| 1. |
- Ceriello, Laura, et al.
(författare)
-
Massive necrotizing myocarditis in a young patient with idiopathic hypereosinophilic syndrome
- 2022
-
Ingår i: IMAGING. - : Akademiai Kiado Zrt.. - 2732-0960. ; 14:1, s. 66-69
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A 27-years-old female with multiple autoimmune disorders presented to our cardiology unit for acute chest pain and worsening dyspnoea. Admission blood tests revealed increased serum levels of high-sensitive cardiac troponin, eosinophilic count and C-reactive protein. Laboratory findings, low QRS voltages by ECG, mildly reduced left ventricular systolic function in the context of pseudohypertrophy, mild and diffuse late gadolinium enhancement associated with markedly increased native T1 and T2 mapping levels assessed by echocardiography and cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging, raised the suspicion of massive eosinophilic myocarditis, subsequently confirmed by histological examination of endomyocardial biopsy. Prompt initiation of immunosuppressive treatment allowed swift regression of myocardial inflammation and full recovery of left ventricular systolic function within one month. After ruling-out clonal myeloid disorder, lymphocyte-variant and reactive hypereosinophilia, the young lady was eventually diagnosed with idiopathic hypereosinophilic syndrome. This case report turns the spotlight on the role and importance of advanced multi-modality cardiovascular imaging for raising clinical suspicion of acute eosinophilic myocarditis, guiding diagnostic work-up and monitoring response to treatment.
|
|
| 2. |
- Mantini, Cesare, et al.
(författare)
-
A highly-detailed anatomical study of left atrial auricle as revealed by in-vivo computed tomography
- 2023
-
Ingår i: Heliyon. - 2405-8440. ; 9:10
-
Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- The left atrial auricle (LAA) is the main source of intracardiac thrombi, which contribute significantly to the total number of stroke cases. It is also considered a major site of origin for atrial fibrillation in patients undergoing ablation procedures. The LAA is known to have a high degree of morphological variability, with shape and structure identified as important contributors to thrombus formation. A detailed understanding of LAA form, dimension, and function is crucial for radiologists, cardiologists, and cardiac surgeons. This review describes the normal anatomy of the LAA as visualized through multiple imaging techniques such as computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and echocardiography. Special emphasis is devoted to a discussion on how the morphological characteristics of the LAA are closely related to the likelihood of developing LAA thrombi, including insights into LAA embryology.
|
|
| 3. |
|
|
| 4. |
- Mantini, Cesare, et al.
(författare)
-
Aliased Flow Signal Planimetry by Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance Imaging for Grading Aortic Stenosis Severity : A Prospective Pilot Study
- 2021
-
Ingår i: Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine. - : Frontiers Media SA. - 2297-055X. ; 8
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objectives: Transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) is the standard technique for assessing aortic stenosis (AS), with effective orifice area (EOA) recommended for grading severity. EOA is operator-dependent, influenced by a number of pitfalls and requires multiple measurements introducing independent and random sources of error. We tested the diagnostic accuracy and precision of aliased orifice area planimetry (AOAcmr ), a new, simple, non-invasive technique for grading of AS severity by low-VENC phase-contrast cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging. Methods: Twenty-two consecutive patients with mild, moderate, or severe AS and six age-and sex-matched healthy controls had TTE and CMR examinations on the same day. We performed analysis of agreement and correlation among (i) AOAcmr; (ii) geometric orifice area (GOAcmr ) by direct CMR planimetry; (iii) EOAecho by TTE-continuity equation; and (iv) the “gold standard” multimodality EOA (EOAhybrid ) obtained by substituting CMR LVOT area into Doppler continuity equation. Results: There was excellent pairwise positive linear correlation among AOAcmr, EOAhybrid, GOAcmr, and EOAecho (p < 0.001); AOAcmr had the highest correlation with EOAhybrid (R2 = 0.985, p < 0.001). There was good agreement between methods, with the lowest bias (0.019) for the comparison between AOAcmr and EOAhybrid . AOAcmr yielded excellent intra-and inter-rater reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient: 0.997 and 0.998, respectively). Conclusions: Aliased orifice area planimetry by 2D phase contrast imaging is a simple, reproducible, accurate “one-stop shop” CMR method for grading AS, potentially useful when echocardiographic severity assessment is inconclusive or discordant. Larger studies are warranted to confirm and validate these promising preliminary results.
|
|
| 5. |
- Mantini, Cesare, et al.
(författare)
-
Influence of image reconstruction parameters on cardiovascular risk reclassification by Computed Tomography Coronary Artery Calcium Score
- 2018
-
Ingår i: European Journal of Radiology. - : Elsevier BV. - 0720-048X. ; 101, s. 1-7
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objective: To investigate the influence of different CT reconstruction parameters on coronary artery calcium scoring (CACS) values and reclassification of predicted cardiovascular (CV) risk. Methods: CACS was evaluated in 113 patients undergoing ECG-gated 64-slice CT. Reference CACS protocol included standard kernel filter (B35f) with slice thickness/increment of 3/1.5 mm, and field-of-view (FOV) of 150–180 mm. Influence of different image reconstruction algorithms (reconstructed slice thickness/increment 2.0/1.0–1.5/0.8–3.0/2.0–3.0/3.0 mm; slice kernel B30f-B45f; FOV 200–250 mm) on Agatston score was assessed by Bland-Altman plots and concordance correlation coefficient (CCC) analysis. Classification of CV risk was based on the Mayo Clinic classification. Results: Different CACS reconstruction parameters showed overall good accuracy and precision when compared with reference protocol. Protocols with larger FOV, thinner slices and sharper kernels were associated with significant CV risk reclassification. Use of kernel B45f showed a moderate positive correlation with reference CACS protocol (Agatston CCC = 0.67), and yielded significantly higher CACS values (p <.05). Reconstruction parameters using B30f or B45f kernels, 250 mm FOV, or slice thickness/increment of 2.0/1.0 mm or 1.5/0.8 mm, were associated with significant reclassification of CV risk (p <.05). Conclusions: Kernel, FOV, slice thickness and increment are major determinants of accuracy and precision of CACS measurement. Despite high agreement and overall good correlation of different reconstruction protocols, thinner slices thickness and increment, and sharper kernels were associated with significant upward reclassification of CV risk. Larger FOV determined both upward and downward reclassification of CV risk.
|
|
| 6. |
- Mantini, Cesare, et al.
(författare)
-
Multi-modality Imaging Evaluation of a Rare and Complex Case of Single Ventricle Physiology; the important role of Cardiac MR
- 2022
-
Ingår i: Acta bio-medica : Atenei Parmensis. - 0392-4203. ; 93:S1
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Congenital heart diseases (CHD) represent a major clinical and diagnostic challenge for correct abnormality identification and subsequent successful therapy; even more challenging is following-up patient health after multiple post-interventional corrections often required in complex cardio-vascular abnormalities. We describe a multi-modality imaging evaluation of a complex congenital cardio-vascular diseases, underlining the relevance of cardiac magnetic resonance to non invasively solve some issues related to postsurgical changes.
|
|
| 7. |
- Mantini, Cesare, et al.
(författare)
-
Prevalence and Clinical Relevance of Extracardiac Findings in Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance Imaging
- 2019
-
Ingår i: Journal of Thoracic Imaging. - 0883-5993. ; 34:1, s. 48-55
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Purpose: To assess the prevalence of extracardiac findings (ECF) during cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) examinations and their downstream effect on clinical management. Materials and Methods: We retrospectively identified 500 consecutive patients. Trans-axial balanced steady-state free precession nongated images acquired from the upper thorax to the upper abdomen were evaluated independently by 2 radiologists. ECF were classified as nonsignificant (benign, with no need for further investigation), significant (mandatory to be reported/monitored), and major (clinically remarkable pathology, mandatory to be reported/investigated/treated). Fifteen-month clinical follow-up information was collected through hospital records. Results: Of 500 patients, 108 (21.6%) showed a total of 153 ECF: 59 (11.8% of the entire study population; 38.5% of all ECF) nonsignificant, 76 (15.2%; 49.7%) significant, and 18 (3.6%; 11.8%) major ECF. The most frequent ECF were pleural effusion, hepatic cyst, renal cyst, and ascending aorta dilatation. Of 94 significant and major ECF, 46 were previously unknown and more common in older patients. Newly diagnosed major ECF (n=11, 2.2% of the entire study population, and 7.2% of all ECF)-including 5 tumors (1% of study population)-were confirmed by downstream evaluations and required specific treatment. Patients with major ECF were significantly older than patients without with major ECF. Newly diagnosed clinically significant and major ECF prompted downstream diagnostic tests in 44% and 100% of cases, respectively. Conclusions: The detection of significant and major ECF is common during CMR reporting. The knowledge and the correct identification of most frequent ECF enable earlier diagnoses and faster treatment initiation of unknown extracardiac pathologies in patients referred to CMR imaging.
|
|
| 8. |
- Mantini, Cesare, et al.
(författare)
-
Vieussens’ ring coronary collateral circulation : a natural bypass history
- 2022
-
Ingår i: Acta Biomedica. - 0392-4203. ; 93
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- “Vieussens’ ring” or “arterial circle of Vieussens” is a crucial hetero-coronaric pathway, bridging proximal right coronary artery (RCA) and left anterior descending artery (LAD) when a hemodynami-cally stenosis is established in the either of the vessel. In detail such coronary collateral circulation is usually supplied by branches of the conus artery. We present a case of a 62-year-old man who was admitted to our emergency department complaining of chest pain. Coronary angiography showed LAD occlusion at the mid tract with delayed and slight opacification of its distal segment sustained by Vieussens’ ring. Coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) was subsequently performed which confirmed the presence of such natural bypass and evaluated its relationship with adjacent structures. Imaging, particularly CCTA of-fers a valid tool in assessing the hetero-coronaric collateral vessel. Due to its high spatial resolution it may provide many information about the coronary anatomy by delineating their origin, course and termination. (www.actabiomedica.it).
|
|
| 9. |
- Nicoll, Rachel, et al.
(författare)
-
Diabetes and male sex are key risk factor correlates of the extent of coronary artery calcification : a Euro-CCAD study
- 2017
-
Ingår i: Journal of diabetes and its complications. - : Elsevier. - 1056-8727 .- 1873-460X. ; 31:7, s. 1096-1102
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background and Aims: Although much has been written about the conventional cardiovascular risk factor correlates of the extent of coronary artery calcification (CAC), few studies have been carried out on symptomatic patients. This paper assesses the potential ability of risk factors to associate with an increasing CAC score. Methods: From the European Calcific Coronary Artery Disease (Euro-CCAD) cohort, we retrospectively investigated 6309 symptomatic patients, 62% male, from Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the USA. All had conventional cardiovascular risk factor assessment and CI scanning for CAC scoring. Results: Among all patients, male sex (OR = 4.85, p < 0.001) and diabetes (OR = 236, p < 0.001) were the most important risk factors of CAC extent, with age, hypertension, dyslipidemia and smoking also showing a relationship. Among patients with CAC, age, diabetes, hypertension and dyslipidemia were associated with an increasing CAC score in males and females, with diabetes being the strongest dichotomous risk factor (p < 0.001 for both). These results were echoed in quantile regression, where diabetes was consistently the most important correlate with CAC extent in every quantile in both males and females. To a lesser extent, hypertension and dyslipidemia were also associated in the high CAC quantiles and the low CAC quantiles respectively. Conclusion: In addition to age and male sex in the total population, diabetes is the most important correlate of CAC extent in both sexes.
|
|
| 10. |
- Zhao, Ying, et al.
(författare)
-
Coronary Calcification and Male Gender Predict Significant Stenosis in Symptomatic Patients in Northern and Southern Europe and the USA : A Euro-CCAD Study
- 2018
-
Ingår i: International Cardiovascular Forum Journal. - : Barcaray Publishing. - 2410-2636 .- 2409-3424. ; 13, s. 16-22
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background and Aims: Significant stenosis is the principal cause of stable angina but its predictors and their variation by geographical region are unclear.Methods and Results: From the European Calcific Coronary Artery Disease (Euro-CCAD) cohort, we retrospectively investigated 5515 symptomatic patients from northern Europe (Denmark, France, Germany), southern Europe (Italy, Spain) and USA. All had conventional cardiovascular risk factor assessment, angiography and CT scanning for coronary artery calcium (CAC) scoring. There were differences in the patient characteristics between the groups, with the USA patients being younger and having more diet and lifestyle-related risk factors, although hypertension may have been better controlled than in Europe. USA patients had a two-fold increase in prevalence of significant stenosis and a three-fold increase in median CAC score. In all three groups, the log CAC score proved to be the strongest predictor of >50% stenosis followed by male gender. In the USA group, there were no additional independently predictive risk factors, although in northern Europe obesity, hypertension, smoking and hypercholesterolaemia remained predictive, with all risk factors other than hypertension proving to be predictive in the southern Europe group. Without the CAC score as a variable, male gender followed by diabetes were the most important predictors in all three regions, with hypertension also proving predictive in northern Europe.Conclusion: In symptomatic patients, the CAC score and male gender were the two most important predictors of significant stenosis in symptomatic patients in northern and southern Europe and the USA.
|
|
