Extended septal myectomy for obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and its impact on mitral valve function.

Aims: Septal myectomy is the treatment of choice for hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy (HOCM). Around 30-60% of patients with HOCM have a secondary mitral valve regurgitation due to systolic anterior motion (SAM). We report our experience with extended septal myectomy and its impact on the incidence of concomitant mitral valve procedures.

Non-malignant occupational respiratory diseases and climate change.

Respiratory diseases of infectious, allergic, neoplastic or degenerative origin are due to the interaction of environmental and occupational risk factors, individual susceptibility and other co-factors and comorbidities. Asthma and other respiratory pathologies can be worsened by climate change and exposure to other agents in occupational environments. PubMed and Scopus, and several websites on public and occupational health were queried to find publications and documents on work-related respiratory diseases, asthma, rhinitis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), pneumoconiosis and allergic alveolitis in association with climate change.

[Evaluation of the indirect impact of the Sars-CoV-2 epidemic on primary and ambulatory care processes using synthetic quality measures and graphic representations.].

Introduction: A concise representation of different primary and ambulatory care quality indicators can be very useful for quickly understanding the data and defining appropriate intervention strategies. The objectives of this study are to implement a graphical representation based on the TreeMap, a tool capable of summarizing results from heterogeneous indicators, with different measurement scales and thresholds, and take advantage of TreeMap's potential to measure the indirect impact of the Sars-CoV-2 epidemic on primary and ambulatory care processes.

Methods: Seven healthcare areas were considered each defined by a set of different indicators representative of the area.

[The PRIORITY study - PRedictIng long term Outcomes afteR Isolated coronary arTery bypass surgerY].

The allocation of clinical and economic resources is an emerging issue in health management. A useful update necessarily depends on the evaluation of long-term outcomes of clinical and surgical resources that can permit emphasis on all amendable fields, improve quality of care, and reduce health costs. The PRIORITY (PRedictIng long term Outcomes afteR Isolated coronary arTery bypass surgerY) study represents the first innovative step toward the updating of health management in a selected field, surgery for coronary artery disease, which is one of the most prevalent diseases and requires allocation of high-cost resources, although information on long-term outcomes is limited.

Evaluation of the breast cancer care network within the Lazio Region (Central Italy).

Background And Objectives: A summary indicator for evaluating the breast cancer network has never been measured at the regional level. The aim is to design treemaps providing a summary description of hospitals (including breast units) and Local Health Units (LHUs) in terms of their levels of performance within the breast cancer network of the Lazio region (central Italy). The treemap structure has an intuitive design and displays information from both general and specific analyses.

Coronary artery bypass grafting in patients with concomitant solid tumours: early and long-term results.

Objectives: Our goal was to analyse a consecutive series of patients with solid organ tumours undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) by defining the risk factors for early and long-term outcomes.

Methods: Between 2005 and 2016, a consecutive series of 4079 patients underwent isolated CABG at our institution. Of 103 patients (2.

Balance between Health Risks and Benefits for Outdoor Workers Exposed to Solar Radiation: An Overview on the Role of Near Infrared Radiation Alone and in Combination with Other Solar Spectral Bands.

Near infrared or infrared A (IRA) accounts for over 40% of the solar spectrum (SS) and is able to reach subcutaneous tissue as well as the retina. Outdoor workers are occupationally exposed to solar radiation (SR), but the level of exposure may differ widely depending on the job performed, time spent outdoors, latitude, altitude, season, personal protection, etc. Until now, risk assessment and management for outdoor workers has focused on the prevention of both acute and long-term effects on the eye and the skin due to solar ultraviolet radiation (UVR) with little consideration of the other components of the SS (a possible exception is represented by visible radiation with reference to the eye).

Volume and health outcomes: evidence from systematic reviews and from evaluation of Italian hospital data.

BACKGROUND Improving quality and effectiveness of healthcare is one of the priorities of health policies. Hospital or physician volume represents a measurable variable with an impact on effectiveness of healthcare. An Italian law calls for the definition of «qualitative, structural, technological, and quantitative standards of hospital care».

Climate change and occupational allergies: an overview on biological pollution, exposure and prevention.

Introduction: Climate change, air pollution, temperature increase and other environmental variables are modifying air quality, contributing to the increase of prevalence of allergic respiratory diseases. Allergies are complex diseases characterized by multilevel interactions between individual susceptibility, response to immune modulation and environmental exposures to physical, chemical and biological agents. Occupational allergies introduce a further complexity to these relationships by adding occupational exposure to both the indoor and outdoor ones in the living environment.

Climate change, vector-borne diseases and working population.

Introduction: Risks associated with climate change are increasing worldwide and the global effects include altered weather and precipitation patterns, rising temperatures and others; human health can be affected directly and indirectly. This paper is an overview of literature regarding climate changes, their interaction with vector-borne diseases and impact on working population.

Materials And Methods: Articles regarding climate changes as drivers of vector-borne diseases and evidences of occupational cases have been picked up by public databank.

The Impact of EuroSCORE II Risk Factors on Prediction of Long-Term Mortality.

Background: The European System for Cardiac Operation Risk Evaluation (EuroSCORE) II has not been tested yet for predicting long-term mortality. This study was undertaken to evaluate the relationship between EuroSCORE II and long-term mortality and to develop a new algorithm based on EuroSCORE II factors to predict long-term survival after cardiac surgery.

Methods: Complete data on 10,033 patients who underwent major cardiac surgery during a 7-year period were retrieved from three prospective institutional databases and linked with the Italian Tax Register Information System.

Reliability of Modern Scores to Predict Long-Term Mortality After Isolated Aortic Valve Operations.

Background: Contemporary scores for estimating perioperative death have been proposed to also predict also long-term death. The aim of the study was to evaluate the performance of the updated European System for Cardiac Operative Risk Evaluation II, The Society of Thoracic Surgeons Predicted Risk of Mortality score, and the Age, Creatinine, Left Ventricular Ejection Fraction score for predicting long-term mortality in a contemporary cohort of isolated aortic valve replacement (AVR). We also sought to develop for each score a simple algorithm based on predicted perioperative risk to predict long-term survival.

[The simple measure of handwashing to prevent the risk from biological agents: what has changed since the theories of Semmelweis].

In this manuscript, we consider the importance of hand hygiene as the chief measure of prevention and protection in the occupational context. In particular, we remember the physician who lived in the middle of the 19th century, Ignazio Semmelweis, genius but not understood creator of the theory for infection control, based on hand hygiene. Subsequent studies have clearly demonstrated the validity of Semmelweis' research, through scientific publications and the establishment of international guidelines, such as by the World Health Organization (WHO).

Airway inflammation in professional divers: FeNO as a marker.

Purpose Of The Research: The aim of this present study is examine the airway inflammation using the fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO), to detect differences in FeNO measurements in comparison with spirometry and evaluate the use of this technique in health surveillance programs, also in order to determine the suitability to the specific task.

What Was Done: Between November 2009 and February 2010 we recruited 74 volunteers, all professional divers from the Italian National Fire Services Department. A clinical-medical history questionnaire was administered, with guidance; then the study protocol was applied.

[The role of the quality of hospital discharge records on the comparative evaluation of outcomes: the example of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)].

Objective: To analyse the results of the regional comparative evaluation of the outcome "thirty days mortality after admission for reacutized Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)" before and after a reabstract study.

Design: Reabstract study of clinical records included in the regional comparative evaluation.

Setting And Participants: 232 clinical records retrieved from Grassi Hospital archives (years 2006-2007) and reviewed by two physicians and one nurse specifically trained.

[A brief update on avian influenza and the protection of workers in view of the implementation of the new EU directive].

Influenza virus A(H5N1), since its first appearance in Hong Kong in 1997 killing six people, has continuously recorder by 2003 both new cases and deaths between these. Although the media and social attention received in the years between 2006 and 2008, mainly in Italy is not currently present, the same is not true for the avian flu that still exists in some countries. At the regulatory level, at the beginning of 2006 the Ministry of Health indicated the measures to be taken in the national preparedness and response to a pandemic flu, and the national Legislative Decree 25 January 2010, n.

P.Re.Val.E.: outcome research program for the evaluation of health care quality in Lazio, Italy.

Background: P.Re.Val.

Risk assessment of aggression toward emergency health care workers.

Background: Health care and social service workers face a significant risk of job-related violence.

Aims: To develop a method for quantitative evaluation of the risk of violence, as required by Italian and European regulations, against extra-hospital emergency health care workers employed by the Regional Emergency Healthcare Service (ARES 118) in the Lazio Region in Italy.

Methods: Violence to the ARES 118 workers during working hours was examined by analysing injuries reported by them between 2005 and 2007.

[Final results from four clinical studies in the field of cardiovascular diseases integrated in the "Mattoni del SSN - Mattone Outcome" Project].

Observational outcome studies represent a valid approach to evaluating comparative treatment effectiveness in real populations. The main objective of outcome research is to underline what works and what does not work in the field of health assistance. In 2004 the Italian Ministry of Health launched the Project "Mattone Misura dell'Outcome" aimed at assessing the introduction of procedures and methods for the systematic evaluation of outcomes in the national health system.

[Value of the microarray for the study of Laboratory Animal Allergy (LAA)].

Since 1989, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) considers the Laboratory Animal Allergy - LAA a risk for workers and in 1998 the LAA has been recognized as occupational risk in the USA. Rat and mouse are the most source of allergens, not so much for the higher power of allergy respect to the other animals, but because represent the more utilized species in the research. Most of the allergens are members of the lipocalin superfamily, small extracellular proteins represented by at least 50 proteins that mainly bind or carry small hydrophobic molecules.

Spie charts, target plots, and radar plots for displaying comparative outcomes of health care.

Objective: Comparative evaluations of clinical outcomes (e.g., in-hospital mortality, complications after a surgical procedure) or health care processes involve the definition of several indicators for each study unit.

Impact of heat on mortality in 15 European cities: attributable deaths under different weather scenarios.

Background: High ambient summer temperatures have been shown to influence daily mortality in cities across Europe. Quantification of the population mortality burden attributable to heat is crucial to the development of adaptive approaches. The impact of summer heat on mortality for 15 European cities during the 1990s was evaluated, under hypothetical temperature scenarios warmer and cooler than the mean and under future scenarios derived from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Special Report on Emission Scenarios (SRES).