Giuseppe Lanni

The coronary arteries are a pair of arteries that branch off from the aorta and encircle the heart, providing oxygenated blood to the myocardium. Although coronary artery atherosclerosis remains a main cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, coronary artery anomalies (CAAs) are increasingly recognized as a clinically relevant cause of ischemic events and can be subdivided into origin, course, or termination anomalies. The aim of this narrative review is to summarize the cross-sectional diagnostic imaging and clinical background of CAAs.

Here, we present the case of a 25-year-old patient with G542X and G85E cystic fibrosis mutations who underwent computed tomography examination before and after triple-combination therapy. Clear improvement in sinonasal and lung involvement is visible two years after modulator treatment initiation. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report about sinonasal improvement demonstrated by computed tomography images in a patient with G542X/G85E mutations.

Here, we describe a case of an asymptomatic 73-year-old female patient who suffered from type A acute aortic dissection with epiaortic arteries involvement and underwent surgical operation 9 years ago. A follow-up color Doppler ultrasound revealed a right vertebral artery intermittent flow reversal due to innominate artery dissection. To our knowledge, no previous studies have reported this intermittent flow reversal; therefore, supra-aortic trunks should be considered among the possible causes of vertebral artery flow reversal.

Here, we describe the case of an asymptomatic 70-year-old male patient who performed a contrast-enhanced computed tomography examination for prostate cancer staging, and an exceptional finding was reported. Specifically, a probable and never before reported minimal V aortic arch remnant with a thin intima–media band that joins together the anterior and posterior aortic walls.

Dermatologic ultrasonography applications are rapidly growing in all skin fields. Thanks to very high spatial resolution, high-frequency and ultra-high-frequency ultrasound can evaluate smaller structures, allowing us to improve diagnosis accuracy and disease activity. Moreover, they can guide treatment, such as drug injection, and assess therapy efficacy and complications. In this narrative review, we evaluated high-frequency ultrasound and ultra-high-frequency ultrasound in infections, inflammatory dermatoses, metabolic and genetic disorders, specific cutaneous structure skin disorders, vascular and external-agent-associated disorders, neoplastic diseases, and aesthetics.

Dermatologic ultrasonography applications are rapidly growing in all skin fields. Thanks to very high spatial resolution, high-frequency and ultra-high-frequency ultrasound can evaluate smaller structures allowing us to improve diagnosis accuracy and disease activity. Moreover, they can guide treatment, such as drug injection, and assess therapy efficacy and complications. In this narrative review, we evaluated high-frequency ultrasound and ultra-high-frequency ultrasound in infections, inflammatory dermatoses, metabolic and genetic disorders, specific cutaneous structure skin disorders, vascular and external agents associated disorders, neoplastic diseases, and aesthetics.

A cardiac lesion detected at ultrasonography might turn out to be a normal structure, a benign tumor or rarely a malignancy, and lesion characterization is very important to appropriately manage the lesion itself. The exact relationship of the mass with coronary arteries and the knowledge of possible concomitant coronary artery disease are necessary preoperative information. Moreover, the increasingly performed coronary CT angiography to evaluate non-invasively coronary artery disease leads to a rising number of incidental findings. Therefore, CT and MRI are frequently performed imaging modalities when echocardiography is deemed insufficient to evaluate a lesion. A brief comprehensive overview about diagnostic radiological imaging and the clinical background of cardiac masses and pseudomasses is reported.

Background and Objectives: Recently published articles reported an association between psoriasis and interstitial lung diseases (ILDs). The aim of this study is to evaluate the differences in ILD computed tomography (CT) patterns between smoker and never smoker plaque psoriasis (PP) patients under topical treatment without psoriatic arthritis (PA), inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) or connective tissue diseases (CTDs). Matherials and Methods: Two radiologists evaluated chest CT examinations of 65 patients (33 smokers, 32 never smokers) with PP. Results: Usual interstitial pneumonia (UIP) pattern was diagnosed in 36 patients, nonspecific interstitial pneumonia pattern in 19, hypersensitivity pneumonitis in 7 and pleuropulmonary fibroelastosis (PPFE) in 3 patients. UIP pattern showed a statistically significant higher frequency in smoker patients (p = 0.0351). Respiratory symptoms were reported in 80% of patients. Conclusions: ILDs seems to represent a new comorbidity associated with psoriasis. Moreover, a statistically significant association between smokers and UIP pattern in PP patients is found. Respiratory symptoms should be evaluated in PP patients, in collaboration with a radiologist and a pneumologist. However, further studies are required to better understand the epidemiology of ILDs in PP patients.

Cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) modulator therapy effects on respiratory function, pulmonary exacerbations and quality of life have been well documented. However, CFTR modulator therapy effects on sinus disease have not been so well reported. A previous study reported that ivacaftor improves appearance of sinus disease on Computed Tomography (CT) in cystic fibrosis (CF) patients with G551D mutation. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of CFTR modulator therapy in sinus disease using CT scores in a wider CF patient population. Forty-eight adult patients with CF underwent at least one CT sinus examination before CFTR modulator therapy (ivacaftor, lumacaftor, ivacaftor/lumacaftor or elexcaftor/tezacaftor/ivacaftor) and one CT sinus examination one year after CFTR modulator therapy initiation. Two radiologists assessed the images in consensus. The Lund-Mackay score (LM score) and the Sheikh-Lind CT sinus disease severity scoring system (SL score) were used. The 22-item SinoNasal Outcome Test (SNOT-22) questionnaire was evaluated before CFTR modulator therapy and one year after CFTR modulator therapy initiation. CT sinus examination after CFTR modulator therapy showed statistically significant lower mean LM, SL and SNOT-22 scores than CT sinus examination before CFTR modulator therapy (p < 0.001). Evolution of imaging findings on CT during follow-up closely correlate with improved SNOT-22 score one year after CFTR modulator therapy initiation, indicating that CT may be a useful adjunct during follow-up of CF patients under this treatment as an objective measure of sinonasal disease improvement.