Publications by authors named "Barca Alessandra"

Scuole che promuovono salute (Sps) is a model promoted by the World Health Organization and recognized at the European and national levels for promoting health and well-being at school. Pause Attive is an effective and evidence-based intervention to promote physical activity and reduce sedentary behaviour of children in the school setting. In the 2023-2024 school year, 348 schools joined the "Rete Lazio Sps" of which 99 joined the intervention Pause Attive for a total of 1.

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Article Synopsis
  • Dengue virus (DENV) is spreading to new temperate regions, including Europe, due to global trade and climate change, resulting in local outbreaks even among non-travelers.
  • A study in the Latium Region from August to November 2023 investigated local DENV infections caused by serotypes 1, 2, and 3, using advanced sequencing techniques for genetic analysis.
  • The findings revealed that the predominant DENV-1 strain, which originated from South America, had led to 42 local infections in Rome, indicating adaptation of the virus to human hosts and changes in how it interacts with antibodies and cell receptors.
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Background: Pre-exposure vaccination with MVA-BN has been widely used against mpox to contain the 2022 outbreak. Many countries have defined prioritized strategies, administering a single dose to those historically vaccinated for smallpox, to achieve quickly adequate coverage in front of low supplies. Using epidemiological models, real-life effectiveness was estimated at approximately 36%-86%, but no clinical trials were performed.

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Background: we aim to investigate attitudes toward vaccination by analyzing empirical factors associated with vaccine acceptance in the Lazio region mpox vaccination (MpoxVax) campaign in Italy.

Methods: all subjects who accessed MpoxVax and signed the informed consent were prospectively enrolled in the MPOX-VAC Study and were asked to fill out an anonymous survey. Two endpoints were selected: 'delayed acceptance' and 'early acceptance', defined as access for vaccination >60 and ≤30 days from the vaccination campaign starting (VCS), respectively.

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Article Synopsis
  • The COVID-19 pandemic has led to rapid mutations of the virus SARS-CoV-2, resulting in the emergence of new variants that affect public health.
  • The Lazio region has established a genomic sequencing laboratory network (WGSnet-Lazio) to closely monitor these variants and work alongside an epidemiological surveillance center (SERESMI).
  • Data collected from February 2020 to October 2022 show that this sequencing effort is effective for understanding variant circulation and supporting public health efforts during the pandemic.
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Between August and September 2023, three distinct autochthonous dengue virus transmission events occurred in Lazio, Italy, with the main event in Rome. The events involved three different dengue serotypes. No link with previous imported cases was identified.

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Background: The impact of seasonal influenza vaccination (SIV) on mortality is still controversial; some studies have claimed that increasing vaccination coverage rates is beneficial, while others have found no significant association. This study aimed to construct a granular longitudinal dataset of local VCRs and assess their effect on pneumonia- and influenza-related (P&I) mortality among Italian adults aged ≥ 65 years.

Methods: NUTS-3 (nomenclature of territorial units for statistics) level data on SIV coverage were collected via a survey of local data holders.

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Objectives: A pre-exposure vaccination campaign to prevent the spread of the mpox virus was initiated in Italy in August 2022. We explore the possible factors affecting the trend of mpox cases in an Italian region (Lazio) with a rapid roll-out of the vaccination campaign.

Methods: We estimated the impact of the communication and vaccination campaign by fitting a Poisson segmented regression model.

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Objectives: to describe the epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 infection in relation with the use of nasal swabs in the immigrant population in Italy, using data from the COVID-19 national surveillance system and to verify if a difference is present comparing natives and immigrant.

Design: descriptive study based on longitudinal health-administrative data.

Setting And Participants: general population of six Italian Regions (Piedmont, Lombardy, Veneto, Emilia-Romagna, Tuscany, Lazio) covering about 55% of the resident population and 72% of foreigners' population.

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As the primary screening test, E6/E7 mRNA has shown similar sensitivity for CIN3+ and lower positivity rate than the HPV DNA test. Nevertheless, the overall mRNA positivity is too high for immediate colposcopy, making a triage test necessary. The aim was to estimate the mRNA performance as a primary test with different triage strategies.

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In order to reduce the burden on healthcare systems and to support differential diagnosis with COVID-19, influenza and pneumococcal vaccinations were strongly recommended during the COVID-19 pandemic, especially in vulnerable groups. However, no univocal and conclusive evidence on the relationship between influenza and pneumococcal vaccinations and COVID-19 outcomes exists. We evaluated the association between such vaccinations, COVID-19 hospitalization, intensive care unit admissions and deaths in a cohort (N = 741) of COVID-19 patients who had access to the emergency room of a large Italian University hospital between March 1, 2020 and June 1, 2020.

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Background: The study presents cross-sectional accuracy of E6 and E7 (E6/E7) mRNA detection and p16/ki67 dual staining, alone or in combination with cytology and human papillomavirus (HPV)16/18 genotyping, as a triage test in HPV DNA-positive women and their impact on cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN2+) overdiagnosis.

Methods: Women aged 25-64 years were recruited. HPV DNA-positive women were triaged with cytology and tested for E6/E7 mRNA and p16/ki67.

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Background: In recent years there has been an enormous development in the use of electronic cigarettes (e-cig). In Italy, in the 2019, the users of e-cig are about 900.000.

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Objectives: Available evidence on axillary surgery has accumulated dramatically in the last two decades in favor of less invasive care. The aim of this paper is to study 16-years trends in the surgical management of the axilla in a large population-based data set of screen-detected breast cancers in Italy and to document at what extent recommendations have been adopted in actual clinical care.

Material And Methods: This is a retrospective cohort study documenting the surgical management of the axilla in primary breast cancer patients over time.

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Cervical cancer screening by human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA testing with cytology triage is more effective than cytology testing. Compared to cytology, the HPV DNA test's higher sensitivity, which allows better protection with longer intervals, makes it necessary to triage the women with a positive result to compensate its lower specificity. We are conducting a large randomized clinical trial (New Technologies for Cervical Cancer 2 [NTCC2]) within organized population-based screening programs in Italy using HPV DNA as the primary screening test to evaluate, by the Aptima HPV assay (Hologic), the use of HPV E6-E7 mRNA in a triage test in comparison to cytology.

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Objectives: To assess detection rate and predictive factors of sessile serrated polyps (SSPs) in organised colorectal cancer (CRC) screening programmes based on the faecal immunochemical test (FIT).

Design: Data from a case series of colonoscopies of FIT-positive subjects were provided by 44 Italian CRC screening programmes. Data on screening history, endoscopic procedure and histology results, and additional information on the endoscopy centre and the endoscopists were collected, including the age-standardised and sex-standardised adenoma detection rate (ADR) of the individual endoscopists.

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This annual survey, conducted by the Italian group for mammography screening (GISMa), collects individual data on diagnosis and treatment of about 50% of screen-detected, operated lesions in Italy. The 2011-2012 results show good overall quality and an improving trend over time. A number of critical issues have been identified, including waiting times (which have had a worsening trend over the years) and compliance with the recommendation of not performing frozen section examination on small lesions.

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Aim: To estimate the impact of an advance notification letter on participation in sigmoidoscopy (FS) and fecal immunochemical test (FIT) screening.

Methods: Eligible subjects, invited in 3 Italian population based programmes using FS and in 5 using FIT, were randomised (1:1:1), within GP, to: A) standard invitation letter; B) advance notification followed after 1month by the standard invitation; and C) B+indication to contact the general practitioner (GP) to get advice about the decision to be screened. We calculated the 9-month attendance and the incremental cost of each strategy.

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Objectives: To assess variation in the main colonoscopy quality indicators in organised colorectal cancer (CRC) screening programmes based on faecal immunochemical test (FIT).

Design: Data from a case-series of colonoscopies of FIT-positive subjects were provided by 44 Italian CRC screening programmes. Data on screening history, endoscopic procedure and histology results, and additional information on the endoscopy centre and the endoscopists were collected.

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Objective: This study aims to investigate the capability of Wharton's jelly multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells (WJ-MSC) to support the in vitro expansion of hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells (HSPC) derived from cord blood (CB) in the absence of exogenous cytokines, and the effect on engraftment of the expanded cells in a mouse model.

Methods: CB-CD34+ cells were seeded on WJ-MSC layer and cultured in HP01 serum-free medium. Day-7 and day-13 expanded cells were transplanted in NOD/SCID mice.

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This survey, conducted by the Italian breast screening network (GISMa), collects yearly individual data on diagnosis and treatment on about 50% of all screen-detected, operated lesions in Italy. The 2010 results show good overall quality and an improving trend over time. Critical issues were identified, including waiting times and compliance with the recommendations on not performing frozen section examination on small lesions.

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Italian national guidelines recommend to regions the implementation of organised screening programmes for cervical cancer. As in previous years since 1998 we collected aggregated tables of data from Italian organised cervical screening programmes in order to centrally compute process indicators. Data on women invited during 2010 and screened up to April 2011 were considered.

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This survey, conducted by the Italian breast screening network (GISMa), collects individual data yearly on about 50% of all screen-detected, operated lesions in Italy. The 2008-2009 results show good overall quality of diagnosis and treatment and an improving trend over time. Critical issues were identified, including waiting times and compliance with the recommendations on not performing frozen section examination on small lesions.

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Italian national guidelines recommend to regions the implementation of organised screening programmes for cervical cancer. As in previous years since 1998, we collected from Italian organised cervical screening programmes aggregated tables of data in order to centrally compute process indicators. Data on women invited during 2009 and screened up to April 2010 were considered.

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