[Comparison of conventional culture methods and quantitative real-time PCR methods for the detection of Legionella pneumophila in water samples in a large University teaching hospital in Rome, Italy].

The aims of this study were to identify the best threshold value for the real-time PCR method in detecting the presence of Legionella pneumophila in water samples, and to evaluate the prognostic significance of negative results obtained with the molecular method. From 2011 to 2014, 77 water samples were collected from hospital wards of a large University teaching hospital in Rome (Italy) and screened for L.pneumophila by the standard culture method and by real-time PCR.

[Vocational training in public health during medical school: a pilot study].

Unlabelled: The need to integrate clinical and public health training of medical students is increasingly important. Future physicians need to be able to deal with new, complex and growing public health challenges.

Materials And Methods: A literature search was performed through Pubmed to identify the conceptual reference framework.

Knowledge, opinions and attitudes of Italian mothers towards HPV vaccination and Pap test.

Aim: This study evaluated the knowledge and attitudes of Italian mothers - whose daughters had been vaccinated in 2012 - towards primary (anti-HPV vaccination) and secondary (Pap test screening) cervical cancer prevention, as well as sources of information and mother-daughter communication on health issues.

Methods: The survey - part of a multicenter study carried out in 4 Italian cities (Ferrara, Rome, Cassino and Palermo) - was conducted through self-administered questionnaires. The first univariate analysis evaluated differences between mothers of under-18s and over-18s relative to knowledge and attitudes on HPV vaccination and Pap test.

Non-fermentative gram-negative bacteria in hospital tap water and water used for haemodialysis and bronchoscope flushing: prevalence and distribution of antibiotic resistant strains.

This study provides a detailed description of the distribution of non-fermentative gram-negative bacteria (NFGNB) collected in water sources (tap water and water used for haemodialysis and bronchoscope flushing) from different wards of a tertiary care hospital. The aim is to identify risk practices for patients or to alert clinicians to the possible contamination of environment and medical devices. The resistance profile of NFGNB environmental isolates has shown that more than half (55.

[Definition of "Safety and Hygiene Packages" as a management model for the Hospital Hygiene Service (HHS)].

The purpose of this research is to identify and formalize the Hospital Hygiene Service activities and products, evaluating them in a cost accounting management view. The ultimate aim, is to evaluate the financial adverse events prevention impact, in an Hospital Hygiene Service management. A three step methodology based on affinity grouping activities, was employed.

[Global Health: teaching approaches in Italian and foreign University Faculties of Medicine].

Global Health is an academic subject which focuses on the importance of social, economic, political, demographic and environmental determinants on health. This narrative review examines undergraduate and postgraduate teaching approaches to Global Health in the main Faculties of Medicine in Europe, America and Asia. Differences were found in contents, methods and general approaches to teaching medical students about Global Health in the faculties examined.

Is reprocessing after disuse a safety procedure for bronchoscopy?: A cross-sectional study in a teaching hospital in Rome.

A bacteriological assessment of flexible bronchoscopes that were stored after a reprocessing procedure was performed to determine whether reprocessing removes microbiological contamination and whether the instruments could be used safely after extended storage without repeating the disinfection before bronchoscopy. The microbiological quality of manual and automated reprocessed bronchoscopes was examined by collecting a pre-reprocessing and a post-reprocessing liquid sample from the stored instruments' channels. A qualitative microbiological analysis was performed to evaluate bacterial contamination.

Tobacco use prevalence, knowledge and attitudes among Italian hospital healthcare professionals.

Background: Healthcare professionals play a key role in tobacco use prevention because they are considered as model by patients. This multicenter study was aimed to evaluate smoking prevalence, knowledge and attitudes towards tobacco among Italian hospital professionals.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out using a questionnaire administered to healthcare professionals in seven Italian hospitals, to investigate personal and occupational data, knowledge, attitudes, job setting, clinical activities, smoking habits and pattern for current smokers.

Correlates of HCV seropositivity among familial contacts of HCV positive patients.

Background: Determinants of intrafamilial HCV transmission are still being debated. The aim of this study is to investigate the correlates of HCV seropositivity among familial contacts of HCV positive patients in Italy.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 175 HCV positive patients (index cases), recruited from Policlinico Gemelli in Rome as well as other hospitals in Central Italy between 1995 and 2000 (40% female, mean age 57 +/- 15.