[Covid-19: Thomas Bayes warns and we should listen. False negatives and the probability of encountering them.].

We believe that a high percentage of covid-19 infections could be due to the presence of false negative (FN) individuals on rapid swabs. To support this hypothesis and quantify their number, we performed simulations using Bayes' rule and various assumptions about the sensitivity, specificity of swabs and prevalence of infection. Imagining FNs in liberty, we then calculated the probability of encountering them in groups of people with a typical number of habitual sites, such as: bus, supermarket, theatre, etc.

Cost-benefit analysis of influenza vaccination in a public healthcare unit.

Objective: Estimate the costs and benefits of influenza vaccination in a group of employees of an Italian District Health Authority, Unità Locale Socio Sanitaria (ULSS), to define a scheme of an economic evaluation to be used for other vaccination strategies.

Design: In an observational study conducted from December 2002 to April 2003, 107 ULSS employees, voluntarily vaccinated, were compared with 107 nonvaccinated ULSS employees matched for age, sex, and job category. The outcome of cost-benefit analysis was evaluated by checking personnel department records about absences from work and their causes, including influenza.

Prevalence of common mental disorders in Italy: results from the European Study of the Epidemiology of Mental Disorders (ESEMeD).

Objective: To present 1-month, 12-month and lifetime prevalence estimates of mood, anxiety and alcohol disorders in Italy; and the socio-demographic correlates and comorbidity patterns of these estimated disorders.

Method: A representative random sample of non-institutionalised citizens of Italy aged 18 or older (N=4,712) was interviewed between January 2001 and July 2003, with a weighted response rate of 71.3%.

[Economic evaluation of the treatment of systemic fungal infections in immunocompromised patients: the role of itraconazole].

In recent years, the incidence of HIV infection, the intensity of chemotherapy regimens for cancer and the use of bone marrow transplantation have all increased. This results in an increase in the incidence of systemic fungal infections, which are associated high rates of morbidity and mortality in this immunosuppressed population; the incidence is growing: 50% for neutropenic/transplant bone marrow patients and 5-20% for organ transplant. Fluconazole, itraconazole, amphotericin-B and, in the recent years, caspofungin and voriconazole are the most frequently used antifungal agents.

The costs of type 2 diabetes mellitus in Italy: a CODE-2 sub-study.

Aim: To estimate the direct, indirect, and intangible costs associated with type 2 diabetes mellitus in Italy in 1998. To evaluate the economic impact of diabetic complications, and to investigate drug treatment patterns and associated costs in patients with type 2 diabetes.

Methods: The Italian arm of an international study (COsts of Diabetes in Europe--Type 2 [CODE-2], a descriptive, cross-sectional survey) was set up to collect information retrospectively by means of questionnaires from a sample of 1263 patients.

[Management of acute pain in Italy. Economic aspects and quality of life].

Objectives: This study aims to measure quality of life and treatment costs of patients with acute pain due to osteoarticular diseases;2 to asses associations between pain, quality of life and treatment costs from NHS' perspective.

Patients And Methods: Observational, multicentric study; patients of both gender were enrolled sequentially from March to July 2002 and observed for 30 days. Type of pain was assessed by a McGill Pain Questionnaire, while degree of severity was measured by VAS (Visual Analogue Scale) ranging from 0 (no pain) to 10 (very severe pain).