Digital Technologies and the Role of Health Care Professionals: Scoping Review Exploring Nurses' Skills in the Digital Era and in the Light of the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Background: The nursing role significantly changed following reforms in the nurse training process. Nowadays, nurses are increasingly trained to promote and improve the quality of clinical practice and to provide support in the assistance of patients and communities. Opportunities and threats are emerging as a consequence of the introduction of new disruptive technologies in public health, which requires the health care staff to develop new digital skills.

Anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies persistence after natural infection: a repeated serosurvey in Northern Italy.

Introduction: To evaluate the decline of antibodies induced by SARS-CoV-2 infection, the individuals resident in 5 municipalities of the Autonomous Province of Trento, Northern Italy, who resulted IgG positive for anti-SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid (NC) in May 2020, were tested four months later.

Methods: Anti-SARS-CoV-2 NC antibodies were detected using the Abbott SARS-CoV-2 IgG assay. Samples that gave a negative result were re-tested using the Liaison SARS-CoV-2 IgG assay to assess anti-spike (S) S1/S2 antibodies.

Combined Treatment with Laser Ablation and Tyrosine-Kinase Inhibitor as A Novel Multimodality Approach to Locally Advanced Thyroid Cancer: A Case Report.

Background: Direct locoregional treatments were recently proposed for the local control of cervical and distant metastasis of thyroid cancer, but data on their use as part of a multimodality approach for primary thyroid tumors are poor. In this feasibility study, laser ablation (LTA) was successfully used for the initial debulking of unresectable radioiodine-refractory thyroid cancer in sequential therapy with Tyrosine-Kinase Inhibitors (TKI).

Case Presentation: A 69-year-old woman underwent partial resection of papillary thyroid cancer with extensive tracheal infiltration.

Prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies in an area of northeastern Italy with a high incidence of COVID-19 cases: a population-based study.

Objectives: A seroprevalence study of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) was conducted in a high-incidence area located in northeastern Italy.

Methods: All citizens above 10 years of age resident in five municipalities of the Autonomous Province of Trento, with the highest incidence of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases, were invited to participate in the study. Among 6098 participants, 6075 sera and a standardized questionnaire administered face-to-face were collected between 5 May and 15 May 2020 and examined.

High-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) therapy for benign thyroid nodules: a 3-year retrospective multicenter follow-up study.

Background: Outcomes of high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU), as a non-surgical treatment option for benign symptomatic thyroid nodules, has mainly been based on single-center studies and short-term follow-up. Therefore, we assessed the safety, and long-term efficacy of HIFU in benign thyroid nodules among four centers with expertise in thyroid mini-invasive procedures.

Patients And Methods: Retrospective three year follow-up study in four European centers, treating solid benign thyroid nodules causing pressure symptoms and/or cosmetic concerns.

Inter- and Intraobserver Agreement in the Assessment of Thyroid Nodule Ultrasound Features and Classification Systems: A Blinded Multicenter Study.

Single-center trials demonstrated moderate-substantial level of interobserver agreement in the evaluation of ultrasound (US) features of thyroid nodules. Multicenter studies on US agreement, however, are scanty, and data on intraobserver agreement are poor. Aim of the study was to assess inter- and intraobserver agreement between different thyroid centers and different specialists.

TreC platform. An integrated and evolving care model for patients' empowerment and data repository.

Introduction: Health care has been deeply revolutionized by the new wave of information and communication technology (ICT) development, particularly related to the electronic/personal health record (PHR). The present paper describes the original design and implementation approach followed in the Trentino Province (Italy) to promote an Integrated Care Model for patients' empowerment and data repository, by means of an evolving Personal Health Record - PHR platform, named TreC (Trentino Citizens Clinical Record).

Materials And Methods: The TreC Platform is conceived as a communication hub among different stakeholders.

Ultrasound-guided laser ablation for local control of neck recurrences of medullary thyroid cancer. A feasibility study.

Background: Surgery is the standard treatment for cervical metastases of medullary thyroid cancer (MTC) diagnosed after initial surgical treatment. Repeated neck dissections, however, carry an elevated risk of complications, have an adverse impact on the quality of life, and sometimes do not achieve cure of the disease Clinical case: In a patient who had undergone two cervical neck dissections complicated by accessory nerve injury, an US-guided laser ablation (LA) of a lymph node metastasis of MTC was performed. LA was performed with two treatments during a five month period.

Predictive Value of Malignancy of Thyroid Nodule Ultrasound Classification Systems: A Prospective Study.

Context: British Thyroid Association (BTA), American Thyroid Association (ATA), and American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE/ACE/AME) recommend for thyroid nodules an ultrasound (US)-based stratification of risk of malignancy. Aim of our study was to assess the diagnostic accuracy of US classification systems and their reliability for indication to fine-needle aspiration (FNA).

Design: Prospective study on 987 thyroid nodules consecutively referred for FNA.

Outcomes and Risk Factors for Complications of Laser Ablation for Thyroid Nodules: A Multicenter Study on 1531 Patients.

Background: Image-guided laser ablation therapy (LAT) of benign thyroid nodules demonstrated favorable results in randomized trials with fixed modalities of treatment. The aim of this retrospective multicenter study was to assess the effectiveness, tolerability, and complications of LAT in a large consecutive series of patients from centers using this technique in their routine clinical activity.

Patients: Clinical records of 1534 consecutive laser-treated nodules in 1531 patients from eight Italian thyroid referral centers were assessed.

Preoperative trans-jugular porto-systemic shunt for oncological gastric surgery in a cirrhotic patient.

Abdominal surgery in cirrhotic patients with portal hypertension is associated with high incidence of disease and mortality. In these patients, oncological gastric procedures with lymph-nodes dissection show much higher complication rates than in normotensive portal vein patients. Thus, normalization of portal vein pressure may be a favorable determinant factor to reduce complications.

Long-term efficacy of ultrasound-guided laser ablation for benign solid thyroid nodules. Results of a three-year multicenter prospective randomized trial.

Background: The aim of the present trial on ultrasound (US)-guided laser ablation therapy (LAT) of solid thyroid nodules is to assess long-term clinical efficacy, side effects, and predictability of outcomes in different centers operating with the same procedure.

Patients: Two hundred consecutive patients were randomly assigned to a single LAT session (group 1, 101 cases) or to follow-up (group 2, 99 cases) at four thyroid referral centers. Entry criteria were: solid thyroid nodule with volume of 6-17 mL, repeat benign cytological findings, normal thyroid function, no autoimmunity, and no thyroid gland treatment.

The advent of ultrasound-guided ablation techniques in nodular thyroid disease: towards a patient-tailored approach.

Surgery is the long-established therapeutic option for benign thyroid nodules, which steadily grow and become symptomatic. The cost of thyroid surgery, the risk of temporary or permanent complications, and the effect on quality of life, however, remain relevant concerns. Therefore, various minimally invasive treatments, directed towards office-based management of symptomatic nodules, without requiring general anaesthesia, and with negligible damage to the skin and cervical tissues, have been proposed during the past two decades.

Laser ablation and 131-iodine: a 24-month pilot study of combined treatment for large toxic nodular goiter.

Context: It is normally recognized that the preferred treatment in large toxic thyroid nodules should be thyroidectomy.

Objective: The aim of the study was to assess the efficacy of combined laser ablation treatment (LAT) and radioiodine 131 (131I) treatment of large thyroid toxic nodules with respect to rapidity of control of local symptoms, of hyperthyroidism, and of reduction of administered 131I activity in patients at refusal or with contraindications to surgery.

Design And Setting: We conducted a pilot study at a single center specializing in thyroid care.

Use of FMEA analysis to reduce risk of errors in prescribing and administering drugs in paediatric wards: a quality improvement report.

Objective: Administering medication to hospitalised infants and children is a complex process at high risk of error. Failure mode and effect analysis (FMEA) is a proactive tool used to analyse risks, identify failures before they happen and prioritise remedial measures. To examine the hazards associated with the process of drug delivery to children, we performed a proactive risk-assessment analysis.

Percutaneous ultrasound-guided laser ablation is effective for treating selected nodal metastases in papillary thyroid cancer.

Context: Mini-invasive procedures may be useful for control of local neck nodal metastases of papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) in high-risk patients.

Objective: Our objective was to assess the effectiveness and safety of ultrasound (US)-guided laser ablation (LA) for nonsurgical treatment of small-size neck metastases of PTC.

Design And Setting: We conducted a pilot study on a surgically controlled metastasis, followed by a prospective trial with a 12-month follow-up.

Ultrasound-guided laser ablation of incidental papillary thyroid microcarcinoma: a potential therapeutic approach in patients at surgical risk.

Background: Incidental papillary thyroid microcarcinoma (PTMC), a frequent clinical problem, is usually associated with a favorable outcome. During long-term follow-up, only a minority of cases show aggressive behavior with either lymph node or distant metastases. Recently, we had an opportunity to evaluate the efficacy of nonsurgical, ultrasound (US)-guided percutaneous laser ablation (PLA) for local treatment of PTMC in an otherwise inoperable patient.

"Hypoechoic triangle": a new sonographic sign or marker of advanced autoimmune thyroiditis.

Background: Ultrasonography (US) changes have been noted in patients with autoimmune thyroiditis (AT). Here, we report that some patients with late stage AT have a distinctive, previously unreported finding on US that we call the "hypoechoic triangle sign" (HET).

Methods: On US, the HET sign was characterized as a well-defined area of low echogenicity, about 10 mm in diameter, between the lateral margin of one or both thyroid lobes, the medial wall of the carotid artery, and, posteriorly, the prevertebral muscles.

Percutaneous laser ablation of benign and malignant thyroid nodules.

Purpose Of Review: Percutaneous image-guided procedures, largely based on thermal ablation, are at present under investigation for achieving a nonsurgical targeted cytoreduction in benign and malignant thyroid lesions.

Recent Findings: In several uncontrolled clinical trials and in two randomized clinical trials, laser ablation has demonstrated a good efficacy and safety for the shrinkage of benign cold thyroid nodules. In hyperfunctioning nodules, laser ablation induced a nearly 50% volume reduction with a variable frequency of normalization of thyroid-stimulating hormone levels.

Percutaneous laser ablation of unresectable primary and metastatic adrenocortical carcinoma.

Purpose: To evaluate the feasibility, safety, and clinical benefits of percutaneous laser ablation (PLA) in patients with unresectable primary and metastatic adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC).

Patients And Methods: Four patients with hepatic metastases from ACC and a Cushing's syndrome underwent ultrasound-guided PLA. In one case the procedure was performed also on the primary tumor.

Treatment of benign cold thyroid nodules: a randomized clinical trial of percutaneous laser ablation versus levothyroxine therapy or follow-up.

Aim Of The Study: To compare clinical and ultrasound (US) changes induced in cold thyroid nodules by US-guided percutaneous laser ablation (PLA) versus follow-up or levothyroxine (LT4) suppressive therapy.

Methods: 62 patients randomly assigned to a single PLA (Group 1), LT4 (Group 2), or follow-up (Group 3). Entry criteria: euthyroid patients with a solid thyroid nodule >5 mL and benign cytological findings.

Analysis of factors predicting survival in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma treated with percutaneous laser ablation.

Background/aims: The factors which predict the long-term outcome in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma who are treated with percutaneous laser ablation (PLA) are not well established.

Methods: We prospectively analyzed treatment and survival parameters of 148 cirrhotic patients with nonsurgical hepatocellular carcinoma who had undergone PLA at a single institution during an 11-year period.

Results: Single tumors were seen in 129 of 148 (87%) patients, and 2-3 nodules were seen in 19 (13%) patients, for a total of 169 tumors.

Percutaneous laser ablation in patients with isolated unresectable liver metastases from colorectal cancer: Results of a phase II study.

We prospectively evaluated the safety, local tumor control, and impact on survival parameters of percutaneous laser ablation (PLA) in patients with colorectal liver metastases not amenable to surgical resection. The study included 44 individuals with 75 unresectable liver metastases and no known extrahepatic disease. The median number of metastases treated for each patient was one, with a range of 1-4.

Percutaneous laser ablation in the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma with small tumors: analysis of factors affecting the achievement of tumor necrosis.

Purpose: To identify the factors that affect the achievement of tumor necrosis with percutaneous laser ablation (PLA) in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and tumor size no larger than 4.0 cm.

Materials And Methods: Ultrasound-guided biopsy results were retrospectively studied in 99 lesions (range, 0.