The incidence of ocular pathologies is constantly increasing, as is the interest of the researchers in developing new strategies to ameliorate the treatment of these conditions. Nowadays, drug delivery systems are considered among the most relevant approaches due to their applicability in the treatment of a great variety of inner and outer eye pathologies through painless topical administrations. The design of such nanocarriers requires a deep study of many aspects related to the administration route but also a consideration of the authorities and pharmacopeial requirements, in order to achieve a clinical outcome.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOcular pathologies are widely diffused worldwide, and their effective treatment, combined with a high patient compliance, is sometimes challenging to achieve due to the barriers of the eye; in this context, the use of nanoparticles for topical ophthalmic application could represent a successful strategy. Aiming to develop nanoplatforms with potential clinical applications, great attention has to be paid to their features, in relation to the route of administration and to the pharmacopoeial requirements. This review (part 1) thus embraces the preliminary steps of nanoparticle development and characterization.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF: Bladder ultrasound (BUS) provides an accurate measurement of post-void residual (PVR) volume and bladder assessment. Access to BUS is dependent on practitioner availability with delays resulting in poor symptom management, delayed discharge and dissatisfaction. Developing nursing practice to perform BUS can address these patient's needs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUveal melanoma is one of the most common and aggressive intraocular malignancies, and, due to its great capability of metastasize, it constitutes the most incident intraocular tumor in adults. However, to date there is no effective treatment since achieving the inner ocular tissues still constitutes one of the greatest challenges in actual medicine, because of the complex structure and barriers. Uncoated and PEGylated nanostructured lipid carriers were developed to achieve physico-chemical properties (mean particle size, homogeneity, zeta potential, pH and osmolality) compatible for the ophthalmic administration of (S)-(-)-MRJF22, a new custom-synthetized prodrug for the potential treatment of uveal melanoma.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) can cause a variety of infections, including serious pulmonary disease. Treatment encompasses polypharmacy, with a targeted regimen of 2-5 active medications, depending on site of infection, species, and clinical characteristics. Medications may include oral, intravenous, and inhalational routes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe administration of hydrophilic therapeutics has always been a great challenge because of their low bioavailability after administration. For this purpose, W/O/W microemulsion resulted to be a potential successful strategy for the delivery of hydrophilic compounds, interesting for the nasal mucosal therapy. Herein, an optimized biphasic W/O microemulsion was designed, through a preliminary screening, and it was inverted in a triphasic W/O/W microemulsion, intended for the nasal administration.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe optimal therapeutic management of cyclic vomiting syndrome (CVS) remains elusive. The objective of this study was to document our clinical experience in the Pediatric Department of San Marco Hospital and to survey the literature on pediatric CVS treatment, aiming to update the guidance on the most effective treatment strategies for this not-so-uncommon condition. Data from 70 patients with CVS, admitted to our Pediatric Department between September 2011 and December 2021, were aggregated and included in the study.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInfections due to nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) continue to increase in prevalence, leading to problematic clinical outcomes. Omadacycline (OMC) is an aminomethylcycline antibiotic with FDA orphan drug and fast-track designations for pulmonary NTM infections, including (MAB). This multicenter retrospective study across 16 U.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Post intensive care syndrome is defined as the presence of any impairment affecting the physical, psychiatric, or cognitive domains as a result of critical illnesses.
Objectives: To explore functional, cognitive and psychological outcomes at 30 days post hospital discharge among survivors of COVID-19-associated acute respiratory distress syndrome, who required mechanical ventilation.
Methods: Prospective cohort study.
Antimicrob Steward Healthc Epidemiol
March 2023
Background: Nurses perform several functions that are integral for antimicrobial stewardship (AMS). However, nurses are underrepresented in research and underutilized in implementation of AMS interventions. The objective of this pilot study was to assess the effect of asynchronous microlearning on inpatient nursing staff knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) regarding AMS principles.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Autosomal dominant mutations of the gene can cause two epileptic disorders: benign familial neonatal seizures (BFNS) and developmental epileptic encephalopathy (DEE). This systematic review aims to identify the best reported therapy for these patients, relating to phenotype, neurodevelopmental outcome, and an eventual correlation between phenotype and genotype.
Methods: We searched on PubMed using the search terms "" AND "therapy" and "" AND "treatment"; we found 304 articles.
Prognostic role of the amplitude-integrated electroencephalography (aEEG) is undeniable, but few works focused on the contribution of medications in misleading its interpretation. We report the case of an asphyxiated newborn enrolled for therapeutic hypothermia (TH) that required the simultaneous use of three anticonvulsants, whose administration resulted in a comatose state and in a switch to a flat trace on the aEEG. The prolonged flat trace on the aEEG, pointing toward a state of irreversible brain damage, led to early stop of TH to prevent therapeutic obstinacy; unexpectedly, once Midazolam was weaned off, the aEEG recovered to a discontinuous pattern.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHIV and hepatitis B virus (HBV) coinfection is relatively common. Initiation of antiretroviral therapy (ART) in people with HIV (PWH) causes a progressive restoration of cell-mediated immune functions. In the presence of overt or occult coinfections, immune restoration might lead to immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (IRIS).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe greatest challenge associated with topical drug delivery for the treatment of diseases affecting the posterior segment of the eye is to overcome the poor bioavailability of the carried molecules. Nanomedicine offers the possibility to overcome obstacles related to physiological mechanisms and ocular barriers by exploiting different ocular routes. Functionalization of nanosystems by fluorescent probes could be a useful strategy to understand the pathway taken by nanocarriers into the ocular globe and to improve the desired targeting accuracy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMediterr J Hematol Infect Dis
January 2022
T-cell lymphomas and leukemias are highly heterogeneous groups of rare disorders. We report a case of a 68-year-old man patient who developed two different T-cell neoplasms (Large Granular Lymphocyte Leukemia [LGLL] in 2018 and Peripheral T-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma not otherwise specified [PTCL-NOS] in 2019) with a previous diagnosis of B-cell marginal zone lymphoma in 2010, treated with two lines of chemo-immunotherapy. The coexistence of these different T-cell neoplasms is rarely reported in the literature.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUveal melanoma is the second most common melanoma and the most common intraocular malignant tumour of the eye. Among various treatments currently studied, Sorafenib was also proposed as a promising drug, often administered with other compounds in order to avoid resistance mechanisms. Despite its promising cellular activities, the use of Sorafenib by oral administration is limited by its severe side effects and the difficulty to reach the target.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn 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.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFComplementary and alternative medicines represent an interesting field of research on which worldwide academics are focusing many efforts. In particular, the possibility to exploit pharmaceutical technology strategies, such as the nanoencapsulation, for the delivery of essential oils is emerging as a promising strategy not only in Italy but also all over the world. The aim of this work was the development of nanostructured lipid carriers (NLC) for the delivery of essential oils (, , and ) by intranasal administration, an interesting topic in which Italian contributions have recently increased.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEssential oils are being studied for more than 60 years, but a growing interest has emerged in the recent decades due to a desire for a rediscovery of natural remedies. Essential oils are known for millennia and, already in prehistoric times, they were used for medicinal and ritual purposes due to their therapeutic properties. Using a variety of methods refined over the centuries, essential oils are extracted from plant raw materials: the choice of the extraction method is decisive, since it determines the type, quantity, and stereochemical structure of the essential oil molecules.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Huntington's disease (HD) is a genetic neurodegenerative condition that is characterized by cognitive, motor, and psychiatric dysfunction. The purpose of this study was to explore which disease characteristics influence caregiver burden in HD.
Methods: Fifty participants with HD and 50 of their caregivers participated in the study at the University of South Florida.
Patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) requiring intermittent hemodialysis (IHD) are at increased risk of infection, which represents a leading cause of mortality in this population. The use of additional vascular access devices such as peripherally inserted central catheters to treat such infections should be minimized in patients with ESRD requiring IHD in order to mitigate complications such as infection and thrombosis and to maintain venous patency for hemodialysis access. Intravenous antimicrobial dosing following IHD has the advantages of avoiding additional access devices and providing convenience for patients and providers.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To review the incidence, management, and current understanding of the pathophysiology of β-lactam-induced neutropenia and to critically evaluate the practicality and safety of direct substitution to an alternative β-lactam in the setting of this reaction.
Data Sources: A literature analysis using the PubMed and Ovid search engines (July 1968 to October 2020) was performed using the search terms , and (granulocyte colony-stimulating factor).
Study Selection And Data Extraction: The included English-language studies evaluated the incidence, mechanism, and/or management of β-lactam-induced neutropenia in pediatric or adult patients.