[Management of thromboembolic risk in patients with atrial fibrillation in Italy: follow-up data from the PREFER in AF European Registry].

Background: Baseline data of the PREFER in AF (PREvention oF thromboembolic events - European Registry in Atrial Fibrillation) Registry have shown undertreatment of patients with atrial fibrillation (AF), particularly in Italy, where greater difficulties in the management of antithrombotic drugs compared with other European countries were also observed. The aim of the follow-up evaluation was to verify the trends of examined variables after 1 year.

Methods: Clinical features, patterns of prescriptions and patient adherence to guidelines, quality-of-life and treatment satisfaction variables were evaluated at follow-up, similarly to baseline.

Use of complementary and alternative medicine by patients with chronic tension-type headache: results of a headache clinic survey.

Objectives: This study was undertaken to evaluate the rates, pattern, and presence of predictors of complementary and alternative medicine use in a clinical population of patients with chronic tension-type headache.

Background: The use of complementary and alternative medicine in the treatment of headaches is a growing phenomenon about which little is known.

Methods: A total of 110 chronic tension-type headache patients attending a headache clinic participated in a physician-administered structured interview designed to gather information on complementary and alternative medicine use.

Prevalence, pattern and predictors of use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in migraine patients attending a headache clinic in Italy.

The use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in migraine is a growing phenomenon about which little is known. This study was undertaken to evaluate the rates, pattern and presence of predictors of CAM use in a clinical population of patients with different migraine subtypes. Four hundred and eighty-one migraineurs attending a headache clinic were asked to undergo a physician-administered structured interview designed to gather information on CAM use.

Depressive symptoms and insecure attachment as predictors of disability in a clinical population of patients with episodic and chronic migraine.

Objectives: To define predictors of migraine-related disability in patients with episodic and chronic migraine referred to a specialty migraine clinic, focusing on depressive symptoms and insecure attachment style that, because of their association with responses to pain and physical illness, might be predictive of greater migraine-related disability.

Background: The Migraine Disability Assessment questionnaire (MIDAS) has proved to be a reliable and easy-to-use instrument to assess migraine-related disability. As clinicians are increasingly using MIDAS in their diagnostic and treatment decisions for patient care, an understanding of the factors influencing migraine-related disability is essential for a rationale use of such an instrument.