Quality of care and rehospitalization rate in the last stage of disease in brain tumor patients assisted at home: a cost effectiveness study.

Unlabelled: Despite aggressive multimodality treatment the prognosis of patients with primary brain tumors (BT) remains poor. At present, there are no data about the role of palliative home-care services and their impact on quality of care. We report the results of a pilot project of palliative home care for BT patients started in 2000 in the National Cancer Institute Regina Elena of Rome.

[Incidence and risk factors for accidental falls among general practice elderly patients in Latina, Central Italy].

Background: falls incidence in home resident elderly people varies from 30% to 40%. Falls induce loss of self-sufficiency and increase mortality and morbidity.

Objectives: to evaluate falls incidence and risk factors in a group of general practice elderly patients.

[Femur fractures among elderly in Lazio and Tuscany regions from 1999 to 2003].

Objectives: to compare the assistance delivered to elderly persons (age 65 +) hospitalized in 1999-2003 after femur fracture between two Italian regions (Lazio and Tuscany). Indicators derived from current databases have been used.

Main Outcomes: 1) age-standardized proportion of patients treated surgically; 2) age-standardized proportion of patients with surgery within 2 days from admission among all the patients with surgery; 3) age-standardized proportion of deaths within 30 days from admission.

Pressure ulcer risk in long-term units: prevalence and associated factors.

Aim: This paper is a report of a study to assess pressure ulcer prevalence in a group of long-term units and to describe the main factors associated both with risk for and presence of a pressure ulcer.

Background: Despite being potentially preventable, pressure ulcers are highly frequent among institutionalized patients and are associated with increased morbidity and mortality.

Method: A cross-sectional study was carried out, involving 571 patients from 10 long-term units in Rome, Italy.

Case-mix adjusted odds ratios as an alternative way to compare hospital performances.

The purpose of this study was to compare two different methods to describe C-section variability among hospital units: case-mix adjusted ORs and case-mix adjusted rates. About 41,755 deliveries without previous C-section occurred in 60 hospitals in 2001 were analysed. Logistic regression was used to produce both adjusted rates and ORs by maternity unit.

Adult and childhood leukemia near a high-power radio station in Rome, Italy.

Some recent epidemiologic studies suggest an association between lymphatic and hematopoietic cancers and residential exposure to high-frequency electromagnetic fields (100 kHz to 300 GHz) generated by radio and television transmitters. Vatican Radio is a very powerful station located in a northern suburb of Rome, Italy. In the 10-km area around the station, with 49,656 residents (in 1991), leukemia mortality among adults (aged >14 years; 40 cases) in 1987-1998 and childhood leukemia incidence (eight cases) in 1987-1999 were evaluated.