Correlation between fall risk increasing drugs (FRIDs) and fall events at a rehabilitation hospital.

Background and aim Falls and fall-related injuries are a major public health issue which needs global attention due to its clinical and socioeconomic impact. Important risk factors for falls are polypharmacy and the assumption of so-called Fall Risk Increasing Drugs (FRIDs). Aims of our study were to investigate the associations between falls and the use of medications among inpatients by conducting a retrospective case-control study in a rehabilitation hospital in Northern Italy in 2018. Methods A Conditional Logistic Regression was performed to analyze the impact that 13 types of FRIDs individually and the number of administrated FRIDs had on the risk of falling. A second regression model was obtained adjusting the case-control matching for CIRS, Morse and Barthel scores. Results We identified 148 cases and 444 controls. 3 types of FRIDs were significantly correlated (p < 0,05) with an increased risk of falling: Antipsychotics, Antidepressants, Diuretics. Antidepressants were the only type of FRID significantly correlated (p=0,008) even in the model adjusted for CIRS, Morse and Barthel scores. The unadjusted model showed that the addition of one type of FRID to therapy was significantly associated with the fall event (p<0.05). Conclusion Assumption of drugs, in particular antidepressant and polypharmacy, can play a role in hospital falling. The fall risk assessment tools available, suffer from low specificity and sensitivity and do not assess these risk factors. A holistic approach with a multidimensional evaluation of the patient through screening tools, functional assessment tools and a full medical evaluation should be pursued to improve prediction.

The online sexual offender: what we know to date.

INTRODUCTION: Online grooming is an active communicative entrapment network involving a wide range of techniques. The interactions that groomers have with minors online are complex. The purpose of the present literature review was to contribute to the existing knowledge base regarding online sex offender typologies, predatory tactics and techniques. EVIDENCE ACQUISITION: We conducted a review of the current literature by an initial database research of papers published since 1990. Three independent reviewers selected relevant articles, initially based on title and abstract analysis, then by full text in order to make a final determination. After the final selection, a total of 21 articles were reviewed. EVIDENCE SYNTHESIS: Overall, abundant data describing both groomer characteristics and grooming strategies are available in the literature, with authors attempting to analyze and adapt these to ever-complex models. However, the various models often feel redundant, determining a certain difficulty in understanding which would be the most suitable model to apply, making comparing data from different studies oftentimes troublesome. CONCLUSIONS: In our opinion, it would be desirable to reach a consensus on fewer univocally-interpretable models that would be easier to adopt as preventive tools against online grooming, in combination with other strategies. The present study may provide parents and guardians with information useful for keeping their youth safer while online, as well as data that may assist in the development of policy recommendations and prevention strategies, overall aiming to reduce the phenomenon of online grooming.

Online grooming: an analysis of the phenomenon.

INTRODUCTION: Since its diffusion in the 1990s, the Internet has developed into a fully integrated component of the lives of teenagers across the globe. As use of the Internet by underage youth has evolved and increased over the past decades, concerns about how technology may contribute to minors becoming victims of online sex crimes, including online grooming, have heightened. The present literature review contributes to the existing knowledge base regarding the epidemiology of the online grooming process, exploring key themes and issues arising in this area. EVIDENCE ACQUISITION: We conducted a review of the current literature by an initial database research of papers published since 1990. Three independent reviewers selected relevant articles, initially based on title and abstract analysis, then by full text in order to make a final determination. After the final selection, a total of 37 articles were reviewed. EVIDENCE SYNTHESIS: The articles reviewed report highly heterogenous results with regards to epidemiological data, estimating a prevalence of the online grooming phenomenon between 9% and 19%. Factors influencing minors' risk of online grooming included increasing age, gender, sexual minority orientation, diagnosis of mental disease, conflictual relationships with parents and risk-taking behaviors (e.g. chat room and social networking site use). CONCLUSIONS: Although the true prevalence of online grooming is not available, it is a significant issue among minors. Thus, it is important to educate youth on responsible internet use, starting at the earliest age and continuing during adolescence.

Self-Sampling of Oropharyngeal Swabs Among Healthcare Workers for Molecular Detection of Respiratory Viruses: A Valuable Approach for Epidemiological Studies and Surveillance Programs.

This study aimed at assessing the validity of self-collected (self-sampled) oropharyngeal (OP) swabs among healthcare workers compared to those collected by trained sentinel general practitioners (GP-sampled) from individuals with influenza-like illness (ILI), to be implemented in epidemiological studies and/or surveillance programs of viral pathogens involved in community respiratory infections. In our study, OP swabs were collected from adults (>18 years) with ILI during the 2018-2019 influenza season. Two groups of samples were considered: group 1-131 self-sampled OP swabs collected by healthcare workers after being trained on the sampling procedure; group 2-131 GP-sampled OP swabs collected from outpatients by sentinel GPs operating within the Italian Influenza Surveillance Network. To assess swabbing quality, following RNA extraction, each sample was tested for the presence of the human ribonuclease P gene (RNP) by in-house real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Samples with a cycle threshold (Ct) <35 were considered adequate for further virological analysis. Influenza viruses (IVs), respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and rhinovirus (RV) genomes were detected by in-house real-time RT-PCR. All samples were positive to RNP detection with Ct <35. The mean Ct value was similar in the two groups (group 1 vs. group 2: 25.93 ± 2.22 vs. 25.46 ± 2.40; p = 0.10). IVs, RSV, and RV positivity rates were 26.7 vs. 52.7% (p < 0.01), 7.6 vs. 9.9% (p = 0.52), and 21.4 vs. 19.9% (p = 0.76), respectively. Self-sampled OP swabs resulted as valid as GP-sampled OP swabs for molecular detection of respiratory viruses. Self-swabbing can thus be a worthwhile strategy for sample collection to implement molecular surveillance of respiratory pathogens and carry out epidemiological studies, easily reaching a larger population size.