Observational study on the efficiency of Neonatal Emergency Transport in reducing mortality and morbidity indexes in Sicily.

In these last 25 years, the Neonatal Emergency Transport (NET) service has been widely improved in Italy. To date, all National areas are covered by a NET service; 53 NET centers have been activated in all the Italian territory. Herein, the authors present an observational study to evaluate the rate of infantile mortality after introduction of NET in Sicily, and to study the efficiency of this service in reducing these rates of mortality in vulnerable neonates, transported from primary care birth centers to tertiary facilities to undergo to specialized NICU assistance.

Heart involvement in children and adults with cystic fibrosis: correlation with pulmonary indexes and inflammation markers.

Background: Cardiovascular involvement in Cystic Fibrosis (CF) is a not rare condition, although the prevalence of subclinical pulmonary hypertension (PH) and cardiac dysfunction is not known in the early stages of CF progression. The aim of our study was to assess cardiac involvement in children and adults affected by cystic fibrosis compared with healthy subjects of same age using echocardiography.

Methods: Fifty-five patients, 25 adults and 30 children completed the study.

Effect of antenatal betamethasone on maternal and fetal amino acid concentration.

Objective: To determine the concentration of amino acids in women receiving the first course of antenatal betamethasone and to evaluate the umbilical venous and arterial amino acid concentrations at the time of elective cesarean section after betamethasone administration.

Study Design: Blood samples were collected from 34 pregnant women at risk of premature delivery before and 24 and 48 hours after the first course of betamethasone. In addition, maternal and cord blood samples were collected in 13 women undergoing an elective cesarean section between 24 and 192 hours after betamethasone.

Comparison of human metapneumovirus genotypes from the province of Bolzano in northern Italy with strains from surrounding regions in Italy and Austria.

The epidemiology of the genetic sublineages of human metapneumovirus (hMPV) and their clinical relevance are not fully understood. We compared hMPV genotypes isolated in the province of Bolzano in Northern Italy with strains from nearby Italian and Austrian regions by sequencing of NP- and L-gene fragments. Our results suggest that similar strains cycle through adjacent geographic areas, with the respective subtypes replacing each other on a seasonal basis.