No abstract

Patients exposed to a surgical safety checklist experience better postoperative outcomes, but this could simply reflect wider quality of care in hospitals where checklist use is routine.

Our aims were to assess diagnostic performance of T2-weighted (T2W) and dynamic gadolinium-enhanced T1-weighted (T1W) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in the preoperative assessment of myometrial and cervical invasion by endometrial carcinoma and to identify imaging features that predict nodal metastases. Two radiologists retrospectively reviewed MR images of 96 patients with endometrial carcinoma. Tumor size, depth of myometrial and cervical invasion, and nodal enlargement were recorded and then correlated with histology. The sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values (PPV and NPV) for the identification of any myometrial invasion (superficial or deep) were 0.94, 0.50, 0.93, 0.55 on T2W and 0.92, 0.50, 0.92, 0.50 on dynamic T1W, and for deep myometrial invasion were 0.84, 0.78, 0.65, 0.91 on T2W and 0.72, 0.88, 0.72, 0.88 on dynamic T1W. The sensitivity, specificity, PPV and NPV for any cervical invasion (endocervical or stromal) were 0.65, 0.87, 0.57, 0.90 on T2W and 0.50, 0.90, 0.46, 0.92 on dynamic T1W, and for cervical stromal involvement were 0.69, 0.95, 0.69, 0.95 on T2W and 0.50, 0.96, 0.57, 0.95 on dynamic T1W. Leiomyoma or adenomyosis were seen in 73% of misdiagnosed cases. Sensitivity and specificity for the detection of nodal metastases was 66% and 73%, respectively. Fifty percent of patients with cervical invasion on MRI had nodal metastases. In conclusion, MRI has a high sensitivity for detecting myometrial invasion and a high NPV for deep invasion. MRI has a high specificity and NPV for detecting cervical invasion. Dynamic enhancement did not improve diagnostic performance. MRI may allow accurate categorization of cases into low- or high-risk groups ensuring suitable extent of surgery and adjuvant therapy.

Purpose The study aimed to compare the incidence of interstitial pneumonia on [ 18 F]-FDG PET/CT scans between two 6-month periods: (a) the COVID-19 pandemic peak and (b) control period. Secondly, we compared the incidence of interstitial pneumonia on [ 18 F]-FDG PET/CT and epidemiological data from the regional registry of COVID-19 cases. Additionally, imaging findings and the intensity of [ 18 F]-FDG PET/CT uptake in terms of maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax) were compared. Methods We retrospectively analyzed [ 18 F]-FDG PET/CT scans performed in cancer patients referred to nuclear medicine of Humanitas Gavazzeni in Bergamo from December 2019 to May 2020 and from December 2018 to May 2019. The per month incidence of interstitial pneumonia at imaging and the epidemiological data were assessed. To evaluate the differences between the two symmetric groups (period of COVID-19 pandemic and control), the stratified Cochran-Mantel-Haenszel test was used. Chi-square test or Fisher's exact test and t test or Wilcoxon test were performed to compare the distributions of categorical and continuous variables, respectively. Results Overall, 1298 patients were included in the study. The two cohorts-COVID-19 pandemic (n = 575) and control (n = 723)-did not statistically differ in terms of age, disease, or scan indication (p > 0.05). Signs of interstitial pneumonia were observed in 24 (4.2%) and 14 patients (1.9%) in the COVID-19 period and the control period, respectively, with a statistically significant difference (p = 0.013). The level of statistical significance improved further when the period from January to May was considered, with a peak in March (7/83 patients, 8.4% vs 3/134 patients, 2.2%, p = 0.001). The curve of interstitial pneumonia diagnosis overlapped with the COVID-19 incidence in the area of Lombardy (Spearman correlation index was equal to 1). Imaging data did not differ among the two cohorts. Conclusions Significant increase of interstitial lung alterations at [ 18 F]-FDG PET/CT has been demonstrated during the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, the incidence curve of imaging abnormalities resulted in resembling the epidemiological data of the general population. These data support the rationale to adopt [ 18 F]-FDG PET/CT as sentinel modality to identify suspicious COVID-19 cases to be referred for additional confirmatory testing. Nuclear medicine physicians and staff should continue active surveillance of interstitial pneumonia findings, especially when new infection peak is expected.

In a population where the predictive power of the NNECDSG model was confirmed, CLIN-RISK was more powerful. Both clinical models were further improved by the addition of preoperative plasma EO levels. These new models provide improved predictability of the relative risk for the development of AKI following cardiac surgery and suggest that EO is a marker for renal vascular injury.