Publications by authors named "Casazza G"

This is a protocol for a Cochrane Review (diagnostic). The objectives are as follows: To estimate the diagnostic accuracy of des-gamma-carboxy prothrombin, GALAD (Gender, Age, Lens culinaris agglutinin-reactive AFP, AFP and DCP), and alpha-foetoprotein for the diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma of any size, and at any stage, in adults with chronic liver disease, in either a surveillance programme or a clinical setting. We acknowledge the possibility that theoretically, the accuracy of the tests in a surveillance programme may differ from that in a clinical setting due to variation in inclusion criteria and the prevalence of the target condition.

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The ongoing demographic, epidemiological and social changes are dramatically raising the clinical and care complexity of patients admitted to internal medicine (IM) departments. Collecting evidence for a better characterization of patients is crucial to tailor future interventions based on patient's real needs. The aim of this prospective multicenter study was to describe the complexity of care of patients hospitalized in IM by calculating the complexity of care (ICC) score, through the combination of clinical instability (NEWS score) and care dependency scales (mICD).

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  • Family history of Parkinson's disease (PD) was examined in a study involving 2035 PD patients across 28 Italian centers, revealing that 21.9% had a family history of the disease.
  • Familial PD (fPD) patients experienced symptoms at an earlier age compared to sporadic PD (sPD) patients, although both groups showed similar prevalence of motor and nonmotor symptoms.
  • The findings suggest that fPD occurs more frequently than previously thought, highlighting the need for comprehensive family history taking to uncover potential disease patterns and risk factors.
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Purpose: Skull base features, including increased foramen ovale (FO) cross-sectional area, are associated with lateral skull base spontaneous cerebrospinal fluid (sCSF) leak and encephalocele. Manual measurement requires skill in interpreting imaging studies and is time consuming. The goal of this study was to develop a fully automated deep learning method for FO segmentation and to determine the predictive value in identifying patients with sCSF leak or encephalocele.

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Background: The presence and severity of liver fibrosis are important prognostic variables when evaluating people with chronic hepatitis C (CHC). Although liver biopsy remains the reference standard, non-invasive serological markers, such as the four factors (FIB-4) score and the Forns index, can also be used to stage liver fibrosis.

Objectives: To determine the diagnostic accuracy of the FIB-4 score and Forns index in staging liver fibrosis in people with chronic hepatitis C (CHC) virus, using liver biopsy as the reference standard (primary objective).

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  • The study investigates long-term epilepsy outcomes in pediatric patients who experienced acute central nervous system complications during hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT).
  • Data was collected from 94 patients, revealing that common acute complications included posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome and infections, with a notable incidence of acute symptomatic seizures.
  • Findings indicate that 9.6% of patients were diagnosed with long-term epilepsy, especially those who experienced acute symptomatic status epilepticus, highlighting the need for specialized neurological follow-up in these cases.
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  • The Southwestern-Alpine endemic wolf spider, Vesubia jugorum, is endangered due to its limited range and sensitivity to climate change, necessitating a study of its genetic structure and distribution.
  • Research shows significant genetic differentiation among populations, attributed to historical isolation during glacial periods, with current distribution limited mostly to the Maritime and Ligurian Alps.
  • Future climate projections indicate a shift in suitable habitats to higher altitudes and latitudes, which could threaten the species' survival and genetic diversity, underscoring the importance of conservation areas in the SW-Alps.
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Background: The efficacy and safety of dupilumab in atopic dermatitis (AD) have been defined in clinical trials but limited real-world evidence on long-term treatment outcomes is currently available to inform clinical decisions.

Objectives: To describe the long-term effectiveness and safety of dupilumab up to 48 months in patients with moderate-to-severe AD.

Methods: A multicentre, retrospective, dynamic cohort study was conducted to assess long-term effectiveness and safety of dupilumab in patients with moderate-to-severe AD in a real-world setting.

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Lymphoproliferation is defined by lymphadenopathy, splenomegaly, hepatomegaly, or lymphocytic organ and tissue infiltration. The most common etiologies of lymphoproliferation are represented by infectious diseases and lymphoid malignancies. However, it is increasingly recognized that lymphoproliferative features can be the presenting sign of rare conditions, including inborn errors of immunity (IEI) and inborn errors of metabolism (IEM).

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Mountain biota survived the Quaternary cold stages most probably in peripheral refugia and/or ice-free peaks within ice-sheets (nunataks). While survival in peripheral refugia has been broadly demonstrated, evidence for nunatak refugia is still scarce. We generated RADseq data from three mountain plant species occurring at different elevations in the southeastern European Alps to investigate the role of different glacial refugia during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM).

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Despite aggressive multimodal treatment, the outcomes of pediatric patients with high-risk (HR) neuroblastoma (NB) remain poor. The rationale for allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HCT) to treat NB was based on the possible graft-versus-tumor effect; however, toxicity limits its efficacy. We sought to prospectively assess the feasibility and efficacy of allo-HCT using a reduced-intensity conditioning regimen in pediatric patients with HR NB in a multicenter phase II trial.

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  • Acute carbon monoxide poisoning (COP) is a significant cause of emergency department visits, with symptoms that can range from mild to critical, making diagnosis challenging.
  • This systematic review evaluates the accuracy of CO pulse oximetry (SpCO) against conventional blood gas analysis for measuring carboxyhemoglobin (COHb) levels in suspected COP cases.
  • Findings from six studies involving 1,734 patients indicate that while SpCO has high specificity (93%), its low sensitivity (65%) renders it unsuitable as a screening tool in emergency settings, but it may have potential for use in prehospital situations.
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Background: Increased basketball game frequency may affect athlete performances, especially during Ramadan intermittent fasting (RIF). The objective of the present investigation was to assess the impacts of increased game frequency periods crossing the RIF on body composition, sleep habits, indices of well-being, recovery state, and dietary intake in professional male basketball players.

Methods: Twenty-eight professional basketball players participated in this study and were divided into increased-games-frequency (INCR) or normal-games-frequency (NORM) groups.

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Background: Syncope can be the presenting symptom of Pulmonary Embolism (PE). It is not known wether using a standardized algorithm to rule-out PE in all patients with syncope admitted to the Emergency Departments (ED) is of value or can lead to overdiagnosis and overtreatment.

Methods: We tested if simple anamnestic and clinical parameters could be used as a rule to identify patients with syncope and PE in a multicenter observational study.

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  • * Key predictors of achieving better results (defined as an EASI score of ≤ 7) within 4 weeks included specific disease phenotypes like classic lichenoid and inflammatory types, as well as lower baseline EASI scores.
  • * The findings emphasize the significance of starting biological treatments early for patients with AD to improve their chances of achieving mild disease levels quickly.
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Osteosarcoma (OS) is the most common primary malignancy of the bone, highly aggressive and metastasizing, and it mainly affects children and adolescents. The current standard of care for OS is a combination of surgery and chemotherapy. However, these treatment options are not always successful, especially in cases of metastatic or recurrent osteosarcomas.

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Background: Chemsex is a heterogeneous phenomenon with differences in distribution, setting, motivations and type of substances consumed between countries. The lack of data at national level of the Italian situation creates a perception of reduced need for intervention.

Methods: Anonymous paper questionnaires were distributed to patients who had registered themselves at the STI Department IRCCS Ca' Granda Policlinico in Milan.

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Background: Advanced chronic liver disease is characterised by a long compensated phase followed by a rapidly progressive 'decompensated' phase, which is marked by the development of complications of portal hypertension and liver dysfunction. Advanced chronic liver disease is considered responsible for more than one million deaths annually worldwide. No treatment is available to specifically target fibrosis and cirrhosis; liver transplantation remains the only curative option.

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Background: Incidence of cutaneous melanoma is steadily growing, and its early recognition is of paramount importance. Small, pigmented lesions often represent a challenge for the clinician, as predictors of melanoma have not yet been uniquely identified in this setting.

Objectives: To identify dermoscopic features that aid in distinguishing small diameter melanomas (≤5 mm) from equivocal melanocytic nevi measuring ≤5 mm.

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Background: Whole-body electromyostimulation (WB-EMS) was never previously applied to Parkinson's disease (PD) patients. This randomized controlled study aimed to find the most effective and safe WB-EMS training protocol for this population.

Methods: Twenty-four subjects (age: 72.

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Timing of nutrient intake for athletes may affect exercise performance and cardiometabolic factors. Our objective was to examine the effect of time-restricted eating (TRE) on cardiometabolic health. Using a cross-over study design, 15 endurance-trained male runners were randomized to either a normal dietary pattern (ND) first (12 h eating/fasting times) followed by time-restricted eating (TRE) pattern (16 h fast; 8 h eating) or the reverse, with a 4-week washout period between interventions.

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Background: Pollution is a major threat to global health, and there is growing interest on strategies to reduce emissions caused by health care systems. Unwarranted clinical variation, i.e.

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Species distribution models are the most widely used tool to predict species distributions for species conservation and assessment of climate change impact. However, they usually do not consider intraspecific ecological variation exhibited by many species. Overlooking the potential differentiation among groups of populations may lead to misplacing any conservation actions.

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