Letizia Di Meglio

Dr. Letizia Di Meglio


Research Focus & Metrics

Academic Career Length

7Years (2020-Present)

(Calculated once Scilit publication data is synced: current year − year of first publication + 1)

Representative Publications

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15 January 2021 in Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology
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Journal Article
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MBMaxime Blain
Maxime Blain
MKMichael T. Kassin
Michael T. Kassin
NVNicole Varble
Nicole Varble
XWXiaosong Wang
Xiaosong Wang
ZXZiyue Xu
Ziyue Xu
BWBradford J Wood
Bradford J Wood
Chest X-ray plays a key role in diagnosis and management of COVID-19 patients and imaging features associated with clinical elements may assist with the development or validation of automated image analysis tools. We aimed to identify associations between clinical and radiographic features as well as to assess the feasibility of deep learning applied to chest X-rays in the setting of an acute COVID-19 outbreak. A retrospective study of X-rays, clinical, and laboratory data was performed from 48 SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR positive patients (age 60±17 years, 15 women) between February 22 and March 6, 2020 from a tertiary care hospital in Milan, Italy. Sixty-five chest X-rays were reviewed by two radiologists for alveolar and interstitial opacities and classified by severity on a scale from 0 to 3. Clinical factors (age, symptoms, comorbidities) were investigated for association with opacity severity and also with placement of central line or endotracheal tube. Deep learning models were then trained for two tasks: lung segmentation and opacity detection. Imaging characteristics were compared to clinical datapoints using the unpaired student’s t-test or Mann-Whitney U test. Cohen’s kappa analysis was used to evaluate the concordance of deep learning to conventional radiologist interpretation. Fifty-six percent of patients presented with alveolar opacities, 73% had interstitial opacities, and 23% had normal X-rays. The presence of alveolar or interstitial opacities was statistically correlated with age (p = 0.008) and comorbidities (p = 0.005). The extent of alveolar or interstitial opacities on baseline X-ray was significantly associated with the presence of endotracheal tube (p = 0.0008 and p = 0.049) or central line (p = 0.003 and p = 0.007). In comparison to human interpretation, the deep learning model achieved a kappa concordance of 0.51 for alveolar opacities and 0.71 for interstitial opacities. Chest X-ray analysis in an acute COVID-19 outbreak showed that the severity of opacities was associated with advanced age, comorbidities, as well as acuity of care. Artificial intelligence tools based upon deep learning of COVID-19 chest X-rays are feasible in the acute outbreak setting.

1 November 2023 in Radiology
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Journal Article
Closed access
SLStefano Luzzago
Stefano Luzzago
ACAlberto Colombo
Alberto Colombo
FMFrancesco Alessandro Mistretta
Francesco Alessandro Mistretta
SASarah Alessi
Sarah Alessi
ETEttore Di Trapani
Ettore Di Trapani
GPGiuseppe Petralia
Giuseppe Petralia
Background Current predictive tools to estimate the risk of biochemical recurrence (BCR) after treatment of prostate cancer do not consider multiparametric MRI (mpMRI) information. Purpose To develop a risk prediction tool that considers mpMRI findings to assess the risk of 5-year BCR after radical prostatectomy. Materials and Methods In this retrospective single-center analysis in 1459 patients with prostate cancer who underwent mpMRI before radical prostatectomy (in 2012-2015), the outcome of interest was 5-year BCR (two consecutive prostate-specific antigen [PSA] levels > 0.2 ng/mL [0.2 µg/L]). Patients were randomly divided into training (70%) and test (30%) sets. Kaplan-Meier plots were applied to the training set to estimate survival probabilities. Multivariable Cox regression models were used to test the relationship between BCR and different sets of exploratory variables. The C-index of the final model was calculated for the training and test sets and was compared with European Association of Urology, University of California San Francisco Cancer of the Prostate Risk Assessment, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, and Partin risk tools using the partial likelihood ratio test. Five risk categories were created. Results The median duration of follow-up in the whole cohort was 59 months (IQR, 32-81 months); 376 of 1459 (25.8%) patients had BCR. A multivariable Cox regression model (referred to as PIPEN, and composed of PSA density, International Society of Urological Pathology grade group, Prostate Imaging Reporting and Data System category, European Society of Urogenital Radiology extraprostatic extension score, nodes) fitted to the training data yielded a C-index of 0.74, superior to that of other predictive tools (C-index 0.70 for all models; P ≤ .01) and a median higher C-index on 500 test set replications (C-index, 0.73). Five PIPEN risk categories were identified with 5-year BCR-free survival rates of 92%, 84%, 71%, 56%, and 26% in very low-, low-, intermediate-, high-, and very high-risk patients, respectively (all P < .001). Conclusion A five-item model for predicting the risk of 5-year BCR after radical prostatectomy for prostate cancer was developed and internally verified, and five risk categories were identified. © RSNA, 2023 Supplemental material is available for this article. See also the editorial by Aguirre and Ortegón in this issue.

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Journal Article
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GOGiuliana Orlandi
Giuliana Orlandi
PTPaolo Toscano
Paolo Toscano
OGOlimpia Gabrielli
Olimpia Gabrielli
ELEnrica Di Lella
Enrica Di Lella
ALAntonia Lettieri
Antonia Lettieri
AMAniello Di Meglio
Aniello Di Meglio
Introduction: A congenital intrathoracic kidney (ITK) is a rare anomaly that is recognized to have four causes: renal ectopia with an intact diaphragm, diaphragmatic eventration, diaphragmatic hernia, and traumatic diaphragmatic rupture. We report a case of a prenatal-diagnosed ITK related to a congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) and conducted a systematic review of all cases of the prenatal diagnosis of this association. Case presentation: A fetal ultrasound scan at 22 gestational weeks showed left CDH and ITK, hyperechoic left lung parenchyma, and mediastinal shift. The fetal echocardiography and karyotype were normal. Magnetic resonance imaging at 30 gestational weeks confirmed the ultrasound suspicion of left CDH in association with bowel and left kidney herniation. The fetal growth, amniotic fluid, and Doppler indices remained within the normal range over time. The woman delivered the newborn via an at-term spontaneous vaginal delivery. The newborn was stabilized and underwent non-urgent surgical correction; the postoperative course was uneventful. Conclusions: CDH is the rarest cause of ITK; we found only eleven cases describing this association. The mean gestational age at diagnosis was 29 ± 4 weeks and 4 days. There were seven cases of right and four cases of left CDH. There were associated anomalies in only three fetuses. All women delivered live babies, the herniated kidneys showed no functional damage after their surgical correction, and the prognosis was favorable after surgical repair. The prenatal diagnosis and counseling of this condition are important in planning adequate prenatal and postnatal management in order to improve neonatal outcomes.

21 July 2020 in Journal of Clinical Imaging Science
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Journal Article
Open access
SASalvatore Alessio Angileri
Salvatore Alessio Angileri
MPMario Petrillo
Mario Petrillo
LMLetizia Di Meglio
Letizia Di Meglio
AAAntonio Arrichiello
Antonio Arrichiello
GRGiovanni Maria Rodà
Giovanni Maria Rodà
GCGianpaolo Carrafiello
Gianpaolo Carrafiello
Clinical manifestation of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) varies from asymptomatic to severe clinical forms that can result in acute respiratory distress syndrome or in multiple organ dysfunction syndromes. There are no guidelines, based on randomized controlled trials, for the treatment of COVID-19 patients. The treatment is based on antiviral drugs, invasive and non-invasive ventilation supports, and anticoagulant therapy. This is a pictorial essay covering the multiple adverse events encountered during the treatment of COVID-19 patients in an area with a high pandemic incidence. Adverse events are defined as unexpected events following treatment for the infection. The cases described would be useful in aiding early diagnosis, limiting and improving the management of serious complications for patients, and allowing rapid and appropriate treatment.

Verified
Journal Article
Open access
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LMLuigi Manzo
Luigi Manzo
GOGiuliana Orlandi
Giuliana Orlandi
OGOlimpia Gabrielli
Olimpia Gabrielli
PTPaolo Toscano
Paolo Toscano
ELEnrica Di Lella
Enrica Di Lella
AMAniello Di Meglio
Aniello Di Meglio
Background and Objectives: The present study aims to provide prenatal 2-dimensional ultrasonographic (2D-US) nomograms of the normal cerebellar area. Materials and Methods: This is a prospective cross-sectional analysis of 252 normal singleton pregnancies, ranging from 13 to 39 weeks of gestation. The operator performed measurements of the fetal cerebellar area in the transverse plane using 2D-US. The relationship between cerebellar area and gestational age (GA) was determined through regression equations. Results: A significant, strong positive correlation was investigated between the cerebellar area with GA (r-value = 0.89), and a positive correlation indicates that with increasing GA, the cerebellar area increased in all the participants of the study. Several 2D-US nomograms of the normal cerebellar area were provided, and an increase of 0.4% in the cerebellar area each week of GA was reported. Conclusions: We presented information on the typical dimensions of the fetal cerebellar area throughout gestation. In future studies, it could be evaluated how the cerebellar area changes with cerebellar abnormalities. It should be established if calculating the cerebellar area in addition to the routine transverse cerebellar diameter may help in discriminating posterior fossa anomalies or even help to identify anomalies that would otherwise remain undetected.

23 September 2020
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
AAAntonio Arrichiello
Antonio Arrichiello
SASalvatore Alessio Angileri
Salvatore Alessio Angileri
GBGiorgio Buccimazza
Giorgio Buccimazza
FBFrancesco Di Bartolomeo
Francesco Di Bartolomeo
LMLetizia Di Meglio
Letizia Di Meglio
GCGianpaolo Carrafiello
Gianpaolo Carrafiello
High-flow priapism is a persistent partial penile tumescence, related to high flow arterial blood into the corpora. It is much less common than the low-flow priapism, and history of trauma is the more common aetiology. In the treatment of high flow priapism, super-selective embolization is considered treatment of choice when conservative treatment fails as reported in the “European Association of Urology Guidelines on Priapism”, but there are only few series reporting the outcome, the efficacy of different embolic materials and these studies are uncontrolled and relatively small. The aim of this study is to review the literature to outline the state of the art of this interventional treatment and to analyse the outcome of the different embolic agents. Through Medline database (via PubMed) we searched all the English-language published articles related to priapism. Keywords were chosen according to MeSH terms. We selected case-series from 1990 to 2020 including at least five cases of high-flow priapism. The variables extracted from the selected articles were: number of patients, mean age, diagnostic imaging modality, mono or bilateral involvement of the arteries, embolization material, technical success, clinical success, complications, recurrence rate and type of reintervention, mean follow up, onset of erectile dysfunction. We analyzed 11 papers. A total of 117 patients, mean age of 30 years, were studied during a period of 8 to 72 months. Technical success average was 99%, varying from 93 to 100%. Clinical success average was 88%, varying from 56 to 100%. After two or more treatments, resolution of priapism was obtained in all patients. No major adverse events registered. Recurrence rate of 21% (25/117) was observed, and only 4 patients underwent surgery. A total of 17 patients (15%) developed erectile dysfunction (ED). We also created a subgroup analysis focusing on specific outcome with different types of materials. Technical success was very high, 100% for all materials except for PVA particles Clinical Success was at least 70% with all kind of material. Best result was obtained with gel-foam (89%) and the worse with PVA (70%). Our data suggested comparable outcomes using different types of materials. In line with the last evidences we suggest that the choice of the embolic material should be selected basing on the expertise of the operator, the characteristic of the fistula and characteristic of the patients. (www.actabiomedica.it)