Biomedical subjects

Eugenio Genovese

Publications and source records attributed to Eugenio Genovese.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2005

The role of interventional radiology in the management of kidney transplant complications.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the role and the effectiveness of interventional radiology in the treatment of renal transplant complications. MATERIALS AND METHODS: From 1996 to 2004 a total of 288 kidney transplants from cadavers were performed in our Institute. The kidney was always collocated in iliac fossa by creating a vascular anastomosis with the external iliac artery and vein; in all cases the ureter was implanted into the recipient bladder. During the follow-up, 34 complications were observed. Twenty-seven complications in 25 patients (20 males and 5 females; age 35-65 years) were treated by a radiologic procedure: 9 renal artery stenosis and 1 native external iliac artery stenosis (by PTA), 5 ureteral obstructions (by nephrostomy and ureteral stenting), 8 ureteral leaks (by nephrostomy, in 2 cases associated to ureteral stenting) and 4 limphoceles (by percutaneous ultrasound-guided catheter drainage). RESULTS: Primary technical success was obtained in 20/27 cases (74%). Success was obtained with a second interventional procedure in 3/27 cases, 2 limphoceles and 1 ureteral fistula (secondary technical success: 85.2%), with a clinical final success in 23/27 cases (85.2%). We observed a peri-procedural complication rate of 3.7% (1 renal artery post-PTA dissection during a restenosis treatment). Four cases (1 renal arterial post-PTA dissection, 1 ureteral obstruction, 1 ureteral leak and 1 limphocele) needed a surgical correction (14.8%). CONCLUSIONS: Interventional radiology is the first therapeutic approach to treat renal transplant complications. It shows good technical and clinical results and a low complication rate. Surgery had to be considered only if minimally invasive procedures are infeasible or ineffective.

Adult↗

PubMed2004

Idiopathic central diabetes insipidus is associated with abnormal blood supply to the posterior pituitary gland caused by vascular impairment of the inferior hypophyseal artery system.

Central diabetes insipidus (CDI) has been linked to vascular central nervous system damage, although the pathophysiology of the mechanism has never been perfectly understood. Indeed, the vascular system of human pituitary gland has rarely been the subject of rigorous investigation except at postmortem. Recently, studies of pituitary gland blood supply have been carried out by means of a time evaluation of pituitary gland enhancement with noninvasive dynamic magnetic resonance (MR) imaging after contrast medium injection. In the present study, we decided to investigate the status of posterior pituitary blood supply by evaluating vascular pituitary patterns in a group of 19 patients with idiopathic CDI in whom previous standard MR imaging had failed to identify causal specific lesions. The control group was composed of 55 subjects with a median age of 12 yr (range, 4.2-17 yr) who had idiopathic isolated GH deficiency and normal pituitary morphology and 15 young adults (18-25 yr) who had normal pituitary gland and no endocrine dysfunction. Nineteen patients (12 females and seven males), ranging in age at the time of diagnosis of CDI from 0.5-14.9 yr (median, 5 yr), were examined with dynamic MR imaging between 1990 and 1997 at a median age of 14.1 yr (range, 5.0-26.3 yr). CDI was diagnosed according to clinical findings of polyuria and polydipsia, water deprivation test, and desmopressin acetate therapeutic trial. All of the patients had permanent CDI and were being treated with satisfactory results with desmopressin, two to three times daily, either intranasally or orally. The previous MR imaging findings of the 19 CDI patients had shown the absence of posterior pituitary hyperintensity, normal pituitary stalk, and normal anterior pituitary size. Enhancement of the straight sinus, representing a temporal reference point and occurring in normal subjects simultaneously to that of the posterior pituitary gland, was observed in all subjects after iv gadopentetate dimeglumine administration, with no substantial differences between patients and controls. However, the enhancement of the posterior pituitary lobe occurred simultaneously with the enhancement of the straight sinus in all of the controls but in only 14 of the 19 patients with CDI. In the remaining five patients, the enhancement of the straight sinus was not associated with the expected contrast enhancement of the posterior pituitary gland, suggesting abnormal blood supply to the posterior pituitary lobe. This is in keeping with vascular impairment of the inferior hypophyseal artery system and suggests that abnormal blood supply to the posterior pituitary gland is associated with what, until now, has been considered idiopathic CDI.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2003

Capsulo-labro-ligamentous lesions of the shoulder: evaluation with MR arthrography.

PURPOSE: The aim of the study was to analyse the accuracy of MR arthrography in the evaluation of capsulo-labro-ligamentous lesions of the shoulder in patients with glenohumeral joint instability. MATERIALS AND METHODS: From 1999 to 2001 fifty-eight patients with glenohumeral joint instability were studied by MR arthrography. Twenty-seven patients underwent surgical repair: 11 by arthroscopic and 16 by arthrotomic approach. All shoulder evaluations were performed with T1 and T2 weighted axial, coronal and sagittal oblique images, before and after intra-articular injection of gadolinium contrast. RESULTS: Forty capsulo-ligamentous lesions (including 14 capsular ruptures with extravasation of the contrast medium) were detected by MR arthrography. Fifty-two labral tears (36 of the anterior, 13 of the superior and 3 of the posterior glenoid labrum) were identified: 11 out of 52 were not recognized before gadolinium contrast injection. Five rotator cuff tears were identified, one of which was not shown in the pre-injection examination. Surgical results confirmed the MR arthrographic findings in 25/27 patients. In one case MR arthrography did not recognize a SLAP lesion; in another case it identified a tear of the capsule but not of the glenoid labrum. CONCLUSIONS: In many cases of subacute glenohumeral joint lesions with intracapsular fluid, MR may accurately evaluate capsulo-labral-ligamentous lesions. Indeed, the examination of lesions is limited by the absence of the natural contrast determined by fluid; in such cases, intra-articular injection of gadolinium contrast is necessary. MR arthrography evaluates the degree of capsulo-labro-ligamentous tears and may guide the surgical approach.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

MR Arthrography: a proposal for solution optimization with lidocaine. An in vitro experience.

PURPOSE: Pain on capsule distension in painful joints may affect feasibility of the MR Arthrography. We tried to overcome this limitation by adding a local anesthetic (lidocaine) to the paramagnetic contrast agent solution. We aimed at: a) investigating which contrast agent dilution provides the best signal-to-noise ratio in the SE T1 sequences; b) evaluating the effects of lidocaine on the signal intensity and on the viscosity of the solutions; assessing the viscosity of solutions containing iodinated contrast agent. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The paramagnetic contrast agent was diluted with saline and lidocaine at various concentrations. Signal intensity was measured with a 1.5 Tesla superconductive MR unit with a dedicated head coil; we used T1-weighted spin-echo sequence. The viscosity coefficient of the solutions was analyzed and compared with that of solutions containing iodinated contrast agents (but not lidocaine). RESULTS: Signal intensity is also unaffected by variations in the concentration of lidocaine, which does not interfere with the biphasic behavior of Gadolinium. Viscosity is scarcely affected by changes in lidocaine concentration when the paramagnetic contrast agent concentration is not changed. CONCLUSIONS: The optimal signal-to-noise ratio in T1-weighted sequences is provided by 0.4%, contrast agent dilution but contrast agent-saline solutions, with(out) lidocaine, cannot be considered steady and signal intensity values change over time. The addition of lidocaine does not significantly influence the signal-to-noise ratio and the viscosity of the solutions. The low viscosity of the paramagnetic contrast agent appears to favor quicker spread of the solution, even in tiny defects; thanks to its anesthetic effect, lidocaine could facilitates execution of the examination in painful joints without affecting the diagnostic result.

Anesthetics, Local↗