Simulating the fate of indigenous antibiotic resistant bacteria in a mild slope wastewater polluted stream.

The fate of indigenous surface-water and wastewater antibiotic resistant bacteria in a mild slope stream simulated through a hydraulic channel was investigated in outdoor experiments. The effect of (i) natural (dark) decay, (ii) sunlight, (iii) cloudy cover, (iv) adsorption to the sediment, (v) hydraulic conditions, (vi) discharge of urban wastewater treatment plant (UWTP) effluent and (vii) bacterial species (presumptive Escherichia coli and enterococci) was evaluated. Half-life time (T) of E.

Effect of Socioeconomic Status on Surgery Waiting Times and Mortality After Hip Fractures in Italy.

Background: Reducing inequities is a main goal of the Italian healthcare system. We evaluated socioeconomic differences in delayed surgery and postoperative mortality after a hip replacement after a fracture in Piedmont Region (Italy).

Methods: Cohort study including all people aged ≥65 years hospitalized for a hip fracture in 2007-2010 (n = 21,432).

Geographic and socioeconomic differences in access to revascularization following acute myocardial infarction.

Background: Geographic and socioeconomic barriers may hinder fair access to healthcare. This study assesses geographic and socioeconomic disparities in access to reperfusion procedures in acute myocardial infarction (AMI) patients residing in Piedmont (Italy).

Methods: Coronary Care Units (CCUs) were geocoded with a geographic information system (GIS) and the shortest drive time from CCUs to patients' residence was computed and categorized as 0 to <20, 20 to <40 and ≥40 min.

Health care utilization by immigrants in Italy.

Healthcare utilization studies show how well documented disparities between migrants and non-migrants. Reducing such disparities is a major goal in European countries. However, healthcare utilization among Italian immigrants is under-studied.

Socioeconomic differences in waiting times for elective surgery: a population-based retrospective study.

Background: Widespread literature on inequity in healthcare access and utilization has been published, but research on socioeconomic differences in waiting times is sparse and the evidence is fragmentary and controversial. The objective of the present study is the analysis of the relationship between individual socioeconomic level and waiting times for in-hospital elective surgery.

Methods: We retrospectively studied the waiting times experienced by patients registered on hospital waiting lists for 6 important surgical procedures by using the Hospital Discharge Database (HDD) of the Piedmont Region (4,000,000 inhabitants in the North West of Italy) from 2006 to 2008.