Trajectories of biologic drug use before, during and after pregnancy: an Italian cohort study from the VALORE project.

Background: Monitoring biologic drug therapy during pregnancy in women with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases (IMIDs) is crucial to ensure treatments align with evidence-based practices.

Research Design And Methods: A retrospective cohort study based on healthcare claims data from eight Italian regions was conducted, analyzing deliveries between 2009 and 2021. The study included women receiving biologic drugs within nine months before their last menstruation.

Signals of Possibly Persistent Gustatory, Olfactory and Auditory Adverse Drug Reactions to Antibiotic Drugs: A Disproportionality Analysis Using the EudraVigilance Database.

Background: In 2018, the European Medicines Agency issued some risk minimisation measures related to unresolved adverse drug reactions (ADRs) reported for fluoroquinolones, including sensory ADRs. Spontaneous reporting databases frequently report unresolved outcomes for gustatory, olfactory and auditory (GOA) ADRs. However, such a high volume of unresolved GOA ADRs could reflect an under-investigated clinical issue or an intrinsic difficulty in the outcome assessment.

Management of neonatal head injuries: A retrospective cohort study.

Aim: The aim of this study is to describe circumstances, management and short-term outcomes of neonatal head trauma, and adherence to the Paediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network (PECARN) head trauma prediction rule for children under 2 years.

Methods: Multicentre retrospective cohort study of neonates (<29 days) with head trauma across 25 emergency departments (ED) from January 2017 to June 2021.

Results: A total of 492 neonates (median age 17 days, range 0-28 days) with non-trivial head trauma were enrolled.

A multidisciplinary non-invasive approach to monitor response to intravenous immunoglobulin treatment in neurodegenerative Langerhans cell histiocytosis: a real-world study.

Aims: Early detection and treatment of neurodegenerative Langerhans cell histiocytosis (ND-LCH) have been suggested to prevent neurodegenerative progression. The aim of the study is to validate a standardized multidisciplinary diagnostic work-up to monitor the intravenous immunoglobulins (IVIG) treatment response and the natural course of the disease in untreated patients.

Methods: Patients with abnormal somatosensory evoked potentials (SEPs) received monthly 0.

Evaluating hepatitis C cascade of care surveillance system in Tuscany, Italy, through a population retrospective data-linkage study, 2015-2021.

This comprehensive retrospective data-linkage study aimed at evaluating the impact of Direct-Acting Antivirals (DAAs) on Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) testing, treatment trends, and access to care in Tuscany over six years following their introduction. Utilizing administrative healthcare records, our work reveals a substantial increase in HCV tests in 2017, attributed to the decision to provide universal access to treatment. However, despite efforts to eradicate chronic HCV through a government-led plan, the target of treating 6,221 patients annually was not met, and services contracted after 2018, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Halo sign on temporal artery ultrasound versus temporal artery biopsy for giant cell arteritis.

Background: Giant cell arteritis (GCA) is a systemic, inflammatory vasculitis primarily affecting people over the age of 50 years. GCA is treated as a medical emergency due to the potential for sudden, irreversible visual loss. Temporal artery biopsy (TAB) is one of the five criteria of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) 1990 classification, which is used to aid the diagnosis of GCA.

Efficacy and safety of DAA in children and adolescents with chronic HCV infection: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background And Aims: We evaluated the effectiveness and safety of pan-genotypic regimens, glecaprevir/pibrentasvir (GLE/PIB), sofosbuvir/velpatasvir (SOF/VEL), and sofosbuvir/daclatasvir (SOF/DCV) and other direct-acting antivirals (DAA) regimens for the treatment of hepatitis C virus (HCV)-infected adolescents (12-18 years), older children (6-11 years), and young children (3-5 years). The purpose of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to inform the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines.

Methods: We included clinical trials and observational studies published up to August 11, 2021, that evaluated DAA regimens in HCV-infected adolescents, older children, and young children.

Anti-vascular endothelial growth factor for diabetic macular oedema: a network meta-analysis.

Background: Diabetic macular oedema (DMO) is a common complication of diabetic retinopathy. Antiangiogenic therapy with anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) can reduce oedema, improve vision, and prevent further visual loss. These drugs have replaced laser photocoagulation as the standard of care for people with DMO.

Adherence to riluzole therapy in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in three Italian regions-The CAESAR study.

Purpose: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a rare neurodegenerative disease. Riluzole may increase survival and delay the need for mechanical ventilation. The CAESAR project ('Comparative evaluation of the efficacy and safety of drugs used in rare neuromuscular and neurodegenerative diseases', FV AIFA project 2012-2013-2014) involves evaluating prescribing patterns, and analysing effectiveness and comparative safety of drugs, in patients with neurodegenerative diseases.

Artificial intelligence for detecting keratoconus.

Background: Keratoconus remains difficult to diagnose, especially in the early stages. It is a progressive disorder of the cornea that starts at a young age. Diagnosis is based on clinical examination and corneal imaging; though in the early stages, when there are no clinical signs, diagnosis depends on the interpretation of corneal imaging (e.

Determinants of immunosuppressive therapy in renal transplant recipients: an Italian observational study (the CESIT project).

Background: Very scanty evidence is available on factors influencing the choice of immunosuppressive drug therapy after kidney transplantation.

Methods: An Italian multiregional real-world study was conducted integrating national transplant information system and claims data. All patients undergoing kidney transplantation for the first time during 2009-2019 (incident patients) were considered.

Assessing disease activity of rheumatoid arthritis patients and drug-utilization patterns of biologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs in the Tuscany region, Italy.

The disease activity associated with the drug-utilization patterns of biologic Disease Modifying Anti-Rheumatic Drugs (DMARDs) is poorly investigated in real-world studies on rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients. To investigate the relationship between biologic DMARD initiation/discontinuations in RA patients identified in the healthcare administrative databases of Tuscany and the Disease Activity Score 28 (DAS28) reported in the medical charts. This retrospective population-based study included RA's first-ever biologic DMARD users of the Pisa University Hospital from 2014 to 2016.

Circulating Levels of Hydrogen Sulfide (HS) in Patients with Age-Related Diseases: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Hydrogen sulfide (HS) is an endogenous gasotransmitter that promotes multiple biological effects in many organs and tissues. An imbalanced biosynthesis of HS has been observed in animal models of age-related pathological conditions. However, the results from human studies are inconsistent.

Polytherapy and Multimorbidity Pattern of Users of Anti-VEGF Drugs and Dexamethasone for the Treatment of Age-Related Macular Degeneration and other Vascular Retinopathies in Clinical Practice.

Our aim was to describe the polytherapy and multimorbidity pattern of users of anti-VEGF and dexamethasone drugs for the treatment of these conditions, and to investigate their polytherapy and multimorbidity profiles, together with adherence and the burden of care. Descriptive, population-based, pharmacoepidemiology study on the users of anti-VEGF drugs, and secondarily intravitreal dexamethasone, for the treatment of age-related macular degeneration and other vascular retinopathies in clinical practice, using administrative databases of Lazio region, Italy. We used a cohort of 50,000 residents in Lazio in 2019 with same age as comparison.

Drug-Utilization, Healthcare Facilities Accesses and Costs of the First Generation of JAK Inhibitors in Rheumatoid Arthritis.

This study is aimed at describing tofacitinib and baricitinib users by characterizing their prescription and healthcare histories, drug and healthcare utilization patterns, and direct costs from a healthcare system perspective. This retrospective cohort study was performed using Tuscan administrative healthcare databases, which selected two groups of Janus kinase inhibitors (JAKi) incident users (index date) from 1st January 2018 to 31 December 2019 and from 1 January 2018 to 30 June 2019. We included patients ≥18 years old, at least 10 years of data, and six months of follow-up.

A registry for Dravet syndrome: The Italian experience.

Objectives: We describe the Residras registry, dedicated to Dravet syndrome (DS) and to other phenotypes related to SCN1A mutations, as a paradigm of registry for rare and complex epilepsies. Our primary objectives are to present the tools and framework of the integrative platform, the main characteristics emerging from the patient cohort included in the registry, with emphasis on demographic, clinical outcome, and mortality.

Methods: Standardized data of enrolled pediatric and adult patients were collected in 24 Italian expert centers and regularly updated at least on a yearly basis.

Adherence to Oral Antidiabetic Drugs in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Poor adherence to oral antidiabetic drugs (OADs) in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) can lead to therapy failure and risk of complications. The aim of this study was to produce an adherence proportion to OADs and estimate the association between good adherence and good glycemic control in patients with T2D. We searched in MEDLINE, Scopus, and CENTRAL databases to find observational studies on therapeutic adherence in OAD users.