Diagnostic and infection control strategies for Clostridioides difficile infections in a setting of high antimicrobial resistance prevalence.

Clostridioides difficile (CD) is a major nosocomial pathogen and the leading cause of antibiotic-associated diarrhoea. In light of the strong association between antimicrobial use and CD infections (CDI), it may be hypothesised that areas at higher prevalence of antimicrobial resistance, like the region of Campania in southern Italy, could also have a higher rate of CDI. In this multicentre, region-based, prospective study, we analysed such issues, exploiting CDI incidence data collected from local hospitals.

The Clean Care Contest: promoting hand hygiene among healthcare and medical students.

Introduction: Despite continuing efforts, compliance rates and knowledge of best practices in hand hygiene remain disappointing. Recognizing that conventional educational tools seem out of touch with young people and that the med and messages contents need refreshing, the Italian Study Group of Hospital Hygiene of the Italian Society of Hygiene, Preventive Medicine and Public Health devised a novel approach to promote the creation of innovative educational tools for improving knowledge of, and compliance with, hand hygiene rules among healthcare and medical students.

Methods: A contest in creating educational material on hand hygiene practices involved university students of nursing and medicine, and of other healthcare degrees.

Knowledge, attitudes, and practices of General Practitioners from the Province of Parma (Northern Italy) towards vaccinations in adults ≥ 65 year-old.

Backgrounds And Aims: This study aims to characterize attitudes and knowledge towards immunization practice of people aged >65 years for seasonal influenza (SIV), pneumococcus (PNV), and Herpes zoster (ZV) in a sample of Italian general practitioners (GPs).

Materials And Methods: During 10/2018, a structured questionnaire was emailed to 274 GPs operating in the Province of Parma, Italy. Association between willingness to perform aforementioned vaccines and individual factors was assessed through a multivariate regression analysis by calculating multivariate Odds Ratio (mOR).

Do HCWs adequately know about meningitis and 4CMenB vaccine and recommend its use to parents? A cross sectional analysis in Campania Region, Italy.

Invasive meningococcal disease (IMD) is a severe disease caused by various Neisseria meningitidis serogroups that represents a serious public health problem worldwide. In Italy, serogroups B and C are the major causes of IMD. On 14 January 2013, the European Medicines Agency authorized the use of the first vaccine available to protect against meningococcal serogroup B (4CMenB).

Does written informed consent adequately inform surgical patients? A cross sectional study.

Background: Informed consent (IC) is an essential step in helping patients be aware of consequences of their treatment decisions. With surgery, it is vitally important for patients to understand the risks and benefits of the procedure and decide accordingly. We explored whether a written IC form was provided to patients; whether they read and signed it; whether they communicated orally with the physician; whether these communications influenced patient decisions.

[Day surgery: the role and training needs of nurses].

Medicine and health care are increasingly directed towards the achievement of high quality standards and of costs reduction. It is in this framework that same-day surgery finds its role, being able to satisfy both of the above needs. Despite its recognized benefits, in Italy this efficient model of hospitalization still meets several obstacles and the ratio of services provided in day hospital with respect to ordinary hospital admission is about 1 to 3.

Diagnostic work-up and risk stratification in X-linked dilated cardiomyopathies caused by dystrophin defects.

Objectives: We sought to describe the diagnostic work-up, phenotype, and long-term evolution of dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) associated with Dystrophin (DYS) defects.

Background: X-linked DCM associated with DYS defects can be clinically indistinguishable from other types of DCM.

Methods: The series comprises 436 consecutive male patients diagnosed with DCM.

Quality improvement of medical records in a teaching hospital.

Introduction: The aim of this study was to evaluate the quality of the MR compilation in some Operative Units of the "Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria--II Università di Napoli" (AOU- SUN)-Italy, before and after an intervention of quality improvement, underlining the potential differences in the behaviour of different specialists (physicians vs. surgeons).

Methods: Two random samples of 660 MRs were reviewed.

[Economic impact of healthcare-associated infections].

Healthcare-associated infections are not only an important public health problem but also have a relevant socioeconomic impact. The overall estimated yearly costs vary between 3.5 billion euros in the United States to 1.

[Quality of medical records in Naples (Italy) 2nd University School of Medicine].

To evaluate and improve the quality of medical-record keeping, in clinics and surgery departments. The evaluation involved 66 Operative Units (O.U.

[Epidemiology of breast cancer in a local health organisation of Naples (Italy), 1995-2003].

A database was created by the authors to collect data on breast cancer epidemiology in a local health organisation of Naples. Data on women residing in the territory of the local health organisation and who had received a diagnosis of breast cancer, based on clinical, radiological, and pathology criteria, between 1 January 1995 and 31 December 2003, was collected through linkage of various data sources. Overall, 475 new cases were identified in women aged over 34 years at diagnosis.

[Management of patients with cerebral stroke in Molise (Italy): MO.STRO (MOlise STROke).].

Acute stroke patients in the Molise region (Italy) are generally admitted to an Internal Medicine or Geriatrics hospital ward. In this study all 446 acute stroke admissions which occurred in Molise in 2004 were evaluated by analysing the following data: time from symptom onset to admission, diagnosis, acute care treatment, comorbidities, disease severity, complications, disability level, mortality, discharge modality and adherence to current guidelines. Mortality was very low in the study population (approximately 8% vs.

[Data quality of a breast cancer database in Naples, Italy. Do the necessary conditions exist for implementing a disease registry?].

Data quality is one of the fundamental aspects of health information systems and is influenced both by the type and accuracy of the data sources used. The aim of this study was to assess the quality of data in a breast cancer database held by a local health authority in Naples (Italy) and to evaluate the possibility of implementing a disease registry. The database collects information from different sources and was evaluated in terms of completeness, accuracy and comparability.

[Evaluation of the effectiveness of a nutrition education intervention performed by primary school teachers].

This study values the effectiveness of nutrition education interventions carried out by teachers with active didactic methodologies. The research was carried out by administering a frequency of food intake questionnaire, before and after the intervention. To compare the answers given before and after the educational intervention the Wilcoxon-test was applied to dependent data.

[Sexually transmitted diseases: a public health issue].

Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs) are a main problem in the public health policy. The importance of these diseases is not only limited to their high incidence but also to the complications they may cause and to their role in the HIV transmission. Control of STDs represents one of the main aims of the World Health Organization.

[Reasons for turning to healthcare services outside of own area of residence: a study among patients of the AV1 Local Health Unit in Italy].

In this study, 552 patients from the AV-1 Local Health Unit, who accessed healthcare services outside of their own area or region of residence ("intra- and extra-regional mobility") were interviewed by their general practitioner. The aim was to describe the healthcare "mobility" phenomenon and the reasons patient resort to it. Most cases involve patients who turn to healthcare services outside their local area but within their own region of residence (intraregional mobility).

Investigating on a foodborne outbreak: analysis of the critical points.

The Authors describe an epidemiological survey performed after a cluster of cases of foodborne infection involving several participants at a wedding reception. The aim was to identify the food, the responsible pathogen and any shortcomings in the coordination between the various services and the territorial operating units involved in the outbreak investigation. The investigation involved 149 participants; fifty seven persons (38.

[Biological risk in the operating room: microbiological monitoring of the environment and analysis of the associated variables].

The authors present an environmental microbiological monitoring programme carried out over a period of 15 months in 16 operating theatres performing specific types of surgery. The levels of microbial contamination of the air and of four of the most representative surfaces of the clean area were determined at 3 different times for each theatre, both before and during surgery. For the air assessment, the results obtained with three different samplers, Sed-3 Unit, SAS and RCS, were compared.

[Pilot prevalence study about nosocomial infections at the polyclinic of the naples university].

381 patients from the Naples Polyclinic - University II were submitted to a pilot study aimed at detecting the prevalence rate of hospital infections. The period examined ranges from January 1999 to January 2000 and the whole survey was aimed at detecting the extent of such infections so as to foster an infection-control system. Data have shown a 6.

[Malaria: an Issue of Public Health].

The Authors have analyzed the epidemiological situation in Italy as regards malarial infections during the years 1960-1999. They paid special attention to the risk of malaria importation connected with an increased number of intercontinental journeys. The possibility of its reintroduction was assessed through the analysis of environmental and climatic factors on the Anopheles populations still living on our territory.

[Epidemiology of Cesarean section and birth surveillance].

The authors studied the incidence and the determinants of cesarean section in ASL Naples 4. In addition while they analysed the reliability and completeness of birth certificates in order to verify their accuracy for statistical and epidemiological purposes. The results show an increase of cesarean section higher than national mean (from 1997 to 2000: 44.

Appropriateness of admission and hospitalization days in a specialist hospital.

The assessment of hospital utilization is an important tool in the management of Hospital Health Care. The Authors examined the extent and the reasons of inappropriate hospital admission and stay in patients admitted to the Monaldi Hospital, Naples, Italy. Five hundred and thirty three medical records, were analysed.

Evaluation of benzene exposure in children living in Campania (Italy) by urinary trans,trans-muconic acid assay.

The urinary benzene metabolite trans,trans-muconic acid (MA) was determined in 144 children living in Campania (Italy): 92 from Naples (1,300,000 inhabitants), designated as an urban source, and compared to 52 from Pollica (300 inhabitants), considered a rural, background exposure for benzene. The children participating in the study were tested by an anonymous questionnaire about the possible sources of exposure to benzene. Quantifiable levels of MA were found in 63% of the urine samples analyzed.

Prevalence of asthma among young men in a military recruitment office of South Italy.

The prevalence of asthma was studied in 3065 male 18 year-olds, examined in a southern Italy (Basilicata) military recruitment office. The disease was evaluated by questionnaires, pulmonary function tests and specialist diagnosis. The point prevalence of asthma was 1.