Insulin treatment in patients with diabetes mellitus and heart failure in the era of new antidiabetic medications.

Background: Coexistent heart failure (HF) and diabetes mellitus (DM) are associated with marked morbidity and mortality. Optimizing treatment strategies can reduce the number and severity of events. Insulin is frequently used in these patients, but its benefit/risk ratio is still not clear, particularly since new antidiabetic drugs that reduce major adverse cardiac events (MACEs) and renal failure have recently come into use.

Procedural analgesia with nitrous oxide at home for epidermolysis bullosa: A case report.

Rationale: Epidermolysis bullosa (EB) is an inherited disease characterized by fragile skin with painful blistering, which requires lifelong skin and wound care. This case report describes the use of inhaled nitrous oxide (N2O) for procedural pain control at home during wound care in a young man with severe dystrophic EB. To our knowledge, only 1 case was reported by Ingelmo et al in 2017 regarding the use of N2O at home in a 4-year-old-child.

Adherence to GOLD guidelines in real-life COPD management in the Puglia region of Italy.

Background: COPD is a disease associated with significant economic burden. It was reported that Global initiative for chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) guideline-oriented pharmacotherapy improves airflow limitation and reduces health care costs. However, several studies showed a significant dissociation between international recommendations and clinicians' practices.

The effects of the introduction of a chronic care model-based program on utilization of healthcare resources: the results of the Puglia care program.

Background: Ageing is continuously increasing the prevalence of patients with chronic conditions, putting pressure on the sustainability of Healthcare Systems. Chronic Care Models (CCM) have been used to address the needs of frail people in the continuum of care, testifying to an improvement in health outcomes and more efficient access to healthcare services. The impact of CCM deployment has already been experienced in a selected cohort of patients affected by specific chronic illnesses.

Pulmonary Arteriovenous Malformations and Cerebral Abscess Recurrence in a Child With Hereditary Hemorrhagic Telangiectasia.

Background: A 17-year-old boy was referred to our center with a history of brain abscess (BA) recurring after 9 years. The patient reported 2 previous treatments for pulmonary arteriovenous malformations, sporadic nosebleeds, and familial history for epistaxis. Clinical investigations revealed arteriovenous malformations in lung, brain, and liver, as well as mucocutaneous telangiectases.

Laboratory request appropriateness in emergency: impact on hospital organization.

Within the activities of the Risk Management Unit of the Bari Polyclinic Hospital Corporation, an anomalous trend was found, with excessive requests for urgent laboratory tests being made in the time period between 05:00 and 07:45 h. In addition to slowing down laboratory operations, this anomaly suggested the possibility of inappropriate testing, at least in terms of the request mode, if not in absolute terms. An audit was implemented within the facility to check the grounds of this suspicion and to identify any errors and/or critical points.