A 2020 review on the role of procalcitonin in different clinical settings: an update conducted with the tools of the Evidence Based Laboratory Medicine.

Biomarkers to guide antibiotic treatment decisions have been proposed as an effective way to enhancing a more appropriate use of antibiotics. As a biomarker, procalcitonin (PCT) has been found to have good specificity to distinguish bacterial from non-bacterial inflammations. Decisions regarding antibiotic use in an individual patient are complex and should be based on the pre-test probability for bacterial infection, the severity of presentation and the results of PCT serum concentration.

Nocardia infection over 5 years (2011-2015) in an Italian tertiary care hospital.

This study was conducted reviewing clinical records of 14 patients affected by nocardiosis over 5 years in a tertiary care hospital. Nocardia abscessus was responsible for one third of infections, deviating significantly from the results reported by other epidemiological investigations and highlighting the key role of molecular identification tests. Indeed, a precise identification of species is crucial for the determination of antibiotic sensitivity patterns and, consequently, for the choice of antibiotic treatment.

Complex alpine extrication: case report of mountain and speleological rescue cooperation.

Mountain sporting activities are an increasingly popular practice that exposes mountaineers to a high risk of adverse events. This report describes a unique case of recovery in an austere environment that involved explosives. In June 2012, a 52-year-old man ascended a cliff tower in the Eastern Alps, Italy.

The intracavitary ECG method for positioning the tip of central venous catheters: results of an Italian multicenter study.

Purpose: The aim of this multicenter study was to assess the feasibility, safety, and accuracy of the intracavitary ECG method for real-time positioning of the tip of different types of central venous catheters.

Methods: A total of 1444 catheter insertions in adult patients were studied in eight Italian centers (539 ports, 245 PICCs, 325 tunneled CVCs, 335 non-tunneled CVCs). Patients with no visible P wave at the standard baseline ECG were excluded.

Vascular access: an historical perspective from Sir William Harvey to the 1956 Nobel prize to André F. Cournand, Werner Forssmann, and Dickinson W. Richards.

Sir William Harvey (1578-1657), who had many precursors, discovered blood circulation in 1628 after a significant number of anatomic dissection of cadavers; his studies were continued by Sir Christopher Wren and Daniel Johann Major. The first central vein catheterization was performed on a horse by Stephen Hales, an English Vicar. In 1844, a century later, the French biologist Claude Bernard attempted the first carotid artery cannulation and repeated the procedure in the jugular vein, again on a horse.

Procalcitonin in the diagnosis of inflammation in intensive care units.

Objectives: To assess the effectiveness of different procalcitonin cutoff values to distinguish non-infected (negative+SIRS) from infected (sepsis+severe sepsis+septic shock) medical and surgical patients.

Design And Methods: PCT plasma concentration was measured using an automated chemiluminescence analyzer in 1013 samples collected in 103 patients within 24 h of admission in ICU and daily during the ICU stay. We compared PCT levels in medical and surgical patients.