Marked elevation of myocardial trace elements in idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy compared with secondary cardiac dysfunction.

Objectives: We sought to investigate the possible pathogenetic role of myocardial trace elements (TE) in patients with various forms of cardiac failure.

Background: Both myocardial TE accumulation and deficiency have been associated with the development of heart failure indistinguishable from an idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy.

Methods: Myocardial and muscular content of 32 TE has been assessed in biopsy samples of 13 patients (pts) with clinical, hemodynamic and histologic diagnosis of idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy (IDCM), all without past or current exposure to TE.

A preventive intervention program in adolescent schoolgirls: a longitudinal study.

Background: To explore the impact of a prevention program on the eating and body attitudes of a sample of adolescent schoolgirls.

Methods: The program involved lessons and group discussions of general adolescent problems and eating disorders. A total of 254 16-year-old schoolgirls were evaluated, of whom 154 participated in the program and a further 154 subjects formed the control group.

[Malpractice claims against radiologists. Analysis of the five-year period 1993-1997].

Introduction: The insurance claims against Italian radiologists over a five-year period (1993-97) were anonymously evaluated, based on pertinent data provided by the Insurance Company of the Italian Society of Medical Radiology.

Material And Methods: The database analyzed represents over one third of Italian radiologists. A total number of 171 insurance claims were analyzed and classified by cause as due to: 1) misidiagnosis; 2) alleged malpractice when performing the examination; 3) missed referral to other diagnostic/therapeutic procedures; 4) iatrogenic lesions by ionizing/nonionizing radiations; 5) patient's injury occurring during the examination; 6) lawsuits after the Italian Code of Criminal Procedure (art.

[Malpractice claims against radiologists in Italy. Trends in 1993-1995].

The insurance claims against Italian radiologists over a three-year period (1993-1995) were anonymously reviewed, based on pertinent data provided by the Insurance Company of the Italian Society of Medical Radiology. The incidence risk-rate of claims was 11.4 per thousand persons/year.

Type A behaviour pattern and traffic accidents.

This study examines the possible relationship between Type A behaviour pattern (TABP) and traffic accident risk in a cohort of traffic policemen. Data were gathered from 86 police drivers from a small Italian town, using the Bortner questionnaire. Results reveal that police drivers with Type A behaviour had higher traffic accident risk than those with lower scores at the Bortner scale.

[An analysis of insurance claims of civil responsibility in radiology. The first Italian data].

The purpose of this study is to provide information to Italian radiologists regarding claims and patient injuries in medical malpractice claims. The assurance claims of Italian radiologists over a two-year period (1994-95) were anonymously analyzed, based on pertinent data provided by the Insurance Company of the Italian Society of Medical Radiology. The incidence risk-rate of claims was 9.

[Occupational risk among magnetic resonance workers. Analysis of the literature].

It was observed that "medical diagnosis utilizing Magnetic Resonance (MR) scanners may be one of the first modalities in which there is more risk for the operator of the equipment than for the patient" (Young, 1984). Despite this statement, only a few studies have been devoted to the assessment of occupational hazard in MR imaging personnel. The principal features associated with MR systems are: static magnetic fields, time-varying magnetic fields, and radiofrequency irradiation.

[Occupational risk caused by ultrasound in medicine].

Ultrasound (US) is extensively used in the medical field for its therapeutic and diagnostic applications. US units are commonly found in hospitals and clinics of all sizes, and a growing number of medical staff such as doctors and nurses are exposed to hand-transmitted ultrasound waves in their work-place. This review discusses the available information on the occupational risk of the operators using diagnostic and therapeutic ultrasound devices.

[Mucocutaneous candidiasis in exposure to biological agents: a clinical case].

Candida albicans, an ubiquity yeast, has several properties which allow it colonize and invade host tissues, often resisting eradication. Acid proteinase is the virulence factor. Bacterial proteinases are widely used in the detergent industry and the role of occupational exposure to enzymes in the development of mucocutaneous candidosis warrants investigation.

[Use of statistics in occupational medicine. Analysis of papers presented at the national congresses of the Italian Society of Occupational Medicine and Industrial Hygiene].

The statistical methods used in occupational health studies were evaluated by analyzing the papers published from 1986 to 1990 in the proceedings of the annual meetings of the Italian Society of Occupational Medicine and Industrial Hygiene, in order to calculate the degree of understanding of the readers provided with only one-sided knowledge of statistical subjects and to improve the educational objectives in postgraduate schools of occupational health. Almost 70% of the 1151 articles reviewed contained some kind of statistical analysis: methods more complicated than descriptive statistics were used in about 35%. Student's t test (15%) and chi square (12%) were the most common methods.

[Exposure to low-frequency vibrations and spinal diseases in dock workers].

The authors studied the prevalence of disorders of the spine in a group of dockers working on lifting gear. They stress the great sensitivity of clinical examination performed according to a standardized protocol for the evaluation of spine pathology.

[Eye diseases in welders: a longitudinal study].

A follow-up study of chronic conjunctivitis in arc welders in a foundry in Italy was conducted from 1979 up to 1989. Airborne dust concentration in the foundry often exceeded the TLV-TWA limit. The frequency of chronic conjunctivitis was markedly higher amongst the welders than in the unexposed controls (RR = 4.

[Vascular, pulmonary and neoplastic pathology in a construction worker. Problems of etiological diagnosis].

Although etiological diagnosis represent a major issue in occupational health, it is frequently difficult to achieve because of the concurrent effect of a multitude of both work-related and non-work-related pathogenic factors. A construction worker, exposed for over 20 years to silica and silicate dust, asbestos dust and vibrations transmitted through the hand-arm axis, complained of dyspnoea a cough and peripheral paraesthesia. Two years later he developed scleroderma-like skin lesions in the appendages, and a small-cell bronchogenic carcinoma was subsequently revealed by radiological and bronchoscopic examination.

Vasculitic purpura in vinyl chloride disease: a case report.

Vinyl chloride (VC), a volatile substance mostly used for polyvinyl chloride (PVC) synthesis, is a systemic toxicant particularly noxious to endothelium. Angiosarcoma of the liver, Raynaud's phenomenon, scleroderma-like lesions, acroosteolysis and neuritis are known to be typical vinyl chloride-associated manifestations (VC disease). A so far unknown feature of the disease is purpura.

[Immunological changes in disease caused by vibrating instruments. Preliminary tests].

58 miners affected by VWF were studied by some immunological tests: electrophoresis, quantitantive immunoglobulin determination, latex test. C3c, C3PA and C4, cryoglobulin, ANA and ati-DNA antibody, L.E.

Angiographic study of digital arteries in workers exposed to vinyl chloride.

Five patients exposed to vinyl chloride were studied by hand angiography and other non-invasive methods, including photoplethysmography, rheography, and thermography. Raynaud's phenomenon was present in all five subjects, while acro-osteolysis affected only one. Organic vascular lesions, such as narrowing, segmentary occlusions of digital arteries and bridge collaterals, were found in angiographic studies.