The Impact of Sarcopenia on Clinical Outcomes in Pediatric Crohn's Disease.

Background: The effect of sarcopenia on clinical outcomes in children with Crohn's disease (CD) is unknown. We investigated whether sarcopenia at the diagnosis impacts the outcomes of children with CD.

Methods: This was a retrospective, single-center, case-control study of newly diagnosed children with CD undergoing magnetic resonance (MR) within 1 month from the diagnosis, from 2011 to 2022.

Is transmural healing better than mucosal healing in pediatric Crohn's disease?

Background: Limited data exist on the long-term benefits of transmural healing (TH) in pediatric Crohn's disease (CD).

Aims: To evaluate outcomes children with CD achieving TH compared to those with mucosal healing (MH) and no healing (NH).

Methods: Retrospective, single-center study including children with CD undergoing magnetic resonance enterography (MRE), ileocolonoscopy, and/or capsule endoscopy within a three-month interval.

The Many Faces of Intestinal Tumors in Adults, Including the Primary Role of CT Imaging in Emergencies and the Important Role of Cross-Sectional Imaging: A Pictorial Review.

Small bowel tumors (SBTs) encompass a diverse range of tumor types, with benign tumors being the most prevalent. However, the incidence of malignant SBTs is increasing, particularly small bowel adenocarcinoma; this poses a diagnostic challenge for clinicians and radiologists due to the varied and nonspecific clinical and radiological presentations associated with SBTs. In fact, SBTs can present differently in emergencies, often mimicking inflammatory diseases or manifesting as complications such as intussusception, small bowel obstruction (SBO), intestinal ischemia, perforation, gastrointestinal bleeding, or metastatic disease.

Intestinal and Extraintestinal Findings of Graft-versus-Host Disease on CT: A Case Series with Radiological and Histopathological Correlations.

Graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) is an expected and relatively common complication after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. It may affect different organs and typically involves the skin, liver, and gastrointestinal tract (GI-GVHD). GI-GVHD may show heterogeneous presentations with peculiar diagnostic implications.

Imaging of Peritoneal Carcinomatosis in Advanced Ovarian Cancer: CT, MRI, Radiomic Features and Resectability Criteria.

PC represents the most striking picture of the loco-regional spread of ovarian cancer, configuring stage III. In the last few years, many papers have evaluated the role of imaging and therapeutic management in patients with ovarian cancer and PC. This paper summed up the literature on traditional approaches to the imaging of peritoneal carcinomatosis in advanced ovarian cancer, presenting classification systems, most frequent patterns, routes of spread and sites that are difficult to identify.

A Treat-to-Target Strategy Guided by Pan-Enteric Evaluation in Children With Crohn's Disease Improves Outcomes at 2 Years.

Background And Aims: It is uncertain whether a treat-to-target approach could be an effective strategy for improving outcomes in children with Crohn's disease (CD). Previously, we reported mucosal healing (MH) and deep remission rates throughout the intestinal tract by performing 3 pan-enteric capsule assessments and using a treat-to-target strategy over 52 weeks in children with CD. This report describes the outcomes of this approach at 104 weeks.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Gastrointestinal Tract: Current Role, Recent Advancements and Future Prospectives.

This review focuses on the role of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in the evaluation of the gastrointestinal tract (GI MRI), analyzing the major technical advances achieved in this field, such as diffusion-weighted imaging, molecular imaging, motility studies, and artificial intelligence. Today, MRI performed with the more advanced imaging techniques allows accurate assessment of many bowel diseases, particularly inflammatory bowel disease and rectal cancer; in most of these diseases, MRI is invaluable for diagnosis, staging, and disease monitoring under treatment. Several MRI parameters are currently considered activity biomarkers for inflammation and neoplastic disease.

Whole body MRI with Diffusion Weighted Imaging versus 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose-PET/CT in the staging of lymphomas.

Purpose: To assess the diagnostic performance of Whole Body (WB)-MRI in comparison with 18F-Fluorodeoxyglucose-PET/CT (18F-FDG-PET/CT) in lymphoma staging and to assess whether quantitative metabolic parameters from 18F-FDG-PET/CT and Apparent Diffusion Coefficient (ADC) values are related.

Materials And Methods: We prospectively enrolled patients with a histologically proven primary nodal lymphoma to  undergo 18F-FDG-PET/CT and WB-MRI, both performed within 15 days one from the other, either before starting treatment (baseline) or during treatment (interim). Positive and negative predictive values of WB-MRI for the identification of nodal and extra-nodal disease were measured.

Multi-parametric MRI in the diagnosis and scoring of gastrointestinal acute graft-versus-host disease.

Objectives: Acute gastrointestinal graft-versus-host disease (GI-aGVHD) is a severe complication of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). Diagnosis relies on clinical, endoscopic, and pathological investigations. Our purpose is to assess the value of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in the diagnosis, staging, and prediction of GI-aGVHD-related mortality.

Diffusion Weighted Imaging in Neuro-Oncology: Diagnosis, Post-Treatment Changes, and Advanced Sequences-An Updated Review.

DWI is an imaging technique commonly used for the assessment of acute ischemia, inflammatory disorders, and CNS neoplasia. It has several benefits since it is a quick, easily replicable sequence that is widely used on many standard scanners. In addition to its normal clinical purpose, DWI offers crucial functional and physiological information regarding brain neoplasia and the surrounding milieu.

An Ulcerated Large Colic Lipoma Causing Rectorrhagia Treated With Endoscopic Loop-Assisted Resection.

Colonic lipomatous polyps are often an incidental finding during colonoscopy. Generally, these types of polyps can cause gastrointestinal bleeding when they are larger than 4 cm in size. Some case reports have documented the occurrence of overlying adenomatous formations in the apical portion, as well as ulcerated mucosa.

Candida Albicans Lung Abscess in an Illicit Drugs User With Hepatitis C Virus Chronic Infection.

Illicit substances are widely used all over the world. Among them, crack cocaine results to be the most used drug for the fact that it can be taken in different ways, such as inhaled or intravenous. Pulmonary complications are well known in people snorting it, mostly due to contamination with other substances contained in the objects able to infuse the drug.

Involvement of the exocrine pancreas during COVID-19 infection and possible pathogenetic hypothesis: a concise review.

The gastrointestinal system may be affected by COVID-19 infection with an incidence variable from 3% up to 79%. Several works show that the pancreas, both in its exocrine and endocrine function, can be affected by this viral infection, although this organ has been poorly analyzed in this current epidemic context. This mini-review aims to provide a summary of available studies on exocrine pancreas involvement during COVID-19 infection.

MRI reveals different Crohn's disease phenotypes in children and adults.

Objectives: To identify differences between two cohorts of adult and pediatric patients affected by Crohn's disease (CD), with regard to lesion location in the small intestine and colon-rectum, lesion activity, and prevalence of perianal disease (PD), using MRI as the main diagnostic tool.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 350 consecutive MRI examinations performed between 2013 and 2016 in outpatients or inpatients with histologically proven CD, monitored by the Gastroenterology and Pediatric Units of our Hospital. The magnetic resonance enterography (MRE) protocol for adult and pediatric CD patients routinely includes evaluation of nine different intestinal segments (from jejunum to rectum) and of the anal canal.

A Treat to Target Strategy Using Panenteric Capsule Endoscopy in Pediatric Patients With Crohn's Disease.

Background & Aims: Pan-enteric capsule endoscopy (PCE) is effective for assessment of small intestinal and colonic Crohn's disease (CD) in pediatric patients. We aimed to determine whether PCE can be used to monitor mucosal healing and deep remission, in a treat to target strategy for pediatric patients with CD.

Methods: We performed a prospective study of 48 children with a diagnosis of CD at a tertiary care pediatric gastroenterology unit; 46 patients were included in the final analysis.

Hybrid imaging in Crohn's disease: from SPECT/CT to PET/MR and new image interpretation criteria.

Crohn's disease is a chronic relapsing disease characterized by mucosal inflammation, lymphocytes infiltration and fibrotic strictures. Usually, the assessment of location, extension, inflammatory activity and severity of intestinal lesions is complex and invasive with endoscopic methods or histological and biochemical investigations. Thus, the diagnosis remains a challenge for the management of patients.

Highlights on MRI of the fetal body.

Fetal MRI is a level III diagnostic tool performed subsequently a level II prenatal ultrasound (US), in cases of inconclusive ultrasonographic diagnosis or when a further investigation is required to confirm or improve the diagnosis, to plan an appropriate pregnancy management. Fetal MRI plays an increasingly important role in the prenatal diagnosis of fetal neck, chest and abdominal malformations, even if its role has been amply demonstrated, especially, in the field of fetal CNS anomalies. Due to its multiparametricity and multiplanarity, MRI provides a detailed evaluation of the whole fetal respiratory, gastrointestinal and genitourinary systems, especially on T2-weighted (W) images, with a good tissue contrast resolution.

Magnetic resonance imaging of pelvic floor dysfunction - joint recommendations of the ESUR and ESGAR Pelvic Floor Working Group.

Objective: To develop recommendations that can be used as guidance for standardized approach regarding indications, patient preparation, sequences acquisition, interpretation and reporting of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for diagnosis and grading of pelvic floor dysfunction (PFD).

Methods: The technique included critical literature between 1993 and 2013 and expert consensus about MRI protocols by the pelvic floor-imaging working group of the European Society of Urogenital Radiology (ESUR) and the European Society of Gastrointestinal and Abdominal Radiology (ESGAR) from one Egyptian and seven European institutions. Data collection and analysis were achieved in 5 consecutive steps.

Pulmonary fungal infections in patients with acute myeloid leukaemia: is it the time to revise the radiological diagnostic criteria?

The definition of pulmonary fungal infections (PFI) according to the EORTC-MSG criteria may lack diagnostic sensitivity due to the possible presentation of PFI with different radiological pictures. We evaluated the hypothesis to apply less restrictive radiological criteria to define PFI in patients with acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) submitted to chemotherapy. Overall, 73 consecutive episodes of pulmonary infiltrates associated to positive serum galactomannan test or fungal isolation or galactomannan detection from respiratory specimens were considered.

Role of magnetic resonance imaging in the detection and characterization of solid pancreatic nodules: An update.

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma is the most common malignant tumor of the pancreas. The remaining pancreatic tumors are a diverse group of pancreatic neoplasms that comprises cystic pancreatic neoplasms, endocrine tumors and other uncommon pancreatic tumors. Due to the excellent soft tissue contrast resolution, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is frequently able to readily separate cystic from noncystic tumors.

Prospective Comparison between two different magnetic resonance defecography techniques for evaluating pelvic floor disorders: air-balloon versus gel for rectal filling.

Purpose: to prospectively compare two rectal filling techniques for dynamic MRI of pelvic floor disorders (PFD).

Methods And Materials: Twenty-six patients with PFD underwent the two techniques during the same procedure, one based on rectal placement of a balloon-catheter filled with saline and air insufflation (air-balloon technique or AB); another based on rectal filling with 180 cc of gel (gel-filling technique or GF). The examinations were compared for assessment and staging of PFD, including rectal-descent, rectocele, cystocele, colpocele, enterocele, rectal invagination.

Use of Imaging Techniques in Inflammatory Bowel Diseases That Minimize Radiation Exposure.

The use of imaging in the management of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) has grown exponentially in the last few years. This has raised concerns about the risk of high cumulative level of radiation exposure from medical imaging in IBD patients during their lifetime, especially when the disease begins in pediatric age. Physicians caring for IBD children should be aware of the malignant potential of ionizing radiation and of the availability of alternative radiation-free techniques such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and ultrasonography (US), in order to use them whenever possible.