Impact of Wide Local Excision on Melanoma Patient Survival: A Population-Based Study.

Introduction: Promoting standardization and quality assurance (QA) in oncology on the strength of real-world data is essential to ensure better patient outcomes. Wide excision after primary tumor biopsy is a fundamental step in the therapeutic pathway for cutaneous malignant melanoma (CMM). The aim of this population-based cohort study is to assess adherence to wide local excision in a cohort of patients diagnosed with CMM and the impact of this recommended procedure on overall and disease-specific survival.

Health and healthcare variables associated with Italy's excess mortality during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic: An ecological study.

Background: Healthcare factors have strongly influenced the propagation of COVID-19. This study aims to examine whether excess mortality during the first phase of the COVID-19 outbreak in Italy was associated with health, healthcare, demographic, and socioeconomic, provincial-level indicators.

Methods: This ecological study concerns the raw number of deaths reported from February 1 to April 30, 2020 and the mean number of deaths occurred during the same months from 2015 to 2019, per province.

Prognosis for Cutaneous Melanoma by Clinical and Pathological Profile: A Population-Based Study.

Introduction: Among white people, the incidence of cutaneous malignant melanoma (CMM) has been increasing steadily for several decades. Meanwhile, there has also been a significant improvement in 5-year survival among patients with melanoma. This population-based cohort study investigates the five-year melanoma-specific survival (MSS) for all melanoma cases recorded in 2015 in the Veneto Tumor Registry (North-Est Italian Region), taking both demographic and clinical-pathological variables into consideration.

Opening Schools and Trends in SARS-CoV-2 Transmission in European Countries.

Benefits of school attendance have been debated against SARS-CoV-2 contagion risks. This study examined the trends of contagion before and after schools reopened across 26 countries in the European Union. We compared the average values of estimated before and after school reopening, identifying any significant increase with a one-sample -test.

Effectiveness of pro-active organizational models in primary care for diabetes patients.

Background: Demographic changes and chronicity are posing new challenges to health care systems. Our study aimed to examine how effectively the three different types of proactive primary care models adopted by three different regional health care systems in Italy were improving the quality of diabetes management by general practitioners.

Methods: A coordinated Italian nationwide project to compare systematically the new proactive organizational models implemented at regional and local level (the MEDINA Project) involved several regions and their local health units (LHUs).

Diabetes management in the primary care setting: a comparison of physicians' performance by gender.

Background: A major shift in the gender of the medical-doctor workforce is now underway, and all over the world it is expected that an average 65% of the medical workforce will be women by 2030. In addition, an aging population means that chronic diseases, such as diabetes, are becoming more prevalent and the demand for care is rising. There is growing evidence of female physicians performing better than male physicians.