Publications by authors named "Francesco Vitali"

Background: Paraduodenal pancreatitis (PP) is an inflammation involving the groove zone, delimited by the duodenum lumen, bile duct, and the head of the pancreas. This area may also be involved during acute pancreatitis (AP). The differential diagnosis is clinically relevant, since PP generally persists, whereas AP resolves.

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Aims: The use of ultrasound (US)-guided venous puncture for cardiac pacing/defibrillation lead placement may minimize the risk of periprocedural complications and radiation exposure. However, none of the published studies have been sufficiently powered to recommend this approach as the standard of care. We compare the safety and efficacy of ultrasound-guided axillary venous puncture (US-AVP) vs.

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  • The study explores the real-world treatment patterns for inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) at a large referral center, highlighting the challenges in decision-making due to the variety of therapies available.
  • A total of 502 patients with Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis were analyzed, showing that infliximab remains the most commonly used first-line therapy, while newer options like ustekinumab and vedolizumab are gaining traction.
  • The findings indicate that remission rates decline with subsequent lines of therapy, pointing to the need for better biomarkers to guide treatment choices in IBD.
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  • Linear nevus sebaceous syndrome (LNSS) is a rare skin and neurological disorder that involves sebaceous nevi and other genetic lesions.
  • Sialadenoma papilliferum (SP) is a rare benign tumor in the mouth, usually linked to mutations in BRAF or HRAS genes.
  • This report presents a unique case of a young girl with LNSS who developed SP with a KRAS mutation, marking it as the first documented instance of this mutation related to LNSS.
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Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC) risk is strongly affected by dietary habits with red and processed meat increasing risk, and foods rich in dietary fibres considered protective. Dietary habits also shape gut microbiota, but the role of the combination between diet, the gut microbiota, and the metabolite profile on CRC risk is still missing an unequivocal characterisation.

Methods: To investigate how gut microbiota affects diet-associated CRC risk, we fed Apc-mutated PIRC rats and azoxymethane (AOM)-induced rats the following diets: a high-risk red/processed meat-based diet (MBD), a normalised risk diet (MBD with α-tocopherol, MBDT), a low-risk pesco-vegetarian diet (PVD), and control diet.

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Patients with right-sided metastatic colon carcinoma have a significantly worse prognosis than those with left-sided colorectal cancer (CRC), regardless of treatment. The aim of the prospective IVOPAK II study was to implement an interdisciplinary guideline-conform personalized CRC palliative therapy of metastatic colorectal carcinoma and to improve the overall survival (OS) by multidisciplinary approach via secondary metastatic resection. We present the efficacy data of first-line treatment and the benefit of interdisciplinary collaboration of right-sided metastatic colon carcinoma patients: n  = 25.

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Modern treatments for transfusion-dependent β-thalassemia (TDβT) have allowed patients to reach high life expectancy with no iron overload. Despite survival improvement, atrial fibrillation (AF) has emerged as a relevant issue. AF pathophysiology and characteristics in TDβT are different than in the general population.

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Oleuropein (OLE), a phenolic compound particularly abundant in the olive leaves, has been reported to have beneficial activities against colorectal cancer (CRC). In vitro studies suggested that these latter could be due to a modulation of the intestinal microbiota. Aiming to evaluate if OLE could affect the intestinal microbiota and the plasma metabolome, an antioxidant oleuropein-rich leaf extract (ORLE) was administered for one week to PIRC rats (F344/NTac-), a genetic model mimicking CRC.

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The drainage of peatlands followed by land use conversion significantly impacts on the fluxes of green-house gases (GHGs, i.e. CO, CH, and NO) to and from the atmosphere, driven by changes in soil properties and microbial communities.

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  • Over the past 21 years, there has been a concerning rise in heart failure (HF)-related deaths among patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) in the U.S., with a total of 916,685 deaths recorded between 1999 and 2020.
  • The study revealed that age-adjusted mortality rates increased significantly, particularly after 2011, affecting men, White individuals, and those under 65 the most.
  • A notable spike in HF-related deaths was also seen during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, especially among patients with AF aged over 65.
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Arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy (ACM) is a rare cardiac disease, characterized by the progressive replacement of myocardial tissue with fibrous and fatty deposits. It can involve both the right and left ventricles. It is associated with the development of life-threatening arrhythmias and culminates in sudden cardiac death.

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  • Researchers developed and validated a COVID-19 specific scoring system, called the EL COVID score, to predict in-hospital mortality based on patient data, including ECG features, from a multicenter Italian study.
  • Out of 1014 hospitalized patients analyzed, key factors identified that were associated with higher mortality included age, delirium, platelet count, D-dimer levels, signs of right ventricular strain, and previous myocardial necrosis.
  • The EL COVID score demonstrated moderate accuracy (sensitivity of 78.4%, specificity of 65.2%) and can help identify high-risk patients for better treatment and monitoring upon hospital admission.
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The aim of this study was to retrospectively evaluate the direct costs of OSCC treatment and postsurgical surveillance in a tertiary hospital in northeast Italy. Sixty-three consecutive patients surgically treated for primitive OSCC at S. Orsola Hospital in Bologna (Italy) between January 2018 and January 2020 were analyzed.

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Background: Cardiac conduction disorder (CCD) in patients <50 years old is a rare and mostly unknown condition.

Objective: We aimed to assess clinical characteristics and genetic background of patients <50 years old with CCD of unknown origin.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed a consecutive series of patients with a diagnosis of CCD before the age of 50 years referred to our center between January 2019 and December 2021.

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Understanding how microbial communities survive in extreme environmental pressure is critical for interpreting ecological patterns and microbial diversity. Great Gobi A Strictly Protected Area represents an intriguing model for studying the bacterial community since it is a protected and intact wild area of the Mongolian desert. In this work, the composition of a bacterial community of the soil from four oases was characterized by extracting total DNA and sequencing through the Illumina NovaSeq platform.

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Background: At the same conditions of delivered power and contact force, open-irrigated radiofrequency ablation catheters are believed to create deeper lesions, while non-irrigated ones produce shallower lesions. This ex vivo study aims to directly compare the lesion dimensions and characteristics of an irrigated ablation catheter with a flexible tip and a non-irrigated solid-tip catheter.

Methods: Radiofrequency lesions were induced on porcine myocardial slabs using both open-tip irrigated and non-irrigated standard 4 mm catheters at three power settings (20 W, 30 W, and 40 W), maintaining a fixed contact force of 10 gr.

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Background: This case report outlines the presentation of an emerging complication arising from left bundle branch area pacing (LBBAP).

Case Summary: A 43-year-old male with no history of cardiac problems experienced recurrent episodes of syncope with no prodromal symptoms. During monitoring in the emergency department, the patient underwent an episode of asystole, leading to LBBAP implantation.

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Despite promising preclinical and earlier clinical data, a recent phase III trial on the anti-β7 integrin antibody etrolizumab in Crohn's disease (CD) did not reach its primary endpoint. The mechanisms leading to this outcome are not well understood. Here we characterize the β7 T cell compartment from patients with CD in comparison to cells from individuals without inflammatory bowel disease.

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Aims: Update data regarding the atrial fibrillation (AF)-related mortality trend in Europe remain scant. We assess the age- and sex-specific trends in AF-related mortality in the European states between the years 2008 and 2019.

Methods And Results: Data on cause-specific deaths and population numbers by sex for European countries were retrieved through the publicly available World Health Organization mortality dataset for the years 2008-2019.

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Background: Axillary vein puncture (AVP) and cephalic vein surgical cutdown are recommended in international guidelines because of their low risk of pneumothorax and chronic lead complications. Directly visualizing and puncturing the axillary vein under ultrasound guidance reduces radiation exposure, provides direct needle visualization, and lowers periprocedural complications. Our hypothesis is that ultrasound-guided axillary access is safer and more feasible than the standard fluoroscopic technique.

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This work presents the first catalog of the genus Choeromorpha Chevrolat, 1849 for the Philippines. A total of five species and one subspecies have been described from different faunal regions of the country. This paper proposes a new species, Choeromorpha (s.

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