Mode of delivery and peripartum outcome in women with heart disease according to the ESC guidelines: an Italian multicenter study.

INTRODUCTION: The European Society of Cardiology (ESC) guidelines (GL) provide indications on the mode of delivery in women with heart disease. However available data suggests that the rate of Cesarean Delivery (CD) is high and widely variable among such patients. In this study, we aimed to investigate the degree of adherence to the ESC recommendations among women delivering in four tertiary maternity services in Italy and how this affects the maternal and neonatal outcomes. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Retrospective multicenter cohort study including pregnant women with heart disease who gave birth between January 2014 and July 2020. Composite adverse maternal outcome (CAM) was defined by the occurrence of one or more of the following: major postpartum hemorrhage, thrombo-embolic or ischemic event, de novo arrhythmia, heart failure, endocarditis, aortic dissection, need for re-surgery, sepsis, maternal death. Composite Adverse Neonatal outcome (CAN) was defined as cord arterial pH <7.00, APGAR <7 at 5 min, admission to the intensive care unit, and neonatal death. We compared the incidence of CAM and CAN between the cases with planned delivery in accordance (group "ESC consistent") or in disagreement (group "ESC not consistent") with the ESC GL. RESULTS: Overall, 175 women and 181 liveborn were included. A higher frequency of CAN was found when delivery was not planned accordingly to the ESC guidelines [("ESC consistent" 9/124 (7.2%) vs "ESC not consistent" 13/57 (22.8%) p = 0.002 OR 3.74 (CI 95% 1.49-9.74) , while the occurrence of CAM was comparable between the two groups. At logistic regression analysis, the gestational age at delivery was the only parameter independently associated with the occurrence of CAN (p = 0.006). CONCLUSION: Among pregnant women with heart disease, deviating from the ESC guidelines scheduling cesarean delivery does not seem to improve maternal outcomes and it is associated with worse perinatal outcomes, mainly due to lower gestational age at birth.

The Gustilo-Anderson classification system as predictor of nonunion and infection in open tibia fractures.

PURPOSE: We sought to conduct the largest retrospective study to date of open tibia fractures and describe the incidence of complications and evaluate the potential predictive risk factors for complications. METHODS: Patients with open tibia fractures treated with reamed intramedullary nail (IMN) across a 10-year period were evaluated. Patient charts were reviewed for demographics, type of open fracture (T), comorbidities, and postoperative complications. A multivariate model was conducted to determine the risk factors for each type of complication. RESULTS: Of the 486 patients with open tibia fractures, 13 % (n = 64) had infections, 12 % (n = 56) had nonunions, and 1 % (n = 7) had amputations. TIII fractures had much higher rates of each complication than TI and TII fractures. Fracture type was the only significant risk factor for both nonunion and infection. CONCLUSION: Our study found that the Gustilo grade of open tibia fracture is by far the greatest predictor of nonunion and infection.

Open distal tibial shaft fractures: a retrospective comparison of medial plate versus nail fixation.

PURPOSE: Studies comparing open reduction internal fixation (ORIF) vs. intramedullary nailing (IMN) for distal tibia shaft fractures focus upon closed injuries containing small patient series with open fractures. As such, complication rates for open fractures are unknown. To characterize complications associated with ORIF vs. IMN, we compared complications based on surgical approach in a large patient series of open distal tibia shaft fractures. METHODS: Through retrospective analysis at an urban level I trauma center, 180 IMN and 36 ORIF patients with open distal tibia fractures from 2002 to 2012 were evaluated. Patient charts were reviewed to identify patient demographics, fracture grade (G), patient comorbidities, and postoperative complications including nonunion, malunion, infection, hardware-related pain, and wound dehiscence. Fisher's exact tests compared complications between ORIF and IMN groups. Multivariate regression identified risk factors with statistical significance for the development of a postoperative complication. RESULTS: One hundred and eighty IMN (G1 22, G2 79, and G3 79) and 36 ORIF (G1 10, G2 16, and G3 10) patients were included for analysis. ORIF patients had a higher rate of nonunion (25.0 %, n = 9) compared with IMN patients (10.6 %, n = 20, p = 0.03). No additional complication had a significant statistical difference between groups. Multivariable analysis shows only surgical method influenced the development of complications: ORIF patients had 2.52 greater odds of developing complications compared with IMN patients (95 % CI 1.05-6.02; p = 0.04). CONCLUSIONS: ORIF leads to higher rates of nonunion and significantly increases the odds of developing a complication compared with IMN for open distal tibia fractures. This is the first study investigating complication rates based on surgical approach in a large cohort of patients with exclusively open distal tibia fractures.

The colorectal cancer screening program in the local health unit n. 6 of Livorno: evaluation of the screening activity in the period 2000-2011.

INTRODUCTION: The colorectal cancer screening program in the Local Health Unit n. 6 of Livorno is running since July 2000 and is meant to residents, aged between 50 and 70, who are invited to perform the test for faecal occult blood every 2 years. The aim of this work is an evaluation of the screening activity in the period 2000-2011. METHODS: The evaluation is based on the analysis of the main quality indicators formulated by GISCoR (Italian Group for Colorectal screening). RESULTS: The screening activity extension reached 93% in 2006 and 100% in 2009. The compliance level was maintained above the acceptable GISCoR value (> 45%) with a maximum of 54.9%. Values around 80% were recorded for the compliance to colonoscopy. The detection rate (DR) for cancer and advanced adenoma showed, as expected, the highest values in the early years and then move on values consistently lower than the regional average. In 2011, the raw DR for cancer was 0.9 x 1000 and the raw DR for advanced adenoma 5.3 x 1000. The distribution by stage at diagnosis of screen-detected carcinomas shows that 58.1% of these were identified at stage I while the proportion of cases in stage III+ is 19.5%. CONCLUSIONS: The overall analysis shows a good performance of the program. The proportion of colonoscopies performed on the total number of positive subjects remains a critical point of the system. The distribution by stage of screen-detected cancers shows an excellent diagnostic anticipation of the screening program.

Changes in physiological and immunological parameters during the peripartum period in Zerasca sheep.

The aim of this study was to provide the picture of the dynamics of some blood parameters in the native Zerasca sheep breed during the peripartum period. Blood samples were collected from peripheral blood of 14 ewes at different times: from 21 d before lambing to 42 d after. Physiological and immunological parameters were evaluated: aspartate-aminotransferase, creatine kinase, lactate dehydrogenase, non-esterified fatty acids, total protein, total antioxidant capacity, free radicals, serum bactericidal activity and serum lysozyme. One-way repeated measures ANOVA test was performed. Results showed a significant influence of the peripartum and the deviation from the normal range on many parameters.

Analysis of clinical data in patients with Girdlestone arthroplasty: a new score.

Girdlestone's arthroplasty is an uncommon surgical procedure; it is performed in patiens with recurrent infection of the hip, polymicrobic sepsis or after multiple revisions. The number of hip replacements all over the world is always increasing, so the total number of prosthesis infections also continues to rise, although the relative incidence is lower than in the past. For this reason Girdlestone's arthroplasty must be a well-known procedure to hip surgeons. Clinical assessment of such patients cannot be performed with common hip ratings (e.g. Harris Hip Score) since hip instability, low range of motion, limb shortening and severe muscle loss are common. The patient's independence in daily living activity and freedom from pain should be the surgeon's main goals. We propose a specific clinical score for the outcome of the procedure, which is not to be found in the current literature as far as the authors are aware. The score can be useful for comparative clinical trials, for legal medicine purposes, etc. To illustrate it, we present 20 cases of Girdlestone's arthroplasty out of 265 hip revisions performed in our hospital. The outcome of the procedure in our patients was clinically good in eight cases, intermediate in ten cases, and bad in two cases. We believe the performing of such an intervention is justified when indicated by clinical signs, as we analyse them in our work. Our clinical score has been shown to be adequate to assess the clinical presentation of such patients.

Prevalence of HCV infection among health care workers in a hospital in central Italy.

Health care workers are at risk of acquiring transmissible diseases. Controversial results have been reported about HCV. The aims of the present study are to assess the prevalence of HCV in health care workers in Pistoia General Hospital (central Italy) and to compare prevalence with other groups, particularly with a sample of the general population. Serum samples collected from 511 health care employees engaged in direct clinical task and 222 clerical and nurse school attendees have been tested by ELISA and confirmed by RIBA. Total seroprevalence was 3.8%:4.7% in the first group; 1.8% in the second group. The data showed a slight increase in prevalence by age and not by length of stay in the health care workers' group. Comparison of HCV prevalence with blood donors from the province of Pistoia and the general population from Sersale (Catanzaro, southern Italy), restricted to under-40 subjects, indicates an increasing trend in this order: Blood donors, general population, clerical and nursing school attendees, health care workers' group with the highest value (3.4%). A cohort study is needed to evaluate pattern of HCV seroconversion.

Encephalitis caused directly by Mycoplasma pneumoniae.

A case of non-fatal encephalitis in a 21-y-old immunocompetent woman is described. High titre serum antibodies against Mycoplasma pneumoniae were found. In addition, Mycoplasma pneumoniae DNA was detected in the cerebrospinal fluid by polymerase chain reaction. Neuroimaging findings by magnetic resonance and computed tomographic scanning of the brain, and laboratory investigations, including a search for serum antibodies to gangliosides, did not support an immune-mediated mechanism. No other pathogens were found. These results strongly suggest that the encephalitis was caused directly by Mycoplasma pneumoniae invasion of the central nervous system. They also indicate that such pathogenetic mechanism may sometimes be sufficient to explain neurological manifestations occurring during the course of Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection. The consequences for therapy are discussed.

A new mesalazine gel enema in the treatment of left-sided ulcerative colitis: a randomized controlled multicentre trial.

BACKGROUND: A new mesalazine rectal gel preparation (without propellant gas) has been recently developed to improve topical treatment in distal ulcerative colitis. AIM: To evaluate the efficacy, safety and patient tolerability of mesalazine gel enema compared with mesalazine foam enema in the treatment of patients with acute left-sided ulcerative colitis. METHODS: In a randomized multicentre investigator-blind parallel group trial, 103 patients with mild to moderate left-sided colitis or proctosigmoiditis were randomly allocated to mesalazine 2 g gel enema (n = 50 evaluable patients) and mesalazine 2 g foam enema (n = 53 evaluable patients) for 4 weeks. Clinical symptoms, endoscopic and histological findings were assessed at entry, 2 and 4 weeks. Patients' evaluation of treatment tolerability and acceptability was assessed at 2 and 4 weeks. RESULTS: After 4 weeks of treatment, clinical remission was achieved by 76% of mesalazine gel enema-treated patients and 69% of patients treated with mesalazine foam enema (P = 0.608). Endoscopic remission rates at week 4 were 51 and 52% for the mesalazine gel and foam enemas, respectively (P = 0.925). Histological remission was achieved by 30% of patients in both groups. Patients reported that the new mesalazine gel preparation was significantly better tolerated than the foam enema. Patients in the foam group had significantly more difficulty in retention (25% vs. 6%, P < 0.05), abdominal bloating (50% vs. 26%, P < 0.005) and discomfort during administration (48% vs. 26%, P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The new mesalazine gel enema is efficacious and significantly better tolerated than the mesalazine foam enema.

Crystallization and preliminary crystallographic analysis of the hydroxyquinol 1,2-dioxygenase from Nocardioides simplex 3E: a novel dioxygenase involved in the biodegradation of polychlorinated aromatic compounds.

Hydroxyquinol 1,2-dioxygenase (HQ1,2O) from Nocardioides simplex 3E, an enzyme involved in the aerobic biodegradation of a large class of chloroaromatic compounds such as 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetate (2,4-D) and 2,4,5-trichlorophenoxyacetate (2,4,5-T), has been crystallized. HQ1,2O, which specifically catalyzes the intradiol cleavage of hydroxyquinol (1,2,4-trihydroxybenzene), an intermediate in the degradation of a variety of aromatic pollutants, to maleylacetate, has been recently purified to homogeneity. The enzyme is an homodimer composed of two identical subunits in a alpha 2-type quaternary structure, has a molecular weight of about 65 kDa and contains a catalytically essential Fe(III) ion. Crystals of HQ1,2O obtained using 2% PEG 400 and 2 M ammonium sulfate at pH 7.5 as precipitants belong to the orthorhombic space group P212121, with unit-cell parameters a = 81.15 (6), b = 86.79 (7), c = 114.93 (8). Assuming one dimer per asymmetric unit, the Vm value is 2.51 A3 Da-1. A complete native data set to 1.8 A resolution has been collected on a laboratory source. This is the first intradiol dioxygenase which specifically catalyzes the cleavage of hydroxyquinol to give diffraction-quality crystals.

Strategy for the retreatment of failed Helicobacter pylori eradication therapy: a case series.

BACKGROUND: Helicobacter pylori eradication therapy can be unsuccessful in 5 to 20% of patients. AIM: To investigate the validity of a strategy using triple therapies for the retreatment of patients with eradication failure, avoiding retreatment with antibiotics prone to induce resistance after use in the first treatment. PATIENTS AND METHODS: From a consecutive sampling of 108 patients still Helicobacter pylori-positive after a first course of antibiotic-based treatment, 74 (68.5%) agreed to a second course of triple therapy. Group 1 (N = 17): treatment failures on an imidazole (1)-based therapy were retreated with clarithromycin (C)-based regimen; Group 2 (N = 28): failures on a C-based therapy with an I-based regimen; Group 3 (N = 7): failures on an IC-based therapy using an I-based regimen and Group 4 (N = 22): failures on a non-I/non-C based therapy with either an I-based, C-based or IC-based regimen. The presence of Helicobacter pylori was assessed by histology and the CLO-test at study entry and two months after stopping therapy. RESULTS: Nine patients were withdrawn from the study (12.2%) due to a lack of end point endoscopy. Helicobacter pylori was cured after the second course of therapy in all but seven patients [10.7% failure by Per Protocol analysis, 21.6% by Intention-To-Treat analysis]. No statistically significant differences were found between the four groups (Group 1: 92.9% PP, 76.5% ITT; Group 2: 90.9% PP, 71.4% ITT; Group 3: PP and ITT 85.7%; Group 4: PP and ITT 86.4%). Minor adverse events were experienced in nine, none of whom required withdrawal from the drug therapy. CONCLUSIONS: A second course of triple therapy with alternate antibiotics effectively eradicated Helicobacter pylori, with only very few treatment failures. This suggests that the therapeutic strategy employed may be recommended.

A one-million-year-old Homo cranium from the Danakil (Afar) Depression of Eritrea.

One of the most contentious topics in the study of human evolution is that of the time, place and mode of origin of Homo sapiens. The discovery in the Northern Danakil (Afar) Depression, Eritrea, of a well-preserved Homo cranium with a mixture of characters typical of H. erectus and H. sapiens contributes significantly to this debate. The cranium was found in a succession of fluvio-deltaic and lacustrine deposits and is associated with a rich mammalian fauna of early to early-middle Pleistocene age. A magnetostratigraphic survey indicates two reversed and two normal magnetozones. The layer in which the cranium was found is near the top of the lower normal magnetozone, which is identified as the Jaramillo subchron. Consequently, the human remains can be dated at approximately 1 million years before present.

Optimal PPI-based triple therapy for the cure of Helicobacter pylori infection: a single center comparison of four 14-day schedules.

BACKGROUND: Helicobacter pylori eradication is accomplished using a wide array of drugs combined in a multitude of dosage schedules. The aim of the present study was to define the best 14-day eradication schedule using a PPI plus either two antibiotics or one antibiotic and bismuth. MATERIAL AND METHODS: For this study, 367 subjects (198 males, 169 females, age 22-87 years) with document H. pylori infection of the stomach were recruited from out-patients of the Gastroenterology Department of the Venezia Hospital. In all patients, H. pylori infection was identified by histology and the CLO-test. Patients were treated as follows: 1) PPI (P) plus clarithromycin (C) 250 mg plus amoxicillin (A) 1000 mg bid (P + C + A); 2) P plus C plus bismuth subcitrate (B) 120 mg qid (P + C + B); 3) P plus C plus tinidazole (T) 500 mg bid (P + C + T); and 4) P plus A plus T bid (P + A + T). After two months, an upper gastrointestinal endoscopy was repeated for end point histological evaluation and the CLO- test. Positivity of one of the two methods was considered sufficient to define H. pylori as "not eradicated". STATISTICS: Chi-squared test and Fisher exact test. RESULTS: Thirty-three subjects dropped out (six due to adverse events). P + C + B was proven significantly less effective than P + C + A, P + C + T and P + A + T, eradication rates being, respectively, 75.0%, 90.5%, 87.6%, 92.0%, (p = .005, per protocol analysis). CONCLUSIONS: All PPI-based triple therapies tested in this study were effective in curing H. pylori infection; however, P + C + B resulted in rates too low (< 85%) to be recommended. P + C + A and P + A + T resulted in the high cure rates and thus may be considered the treatment of choice.

[Pulsating tumor of the sternum: enlarged exeresis and reconstruction with marlex-methylmethacrylate prosthesis]. / Tumore pulsante dello sterno: exeresi allargata e ricostruzione con protesi di marlex-methyl-methacrylate.

The authors report on a rare case of pulsating tumor of the sternum. En bloc resection was carried out with removal of the sternal manubrium and body, tracts of the I-II-III rib with the intercostal muscles and part of the left pectoralis major. Reconstruction of the thoracic wall was performed with a marlex MMA sandwich prosthesis. From a histological viewpoint, the carcinoma was well differentiated and compatible with thyroid primitivity. Non complementary antiblastic therapies were provided as all the examinations carried out were negative and the intervention was radical. The patient had been followed-up with serial controls and three complete stagings at one, three and five years after intervention (CT, echography and function tests of the thyroid, bone scintigraphy). At follow-up of more than six years the patient is doing well and is event free. The authors believe, even with the help of reports from the literature that, in sternal metastases from thyroid carcinomas, especially when single and large, surgical therapy is required.

[Surgical stabilization of post-traumatic flail chest. Our experience with 116 cases treated]. / La stabilizzazione chirurgica del lembo costale mobile post-traumatico. Nostra esperienza relativa a 116 casi trattati.

The therapeutic approach in a patient with traumatic flail chest is varied and controversial, both as regards the type of treatment and as regards the surgical techniques to be employed. The authors have examined 116 cases of flail chest treated surgically; these represented 17.7% of the 655 chest traumas operated in the period from July 1975 to March 1993. Increasing experience has reduced indications for surgery: at present it is not performed in cases of serious craniocerebral lesions, of severe pulmonary contusions, or, however, when mechanical ventilation is required. As for surgical techniques, external traction was applied in the first 15 cases treated but then discontinued because of the poor outcome. Osteosynthesis (77 cases), associated with thoracotomy, was carried out with Kirschner wires, Vecsei metal plates, Judet agraffe, alone or variously combined. Recently, a less aggressive personal technique has been employed prevalently: Kirschner wires placed vertically within the chest, bridging between one rib (generally the V or VI, well fixed with metal plates), and the clavicle and/or sternum. The overall mortality rate, prevalently due to associated lesions, was 20.6%. Excluding emergencies, these patients should be operated in deferred emergency within 24-48 hours of trauma. Osteosynthesis, when indicated is the procedure offering the greatest assurance of success. The authors believe that, in selected cases, surgical stabilization is necessary.

Helicobacter pylori infection, cigarette smoking and alcohol consumption. A histological and clinical study on 286 subjects.

UNLABELLED: Helicobacter pylori (Hp) is connected with active/chronic gastritis, gastric gastric and duodenal ulcer. It is not known whether exogenous factors are involved in Hp infection. The aim of this prospective study, performed on 286 consecutive subjects undergoing upper gastrointestinal endoscopy, was to evaluate the influence of smoking and alcohol consumption on Hp infection. For each patient the following parameters were taken into account: sex, age, smoking (no, < 10, > 10 cig/day) and alcohol (no, < 40, > 40 g ethanol/day) intake, antiulcer therapy (no, H2-blockers, omeprazole, sucralfate), presence of gastric or duodenal ulcer (DU). At least two biopsies from both the antrum and the corpus were obtained for histological examination; the gastritis was classified and scored according to the Sydney system. STATISTICS: chi-squared test (corrected), Fisher's exact test. RESULTS: 43 pts had Hp (27M, 16F; age 57.8 yrs, range 23-91), 47 Hp ++ (25M, 22F; age 61.1, range 19-86), 81 Hp + (48H, 33F; age 56, range 16-84), 115 Hp- (75M, 40F; age 57.8, range 19-84). Hp infection was found to be significantly correlated with presence of ulcer symptoms, gastritis, lymphoid follicles and, among DU patients, with active DU. The other parameters considered did not influence Hp infection. In conclusion smoking habits and alcohol consumption do not affect Hp infection of the stomach.