diff --git a/be/app/core/exceptions.py b/be/app/core/exceptions.py
index 7d34b38..14911ac 100644
--- a/be/app/core/exceptions.py
+++ b/be/app/core/exceptions.py
@@ -114,10 +114,10 @@ class DatabaseIntegrityError(HTTPException):
 
 class DatabaseTransactionError(HTTPException):
     """Raised when a database transaction fails."""
-    def __init__(self):
+    def __init__(self, detail: str = settings.DB_TRANSACTION_ERROR):
         super().__init__(
             status_code=status.HTTP_500_INTERNAL_SERVER_ERROR,
-            detail=settings.DB_TRANSACTION_ERROR
+            detail=detail
         )
 
 class DatabaseQueryError(HTTPException):
diff --git a/be/app/crud/item.py b/be/app/crud/item.py
index 19b6969..9bd8726 100644
--- a/be/app/crud/item.py
+++ b/be/app/crud/item.py
@@ -20,25 +20,31 @@ from app.core.exceptions import (
 async def create_item(db: AsyncSession, item_in: ItemCreate, list_id: int, user_id: int) -> ItemModel:
     """Creates a new item record for a specific list."""
     try:
-        async with db.begin():
-            db_item = ItemModel(
-                name=item_in.name,
-                quantity=item_in.quantity,
-                list_id=list_id,
-                added_by_id=user_id,
-                is_complete=False # Default on creation
-                # version is implicitly set to 1 by model default
-            )
-            db.add(db_item)
-            await db.flush()
-            await db.refresh(db_item)
-            return db_item
+        db_item = ItemModel(
+            name=item_in.name,
+            quantity=item_in.quantity,
+            list_id=list_id,
+            added_by_id=user_id,
+            is_complete=False # Default on creation
+            # version is implicitly set to 1 by model default
+        )
+        db.add(db_item)
+        await db.flush()
+        await db.refresh(db_item)
+        await db.commit() # Explicitly commit here
+        return db_item
     except IntegrityError as e:
+        await db.rollback() # Rollback on integrity error
         raise DatabaseIntegrityError(f"Failed to create item: {str(e)}")
     except OperationalError as e:
+        await db.rollback() # Rollback on operational error
         raise DatabaseConnectionError(f"Database connection error: {str(e)}")
     except SQLAlchemyError as e:
+        await db.rollback() # Rollback on other SQLAlchemy errors
         raise DatabaseTransactionError(f"Failed to create item: {str(e)}")
+    except Exception as e: # Catch any other exception and attempt rollback
+        await db.rollback()
+        raise # Re-raise the original exception
 
 async def get_items_by_list_id(db: AsyncSession, list_id: int) -> PyList[ItemModel]:
     """Gets all items belonging to a specific list, ordered by creation time."""