Salts of Clopidogrel: Investigation to Ensure Clinical Equivalence: A 12-Month Randomized Clinical Trial.

Background: In the present clinical trial, we compared the efficacy and safety of the generic clopidogrel besylate (CB) with the innovator clopidogrel hydrogen sulfate (CHS) salt in patients eligible to receive clopidogrel.

Methods: A prospective 2-arm, multicenter, open-label, phase 4 clinical trial. Consecutive patients (n = 1864) were screened and 1800 were enrolled in the trial and randomized to CHS or CB.

Privacy and biometric passports.

This work deals with privacy implications and threats that can emerge with the large-scale use of electronic biometric documents, such the recently introduced electronic passport (e-Passport). A brief introduction to privacy and personal data protection is followed by a presentation of the technical characteristics of the e-Passport. The description includes the digital data structure, and the communication and reading mechanisms of the e-Passport, indicating the possible points and methods of attack.

Endoscopic management strategies in relation to the severity of acute cholangitis.

Background And Study Aims: Acute cholangitis (AC) and especially suppurative cholangitis due to biliary lithiasis is an emergency situation that requires urgent biliary decompression. The aim of the study is to present our policy for the treatment of AC due to choledocholithiasis, endoscopically.

Methods: In a 4-year period, 71 patients presenting AC, due to lithiasis, underwent endoscopic retrograde cholangio-pancreatography and endoscopic sphincterotomy (ES).

Long-term evaluation of sclerotherapy for haemorrhoids. A prospective study.

Background: Sclerotherapy is one of the older methods of conservative treatment of haemorrhoids. It has been widely used and the early results are considered satisfactory although the long-term results are not as good as expected.

Aims: The evaluation of long-term results of sclerotherapy in patients with symptomatic 1st and 2nd degree haemorrhoids.