Insomnia disorder: clinical and research challenges for the 21st century.

Background And Purpose: Insomnia is a common and debilitating disorder that is frequently associated with important consequences for physical health and well-being.

Methods: An international expert group considered the current state of knowledge based on the most relevant publications in the previous 5 years, discussed the current challenges in the field of insomnia and identified future priorities.

Results: The association of trajectories of insomnia with subsequent quality of life, health and mortality should be investigated in large populations.

Assessing the impact of bibliographical support on the quality of medical care in patients admitted to an internal medicine service: a prospective clinical, open, randomised two-arm parallel study.

Unlabelled: To assess and quantify the impact of the literature in diagnostic decisions and treatment of patients admitted to an internal medicine service using the methodology of evidence-based medicine. From November 2012 to February 2013, patients who were hospitalised in the internal medicine service of Regional Hospital of Lugano (Switzerland) and generated questions on medical care were randomly assigned to two groups: an 'intervention group' (supported by the literature research) and a 'control group' (not supported by the literature research). The information obtained from the literature was submitted by email to all members of the medical team within 12 h after asking the question.

Reduction of ST-elevation myocardial infarction in Canton Ticino (Switzerland) after smoking bans in enclosed public places--No Smoke Pub Study.

Background: Second-hand smoke increases the risk of acute myocardial infarction. Canton Ticino (CT) first introduced a smoking ban in public places in 2007. This offered the opportunity to assess the long-term impact of a smoking ban on the incidence of ST-elevation myocardial infarctions (STEMI) compared with a population where the law was not yet implemented.

Medical Humanities: a question of style.

The Medical Humanities go beyond bioethics, cross over multiple disciplines and represent a new way of perceiving, seeing and thinking about illness. They represent a different view that gives value to the human side of treatment, that recognizes in self-narration an authentic and living foundation. Today, the technical aspects of medicine need more than ever to be accompanied by content derived from the arts and social or human sciences that focus on other, but not less important, aspects of being sick or in health.

Adverse event reporting in adult intensive care units and the impact of a multifaceted intervention on drug-related adverse events.

Background: Adverse events (AEs) frequently occur in intensive care units (ICUs) and affect negatively patient outcomes. Targeted improvement strategies for patient safety are difficult to evaluate because of the intrinsic limitations of reporting crude AE rates. Single interventions influence positively the quality of care, but a multifaceted approach has been tested only in selected cases.