpose of this study was to determine the role of plain chest radiography in the evaluation ... more The purpose of this study was to determine the role of plain chest radiography in the evaluation of patients with suspected foreign-body aspiration. During a 5-year period, 31 patients (18 men and 13 women; age range 6 months to 85 years) were referred to our observation for clinical suspicion of foreign-body aspiration. Clinically, the patients presented with cough in 27/31 cases (87.1%), decreased breath sounds in 22/31 (71%), choking in 18/31 (58.1%), fever in 7/31 (22.6%) and cyanosis in 5/31 (16.1%). Suspected foreign-body aspiration had occurred 2-72 h before hospitalisation. Within 2 h of hospitalisation, all patients underwent plain chest radiography performed in the upright position (two projections) in 10/31 (32.3%) patients and in the supine decubitus position in the remaining 21 (67.7%) patients. Plain chest radiography was subsequently integrated with multislice computed tomography (MSCT) of the chest in 3/31 (9.7%) patients and with bronchoscopy in 27/31 (87.1%) patien...
The main role of the radiologist in the management of patients with suspicion of small bowel obst... more The main role of the radiologist in the management of patients with suspicion of small bowel obstruction is to help triage patients into those that need immediate surgical intervention from those that require medical therapy or delayed surgery. Ultrasound examination is usually considered not helpful in bowel obstruction because of air in the intestinal lumen that interferes the evaluation of the intestinal loops, however recently some Authors attested the increasing important role of sonography in the acute abdominal disease. Aim of our report is to demonstrate the value of free fluid detected by US in differentiating between low and high-grade small bowel obstruction. The study is based on 742 consecutive patients who presented symptoms of the acute abdomen; all patients had undergone initial serial abdominal plain film and US examinations prior to any medical intervention. We reviewed the imaging findings of 150 cases in whom small bowel obstruction was clinically suspected and c...
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Papers by Roberto Grassi