Mixed T cell CHIMERISM in bone marrow at day+30 after allogeneic stem cell transplantation: Correlation with acute GVHD grades III-IV and no impact on relapse and overall survival.

Objectives: Early chimerism analysis is important to assess engraftment in allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantations.

Methods: We retrospectively investigated the impact of T-cell chimerism at day 30 in bone marrow on acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD), relapse, and overall survival in 142 adult allo-transplanted patients.

Results: The majority of patients (89%) received myeloablative conditioning and 90% have undergone T-cell replete donor graft.

Emilia-Romagna Regional Blood System accreditation as an example of improvement through application of specific requirements: a retrospective analysis.

Background: Institutional accreditation in Italy represents the license given by a region to a public or private facility to provide services in the name and on behalf of the National Health Service. This study aims to evaluate the improvement of the Emilia-Romagna Regional Blood System and to highlight its unresolved issues, analysing non-conformities observed during accreditation and maintenance inspections between 2013 and 2018.

Methods: All the Emilia-Romagna Regional Blood facilities were invited to participate in this study voluntarily and anonymously.

Intranasal dexmedetomidine in pediatrics: update of current knowledge.

Intranasal dexmedetomidine, although still off-label, recently boasted an increasing consensus for different uses, namely, in diagnostic non-painful procedures, in painful procedures and in surgical premedication. However, at present, there is no consensus regarding indications, dosage and timing for administration. This article aims to provide a comprehensive literature analysis and summarize the more recent evidence of research on pediatric intranasal dexmedetomidine, in the effort to better delineate usefulness and limits for each specific indication.

Incidence and risk factors of neurosurgical site infections: results of a prospective multicenter cohort study on 6359 surgeries.

Background: Neurosurgical surgical site infections (SSI) are life-threatening complications, requiring medical treatment and additional surgeries and remain a substantial cause of morbidity. In order to identify the incidence and the main risk factors for SSI, we developed the Prophylaxis with Antibiotic Protocol for Neurosurgical Site Infections Study (PASSIS), a prospective observational multicenter cohort study for examining a large number of neurosurgical procedures.

Methods: The study PASSIS involved four Italian departments of neurosurgery applying the same antibiotic prophylaxis (ABP) protocol on 6359 consecutive neurosurgical procedures.