Brazilian guidelines on chronic venous disease of the Brazilian Society of Angiology and Vascular Surgery.

The Brazilian Society of Angiology and Vascular Surgery has set up a committee to provide new evidence-based recommendations for patient care associated with chronic venous insufficiency. Topics were divided in five groups: 1. Classification, 2.

Benchmarks and Geographic Differences in Gallbladder Cancer Surgery: An International Multicenter Study.

Background: High-quality surgery plays a central role in the delivery of excellent oncologic care. Benchmark values indicate the best achievable results. We aimed to define benchmark values for gallbladder cancer (GBC) surgery across an international population.

Detecting early signals of COVID-19 outbreaks in 2020 in small areas by monitoring healthcare utilisation databases: first lessons learned from the Italian Alert_CoV project.

BackgroundDuring the COVID-19 pandemic, large-scale diagnostic testing and contact tracing have proven insufficient to promptly monitor the spread of infections.AimTo develop and retrospectively evaluate a system identifying aberrations in the use of selected healthcare services to timely detect COVID-19 outbreaks in small areas.MethodsData were retrieved from the healthcare utilisation (HCU) databases of the Lombardy Region, Italy.

Development and Validation of a Novel Pre-Pregnancy Score Predictive of Preterm Birth in Nulliparous Women Using Data from Italian Healthcare Utilization Databases.

Preterm birth is a major worldwide public health concern, being the leading cause of infant mortality. Understanding of risk factors remains limited, and early identification of women at high risk of preterm birth is an open challenge. The aim of the study was to develop and validate a novel pre-pregnancy score for preterm delivery in nulliparous women using information from Italian healthcare utilization databases.

White blood cell count: a valuable tool for suspecting Cushing's syndrome.

Purpose: Simple screening tests to determine whether Cushing's syndrome (CS) should be ruled out are lacking. Tools that enable early diagnosis could reduce morbidity and associated sequelae. The potential of glucocorticoid-induced changes in the white blood cell (WBC) count for raising suspicion of CS is assessed.

Prognostic Factors in Resected Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma: Is Neutrophil-Lymphocyte Ratio a Useful Marker?

Background: The aim of this study is to analyze the role of neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and its variation pre- and postoperatively (delta NLR) in the overall survival after pancreatectomy for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) at a single center and to identify factors associated with overall survival.

Methods: A retrospective study of consecutive patients undergoing pancreatectomy due to PDAC or undifferentiated carcinoma from January 2010 to January 2020 was performed. Association between the evaluated factors and overall survival was analyzed using a log-rank test and Cox proportional hazard regression model.

Evaluation of Factors Associated With Appropriate Drug Prescription and Effectiveness of Informative and Educational Interventions-The EDU.RE.DRUG Project.

EDU.RE.DRUG study is a prospective, multicentre, open-label, parallel-arm, controlled, pragmatic trial directed to general practitioners (GPs) and their patients.

[Long-term survival after pancreatic cancer surgery].

Pancreatic cancer is an aggressive disease associated with poor results regarding long term survival. Surgical treatment along with new oncologic treatments have improved the survival of these patients in international experience reports. The aim of this study was to describe overall survival and disease-free survival after pancreatectomy for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.

Muscle manifestations and CK levels in COVID infection: results of a large cohort of patients inside a Pandemic COVID-19 Area.

Objective: To investigate both muscular manifestations and CK levels in a large cohort of patients with COVID-19 infection and to determine whether hyperckemia is associated with morbidity and mortality.

Methods: Data of 615 patients discharged from ASST Ovest Milanese (Milan, Lombardy, Italy) with final diagnosis of COVID-19 infection were retrospectively extracted from electronical medical records from 21 February to 1 May 2020. Patients were descriptively analyzed with respect to the following variables: sex, age, muscular manifestations (myalgia and/or arthralgia), fatigue, respiratory involvement (SARS pneumonia or respiratory failure) and history of falls.

Glycemic pattern in diabetic patients on hemodialysis: continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) analysis.

Background/aims: Recent evidences suggest that hemodialysis (HD) induces glycemic variations in diabetic patients. Continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) devices measure interstitial glucose in a 'Holter-like' manner thereby improving the glycemic control assessment method.

Methods: A CGM device (Medtronic iPRO) was used on 12 diabetic patients with chronic HD for 6 days to assess intra- and extra-dialytic interstitial glucose.

An electrophysiological approach to the diagnosis of neurogenic dysphagia: implications for botulinum toxin treatment.

Objectives: Botulinum toxin (BTX) injection into the cricopharyngeal (CP) muscle has been proposed for the treatment of neurogenic dysphagia due to CP hyperactivity. The aim was to determine whether an electrophysiological method exploring oropharyngeal swallowing could guide treatment and discriminate responders from non-responders, based on the association of CP dysfunction with other electrophysiological abnormalities of swallowing.

Methods: Patients with different neurological disorders were examined: Parkinson disease, progressive supranuclear palsy, multiple system atrophy-Parkinson variant, multiple system atrophy cerebellar variant, stroke, multiple sclerosis and ataxia telangiectasia.

Oral health in 6-year-old schoolchildren from Berisso, Argentina: falling far short of WHO goals.

Objectives: Dental diseases in children have been reduced in recent decades in developed countries, although trends remain unclear in other countries. Oral healthcare in Argentina is based on demand and depends on a patient's health insurance coverage. The objective of this study was to determine the oral health situation of the population of six-year-olds in Berisso, Buenos Aires province (Argentina).

Electrophysiologic patterns of oral-pharyngeal swallowing in parkinsonian syndromes.

Objectives: To assess the presence, severity, and differences in dysphagia in Parkinson disease (PD), Parkinson variant of multiple system atrophy (MSA-P), and progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), and to study the pathophysiology of swallowing abnormalities in these disorders.

Methods: We applied an electrophysiologic method to evaluate oral-pharyngeal swallowing. We analyzed the following measures: duration of EMG activity of suprahyoid/submental muscles (SHEMG-D); duration of laryngeal-pharyngeal mechanogram (LPM-D); duration of the inhibition of the cricopharyngeal muscle activity (CPEMG-ID); interval between onset of EMG activity of suprahyoid/submental muscles and onset of laryngeal-pharyngeal mechanogram (I-SHEMG-LPM); and swallowing reaction time (SRT).

Proximal nerve conduction by high-voltage electrical stimulation in S1 radiculopathies and acquired demyelinating neuropathies.

Objective: To evaluate the reliability and sensitivity of the high-voltage electrical stimulation for studying proximal conduction of peripheral motor axons in normal subjects, S(1) radiculopathies and acquired demyelinating neuropathies.

Methods: Twelve patients with compressive S(1) radiculopathy, 22 patients with acquired demyelinating neuropathy and 29 healthy volunteers were examined. The conduction of peripheral motor axons between lumbosacral roots and the sciatic nerve at the gluteal fold was investigated by high-voltage electrical stimulation delivered percutaneously.

Not paralysis, but dystonia causes stridor in multiple system atrophy.

Electromyography (EMG) was performed in 10 patients with multiple system atrophy, laryngeal or pharyngeal symptoms, or both. In patients with stridor, EMG during quiet breathing revealed persistent tonic activity in both abductor and adductor vocal cord muscles. In patients with dysphagia, the cricopharyngeal muscle showed persistent EMG activity throughout all phases of swallowing.

Hemoglobin near-infrared spectroscopy and surface EMG study in muscle ischaemia and fatiguing isometric contraction.

Background: To assess how muscle ischaemia and isometric fatiguing contraction influence oxygen content in striated muscle.

Methods: We simultaneously measured changes in hemoglobin near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy and in surface EMG before, during, and after muscle ischaemia and ischaemia plus muscle isometric fatiguing contraction. Seventeen healthy male subjects (age range: 19-40 yrs) were examined in our Clinical Neurophysiology Unit.

Electrophysiologic study of central motor pathways in ataxia-telangiectasia.

To date, corticospinal tract functional integrity in ataxia-telangiectasia has not been studied. Thorough evaluation of central motor pathways is also lacking in neuropathologic and clinical studies. Using electromagnetic stimulation, we assessed the integrity of the corticospinal tracts in eight patients with ataxia-telangiectasia.

The motilin gene: subregional localisation, tissue expression, DNA polymorphisms and exclusion as a candidate gene for the HLA-associated immotile cilia syndrome.

The product of the human motilin gene (MLN) has an important role in regulating gastrointestinal motility. The precise chromosomal localisation and expression of this gene are still unresolved. Here, we report a detailed study assigning MLN to 6p21.

Postlaminectomy arteriovenous fistula: the Brazilian experience.

Arteriovenous fistula is an infrequent complication of lumbar disc surgery. It is often not suspected, and the symptoms are diagnosed as deep venous thrombosis or heart failure. As a result of our review of the Brazilian literature and a survey of 3,500 Brazilian physicians, 5 cases of post-laminectomy arteriovenous fistula are added to the literature.