[Comparing two different techniques to assess the appropriateness of admissions provided in the emergency room of a pediatric hospital].

Two different techniques aimed to assess the appropriateness of hospital utilisation were used to study the same sample of clinical records of admissions provided during 2001 by the emergency room of a pediatric sicilian hospital. The first technique estimated the '"high risk of inappropriateness" DRGs prevalence, according to the Decreto del Presidente del Consiglio dei Ministri of 29 Novembre 2001, and the second was the pediatric version of the Appropriateness Evaluation Protocol (AEP), based on clinical characteristics of patients and complexity of assistance provided. The comparison of results did not show any agreement between the two techniques (kappa= 0,031, C.

[Prospective study of HBV circulation and long-term evaluation of anti-hepatitis-B vaccination in patients undergoing hemodialysis].

Hemodialysis patients were screened and monitored for HBV markers and at renal unit (identification EDTA 13ND) Palermo. Eighty-five patients received the hepatitis B vaccine (Haevac B Pasteur); fifty-three were followed up for more than three years; they received one of the three following schedules: 5 micrograms at 0, 1, 2 and 14 months; 5 micrograms at 0, 1, 2, 3, and 14 or 10 micrograms at 0, 1, 2, and 14 months. The best result was obtained by third schedule with a sero-conversion to anti-HBs of 83% at one month after the booster doses; and with the same percentage of anti-HBs positivity two years after the booster dose.

[Anti-islet cell antibodies in insulin-dependent diabetics. Preliminary study].

Anti-islet cell cytoplasm antibodies (ICA) were noted in the serum of insulin-dependent diabetics, but not in subjects with insulin-independent forms. These antibodies seem to represent an immunological marker for two forms of the disease, one in which ICA appears shortly after onset and later disappears, and another ("autoimmune") form in which ICA is detectable for long periods and persists along with other signs of alteration of the immune system.