Spinal versus general anesthesia during retrograde intra-renal surgery: A propensity score matching analysis.

Background: The indications for retrograde intra-renal surgery (RIRS) have greatly increased, however, there is still no consensus on the use of spinal anesthesia (SA) during this procedure. The aim of this study was to evaluate the comparability of surgical conditions and outcomes with RIRS performed under SA versus general anesthesia (GA) for renal stones.

Materials And Methods: This was a prospective, observational study in patients scheduled for RIRS in a single teaching hospital in Italy.

Organ and tissue donation in migrants: advanced course for cross-cultural mediators.

Between 2004 and 2010 in Piedmont (Italy Northern Region) 1556 brain-death situations were reported, including 113 (7.3%) in migrants as potential organ and tissue donors. The health staff often has to face migrants, who show great cultural differences and language difficulties.