Diagnostic Gold Standard Research Articles

Abstract 36: The Boston Criteria V2.0 for Cerebral Amyloid Angiopathy: Updated Criteria and Multicenter MRI-Neuropathology Validation

Introduction: The Boston criteria are used worldwide for in vivo diagnosis of cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA). Given substantial advances in CAA research, we aimed to update the Boston criteria and externally validate their diagnostic accuracy across the spectrum of CAA-related presentations and across international sites. Methods: As part of an International CAA Association multicenter study, we identified patients age 50 or older with potential CAA-related clinical presentations (spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage, cognitive impairment, or transient focal neurological episodes), available brain MRI, and histopathologic assessment for the diagnosis of CAA. We derived Boston criteria v2.0 by selecting MRI features to optimize diagnostic specificity and sensitivity in a pre-specified derivation sample (Boston cases 1994 to 2012, n=159), then externally validated in pre-specified temporal (Boston cases 2012-2018, n=59) and geographical (non-Boston cases 2004-2018; n=123) validation samples and compared their diagnostic accuracy to the currently used modified Boston criteria. Results: Based on exploratory analyses in the derivation sample, we derived provisional criteria for probable CAA requiring presence of at least 2 strictly lobar hemorrhagic lesions (intracerebral hemorrhage, cerebral microbleed, or cortical superficial siderosis focus) or at least 1 strictly lobar hemorrhagic lesion and 1 white matter characteristic (severe degree of visible perivascular spaces in centrum semiovale or white matter hyperintensities multispot pattern). Sensitivity/specificity of the criteria were 74.8/84.6% in the derivation sample, 92.5/89.5% in the temporal validation sample, 80.2/81.5% in the geographic validation sample, and 74.5/95.0% in cases across all samples with autopsy as the diagnostic gold standard. The v2.0 criteria for probable CAA had superior accuracy to the currently modified Boston criteria (p<0.005) in the autopsied cases. Conclusion: The Boston criteria v.2.0 incorporate emerging MRI markers of CAA to enhance sensitivity without compromising their high specificity. Validation of the criteria across independent patient settings firmly supports their adoption into clinical practice and research.

Abstract PO-017: Annotation-free 3D gland segmentation with generative image-sequence translation for prostate cancer risk assessment

Abstract 1. Purpose We developed an annotation-free image-translation-based approach for 3D segmentation of prostate glands within 3D-histology datasets of whole biopsies stained with a low-cost and rapid-diffusing fluorescent analog of H&E. 2. Introduction The current diagnostic gold standard of histopathology provides a limited 2D view of complex 3D glandular structures in prostate specimens, which contributes to high interobserver variability and reduced prognostic accuracy. We have recently developed nondestructive 3D pathology methods based on open-top light-sheet (OTLS) microscopy. In order to train prognostic models based on 3D glandular morphology, we have developed an objective (biomarker-based) 3D gland-segmentation method that does not rely upon tedious and subjective manual annotations, and which can operate on images of tissue stained with a cheap and fast-diffusing (small molecule) fluorescent analog of H&E. 3. Methods We first convert H&E-analog images into synthetic 3D immunofluorescence (IF) images of cytokeratin-8 (CK8), a biomarker expressed by the luminal epithelial cells that surround all prostate glands. This conversion was performed by treating the 3D data as sequences of 2D images and adapting a generative adversarial network (GAN)-based video-synthesis model to perform image-sequence translation with high depth-wise continuity between frames. Based on the synthetic CK8 images, glands were then objectively segmented in 3D using a thresholding/morphology-based algorithm. This two-step method obviates the need for labor-intensive and subjective manual 3D annotations, as would be needed to train a single-step segmentation model. A 3D structural similarity (SSIM) index was assessed between synthetic and real CK8 images. In addition, based on ground-truth manual annotations of glands in ten 0.2-mm3 regions, we calculated voxel-based Dice coefficients to compare our segmentation accuracy vs. two baseline methods. 4. Results The synthetic CK8 images exhibited high fidelity (3D SSIM = 0.696) and optimal continuity with depth. Our segmentation accuracy outperformed two baseline methods, with Dice coefficients (averaged for 10 samples) of: 0.882 (our method), 0.725 (3D watershed), 0.643 (2D U-net). We are now applying our method to 3D histology datasets of whole biopsies (n > 1000) acquired ex vivo from prostatectomy specimens (N ~ 200), where we are extracting 3D histomorphometric gland features to predict biochemical recurrence (BCR) post-prostatectomy in men with prostate cancer. 5. Conclusions Our annotation-free segmentation method relies upon generative synthetic 3D IF images from H&E-analog images in order to objectively segment the 3D prostate gland network. These accurate 3D segmentations are being extended to whole-biopsy 3D pathology datasets for prostate cancer risk assessment. Citation Format: Weisi Xie, Adam Glaser, Nicholas Reder, Nadia Postupna, Chenyi Mao, Can Koyuncu, Patrick Leo, Robert Serafin, Hongyi Huang, Anant Madabhushi, Lawrence True, Jonathan T.C. Liu. Annotation-free 3D gland segmentation with generative image-sequence translation for prostate cancer risk assessment [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Virtual Special Conference on Artificial Intelligence, Diagnosis, and Imaging; 2021 Jan 13-14. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Clin Cancer Res 2021;27(5_Suppl):Abstract nr PO-017.

Eczematous Drug Eruptions.

Eczematous drug eruptions are a heterogenous group of skin reactions that resemble eczema both clinically and histologically. We reviewed the literature and cataloged the systemically administered medications that cause these eruptions, along with their characteristic clinical presentations. We identified three primary pathophysiologic etiologies: (1) cutaneous immunomodulation, (2) skin dehydration, and (3) delayed hypersensitivity. Notably, eczematous eruptions caused by altered immunity in the skin may be increasing in incidence as some responsible drugs, in particular biologic therapies (such as tumor necrosis factor-α and interleukin-17 inhibitors) and targeted cancer treatments (including immune checkpoint inhibitors and epidermal growth factor receptor inhibitors), become more commonly employed in clinical practice. Other notable causes of eczematous eruptions include antiviral agents for hepatitis C virus and cardiovascular medications in elderly individuals, and notable subtypes of eczematous reactions include systemic contact dermatitis and photoallergic reactions, which are also discussed. The diagnostic gold standard is drug rechallenge and most reactions may be treated effectively with emollients, topical corticosteroids, and oral antihistamines.

Computed tomography-guided pararectal prostate fusion biopsy

Background . Prostate cancer (PCa) is one of the most common malignancies. The gold standard of PCa diagnostics is morphological examination of prostate tissues obtained using 10-12-core biopsy. However, the number of false-negative results and detected clinically insignificant forms of cancer remain high. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is the most sensitive and specific method of radiation diagnosis of PCa. The use of MRI data for prostate biopsy (fusion-biopsy) increases the accuracy of this procedure. Objective : to increase the accuracy of PCa diagnostics using targeted pararectal prostate biopsy guided by computed tomography (CT)/MRI. Materials and methods . A total of 95 patients underwent CT/MRI-guided targeted pararectal biopsy between March 2015 and March 2020. The mean level of prostate specific antigen (PSA) was 13.7 ± 12.6 ng/mL. All men were found to have 1 to 3 lesions with a PI-RADS score between 3 and 5. Patients were divided into 4 groups: 1 st group (n = 33) included patients in whom transrectal access was impossible; 2 nd group (n = 22) included patients with suspected local recurrence of PCa after brachytherapy; 3 rd group (n = 28) included patients with a negative result of primary biopsy, but with growing PSA level; 4th group (n = 12) included patients who preferred targeted biopsy. We performed targeted biopsy of each suspicious lesion according to MRIscans. Then we performed ‘blind’ systematic 10-14-core biopsy, where we did not take into account the location of suspicious foci and they could be, therefore, accidentally used for sample collection for the second time. Results . Histological examination revealed PCa in 71 out of 95 patients (74.7 %): in 27 out of 33 in 1 st group (81.8 %), in 19 out of 22 in 2 nd group (86.4 %), in 17 out of 28 in 3 rd group (60.7 %), and in 8 out of 12 in 4 th group (66.7 %). In 21 patients (29.6 %), PCa was diagnosed only in samples obtained using targeted biopsy; in 9 patients (12.7 %), PCa was diagnosed only in samples after systematic biopsy; in 41 patients (57.7 % PCa was detected by both targeted and systematic biopsy. Clinically significant cancer (Gleason score ≥7) was diagnosed in 84.5 % of cases after targeted biopsy and in 70.4 % of cases after systemic biopsy. Conclusion . CT/MRI-guided prostate fusion biopsy increases the accuracy of PCa diagnostics by additional detection of clinically significant tumors, including those in patients in whom the rectal access is impossible.

Emergency Physicians Performing Point-of-Care Lung Sonography to Diagnose Pneumonia: A Prospective Multicenter Study

Objective: There has always been some issues in the accurate diagnosis of pneumonia, a common cause of emergency department (ED) visits and revisits, which is typically made based on the patient’s clinical syndrome. This is made more difficult due to the traditional chest radiography having limited accuracy. This prospective multicenter study was conducted to determine the diagnostic accuracy of a point-of-care lung sonography performed by emergency physicians for the diagnosis of pneumonia in an acute care setting. This was compared with chest computed tomography (CT), the diagnostic gold standard. Methods: ED patients who presented with signs and symptoms of pneumonia were eligible to enroll in the study. After enrollment, point-of-care lung sonography was performed on patients by emergency physicians who had passed a focused teaching course on lung sonographic findings of pneumonia. All enrolled patients were followed up. Patients who underwent a chest CT during their hospital admission course were finally included and analyzed. Results: Emergency physicians who performed a point-of-care lung sonography had a sensitivity of 100%, specificity of 75%, positive predictive value of 88.88%, negative predictive value of 100%, and an overall accuracy of 90% in the diagnosis of pneumonia. Conclusion: These emergency physicians could accurately diagnose pneumonia, with a point-of-care lung sonography, after completing a focused sonography course.

Uroperitoneum in neonatal foals - a review of the literature

Uroperitoneum is a typical disease in newborn foals. An accumulation of urine develops in the abdominal cavity in consequence to a congenital or acquired leakage in the urinary tract. Colts are more frequently affected than fillies. The most common cause of uroperitoneum is a rupture of the dorsal urinary bladder wall. The urinary bladder is affected in 73.1 %, the urachus in 21.6 % and the ureter in 5.2 % of cases. Typical clinical signs occur 2-5 days postpartum, and encompass reduced general condition, abdominal distention, mild colic symptoms and unphysiologic micturition. Ultrasound examination in conjunction with abdominocentesis is considered as the gold standard of diagnostics. Typical laboratory findings are azotemia, metabolic acidosis as well as electrolyte imbalances, particularly hyperkalemia, hyponatriemia and hypochloridemia. Surgical treatment is the only reasonable therapy. Preoperative metabolic disorders and electrolyte abnormalities should be corrected prior to surgery. Especially hyperkalemia leads to a high potential for complications during general anesthesia. Following effective perioperative stabilization, the presence of a defect in the bladder wall or the urachus carries a good prognosis. In total, 63.6 % of the affected foals are healed. Most common complication is a recurrence of uroperitoneum caused by disruption of the suture line or an incomplete closure of the defect.

The complexity of Alzheimer's disease: an evolving puzzle.

The history of Alzheimer's disease (AD) started in 1907, but we needed to wait until the end of the century to identify the components of pathological hallmarks and genetic subtypes and to formulate the first pathogenic hypothesis. Thanks to biomarkers and new technologies, the concept of AD then rapidly changed from a static view of an amnestic dementia of the presenium to a biological entity that could be clinically manifested as normal cognition or dementia of different types. What is clearly emerging from studies is that AD is heterogeneous in each aspect, such as amyloid composition, tau distribution, relation between amyloid and tau, clinical symptoms, and genetic background, and thus it is probably impossible to explain AD with a single pathological process. The scientific approach to AD suffers from chronological mismatches between clinical, pathological, and technological data, causing difficulty in conceiving diagnostic gold standards and in creating models for drug discovery and screening. A recent mathematical computer-based approach offers the opportunity to study AD in real life and to provide a new point of view and the final missing pieces of the AD puzzle.

Interstitial lung disease associated with connective tissue disease

Interstitial lung disease (ILD) is the most frequent organ manifestation in rheumatic autoimmune disease. Depending on the underlying autoimmune disease, differently pronounced affections of small airways, interstitial parenchyma, and vessels are found. The group of rheumatic autoimmune diseases mainly includes connective tissue diseases (CTDs), also known as collagen vascular diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA), systemic sclerosis, (SSc), systemic lupus erythematosus, primary Sjögren's syndrome, idiopathic inflammatory myositis (IIM), and interstitial pneumonia with autoimmune features (IPAF). Frequency and manifestations of parenchymal lung disorders are described clinically, radiologically, and morphologically in these entities. For the precise diagnosis and for the differentiation between the wide range of parenchymal disorders with known possible cause or with unknown origin, also called unclassifiable or idiopathic interstitial pneumonias (IIPs), high resolution computed tomography (HRCT) findings represent the diagnostic gold standard. Atransbronchial biopsy, surgical biopsy, or cryobiopsy will be used in unclassifiable findings to confirm adefinitive histological confirmation. Aprecise diagnosis of these ILDs is crucial since the different pathologies that encompass ILD have different therapeutic options. In this sense, the participation of a pneumologist, rheumatologist, radiologist, and pathologist become essential in the multidisciplinary evolution of ILD.

Diagnosis of skin and soft tissue infections using near-infrared spectroscopy.

AimSkin and soft tissue infections are classified into cellulitis and necrotizing fasciitis, which are difficult to distinguish. Necrotizing fasciitis has a poor prognosis and requires immediate intensive care. The diagnostic gold standard is to incise the lesion to determine whether necrosis has reached the fascia. We aimed to show that these infections can be differentiated using near‐infrared spectroscopy.MethodsWe describe two cases in an observational study about the utility of near‐infrared spectroscopy. Case 1 involved a 77‐year‐old man with a chief complaint of pain, redness, and swelling in the right lower leg for 1 week. Computed tomography of his legs showed no gas formation. Case 2 involved an 82‐year‐old man. He visited another hospital because of pain, redness, and swelling in the right thigh. Based on the X‐ray examination, necrotizing fasciitis was suspected, and he was transferred to our hospital.ResultsIn Case 1, the regional oxygen saturation value was lower on the lesion side (41%) than on the healthy side (55%). We confirmed the depth of invasion by incision, leading to a diagnosis of necrotizing fasciitis. In Case 2, the thigh’s regional oxygen saturation was higher on the affected side (76%) than on the healthy side (61%). An incision was made for diagnosis, but the fascia was not necrotized. Thus, we diagnosed cellulitis and provided conservative treatment using antibiotics.ConclusionNear‐infrared spectroscopy can be utilized to measure tissue blood flow, and it could be useful as a non‐invasive diagnostic tool for skin and soft tissue infections.

Diagnosing small fiber neuropathy in clinical practice: a deep phenotyping study.

Background and aims:Small fiber neuropathy (SFN) is increasingly suspected in patients with pain of uncertain origin, and making the diagnosis remains a challenge lacking a diagnostic gold standard.Methods:In this case–control study, we prospectively recruited 86 patients with a medical history and clinical phenotype suggestive of SFN. Patients underwent neurological examination, quantitative sensory testing (QST), and distal and proximal skin punch biopsy, and were tested for pain-associated gene loci. Fifty-five of these patients additionally underwent pain-related evoked potentials (PREP), corneal confocal microscopy (CCM), and a quantitative sudomotor axon reflex test (QSART).Results:Abnormal distal intraepidermal nerve fiber density (IENFD) (60/86, 70%) and neurological examination (53/86, 62%) most frequently reflected small fiber disease. Adding CCM and/or PREP further increased the number of patients with small fiber impairment to 47/55 (85%). Genetic testing revealed potentially pathogenic gene variants in 14/86 (16%) index patients. QST, QSART, and proximal IENFD were of lower impact.Conclusion:We propose to diagnose SFN primarily based on the results of neurological examination and distal IENFD, with more detailed phenotyping in specialized centers.

DIAGNOSTIC AND PREDICTIVE VALUE OF RIGHT HEART CATHETERIZATION-DERIVED MEASUREMENTS IN PULMONARY HYPERTENSION

Right heart catheterization is a unique tool not only in the diagnosis but also in the management of patients with a wide range of cardiovascular diseases. The technique dates back to the 18th century, but the biggest advances were made in the 20th century. This review focuses on pulmonary hypertension for which right heart catheterization remains the diagnostic gold standard. Right heart catheterization-derived parameters help classify pulmonary hypertension into several subgroups, assess risk of adverse events or mortality and make therapeutic decisions. According to the European Society of Cardiology guidelines pulmonary hypertension (PH) is defined as an increase in mean pulmonary artery pressure (PAPm) > 25 mmHg, whereas a distinction between pre- and post-capillary PH is made based on levels of pulmonary artery wedge pressure (PAWP). Moreover, right atrial pressure (RAP), cardiac index (CI) and mixed venous oxygen saturation (SvO2) are the only parameters recommended to assess prognosis and only in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Patients with RAP > 14 mmHg, CI < 2.0 l/min/m2 and SvO2 < 60% are at high (> 10%) risk of death within the next year. The purpose of this paper is to show that RHC-derived parameters can be used on a considerably larger scale than currently recommended. Several prognostic parameters, with specific thresholds have been identified for each subtype of pulmonary hypertension and can be helpful in everyday practice for treatment of PH.

Advancing Eosinophilic Esophagitis Diagnosis and Phenotype Assessment with Deep Learning Computer Vision.

Eosinophilic Esophagitis (EoE) is an inflammatory esophageal disease which is increasing in prevalence. The diagnostic gold-standard involves manual review of a patient's biopsy tissue sample by a clinical pathologist for the presence of 15 or greater eosinophils within a single high-power field (400× magnification). Diagnosing EoE can be a cumbersome process with added difficulty for assessing the severity and progression of disease. We propose an automated approach for quantifying eosinophils using deep image segmentation. A U-Net model and post-processing system are applied to generate eosinophil-based statistics that can diagnose EoE as well as describe disease severity and progression. These statistics are captured in biopsies at the initial EoE diagnosis and are then compared with patient metadata: clinical and treatment phenotypes. The goal is to find linkages that could potentially guide treatment plans for new patients at their initial disease diagnosis. A deep image classification model is further applied to discover features other than eosinophils that can be used to diagnose EoE. This is the first study to utilize a deep learning computer vision approach for EoE diagnosis and to provide an automated process for tracking disease severity and progression.

VATS-резекція нижньої долі лівої легені як результат лікування віддаленого наслідку перенесеної аспірації стороннього тіла в дихальні шляхи дитини: клінічний випадок

Introduction. Foreign bodies in the airways are a very urgent problem that occurs at any age and quite often requires an urgent and sometimes urgent assessment of the situation, examination, and making the right decision. According to statistics, most often foreign body in airway are found in childhood. In about 95–98% of cases, this pathology is recorded in children aged 1.5 to 3 years. This is due to the behavior of children, their anatomical and physiological characteristics and underdevelopment of protective reflexes. Among all cases of foreign body in airway, foreign bodies of the larynx are found in 12%, trachea – in 18%, bronchus – in 70% of cases. In 80% of cases, CTs enter the right bronchus, as it is a broader and more direct continuation of the trachea. The correct diagnosis is established early after CT aspiration in 40–57% of patients. The mortality rate varies, according to different authors, from 2 to 15%. Clinical case. The boy V., born in 2008. was admitted to the Department of Pediatric Pulmonology on May 30, 2019, with complaints of frequent unproductive cough, mainly daytime, increasing with physical exertion, sometimes subfibril body temperature, weakness, lethargy, decrease appetite. These complaints have been observed for the third time in the last six months. Diagnosis: Foreign body B10 of the left lung. Conclusions. Aspiration of a foreign body into the respiratory tract most often occurs in early childhood (1–3 years). The clinical picture in the early stages is asymptomatic, and over time it leads to the development of inflammatory changes in the lungs, are treated conservatively. Given the complexity of diagnosis, aspiration of a foreign body can lead to frequent recurrent pneumonia, the formation of bronchiectasis in the lower parts of the lungs, which may require surgical treatment. The gold standard of diagnostics is fibrobronchoscopy and spiral computed tomography of the thoracic cavity (SCT OGK), with the help of which, early after aspiration, a foreign body can be detected and subsequently excluded from the respiratory tract. The research was carried out in accordance with the principles of the Helsinki Declaration. The study protocol was approved by the Local Ethics Committee of an participating institution.The informed consent of the child’s parents was obtained from the studies. No conflict of interest was declared by the authors. Key words: child, lungs, foreign body.

Clinical Prediction of outcomes in Acute Pancreatitis with Various Prognostic Indicators and Modified CTSI

Introduction: Acute pancreatitis is the most common cause of patients presenting to the emergency department with pain abdomen. It is an inflammatory process of the pancreas that can range from mild inflammation to severe extensive pancreatic necrosis and multi-organ failure with mortality rates of 20% to 30%. Diagnosis can be difficult, because there is no pathognomic clinical presentation and no diagnostic gold standard. Material and Methods: It was a prospective cross-sectional descriptive study conducted in the Department of Gastroenterology at Sapthagiri Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Center from December 2019 – August 2020 among 100 patients. Results: The total patients studied in this study were 100, which comprises of 93 males and 7 females. Among the male population the maximum age group is 41-50. Next comes the 31-40 which includes 30 patients. Among the female population the maximum age group is 41-50 which includes about 4 patients. In our study distribution of the SAP within and above the cut off value of the different prognostic scores. 11 patients with SAP had RANSONs score &lt; 3 and 10 with SAP had RANSON score ≥ 3. 11 patients with SAP had APACHE II score of ≥8 whereas 10 had APACHE II score &lt; 8. But only 8 patients with SAP had BISAP score &lt; 3 and 13 SAP patients had BISAP score ≥ 3. MCTSI score in 11 SAP was &lt; 4 and 10 patients with MCTSI had ≥ 4. Conclusion: BISAP score is simple and it is the better scoring system in predicting the prognosis when compared to other scores &amp; MCTSI. BISAP score has many advantages when compared to other scoring systems.

A Rapid and Cost-Effective Gene Expression Assay for the Diagnosis of Well-Differentiated and Dedifferentiated Liposarcomas

Histologic examination neither reliably distinguishes benign lipomas from atypical lipomatous tumor/well-differentiated liposarcoma, nor dedifferentiated liposarcoma from other pleomorphic sarcomas, entities with different prognoses and management. Molecular confirmation of pathognomonic 12q13-15 amplifications leading to MDM2 overexpression is a diagnostic gold standard. Currently the most commonly used assay for this purpose is fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), but this is labor intensive. This study assessed whether newer NanoString-based technology could allow for more rapid and cost-efficient diagnosis of liposarcomas on standard formalin-fixed tissues through gene expression. Leveraging large-scale transcriptome data from The Cancer Genome Atlas, 20 genes were identified, most from the 12q13-15 amplicon, that distinguish dedifferentiated liposarcoma from other sarcomas and can be measured within a single NanoString assay. Using 21 cases of histologically ambiguous low-grade adipocytic tumors with available MDM2 amplification status, a machine learning-based analytical pipeline was built that assigns a given sample as negative or positive for liposarcoma based on quantitative gene expression. The effectiveness of the assay was validated on an independent set of 100 sarcoma samples (including 40 incident prospective cases), where histologic examination was considered insufficient for clinical diagnosis. The NanoString assay had a 93% technical success rate, and an accuracy of 97.8% versus an MDM2 amplification FISH gold standard. NanoString had a considerably faster turnaround time and was cheaper than FISH.

Left Ventricular Non-Compaction: Review of the Current Diagnostic Challenges and Consequences in Athletes.

Left ventricular non-compaction (LVNC) is a complex clinical condition with no diagnostic gold standard. At present, there is trepidation about the accuracy of the diagnosis, the correlation to clinical outcomes and the long-term medical management. This article reviews the current imaging criteria, the limitations of echocardiography and cardiac magnetic resonance and the consequences of LV hypertrabeculation in athletes.

Long term clinical outcomes associated with CMR quantified isolated left ventricular non-compaction in adults

BackgroundLeft ventricular non-compaction (LVNC) is a complex clinical condition with several diagnostic criteria but no diagnostic gold standard. We aimed to evaluate our thresholding technique in a group of patients with LVNC and assess the risk of major adverse cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events (MACCE). MethodsWe retrospectively analyzed cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) scans of patients with Petersen criteria LVNC and quantified noncompacted myocardial mass. We assessed the association of noncompacted myocardial mass, CMR derived LV volumetric parameters and late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) to MACCE including cardiac death, cardiac transplantation, sustained ventricular tachycardia/ventricular fibrillation (VT/VF) and ischemic stroke. Patients with known genetic mutations and cardiovascular disease were excluded. Results98 patients with LVNC were included (55 males,56.7%); 17(17.3%) patients had impaired LV function and five (5.1%) had LGE. Patients with impaired LV function had more end-systolic noncompacted mass (61.9 g±22.4 vs. 38.1 g±15.8, p < 0.001) and larger end-systolic noncompacted to total myocardial mass (44%±9 vs. 36%±12, p = 0.003). At 78 months follow-up [interquartile range(IQR) 66–90], MACCE occurred in 11(11.3%) patients; nine(81.8%) had impaired LV function and two(18.2%) had LGE. Impaired LV function and LV LGE were predictors of MACCE (HR = 35.6, 95% CI = 7.65–165.21, p < 0.001 and HR = 16.2, 95% CI = 4.54–57.84, p < 0.001) whereas noncompacted mass were not. ConclusionNoncompacted mass was not an independent predictor of major adverse events but in patients with impaired LV function and/or LV LGE, the risk of MACCE was high. These results highlight the importance of including LV volumetrics and scar in the assessment of patients with LV noncompaction.

The use of chest ultrasonography in suspectedcases of COVID-19 in the emergency department.

Aim:Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus-specific reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) represents the diagnostic gold standard. We explored the value of chest ultrasonography to predict positivity to SARS-CoV-2 on RT-PCR in suspected COVID-19 cases.Patients & methods:Consecutive patients with suspect COVID-19 were included if they had fever and/or history of cough and/or dyspnea. Lung ultrasound score (LUSS) was computed according to published methods.Results:A total of 76 patients were included. A 3-variable model based on aspartate transaminase (AST) > upper limit of normal, LUSS >12 and body temperature >37.5°C yielded an overall accuracy of 91%.Conclusion:A simple LUSS-based model may represent a powerful tool for initial assessment in suspected cases of COVID-19.

Alteration of contrast enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) of hepatocellular carcinoma in patients with cirrhosis and transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS)

Transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) can treat portal hypertensive complications and modifies hepatic hemodynamics. Modification of liver perfusion can alter contrast enhancement dynamics of liver nodules. This study investigated the diagnostic performance of contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) to diagnose hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in cirrhosis with TIPS. In this prospective monocentric observational study, CEUS was used to characterize focal liver lesions in patients at risk for HCC with and without TIPS. Times of arterial phase hyperenhancement (APHE) und washout were quantified. Perfusion-index (PI) and resistance-index (RI) of hepatic artery and portal venous flow parameters were measured via doppler ultrasonography. Diagnostic gold standard was MRI/CT or histology. This study included 49 liver lesions [23 TIPS (11 HCC), 26 no TIPS (15 HCC)]. 26 were diagnosed as HCC by gold standard. Sensitivity and specificity of CEUS to diagnose HCC with and without TIPS were 93.3% and 100% vs. 90.9% and 93.3%, respectively. APHE appeared significantly earlier in patients with TIPS compared to patients without TIPS. TIPS significantly accentuates APHE of HCC in CEUS. CEUS has good diagnostic performance for diagnosis of HCC in patients with TIPS.

Prediction of acute neurovascular syndromes with prehospital clinical features witnessed by bystanders.

The prompt recognition of an acute neurovascular syndrome by the patient or a bystander witnessing the event can directly influence outcome. We aimed to study the predictive value of the medical history and clinical features recognized by the patients' bystanders to preclassify acute stroke syndromes in prehospital settings. We analyzed 369 patients: 209 (56.6%) with acute ischemic stroke (AIS), 107 (29.0%) with intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), and 53 (14.4%) with subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). All patients had neuroimaging as diagnostic gold standard. We constructed clinical prediction rules (CPRs) with features recognized by the bystanders witnessing the stroke onset to classify the acute neurovascular syndromes before final arrival to the emergency room (ER). In all, 83.2% cases were referred from other centers, and only 16.8% (17.2% in AIS, 15% in ICH, and 18.9% in SAH) had direct ER arrival. The time to first assessment in ≤3h occurred in 72.4% (73.7%, 73.8%, and 64.2%, respectively), and final ER arrival in ≤3h occurred in 26.8% (32.1%, 15.9%, and 28.3%, respectively). Clinical features referred by witnesses had low positive predictive values (PPVs) for stroke type prediction. Language or speech disorder + focal motor deficit showed 63.3% PPV, and 77.0% negative predictive value (NPV) for predicting AIS. Focal motor deficit + history of hypertension had 35.9% PPV and 78.8% NPV for ICH. Headache alone had 27.9% PPV and 95.3% NPV for SAH. In multivariate analyses, seizures, focal motor deficit, and hypertension increased the probability of a time to first assessment in ≤3h, while obesity was inversely associated. Final ER arrival was determined by age and a direct ER arrival without previous referrals. CPRs constructed with the witnesses' narrative had only adequate NPVs in the prehospital classification of acute neurovascular syndromes, before neuroimaging confirmation.