Impact of liver fibrosis on COVID-19 in-hospital mortality in Southern Italy.

Background & Aims: SARS-Cov-2 infection manifests as a wide spectrum of clinical presentation and even now, despite the global spread of the vaccine, contagiousness is still elevated. The aim of the study was the evaluation of the impact of liver fibrosis assessed by FIB-4 and liver impairment, assessed by cytolysis indices, on intrahospital mortality in COVID-19 subjects.

Methods: This is a retrospective observational cohort study, which involved 23 COVID Hospital Units in Campania Region, Italy.

Impact of Acute Kidney Injury on the COVID-19 In-Hospital Mortality in Octogenarian Patients: Insights from the COVOCA Study.

Background And Aims: The COVID-19 pandemic, caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, has fundamentally reshaped the landscape of global public health, with some people suffering more adverse clinical outcomes than others. The aim of this study is to deepen our understanding of the specific impact of acute kidney injury (AKI) on the in-hospital mortality in octogenarian patients with COVID-19.

Methods: This is a prospective observational cohort study, which involved 23 COVID-19 hospital units in the Campania Region, Italy.

Association between Renal Function at Admission and COVID-19 in-Hospital Mortality in Southern Italy: Findings from the Prospective Multicenter Italian COVOCA Study.

Background. Evidence has shown a close association between COVID-19 infection and renal complications in both individuals with previously normal renal function and those with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Methods.

Lung ultrasound for diagnosis of pneumonia in emergency department.

Lung ultrasound (LUS) in the emergency department (ED) has shown a significant role in the diagnostic workup of pulmonary edema, pneumothorax and pleural effusions. The aim of this study is to assess the reliability of LUS for the diagnosis of acute pneumonia compared to chest X-ray (CXR) study. The study was conducted from September 2013 to March 2015.

High cardiovascular risk in patients with Type 2 diabetic nephropathy: the predictive role of albuminuria and glomerular filtration rate. The NID-2 Prospective Cohort Study.

Background: In Type 2 diabetic patients, clinical diagnosis of diabetic nephropathy (DN) is generally based on the concomitant presence of abnormal albuminuria and severe retinopathy. In this high-risk population, cardiovascular (CV) outcome has never been evaluated.

Methods: A cohort of 742 Type 2 diabetic patients with DN from 17 national centres was selected by the presence of persistent albuminuria ≥ 30 mg/day and severe diabetic retinopathy and was followed prospectively.

Coronary artery disease is detectable by multi-slice computed tomography in most asymptomatic type 2 diabetic patients at high cardiovascular risk.

Objective: Non-invasive testing often does not identify coronary artery disease (CAD) in diabetic subjects. This study was designed in order to examine the prevalence of CAD in a cohort of asymptomatic type 2 diabetic patients at high cardiovascular risk and negative nuclear imaging, using multi-slice computed tomography (MSCT) angiography.

Methods: In total, 770 type 2 diabetic patients were screened from January 2008 through July 2010.

Kidney in diabetes: from organ damage target to therapeutic target.

Despite the growing of pharmacological options for the treatment of diabetes, epidemiological studies suggest that a substantial proportion of patients does not achieve glycemic goals and so suffers from the risk of chronic complications. This review explores the inhibition of renal glucose reabsorption as a novel approach to treat hyperglycemia. Sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2), a low-affinity high-capacity transporter located in the brush-border membrane of the early segment (S1) of the proximal renal tubule, accounts for about 90% of the reabsorption of glucose from tubular fluid.

Cardiovascular risk factors and disease management in type 2 diabetic patients with diabetic nephropathy.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to assess the prevalence of cardiorenal risk factors, their management in a routine clinical setting, and the actual achievement of international guideline targets in a large cohort of type 2 diabetic patients with diabetic nephropathy.

Research Design And Methods: A multicentric cross-sectional study was performed in the Campania region in Italy to evaluate cardiorenal risk factors and their management in light of international guidelines. Overall, 28,550 diabetic patients were screened in the 21 participating centers; 847 (348 male and 449 female) patients with type 2 diabetes and a clinical diagnosis of diabetic nephropathy were recruited.

Increased vascular endothelial growth factor expression but impaired vascular endothelial growth factor receptor signaling in the myocardium of type 2 diabetic patients with chronic coronary heart disease.

Objectives: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the expression and the activity of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in the hearts of diabetic patients with chronic coronary heart disease (CHD).

Background: Diabetes is characterized by a decreased collateral vessel formation in response to coronary ischemic events, although the role of VEGF in human diabetic macroangiopathy has not been fully investigated.

Methods: Biopsies of left ventricular (LV) myocardium were obtained from 10 patients with type 2 diabetes and 10 non-diabetic patients with chronic CHD, all undergoing surgical coronary revascularization.

Effects of insulin on left ventricular function during dynamic exercise in overweight and obese subjects.

Aims: We designed this study in order to determine the effect of insulin on cardiac function in overweight and obese subjects during exercise.

Methods And Results: The cardiac function of 62 normal glucose tolerant subjects, aged 30-40 and divided into normal weight (group 1, n=22, BMI 20-24.9 kg/m(2)), overweight (group 2, n=20, BMI 25-29.

Glucose metabolism and coronary heart disease in patients with normal glucose tolerance.

Context: Several investigations as well as prospective studies have shown a significant correlation between glucose metabolism and atherosclerosis in patients without diabetes, but differences in parameters of glucose metabolism among the various degrees of coronary disease in such patients have not been specifically evaluated.

Objective: To investigate glucose metabolism in patients with normal glucose tolerance (NGT) and coronary heart disease (CHD).

Design, Setting, And Participants: Cross-sectional study of 234 men (mean [SD] age, 56.