End-Tidal Carbon Dioxide Measurement in Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest as a Predictor of Return of Spontaneous Circulation: A Literature Review.

Introduction: One of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide is out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. Early defibrillation and high-quality cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) have improved survival. The main goal of CPR is to achieve return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC), which is assessed by looking for a pulse, analyzing the heart rhythm, and assessing carbon dioxide levels.

SSRIs in the course of COVID-19 pneumonia: Evidence of effectiveness of antidepressants on acute inflammation. A retrospective study.

Introduction: Relationships between inflammation and mood have been observed in terms of pro-inflammatory effects induced by depressive conditions and, in parallel, by an antidepressant-induced favorable effect on the recovery of inflammatory states. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) drugs were hypothesized to improve the prognosis of COVID-19 pneumonia, a typical acute inflammation, in terms of decreased mortality rate and pro-inflammatory cytokine serum levels.

Methods: The medical records of COVID-19 pneumonia inpatients at Careggi University Hospital (Florence) were analyzed for prognosis and Interleukin 6 (IL-6) after admission for over a period of 22 months.

Decrease of air pollution during lockdown in Tuscany (Italy): An effect on sperm DNA fragmentation?

In March 2020, the Italian government imposed a national lockdown which was almost completely removed in June 2020. Due to the abrupt stop of human activities, emissions of air pollutants decreased. Air pollution is an environmental risk factor for noncommunicable disease and mortality.

Resistome and virulome accretion in an NDM-1-producing ST147 sublineage of Klebsiella pneumoniae associated with an outbreak in Tuscany, Italy: a genotypic and phenotypic characterisation.

Background: Carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales (CPE), particularly those producing metallo-β-lactamases, are among the most challenging antibiotic-resistant pathogens, causing outbreaks of difficult-to-treat nosocomial infections worldwide. Since November 2018, an outbreak of New Delhi metallo-β-lactamases-positive CPE (NDM-CPE) has emerged in Tuscany, Italy. In this study, we aimed to investigate the NDM-CPE associated with the outbreak and characterise the responsible Klebsiella pneumoniae clone.

How to improve hospital admission screening for patients at risk of multidrug-resistant organism carriage: a before-and-after interventional study and cost-effectiveness analysis.

Background: Infection prevention and control (IPC) is a prioritised task for healthcare workers in emergency department (ED). Here, we examined compliance with admission screening (AS) and additional precautions (AP) measures for patients at risk of infection with multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs) by using a two-stage, multifaceted educational intervention, also comparing the cost of a developed automated indicator for AS and AP compliance and clinical audits to sustain observed findings.

Methods: In the first stage, staff in the ED of the University Hospitals of Geneva, Switzerland, were briefed on IPC measures (AS and AP).

General and Vulnerable Population's Satisfaction With the Healthcare System in Urban and Rural Areas: Findings From the European Social Survey.

Access to the healthcare system when patients are vulnerable and living outside metropolitan areas can be challenging. Our objective was to explore healthcare system satisfaction of urban and rural inhabitants depending on financial and health vulnerabilities. Repeated cross-sectional data from 353,523 European citizens (2002-2016).

Coping strategies at the frontline of care: Comparisons between Covid-19 and non-Covid-19 units' nurses and the role of moderator variables.

Introduction: Relatively few studies focused on the coping strategies adopted by the healthcare workers during the second phase of the pandemic. The present study compared the coping strategies between Italian nurses working in Covid-19 and in other units and it explored whether socio-demographic and work-related variables moderate the relation between the type of unit and coping strategies.

Methods: A web-based questionnaire that included sociodemographic and work-related questions and the Coping Orientation to Problem Experienced-New Italian Version-25 item was administered.

Perception of the COVID-19 pandemic among people with spinal cord injury: an Italian survey.

Study Design: An observational study based on an online survey to explore if the participant had experienced (1) cancellation or delay of scheduled health services (2) reduction of assistance provided by a caregiver (3) barriers to social participation and recreational activities. Three validated questionnaires to investigate well-being and symptoms of anxiety and depression were also administered.

Objectives: Our main aim was to quantify the obstacles experienced by adults living with SCI in Italy during COVID-19 pandemic, to explore the presence of depression and anxiety symptoms and to quantify subjective well-being.

[Point-of-care blood gas analysis as a tool for COVID-19 patients: a prehospital setting experience.].

Portable blood gas analyzers are intended for blood Point-of-care testing (POCT); they make it possible to perform the examination directly at the patient's bed. During the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, this device proved useful in emergency medical service for the early assessment of respiratory distress, allowing the appropriate care level to be determined for each patient. 25 cases of covid-19 positive patients in the province of Arezzo were analyzed; POCT blood gas analysis made it possible to evaluate and treat at home about half of the patients (52%) and to admit the others directly to the most appropriate ward.

Effects of a pressure-ulcer audit and feedback regional programme at 1 and 2 years in nursing homes: A prospective longitudinal study.

Introduction: Pressure ulcer is a frequent complication in patients hospitalized in nursing homes and has a serious impact on quality of life and overall health. Moreover, ulcer treatment is highly expensive. Several studies have shown that pressure ulcer prevention is cost-effective.

Prolonged outbreak of New Delhi metallo-beta-lactamase-producing carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales (NDM-CRE), Tuscany, Italy, 2018 to 2019.

In Tuscany, Italy, New Delhi metallo-beta-lactamase-producing carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales (NDM-CRE) have increased since November 2018. Between November 2018 and October 2019, 1,645 samples were NDM-CRE-positive: 1,270 (77.2%) cases of intestinal carriage, 129 (7.

Clinical Features and Outcomes of Bloodstream Infections Caused by New Delhi Metallo-β-Lactamase-Producing During a Regional Outbreak.

Limited data about New Delhi metallo-β-lactamase (NDM) bacteremia are available. Blood isolates from 40 patients with NDM bacteremia were studied for antibiotic susceptibility and whole-genomic sequencing. NDM bacteremia has high 30-day mortality.

Variation in pressure ulcer prevalence and prevention in nursing homes: A multicenter study.

Aim: To estimate the prevalence of pressure ulcers in nursing homes and its variability, the frequency of use of preventive measures and treatment.

Background: Pressure ulcer is a frequent pathology across healthcare settings. Most pressure ulcers are preventable and are considered an important quality of care indicator.

[Is the Patient Dignity Inventory suitable even for not end of life patients? Factorial structure and invariance in chronic patients].

Introduction: The sense of dignity is a multifactorial feeling influenced also by the healthcare context. PDI-IT is a tool that measures this construct, but its psychometric characteristics have not been adequately investigated in patients which are not experiencing and End- Of-Life condition. The aim of this study is to examine the psychometric characteristics of PDI-IT in a group of non-terminal chronic patients and to verify the instrument's invariance with respect to the individual characteristics of patients.

Impulsivity and decision-making in obsessive-compulsive disorder after effective deep brain stimulation or treatment as usual.

Objective: Impulsivity and impaired decision-making have been proposed as obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) endophenotypes, running in OCD and their healthy relatives independently of symptom severity and medication status. Deep brain stimulation (DBS) targeting the ventral limb of the internal capsule (vALIC) and the nucleus accumbens (Nacc) is an effective treatment strategy for treatment-refractory OCD. The effectiveness of vALIC-DBS for OCD has been linked to its effects on a frontostriatal network that is also implicated in reward, impulse control, and decision-making.

Atomoxetine for hoarding disorder: A pre-clinical and clinical investigation.

Despite several studies suggested that inattention and impulsivity-compulsivity could represent two core dimensions of hoarding disorder (HD), only a small case series study investigated the effectiveness of attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorder (ADHD) medications in HD. The aim of the present study was to target attentional and inhibitory control networks in HD patients through the ADHD medication atomoxetine, moving from a preclinical investigation on an animal model of compulsive-like behavior (marble burying test) to a clinical investigation on both medicated and unmedicated patients with a primary diagnosis of HD without ADHD. Our preclinical investigation showed that acute administration of atomoxetine significantly reduced the compulsive-like behaviours of mice in the marble burying test without affecting neither locomotor activity and coordination nor exploration behaviours.

Diffusion-Weighted Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Distinguishing Between Mucin-Producing and Serous Pancreatic Cysts.

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility and reproducibility of diffusion-weighted imaging in distinguishing between mucin-producing and serous pancreatic cysts.

Methods: Forty-four pancreatic cysts (43 patients, 27 women; mean age, 57 years; 26 mucin-producing cysts, 18 serous cysts) that underwent histological examination or cyst analysis after diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging were retrospectively reviewed. Three blinded readers independently evaluated signal intensity and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC).

Think twice: Impulsivity and decision making in obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Background And Aims: Recent studies have challenged the anxiety-avoidance model of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), linking OCD to impulsivity, risky-decision-making and reward-system dysfunction, which can also be found in addiction and might support the conceptualization of OCD as a behavioral addiction. Here, we conducted an exploratory investigation of the behavioral addiction model of OCD by assessing whether OCD patients are more impulsive, have impaired decision-making, and biased probabilistic reasoning, three core dimensions of addiction, in a sample of OCD patients and healthy controls.

Methods: We assessed these dimensions on 38 OCD patients and 39 healthy controls with the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS-11), the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) and the Beads Task.

CT perfusion in the characterisation of renal lesions: an added value to multiphasic CT.

Objective: To prospectively evaluate if computed tomography perfusion (CTp) could be a useful tool in addition to multiphasic CT in renal lesion characterisation.

Materials And Methods: Fifty-eight patients that were scheduled for surgical resection of a renal mass with a suspicion of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) were enrolled. Forty-one out of 58 patients underwent total or partial nephrectomy after CTp examination, and a pathological analysis was obtained for a total of 49 renal lesions.

Hypochondriasis and obsessive-compulsive disorder in schizophrenic patients treated with clozapine vs other atypical antipsychotics.

Objective: The aim of the study was to investigate the prevalence rates of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and hypochondriasis in schizophrenic patients treated with atypical antipsychotics (AAPs) and to investigate the different comorbidity rates of OCD and hypochondriasis between clozapine-treated patients and patients treated with other AAPs.

Methods: We therefore recruited 60 schizophrenic patients treated with clozapine or other AAPs. We assessed the prevalence rates of OCD or OC symptoms and hypochondriasis or hypochondriac symptoms in the whole group of patients and in clozapine-treated patients versus patients treated with other AAPs.