Antithrombotic therapy with rivaroxaban in five patients with paroxysmal nocturnal haemoglobinuria and thrombotic events.

Five patients with paroxysmal nocturnal haemoglobinuria and thrombotic complications under oral antithrombotic treatment with vitamin K antagonist were switched to receive the direct oral anticoagulant rivaroxaban an factor Xa inhibitor. In all five patients haematological and biochemical parameters and adverse events were evaluated for a period of twelve months. Therapy with rivaroxaban was well tolerated in all cases and one patient showed a significant reduction of bleeding and transfusion requirement.

Anticoagulant therapy with rivaroxaban in a young patient with paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria.

The new direct oral anticoagulants such us rivaroxaban, could play an important role in the anticoagulant treatment of patients with paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria where anticoagulant treatment is complex to run, since they have shown a reduction in serious bleeding complications compared to antithrombotic therapy with classical vitamin k antagonist.

Effectiveness and safety of therapy with vitamin K antagonists in Italian patients aged 80 years or older: a multicentre retrospective study comparing the Zeus algorithm with the PARMA algorithm or manual therapy.

Background: The use of oral anticoagulant therapy (OAT) has constantly increased in the prevention of thromboembolism, particularly in patients 80 years of age or older.

Objective: The aim of this multicentre study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of vitamin K antagonists (VKAs) in elderly patients managed with a computer dosing algorithm compared with a dosage decided by expert physicians.

Materials And Methods: Nine Italian thrombosis centres utilising the Zeus dosing algorithm were involved.

Thrombophilic screening in young patients (< 40 years) with idiopathic ischemic stroke: a controlled study.

Introduction: Despite extensive clinical and laboratory investigations, the etiology of ischemic stroke remains unknown in approximately one third of patients.

Materials And Methods: Thirty-four consecutive patients less than 40 years old (Males 13, Females 21, mean age 26.6 years, range 2-39) with documented ischemic stroke underwent, one year after the acute event, laboratory evaluation of antithrombin, protein C, free and total protein S, activated protein C resistance, fibrinogen, factor VII:C, homocysteine levels and antiphospholipid antibodies (APA).

Early hospital discharge with oral antimicrobial therapy in patients with hematologic malignancies and low-risk febrile neutropenia.

Although consensus exists relating criteria for the identification of low-risk patients with febrile neutropenia, no clear indication on how to manage these patients has been so far provided particularly in outpatients affected by hematologic malignancies. The feasibility and safety of early discharge was prospectively evaluated in 100 outpatients with hematologic malignancies and febrile neutropenia. A strategy considering the risk-index of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer (MASCC) was applied.

The role of real-time ultrasonography in predicting esophageal varices in hemophiliacs co-infected with hepatitis C and human immunodeficiency virus.

Background And Objectives: Endoscopic procedures are the gold standard for the diagnosis of esophageal varices but these invasive methods are complex to perform in hemophilic patients co-infected with hepatitis C virus/human immunodeficiency virus (HCV/HIV). Real-time ultrasonography has been reported to be an effective, non-invasive procedure able to monitor patients with chronic liver disease and to give useful information for the diagnosis of liver cirrhosis, portal hypertension and the presence of esophageal varices.

Design And Methods: Seventy patients with severe hemophilia were evaluated by esophago-gastro-duodenoscopy (EGDS) and ultrasonography; 40 had HCV/HIV co-infection and 30, comparable for age and HCV exposure time, were HCV+/HIV-.

Effect of high intakes of fruit and vegetables on redox status in type 2 onset diabetes: a pilot study.

Evidence has accumulated indicating that oxidative stress may play a key role in the etiology of diabetic complications and the protective effects of antioxidant nutrients are a topic of intense research. The purpose of this study was both to obtain preliminary data on the effect of a diet high in fruit and vegetables on metabolic control and the oxidative status of patients with type 2 onset diabetes, and to identify the most useful biochemical parameters for future research. At the beginning of the study all subjects were asked to follow their usual diet and keep a seven-day food diary.

A long-term study of young patients with essential thrombocythemia treated with anagrelide.

Background And Objectives: Essential thrombocythemia (ET) can be complicated by life-threatening thrombosis and has a risk of converting into acute leukemia. Cytoreductive therapy may reduce the risk of thromboembolic complications. Herein, we report the results of a long-term study of patients with ET treated with anagrelide to control thrombocytosis.

Gender differences in cardiovascular risk factors.

Coronary heart disease is less common in premenopausal women compared to age-matched men. This difference disappears in the post-fertile years, and is presumably related to the reduced levels of female sex hormones, with subsequent metabolic and hemodynamic modifications. Ovarian exhaustion induces a more atherogenic lipid profile, which may partly explain the increased risk of cardiovascular disease observed in post-fertile women as compared to age-matched fertile women.

Folate status and homocysteine level in Italian patients aged under 60 on oral anticoagulant therapy.

Background: Folate deficiency occurs frequently and the related hyper-homocysteinaemia is considered a risk factor for thrombosis. We investigated folate status and homocysteine (Hcy) concentration in patients under 60 years on oral anticoagulant therapy (OAT) for previous venous or arterial thrombosis and in healthy blood donors.

Patients And Method: Thirty-nine patients (mean age 35.