The impact on risk-factor analysis of different mortality outcomes in COPD patients.

The aim of the present study was to analyse the role of potential selection processes and their impact when evaluating risk factors for 30-day mortality among patients hospitalised for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). A cohort of 26,039 patients aged > or = 35 yrs and hospitalised with COPD were enrolled. A 30-day follow-up was carried out using both the cause mortality register (CMR) and the hospital discharge register (HDR). Individual and hospital factors associated with 30-day mortality were studied using both mortality outcomes. The 30-day mortality rate was 1.21.1,000 patient-days(-1) (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.14-1.29) using the CMR, and 1.06.1,000 patient-days(-1) (95% CI 0.98-1.13) using the HDR. Male patients, the most poorly educated, those who resided outside Rome and those who had more than one hospitalisation in the previous 2 yrs were more likely to die after discharge than when hospitalised. The most frequent cause of in-hospital death was respiratory disease and after discharge, heart disease. Older age, male sex, comorbidities, previous hospitalisations for respiratory failure, and admission to a ward not appropriate to treat respiratory diseases were the most important predictors of 30-day mortality. Using in-hospital 30-day mortality provides a significantly different estimate of the role of specific risk factors.

Associations of traffic related air pollutants with hospitalisation for first acute myocardial infarction: the HEAPSS study.

BACKGROUND: Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is the leading cause of death attributed to cardiovascular diseases. An association between traffic related air pollution and AMI has been suggested, but the evidence is still limited. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate in a multicentre study association between hospitalisation for first AMI and daily levels of traffic related air pollution. METHODS: The authors collected data on first AMI hospitalisations in five European cities. AMI registers were available in Augsburg and Barcelona; hospital discharge registers (HDRs) were used in Helsinki, Rome and Stockholm. NO2, CO, PM10 (particles <10 microm), and O3 were measured at central monitoring sites. Particle number concentration (PNC), a proxy for ultrafine particles (<0.1 microm), was measured for a year in each centre, and then modelled retrospectively for the whole study period. Generalised additive models were used for statistical analyses. Age and 28 day fatality and season were considered as potential effect modifiers in the three HDR centres. RESULTS: Nearly 27,000 cases of first AMI were recorded. There was a suggestion of an association of the same day CO and PNC levels with AMI: RR = 1.005 (95% CI 1.000 to 1.010) per 0.2 mg/m3 and RR = 1.005 (95% CI 0.996 to 1.015) per 10000 particles/cm3, respectively. However, associations were only observed in the three cities with HDR, where power for city-specific analyses was higher. The authors observed in these cities the most consistent associations among fatal cases aged <75 years: RR at 1 day lag for CO = 1.021 (95% CI 1.000 to 1.048) per 0.2 mg/m3, for PNC = 1.058 (95% CI 1.012 to 1.107) per 10000 particles/cm3, and for NO2 = 1.032 (95% CI 0.998 to 1.066) per 8 microg/m3. Effects of air pollution were more pronounced during the warm than the cold season. CONCLUSIONS: The authors found support for the hypothesis that exposure to traffic related air pollution increases the risk of AMI. Most consistent associations were observed among fatal cases aged <75 years and in the warm season.

Retention in treatment of heroin users in Italy: the role of treatment type and of methadone maintenance dosage.

Retention in treatment among 1503 heroin users attending public treatment centres in 1995 was studied. Three different treatments were considered: methadone maintenance, drug-free program and naltrexone. The retention rate after 1 year was 40% for patients in methadone maintenance, 18% in naltrexone and 15% in drug-free program. For patients in maintenance, methadone dosage and clinic policy were the most important factors for retention. Patients taking > or = 60 mg/day and 30-59 mg/day were respectively 70 and 50% more likely to remain in treatment than those receiving a < 30 mg daily dose. Patients in maintenance-oriented clinics were 30% more likely to remain in treatment than those in abstinence-oriented centres.

A persistent rise in mortality among injection drug users in Rome, 1980 through 1992.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of the study was to analyze overall and cause-specific mortality among injection drug users in Rome. METHODS: A cohort of 4200 injection drug users was enrolled in drug treatment centers from 1980 through 1988 and followed up until December 1992. RESULTS: The age-adjusted mortality rate from all causes increased from 7.8/1000 person-years in 1985/86 to 27.7/1000 in 1991/92. The rise was mainly attributable to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), but mortality from overdose and other causes increased as well. The cumulative risk of death by the age of 40 was 29.3%. CONCLUSIONS: The impact of AIDS deaths appears to be additional to a persistent increase of mortality for all other causes.

Electrophysiological assessment of visual function in IDDM patients.

Various electrophysiological tests have been employed to reveal functional abnormalities at different levels of the visual system in insulin-dependent diabetic (IDDM) patients. The aim of our work was to assess, with a comprehensive neurophysiological protocol evaluating the retinal, macular and visual pathways functions, whether and when such electrophysiological abnormalities do appear in IDDM patients free of any fluorangiographic sign of retinopathy with various disease duration. Flash-electroretinogram (ERG), oscillatory potentials (OPs), pattern-electroretinogram (PERG), and visual evoked potentials (VEPs) in basal condition and after photostress were assessed in 12 control subjects (C) and 42 aged-matched IDDM patients without clinical retinopathy (DR-) divided, on the basis of the disease duration, into 4 groups (1-5, 6-10, 11-15, 16-20 years). In addition another age-matched group of IDDM patients with a background retinopathy (DR+; n = 12; duration of disease 18 +/- 49 years) was evaluated. In all IDDM DR-patients PERG and VEP were significantly impaired. In addition, groups 11-15 and 16-20 years displayed impaired OPs. All electrophysiological parameters were further impaired in DR+ patients. In conclusion, retinal, macular and visual pathways functions are differently impaired in IDDM (DR-) patients with different disease duration. Electrophysiological impairment starts in the nervous conduction of the visual pathways with an early involvement, goes on in the innermost retinal layers and in the macula and ends in the middle and outer retinal layers.

Mortality among patients with ulcerative colitis: Rome 1970-1989.

The aim of this study was to analyze the pattern of mortality among patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) and compare it with mortality in the general population of the same age and sex. All patients with UC admitted to one of the Inflammatory Bowel Disease Clinics in Rome, from January 1970 to December 31, 1989 were enrolled. Vital status was ascertained through the Registry Office of the last municipality of residence as of July 1, 1990. Cause of death was ascertained through record linkage with the national or regional mortality file and coded using the ninth revision of the International Classification of Diseases. Standardized Mortality Ratios (SMRs) were computed to compare mortality among UC patients with mortality in the general population of the same age and sex. Out of a total of 508 UC patients admitted during the study period, 27 deaths were observed, compared with 27.6 expected (SMR = 98). After excluding prevalent cases, an excess risk of death was observed among newly diagnosed cases in the first year after diagnosis (SMR = 644; p < 0.001); ulcerative colitis was the main reason for this excess mortality. Mortality for other diseases was close to that expected. In conclusion, ulcerative colitis impairs life expectancy in the first year after diagnosis, while no excess mortality seems to be present afterwards.

[Characteristics and outcome of interventions offered to drug users attending public treatment centers in Lazio, Italy]. / Caratteristiche ed esito dei trattamenti offerti ai tossicodipendenti che si rivolgono ai servizi pubblici del Lazio.

In 1991 the Lazio Region set up a surveillance system which collects individual data on each drug user attending Public Treatment Centres (PTCs). The analysis of surveillance system data allows not only to describe the characteristics of treatments but also to analyse determinants of treatment outcomes. In this study the outcome of treatment was evaluated in 5.646 drug users who attended public centres in 1992. The outcome was defined in two categories: positive (subjects who completed the therapeutic program, were referred to different service or were still in treatment) negative (subjects who refused or dropped out treatment, arrested or dead). Drug users usually receive more than one treatment in one year, 60% of them successfully completed. Methadone treatment shows the highest level of compliance while naltrexone the lowest. The negative outcome is highly associated with sex, type of treatment, length of treatment and outcome of previous treatment. Males are more likely to experience a negative outcome than females. Those offered naltrexone are more likely to refuse and drop out than those offered psychosocial treatment. Long term treatments are more successful than shorter ones. Furthermore, drop out is higher among those who have dropped out in the past. Although this observational study might not permit conclusions on the efficacy of each type of treatment, it allows an evaluation of the selection procedures at the treatment centres. Treatment centres for drug users in Lazio tend to select clients according to standard therapeutic treatment protocols instead of making treatments more accessible to drug users.