Impact of increasing levels of adaptive statistical iterative reconstruction on image quality in oil-based postmortem CT angiography in coronary arteries.

INTRODUCTION: Postmortem multi-detector computed tomography (PMCT) has become an important part in forensic imaging. Modern reconstruction techniques such as iterative reconstruction (IR) are frequently used in postmortem CT angiography (PMCTA). The image quality of PMCTA depends on the strength of IR. For this purpose, we aimed to investigate the impact of different advanced IR levels on the objective and subjective PMCTA image quality. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed the coronary arteries of 27 human cadavers undergoing whole-body postmortem CT angiography between July 2017 and March 2018 in a single center. Iterative reconstructions of the coronary arteries were processed in five different level settings (0%; 30%; 50%; 70%; 100%) by using an adaptive statistical IR method. We evaluated the objective (contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR)) and subjective image quality in several anatomical locations. RESULTS: Our results demonstrate that the increasing levels of an IR technique have relevant impact on the image quality in PMCTA scans in forensic postmortem examinations. Higher levels of IR have led to a significant reduction of image noise and therefore to a significant improvement of objective image quality (+ 70%). However, subjective image quality is inferior at higher levels of IR due to plasticized image appearance. CONCLUSION: Objective image quality in PMCTA progressively improves with increasing level of IR with the best CNR at the highest IR level. However, subjective image quality is best at low to medium levels of IR. To obtain a "classic" image appearance with optimal image quality, PMCTAs should be reconstructed at medium levels of IR.

Changes in central adipose tissue after switching to integrase inhibitors.

Background: Treatment with integrase strand transfer inhibitors (INSTIs) has been associated with excess weight gain, however the long-term effect of INSTI-based regimens on adipose tissue (AT) compartments remains unknown.Objectives: To evaluate the effect of switching to an INSTI on visceral (VAT) and subcutaneous (SAT) AT in virologically-suppressed adults with HIV.Methods: We performed a retrospective observational cohort study of ART experienced adults referred to the metabolic Clinic of the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia who had ≥2 assessments of body composition by abdominal computed tomography. An interrupted time series model with mixed-effect model incorporated was used to calculate VAT and SAT change rate, adjusting for smoking status, use of alcohol, and physical activity.Results: A total of 698 patients were included: 156 who switched to an INSTI-based regimen and 542 who did not. After switch to INSTI, mean SAT area increased approximately 3-fold (before 0.27 vs after 0.73 cm2/month; p = 0.011), and VAT area 7-fold (0.18 vs 1.30 cm2/month; p < 0.001).Conclusions: Among PLWH on ART, both SAT and VAT gain accelerated after switching to an INSTI-based regimen. The associations between INSTIs and central adiposity require further investigation.

Predictive Role Of Body Composition Parameters In Operable Breast Cancer Patients Treated With Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy.

BACKGROUND: Fat tissue is strongly involved in BC tumorigenesis inducing insulin resistance, chronic inflammation and hormonal changes. Computed tomography (CT) imaging instead of body mass index (BMI) gives a reliable measure of skeletal muscle mass and body fat distribution. The impact of body composition parameters (BCPs) on chemosensitivity is still debated. We examined the associations between BCPs and tumor response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NC) in patients treated for operable breast cancer (BC). METHODS: A retrospective review of BC patients treated with NC in Modena Cancer Center between 2005 and 2017 was performed. BCPs, such as subcutaneous fat area (SFA), visceral fat area (VFA), lumbar skeletal muscle index (LSMI) and liver-to-spleen (L/S) ratio were calculated by Advance workstation (General Electric), software ADW server 3.2 or 4.7. BMI and BCPs were correlated with pathological complete response (pCR) and survival outcomes. RESULTS: 407 patients were included in the study: 55% with BMI < 25 and 45% with BMI ≥ 25. 137 of them had pre-treatment CT scan imagines. Overweight was significantly associated with postmenopausal status and older age. Hormonal receptor positive BC was more frequent in overweight patients (p<0.05). Postmenopausal women had higher VFA, fatty liver disease and obesity compared to premenopausal patients. No association between BMI classes and tumor response was detected. High VFA and liver steatosis were negative predictive factors for pCR (pCR rate: 36% normal VFA vs 20% high VFA, p= 0.048; no steatosis 32% vs steatosis 13%, p=0.056). Neither BMI classes nor BCPs significantly influenced overall survival and relapse-free survival. CONCLUSION: Visceral adiposity as well as steatosis were closely involved in chemosensitivity in BC patients treated with NC. Their measures from clinically acquired CT scans provide significant predictive information that outperform BMI value. More research is required to evaluate the relationship among adiposity site and survival outcomes.