Imaging the COVID-19: a practical guide.

The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) represents the first medical catastrophe of the new millennium. Although imaging is not a screening test for COVID-19, it plays a crucial role in evaluation and follow-up of COVID-19 patients. In this paper, we will review typical and atypical imaging findings of COVID-19.

Longitudinal changes in LIC and other parameters in patients receiving different chelation regimens: Data from LICNET.

OBJECTIVES: The liver remains the primary site of iron storage, with liver iron concentration (LIC) being a strong surrogate of total body iron. MRI-R2 can accurately measure LIC. The LICNET (Liver Iron Cutino Network) was established to diagnostics of liver iron overload by MRI-R2 subjects with hemochromatosis in hematological disorders. The aims of the study were to look at variation in LIC measurements during time across different chelation regimens. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study of 130 patients attending 9 Italian centers participating in the LICNET. LIC comparisons over time (T0 and T1 ) were made using t test and/or Wilcoxon test. RESULTS: LIC significantly decreased from MRI1 to MRI2 although at high variance (median change -0.8 mg Fe/g dw, range: -29.0 to 33.0; P = .011) and 7.7% of patients shifted from LIC values of high risk (>15 mg Fe/g dw) to an intermediate-risk category (7-15 mg Fe/g dw). Median change in LIC and correlation with serum ferritin levels (SF), during different chelation regimens, is reported. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest as longitudinal variation in the LIC is possible, across all chelation regimens. It confirms as SF levels not always can be used for estimating changes in LIC.

Real-life experience with liver iron concentration R2 MRI measurement in patients with hemoglobinopathies: baseline data from LICNET.

BACKGROUND: Real-life data on the use of R2 MRI for the assessment of liver iron concentration (LIC) remain limited. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional analysis on 363 patients (mean age 35.6 yr, 44.1% men) with hemoglobinopathies (204 ß-thalassemia major [TM], 102 ß-thalassemia intermedia [TI], and 57 sickle cell disease [SCD]) that were evaluated with R2 MRI as part of LICNET, an MRI network of 13 Italian treatment centers. RESULTS: The mean LIC was 7.8 mg/g (median: 4.0), with high LIC (>7 mg/g) noted in both transfused (TM, TI 37%; SCD 38%) and non-transfused (TI 20%) patients. Ferritin levels correlated with LIC in both transfused (TM, TI, SCD) and non-transfused (TI) patients (P < 0.001), although lower values predicted high LIC in non-transfused patients (1900 vs. 650 ng/mL in TM vs. non-transfused TI). A correlation between LIC and ALT levels was only noted in HCV-negative patients (rs = 0.316, P < 0.001). The proportion of patients with high LIC was significantly different between iron chelators used (P = 0.023), with the lowest proportion in deferasirox (30%) and highest in deferiprone (53%)-treated patients. CONCLUSIONS: High LIC values persist in subgroups of patients with hemoglobinopathy, warranting closer monitoring and management optimization, even for non-transfused patients with relatively low ferritin levels.

Sarcopenia is a negative predictive factor for endoscopic remission in patients with Crohn's disease treated with biologics.

BACKGROUND: Sarcopenia has been associated with poor prognosis in chronic diseases. AIMS: To investigate the role of sarcopenia in predicting clinical and endoscopic outcomes in patients with Crohn's disease (CD). METHODS: Consecutive CD patients who started biologics between 2014 and 2020 and underwent abdominal magnetic resonance or computed tomography within 6 months from the beginning of the biological therapy were enroled. Sarcopenia was defined as Psoas Muscle Index (PMI) lower than 5.4 cm²/m² (men) and 3.56 cm²/m² (women). Univariate and multivariate analyses were used to evaluate whether sarcopenia could predict steroid-free clinical remission (SFCR), endoscopic remission (ER), hospitalisation and surgery after 12 months of therapy. RESULTS: 358 patients were included. Sarcopenia was found in 18.2% of patients, and it was associated with a lower rate of ER (14.8% vs 47.7%; p = 0.002) after 12 months of therapy, while it was not associated with SFCR (65.1% vs 70.1%; p = 0.435), hospitalisation (9.2% vs 7.8%; p = 0.801) and surgery (3.1% vs 6.1%; p = 0.549). Sarcopenia was identified as a predictor of lack of ER (odds ratio [OR]=5.2; p = 0.006), as well as smoking (OR=2.5; p = 0.028) and perianal disease (OR=2.6; p = 0.020). CONCLUSION: Sarcopenia is a negative prognostic factor for ER in CD patients treated with biologics.

Blood-based prognostic biomarkers in Crohn's Disease patients on biologics: a promising tool to predict endoscopic outcomes.

OBJECTIVE: There is a growing need for biomarkers to predict therapeutic outcome in Crohn's disease (CD). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The aim was to evaluate whether NLR (neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio), PLR (platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio), ELR (eosinophil-to-lymphocyte ratio), and ENLR (eosinophil*neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio), could be prognostic biomarkers of endoscopic response (ER) when starting biologics. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Patients with CD who started biologics were enrolled. Multivariate analysis was used to evaluate whether NLR, PLR, ELR and ENLR at baseline and at w12 could predict ER (Simple Endoscopic Score for Crohn's disease [SES-CD] ≤2 or SES-CD≤2 and Rutgeerts i0-i1) after 52 weeks of treatment. Area under the curve (AUC) was calculated to find the cutoffs. RESULTS: 107 patients were included. Patients who achieved ER had significantly lower baseline NLR (p = 0.025), ELR (p = 0.013), and ENLR (p = 0.020) compared with those without ER; results after 12 weeks of treatment for ELR (p = 0.006) and ENLR (p = 0.003). AUC was 0.64 (p = 0.003), 0.67 (p = 0.006) and 0.65 (p = 0.014) for NLR, ELR and ENLR. CONCLUSIONS: Low NLR, ELR and ENLR can predict ER and could be used in clinical practice for a better management of CD patients.

The role of portal vein thrombosis in the clinical course of inflammatory bowel diseases: report on three cases and review of the literature.

Inflammatory bowel diseases are associated with an increased risk of vascular complications. The most important are arterial and venous thromboembolisms, which are considered as specific extraintestinal manifestations of inflammatory bowel diseases. Among venous thromboembolism events, portal vein thrombosis has been described in inflammatory bowel diseases. We report three cases of portal vein thrombosis occurring in patients with active inflammatory bowel disease. In two of them, hepatic abscess was present. Furthermore, we performed a systematic review based on the clinical literature published on this topic.

Delayed-onset superior mesenteric artery syndrome presenting as oesophageal peptic stricture.

Superior mesenteric artery (SMA) syndrome is an infrequent cause of vomiting and weight loss due to compression of the third part of the duodenum by the SMA. We describe the case of a 17-year-old woman, admitted to our department for progressive dysphagia and severe weight loss due to an oesophageal peptic stricture, caused by chronic acid reflux secondary to duodenal compression by the SMA. Symptoms improved after (par)enteral nutrition and repeated oesophageal dilatation, thus supporting the role of intensive medical and endoscopic intervention as an alternative to surgery, at least in some cases.