Sex Differences in the Burden of Hip Fractures on Functional Status in Older Age.

Hip fractures can dramatically impact the health and self-sufficiency of older people. We investigated the influence of pre-fracture functional status on functional decline and mortality after hip fracture, and possible sex differences in this regard. The sample comprised 288 older patients hospitalized with hip fracture in an Orthogeriatric Unit.

Decision tree for ward admissions of older patients at the emergency department after a fall.

Aim: Falls are a prevalent issue for the older population, and for the healthcare system in terms of emergency department (ED) access and hospitalizations. There is still a lack of knowledge and guidelines, however, regarding the need to hospitalize older patients accessing the ED after a fall. In the present study, we aimed to analyze the factors and the decisional process that led to older patients accessing the ED after a fall being admitted to hospital or discharged.

Colonization of long-term care facility residents in three Italian Provinces by multidrug-resistant bacteria.

Background: Rationale and aims of the study were to compare colonization frequencies with MDR bacteria isolated from LTCF residents in three different Northern Italian regions, to investigate risk factors for colonization and the genotypic characteristics of isolates. The screening included expressing extended-spectrum β-lactamases (ESβLs) and high-level AmpC cephalosporinases, carbapenemase-producing , or , methicillin-resistant (MRSA) and vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE).

Methods: Urine samples and rectal, inguinal, oropharyngeal and nasal swabs were plated on selective agar; resistance genes were sought by PCR and sequencing.

Colonization of residents and staff of an Italian long-term care facility and an adjacent acute care hospital geriatric unit by multidrug-resistant bacteria.

In 2016, we undertook a point prevalence screening study for Enterobacteriaceae with extended-spectrum β-lactamases (ESBLs), high-level AmpC cephalosporinases and carbapenemases, and also methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and vancomycin resistant enterococci (VRE) in a long-term care facility (LTCF) and the associated acute care hospital geriatric unit in Bolzano, Northern Italy. Urine samples and rectal, inguinal, oropharyngeal and nasal swabs were plated on selective agars. Demographic data were collected.

Factors influencing short-term outcomes for older patients accessing emergency departments after a fall: The role of fall dynamics.

Background: While the relevance of falls in raising the risk of fractures, hospitalization and disability in older age is well recognized, the factors influencing the onset of fractures and the need for ward admission after a fall have yet to be fully elucidated. We investigated which factors and fall dynamics were mainly associated with fall-related injuries and hospitalization among elderly persons accessing the Emergency Department (ED) following a fall.

Methods: The study involved 2144 older subjects who accessed the ED after a fall.

Predominance of Clostridium difficile 027 during a five-year period in Bolzano, Northern Italy.

Toxigenic Clostridium difficile is responsible for antibiotic-associated diarrhoea and other diseases. The increasing frequency and severity is attributed to highly-virulent ribotypes such as 027. The aim of the study was to collect epidemiological and molecular data for C.

The impact of bilingualism on brain reserve and metabolic connectivity in Alzheimer's dementia.

Cognitive reserve (CR) prevents cognitive decline and delays neurodegeneration. Recent epidemiological evidence suggests that lifelong bilingualism may act as CR delaying the onset of dementia by ∼4.5 y.

Changes in colonization of residents and staff of a long-term care facility and an adjacent acute-care hospital geriatric unit by multidrug-resistant bacteria over a four-year period.

Background: In 2012 we undertook a screening study for Enterobacteriaceae with extended-spectrum β-lactamases (ESBLs), derepressed or acquired high-level AmpC cephalosporinases, and metallo-β-lactamases (MBLs), and also methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), in a long-term care facility (LTCF1) and the associated acute care hospital geriatric ward in Bolzano, northern Italy. The study followed up an initial survey carried out in LTCF1 in 2008. For comparison, screening in 2012 was extended to a second LTCF.

Complete nucleotide sequence of the IncN plasmid pKOX105 encoding VIM-1, QnrS1 and SHV-12 proteins in Enterobacteriaceae from Bolzano, Italy compared with IncN plasmids encoding KPC enzymes in the USA.

Objectives: We determined the complete nucleotide sequence of pKOX105, a 54 641 bp plasmid from a Klebsiella oxytoca strain that was isolated from a resident of a long-term-care facility in Bolzano, Italy.

Methods: The plasmid was sequenced using a shotgun approach. Combinatorial PCRs, directed PCRs and walking reads were used to assemble the contigs and to fill in gaps.