Experiences of individuals with acquired brain injury and their families interacting with community services: a systematic scoping review.

Purpose: This scoping review aims to (1) synthesise the research findings on the experiences of individuals with acquired brain injuries, and their families, when interacting with, or accessing, community-based services and (2) identify where gaps in service provision may exist and their cause.

Methods: A systematic search strategy was employed across multiple databases to identify all studies relating to the experiences of individuals with acquired brain injuries and their families when interacting with, or accessing, community-based services. Inclusion was assessed by at least two reviewers at each stage and data extraction was completed by one researcher and validity checked by another.

Telephone consultation during Coronavirus outbreak in a Pediatric Emergency Department: methodological approach of a tertiary care center in a COVID-19 hospital setting.

Objective: A computerized system of telephone consultation has been experimented at the Pediatric Emergency Department (ED) of Policlinico Gemelli Hospital in Rome during the outbreak of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19).

Materials And Methods: Twenty monothematic items with a series of questions to evaluate child's clinical conditions have been set up in order to evaluate the different situations according to their severity. All items were highlighted according to conventional scores corresponding to the different answers (yes/no) given by the child's parents.

Seroprevalence of Coxiella burnetii in dairy cattle from Sicily.

Q fever is a widespread zoonotic disease caused by Coxiella burnetii, an obligate intracellular bacterium with a wide range of hosts. The aim of this study was to estimate the seroprevalence of C. burnetii infection in cattle in Sicilian farms.

A Geographical Information System Based Approach for Integrated Strategies of Tick Surveillance and Control in the Peri-Urban Natural Reserve of Monte Pellegrino (Palermo, Southern Italy).

Ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) are bloodsucking arthropods involved in pathogen transmission in animals and humans. Tick activity depends on various ecological factors such as vegetation, hosts, and temperature. The aim of this study was to analyse the spatial/temporal distribution of ticks in six sites within a peri-urban area of Palermo (Natural Reserve of Monte Pellegrino) and correlate it with field data using Geographical Information System (GIS) data.

Psychopharmacotherapy in Pregnancy and Breastfeeding.

Importance: Fifteen percent to 20% of pregnant women suffer from mental disorders, and 86% of them are not treated due to potential teratogenic risks for the fetus. Several drugs seem to be safe during pregnancy but knowledge regarding risks of antenatal exposure to drugs is still limited.

Objective: The aim of this article is to provide a review of literature, data, and a clinical guideline concerning the treatment and management of mental disorders during pregnancy and lactation.

Microbiological and Chemical Analysis of Land Snails Commercialised in Sicily.

In this study 160 samples of snails belonging to the species were examined for chemical and microbiological analysis. Samples came from Greece and Poland. Results showed mean concentration of cadmium (0.

The use of Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale to identify postnatal depression symptoms at well child visit.

Objectives: 1) to evaluate the role of the pediatrician in detecting postnatal depression (PD) symptoms by the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS); 2) to detect factors increasing the risk of PD and, 3) to assess the importance of scores gained from fathers' questionnaire.

Methods: we surveyed 1122 mothers and 499 fathers who were assessed using the EPDS during the first well-child visit. After 5 weeks, high scoring parents, completed a second EPDS.

Health care of children living with their mother in prison compared with the general population.

Background: Italian law allows female prisoners in specific "nest areas" to keep their babies with them until the child reaches the age of 3 years. We describe health care of children living in the nest areas and we compare this condition with the general population.

Methods: Our study was conducted in the female detention centre of Rome Rebibbia, Italy.

Fluorescence-based detection of Leishmania infantum DNA in phlebotomus vectors.

The geographical diffusion of leishmaniasis can depend on the factors limiting the distribution of sandfly vectors. In Sicily, as in all Mediterranean areas, sandflies are present almost all year round because the climate permits perpetuation of this vector's life cycle. Transmission can occurs in rural and domestic habitats through the bite of infected female phlebotomine sandflies.

The influence of quality criteria on parents' evaluation of medical web-pages: an Italian randomised trial.

The aim of this study is to verify the usefulness for parents of a web evaluation framework composed of ten quality criteria to improve their ability to assess the quality level of medical web sites. We conducted a randomised controlled trial that included two groups of parents who independently evaluated five paediatric web sites by filling out two distinct questionnaires: group A with the evaluation framework, group B without it. 40 volunteers were recruited from parents referring to the General Paediatrics Out-patients Department who satisfied the following eligibility criteria: Internet users, at least 1 child under 12 months old, no professional skill in Internet and medicine.

Comparison of different DNA extraction and polymerase chain reaction methods to detect Leptospira spp. on field samples.

It was carried out a comparison on two reference Leptospira strains DNA between different extraction methods and two polymerase chain reaction protocol. The DNA was quantified and serial dilutions were tested by polymerase chain reaction. The results showed difference in terms of recovery and sensitivity between this methods.

Polymerase chain reaction method for leptospirosis, analysis on samples from an autochthon swine population in Sicily, Italy.

We set a method targeting 16 rRNA gene consisting in a single polymerase chain reaction of 40 cycles which is specific for pathogenic leptospira. Negative polymerase chain reaction results were observed with nonpathogenic Leptospira (serovar patoc) and other bacteria species. By this method a survey on a population of autochthon swine herds had been conducted in Sicily particularly on kidney samples of slaughtered animals and on urine samples from live animals.

Toxoplasma gondii infections in sheep in Sicily, southern Italy.

The aim of the study was to determine the burden of Toxoplasma gondii-infections in sheep in Sicily, southern Italy and the risk factors for infection. Sera from 1961 sheep were collected just before slaughtering from 62 farms located in 8 out of 9 Sicilian administrative districts. The sera were analysed for Toxoplasma-specific IgG antibodies using commercially available enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

Evidence of canine leptospirosis in kennels in Sicily, by PCR method.

Stray dogs in kennels in western Sicily were monitored for zoonotic diseases presence; considering life conditions before their capture they are particularly exposed to the environment and so they can give good epidemiological information on disease prevalence. Leptospira pathogen specific PCR had been used to identify potential reservoirs of pathogenic serovars and provide a preliminary picture of the prevalence of the disease among stray dogs.

Leptospira interrogans survey by PCR in wild rodents coming from different urban areas of Palermo, Italy.

DNA extracted from the kidneys of rodents captured in different urban areas of Palermo, Italy, had been analysed for the presence of pathogenic L. interrogans sensu latu DNA. PCR analysis had shown that in rodents captured close to green areas and small river up to 40 % animals give positive PCR results.

A quality evaluation methodology of health web-pages for non-professionals.

Primary Objective: The proposal of an evaluation methodology for determining the quality of healthcare web sites for the dissemination of medical information to non-professionals.

Methods And Procedures: Three (macro) factors are considered for the quality evaluation: medical contents, accountability of the authors, and usability of the web site. Starting from two results in the literature the problem of whether or not to introduce a weighting function has been investigated.

The evolution of Web-based medical information on sore throat: a longitudinal study.

Background: The content of a page can change and is likely to change over time; this is one of the useful qualities of the Web, but also a dangerous one.

Objective: To monitor the evolution of Web page contents on sore throat over a 3 year period.

Methods: Two medical doctors independently evaluated 34 Web pages on sore throat.

Intracranial hemorrhage at the onset of thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura in an infant: therapeutic approach and intensive care management.

Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) is quite rare in infancy and must be treated intensively as a life-threatening disease. Diffuse vascular thromboses may occur, and neurologic involvement is a cornerstone of the diagnosis of TTP. We describe a case of an infant who presented with a sudden cerebral hemorrhage and subsequently developed the typical clinical features of TTP.

Bovine beta-casein antibodies in breast- and bottle-fed infants: their relevance in Type 1 diabetes.

Background: Bovine beta-casein is a cow's milk protein that targets both humoral and cellular immune responses in patients with Type 1 diabetes and, to a lesser degree, also in normal subjects. In this study we aimed to determine whether the avoidance of cow's milk consumption early in life could prevent the development of antibody response to bovine beta-casein despite the mother being exposed on a daily basis to cow's milk consumption.

Materials And Methods: We measured the antibody response to bovine beta-casein using an ELISA method in 28 healthy infants under 4 months of age, of whom 16 were exclusively breast-fed and 12 were bottle-fed with cow's milk.

Randomised controlled trial assessing the effectiveness of a booklet on the duration of breast feeding.

Objective: To test the efficacy of an information booklet to increase the duration of breast feeding.

Research Design: Randomised design, stratifying by maternal residence and working activity. Two hundred women were recruited, 103 received the booklet and verbal counselling and 97 verbal counselling only.

What proportion of multiple births are due to ovulation induction? A register-based study in Italy.

Objectives: This study evaluated the increase in risk of multiple births associated with ovulation induction and calculated the proportion of multiple births attributable to this treatment.

Methods: Cases were 350 multiple births and controls were 737 single births enrolled from April 1993 to March 1994 in the Mercurio Project, an investigation of reproductive outcomes in Italy.

Results: Ovulation induction was used in 45 case births (12.

[Therapy of neonatal infection caused by group B beta-hemolytic Streptococcus].

Expectant therapy for early Group B Streptococcus onset septicemia must provide coverage against other microorganism, such as L. Monocytogenes, H. Influenzae and S.

[The early diagnosis of congenital hip dysplasia: a proposal for a differentiated echographic screening].

Prevention of congenital hip dislocation is one of the main goals of pediatric activity. 839 newborn outpatients, with six months follow-up at least, were recruited at the Pediatric Clinic of the Catholic University of Rome, from January 1991 to December 1992. Every newborn baby was clinically examined for congenital hip dysplasia (CHD) at nursery and afterwards in the ambulatory.