Cost and Cost-Effectiveness of the Mediterranean Diet: An Update of a Systematic Review.

It is well known that the Mediterranean diet (DM) is beneficial for health, as years of research globally have confirmed. The aim of this study was to update a previous systematic review that assessed the cost-effectiveness of adherence to the DM as a strategy for the prevention of degenerative diseases by evaluating the economic performance of this diet. The research approach utilized three electronic databases: PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science.

Prevalence and predictors of hand hygiene compliance in clinical, surgical and intensive care unit wards: results of a second cross-sectional study at the Umberto I teaching hospital of Rome.

Introduction: Hand hygiene is the most cost-effective procedure for the prevention of healthcare-associated infections, but healthcare worker compliance is often insufficient.

Research Design: The objective of this second cross-sectional study was to quantify hand hygiene compliance among the healthcare workers of a large teaching hospital, to explore associated factors and to compare results to those of the 2021 study.

Methods: In 2022, educational sessions were conducted within each hospital department during which hospital healthcare workers received tailored feedback on the hand hygiene compliance registered in the previous year.

Compliance with hand-hygiene guidelines among healthcare workers: a cross-sectional study at the Umberto I teaching hospital of Rome, Italy.

Introduction: Healthcare-associated infections are often associated with poor hand hygiene (HH) by healthcare workers (HCWs). The objective of this cross-sectional study at the Umberto I teaching hospital in Rome was to quantify compliance with HH by direct observation following a multimodal strategy devised by the World Health Organisation and to map critical areas for improvement.

Methods: Predictors of HH compliance were identified using a multivariable logistic regression model.

Isolates from COVID-19 Patients in a Hospital Intensive Care Unit: Molecular Typing and Risk Factors.

Infections caused by represent a major concern for intensive care unit (ICU) patients. However, the epidemiology of these infections among COVID-19 patients has not been fully explored. The aims of this study were (i) to characterize the clonal spread of among COVID-19 patients admitted to the ICU of the Umberto I hospital of Rome during the first year of the pandemic and (ii) to identify risk factors for its acquisition.

Comparing the Occurrence of Healthcare-Associated Infections in Patients with and without COVID-19 Hospitalized during the Pandemic: A 16-Month Retrospective Cohort Study in a Hospital Intensive Care Unit.

The COVID-19 pandemic has increased the healthcare-associated infection (HAI) risk in intensive care unit (ICU) patients. However, a comparison between patients with and without COVID-19 in terms of HAI incidence has been rarely explored. In this study, we characterized the occurrence of HAI among patients with and without COVID-19 admitted to the ICU of the Umberto I hospital of Rome during the first 16 months of the pandemic and also identified risk factors for HAI acquisition.

Prior Antibiotic Therapy and the Onset of Healthcare-Associated Infections Sustained by Multidrug-Resistant in Intensive Care Unit Patients: A Nested Case-Control Study.

Epidemiological research has demonstrated direct relationships between antibiotic consumption and the emergence of multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria. In this nested case-control study, we assessed whether prior exposure to antibiotic therapy and its duration affect the onset of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) sustained by MDR (MDR-Kp) in intensive care unit patients. Cases were defined as patients who developed an MDR-Kp HAI.

Smoking at the workplaces in Italy after the smoking ban in the Lazio Region.

Background: In Italy, an anti-smoking law was issued in 2003, with the aim of reducing tobacco smoking inside public places.

Objectives: The aim of the study was to assess the observance of the smoking ban in Italy, during the period 2010-2014, in several workplaces and to evaluate the perception of workers, both smokers and non-smokers, on this issue.

Methods: This cross-sectional study analyzed data resulting from a self-administered questionnaires in 59 companies, from several working sectors (transport, healthcare and building), in the Latium Region in Italy.

Effect of Urban Wastewater Discharge on the Abundance of Antibiotic Resistance Genes and Antibiotic-Resistant in Two Italian Rivers.

Background: Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are microbial factories aimed to reduce the amount of nutrients and pathogenic microorganisms in the treated wastewater before its discharge into the environment. We studied the impact of urban WWTP effluents on the abundance of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) and antibiotic-resistant (AR-) in the last stretch of two rivers (Arrone and Tiber) in Central Italy that differ in size and flow volume.

Methods: Water samples were collected in three seasons upstream and downstream of the WWTP, at the WWTP outlet, and at sea sites near the river mouth, and analyzed for the abundance of ARGs by qPCR and AR- using cultivation followed by disk diffusion assays.

Assessing knowledge, attitude, and practice of healthcare personnel regarding biomedical waste management: a systematic review of available tools.

Biomedical waste (BMW) management is an important commitment of hospitals both in terms of the possible infectious risk and from the financial point of view. Monitoring the knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) of healthcare professionals on this topic represents a source of information on BMW management. The aim of this study is to perform a systematic review to identify the reliable and valid tools able to assess the KAP of professionals in healthcare centers to manage BMW.

A Cross-Sectional Study on Prevalence and Predictors of Burnout among a Sample of Pharmacists Employed in Pharmacies in Central Italy.

Burnout is defined as an occupational phenomenon linked to chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed and included among the factors influencing health status or contact with health services. Although several studies were performed for assessing this phenomenon, there is a lack of data on the prevalence of burnout and associated predictors, due to different definitions of the syndrome and heterogeneity of assessment methods. One of the well-known evidences on burnout is related to the highest risk professions, which include policemen, firemen, teachers, psychologists, medical students, nurses, physicians, and other health professionals, such as pharmacists.

[Assessment of burnout in health care personnel in hematological unit of a teaching hospital].

Objectives: Working in such circumstances can lead to a typical emotional stress called "burnout". The aim of this study was to evaluate the perceived state of physical and mental health, and verify the existence of burnout among health care workers of Hematology unit in a Teaching Hospital.

Methods: Anonymous questionnaires were administered to healthcare professionals (physicians, nurses, health care workers).

Socioeconomic Deprivation Status and Air Pollution by PM and NO: An Assessment at Municipal Level of 11 Years in Italy.

The aim of this observational study was to assess the relationship between environmental risk factors and some aspects of social economic status (SES) of the population in different Italian municipalities. Nitrogen dioxide (NO) and particulate matter (PM) annual means were extracted from ISPRA-BRACE (environmental information system of 483 Italian municipalities, 6% of the total amount of administrative units) from 2002 to 2012. As an indicator of sociodemographic and SES data, we collected the following: resident population, foreign nationality, low level of education, unemployment, nonhome ownership, single-parent family, and overcrowding.

Reliability and Use of Copenhagen Burnout Inventory in Italian Sample of University Professors.

Academics often have to face with burnout syndrome at work. This cross-sectional study evaluates the reliability of the Italian version of the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (CBI) in a sample of Academics of Sapienza University of Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, through an online questionnaire composed of the CBI, SF12 Health Survey, and Positivity Scale. Univariate, bivariate, multivariate analyses, and Cronbach α coefficients of CBI were performed.

Association between Work Related Stress and Health Related Quality of Life: The Impact of Socio-Demographic Variables. A Cross Sectional Study in a Region of Central Italy.

The aim of this work is investigate relationship between health-related quality of life and work-related stress and the impact of gender, education level, and age on this relationship. A cross-sectional study was conducted among workers of various setting in Rome and Frosinone. Work-related stress was measured with a demand-control questionnaire and health-related functioning by SF (short form)-12 health survey.

[Employee Wellbeing in a University Department, Italy].

A serene workplace environment can provide significant benefits to employees. The aim of the present study was to assess wellbeing of employees in a university department, by administering validated questionnaires (Karasek and INAIL) and to determine any similarities and / or differences. The sample consisted of 48 employees (22.

Is swimming in recreational water associated with the occurrence of respiratory illness? A systematic review and meta-analysis.

This study represents the first systematic review and meta-analysis conducted to assess the association between swimming in recreational water and the occurrence of respiratory illness. Most studies focus their attention on gastrointestinal illnesses occurring after exposure to microbial polluted water. Fourteen independent studies that included 50,117 patients with significant heterogeneity (I(2) = 95.

Meat intake and non-Hodgkin lymphoma: a meta-analysis of observational studies.

Purpose: High intake of meat has been inconsistently associated with increased risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). We carried out a meta-analysis to summarize the evidence of published observational studies reporting association between red meat and processed meat intake and NHL risk.

Methods: Analytical studies reporting relative risks with 95 % confidence intervals (95 % CI) for the association between intake of red and/or processed meat and NHL or major histological subtypes were eligible.

Pseudo-outbreak of Mycobacterium gordonae in a teaching hospital: importance of strictly following decontamination procedures and emerging issues concerning sterilization.

Aim of this study was to investigate a pseudo-outbreak of Mycobacterium gordonae analyzing isolates detected from clinical and environmental samples. Mycobacterium gordonae was detected in 7 out of 497 broncho-alveolar lavage (BAL) samples after bronchoscopy procedure in patients admitted to a teaching hospital between January and April 2013. During this pseudo-outbreak clinical, epidemiological, environmental and molecular investigations were performed.

Factors influencing persistence of Legionella pneumophila serogroup 1 in laboratory cocultures.

Background: Risk for infections from Legionella pneumophila for immunocompromised individuals increases greatly when this species is present within the biofilm of the water distribution systems of hospitals or other health facilities. Multiplication and persistence of Legionella may dependent also upon planktonic growth in alternative to sessile growth. Here we compared the persistence of L.

Legionella control in the water system of antiquated hospital buildings by shock and continuous hyperchlorination: 5 years experience.

Background: To control the presence of Legionella in an old hospital water system, an integrated strategy of water disinfection-filtration was implemented in the university hospital Umberto I in Rome.

Methods: Due to antiquated buildings, hospital water system design and hospital extension (38 buildings), shock hyperchlorination (sodium hypochlorite, 20-50 ppm of free chlorine at distal points for 1-2 h) followed by continuous hyperchlorination (0.5-1.

Microbiological safety of glasses dispensed at 3D movie theatres.

Recent popularity of three-dimensional movies raised some concern about microbiological safety of glasses dispensed into movie theatres. In this study, we analysed the level of microbiological contamination on them before and after use and between theatres adopting manual and automatic sanitation systems. The manual sanitation system was more effective in reducing the total mesophilic count levels compared with the automatic system (P < 0.

Temporal pattern of microbial indicators of ready-to-eat rocket salads during shelf life.

Introduction: From 2001-2009 there have been numerous community alerts and notifications about the rocket salad produced in Italy and distributed in Europe. Our study describes the evolution of the microbial quality of ready to eat rocket salad during shelf life among three different Italian producers.

Material And Methods: Total Mesophilic Count (TMC) and Escherichia coli (EC) count were measured in 248 samples.

Results of case-control studies support the association between contact lens use and Acanthamoeba keratitis.

Background: Acanthamoeba keratitis (AK) is ever more frequently reported in industrialized countries. The loss of the corneal surface integrity consequent to secondary microtrauma produced by the use of contact lens (CL) favors the penetration of the parasite into the corneal tissue.

Objectives: A scientific review was performed to investigate the association of CL wear as an Acanthamoeba keratitis (AK) risk factor.