Causes and length of stay of readmission among individuals with traumatic spinal cord injury: a prospective observational cohort study.

Background: Secondary conditions may reduce function and participation in individuals with chronic Spinal Cord Injury (SCI). The knowledge of reasons for readmission to the hospital may be enlightening to prevent them and remodel the health services.

Study Design: Multicenter prospective observational study of all consecutive readmissions of persons with SCI after rehabilitation completion.

Traumatic spinal cord injury in Italy 20 years later: current epidemiological trend and early predictors of rehabilitation outcome.

Study Design: Multicenter prospective observational study of people with acute traumatic spinal cord injury (TSCI) admitted to rehabilitation.

Objectives: To update epidemiological characteristics of a TSCI Italian population and verify the impact of patient characteristics at admission on two outcomes: functional gain (SCIM III) and discharge destination.

Setting: Thirty-one SCI centers for comprehensive rehabilitation in 13 Italian regions.

Nomograms predictive for oncological outcomes in malignant parotid tumours: recurrence and mortality rates of 228 patients from a single institution.

Purpose: Malignant parotid tumours are rare and multiple prognostic factors exist.

Methods: Through a retrospective study we aimed to identify nomograms predicting recurrence and mortality rates in 228 primary parotid cancers. Patients clinical, treatment and tumour characteristics were retrospectively collected between 1980 and 2005 at our Institution.

Impact of acute-phase complications and interventions on 6-month survival after stroke. A prospective observational study.

The outcome of stroke patients is complex and multidimensional. We evaluated the impact of acute-phase variables, including clinical state, complications, resource use and interventions, on 6-month survival after first-ever stroke, taking into account baseline conditions exerting a possible effect on outcome. As part of a National Research Program, we performed a prospective observational study of acute stroke patients in four Italian Regions.

Acute Phase Predictors of 6-Month Functional Outcome in Italian Stroke Patients Eligible for In-Hospital Rehabilitation.

Purpose: The aim of the study was to assess early poststroke prognostic factors in patients admitted for postacute phase rehabilitation.

Methods: A 1-yr multicenter prospective project was conducted in four Italian regions on 352 patients who were hospitalized after a first stroke and were eligible for postacute rehabilitation. Clinical data were collected in the stroke or acute care units (acute phase), then in rehabilitation units (postacute phase), and, subsequently, after a 6-mo poststroke period (follow-up).

Parotid adenoid cystic carcinoma: Retrospective single institute analysis.

Purpose: Adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC) is a uncommon salivary malignant tumor. Our aim was to review our experience with parotid ACC, to identify clinical-pathological parameters predictive for outcome.

Materials And Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 228 patients affected by parotid gland carcinomas surgically treated at our Institution.

Laryngeal preneoplastic lesions and cancer: challenging diagnosis. Qualitative literature review and meta-analysis.

Background: Multi-step cancerogenesis guides laryngeal cancer onset and it includes a wide variety of pre-cancerous lesions macroscopically challenging to identify and distinguish from initial cancerous foci.

Object: Different modalities of diagnostic techniques of laryngeal epithelial lesions exist and they do not offer a single system to make a differential diagnosis. Hence, this meta-analysis aimed to synthesize the validity of each single diagnostic tool to improve laryngeal patient management.

Current trends and outcomes of breast reconstruction following nipple-sparing mastectomy: results from a national multicentric registry with 1006 cases over a 6-year period.

Background: Reconstruction options following nipple-sparing mastectomy (NSM) are diverse and not yet investigated with level IA evidence. The analysis of surgical and oncological outcomes of NSM from the Italian National Registry shows its safety and wide acceptance both for prophylactic and therapeutic cases. A further in-depth analysis of the reconstructive approaches with their trend over time and their failures is the aim of this study.

Preferential sampling and Bayesian geostatistics: Statistical modeling and examples.

Preferential sampling refers to any situation in which the spatial process and the sampling locations are not stochastically independent. In this paper, we present two examples of geostatistical analysis in which the usual assumption of stochastic independence between the point process and the measurement process is violated. To account for preferential sampling, we specify a flexible and general Bayesian geostatistical model that includes a shared spatial random component.

Geostatistical integration and uncertainty in pollutant concentration surface under preferential sampling.

In this paper the focus is on environmental statistics, with the aim of estimating the concentration surface and related uncertainty of an air pollutant. We used air quality data recorded by a network of monitoring stations within a Bayesian framework to overcome difficulties in accounting for prediction uncertainty and to integrate information provided by deterministic models based on emissions meteorology and chemico-physical characteristics of the atmosphere. Several authors have proposed such integration, but all the proposed approaches rely on representativeness and completeness of existing air pollution monitoring networks.

Spatial analysis of incidence of cutaneous melanoma in the Friuli Venezia Giulia region in the period 1995-2005.

Incidence distribution of cutaneous melanoma depends on phenotypic characteristics of population and geographic location. In Italy, in the period 1999-2003 Friuli Venezia Giulia (FVG) region had the second highest incidence rates for males and the third for females. We analysed melanoma and lip cancer incidence data of the FVG cancer registry for the period 1995-2005.

Preferential sampling in veterinary parasitological surveillance.

In parasitological surveillance of livestock, prevalence surveys are conducted on a sample of farms using several sampling designs. For example, opportunistic surveys or informative sampling designs are very common. Preferential sampling refers to any situation in which the spatial process and the sampling locations are not independent.

Subcutaneous Direct-to-Implant Breast Reconstruction: Surgical, Functional, and Aesthetic Results after Long-Term Follow-Up.

Unlabelled: Direct-to-implant breast reconstruction can be achieved more easily by means of soft-tissue replacement devices such as dermal matrices and synthetic meshes. The feasibility of a subcutaneous approach has been recently investigated by some studies with different devices functioning as implant support. Aim of this study is to analyze the long-term results, both objective and subjective, of a previous nonrandomized trial comparing prepectoral (subcutaneous) and retropectoral breast reconstructions.

Nipple sparing mastectomy: Surgical and oncological outcomes from a national multicentric registry with 913 patients (1006 cases) over a six year period.

Background: Nipple sparing mastectomy is deemed surgically and oncologically safe based on a long lasting literature data from reviews of single institution series. This study aims at evaluating surgical and oncological outcomes of NSM on a large multi-institutional scale, by means of the Italian National registry.

Methods: In July 2011 a panel of Italian specialists agreed upon and designed a National database of NSM.

Microinvasive breast cancer: pathological parameters, cancer subtypes distribution, and correlation with axillary lymph nodes invasion. Results of a large single-institution series.

Background: Microinvasive breast cancer is a rare entity in which an invasive component not exceeding 1 mm is found, mostly in a ductal carcinoma in situ setting. Its diagnosis can be difficult and must rely upon immunohistochemistry markers. Many studies have analyzed pathological characteristics of this cancer to delineate its biological profile and possibly identify risk factors of axillary lymph nodes infiltration, which might be present and therefore clinically relevant.

Haemonchus contortus: spatial risk distribution for infection in sheep in Europe.

Haemonchus contortus is a species of gastrointestinal strongyles of primary concern for sheep. This highly pathogenic, blood-feeding helminth negatively influences animal health, welfare and productivity. In order to elucidate the current scenario in terms of prevalence and intensity of H.