Physical Exercise for Late-Life Depression: Customizing an Intervention for Primary Care.

Objectives: To identify which individual- and context-related factors influence the translation into clinical practice of interventions based on physical exercise (PE) as an adjunct to antidepressants (AD) for the treatment of late-life major depression (LLMD).

Design: Secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial.

Setting: Primary care with psychiatric consultation-liaison programs (PCLPs)-organizational protocols that regulate the clinical management of individuals with psychiatric disorders.

Echovirus-4 meningitis outbreak imported from India.

We describe seven cases of meningitis in a group of young Italian travelers coming back from India. Virologic studies identified echovirus-4 as the cause of this cluster of cases, the first imported echovirus outbreak in Italy. Enteroviruses may play an important role in undiagnosed fevers in travelers.

[Persons with disabilities and Brazilian healthcare policies: thoughts about bioethics].

The purpose of this article is to analyze the dilemma of allocation of public funds to the healthcare of people with disabilities in Brazil from a bioethical standpoint. The concept of disability and the legal framework are presented; the question of budgetary constraints and theoretical bioethics references about this issue are discussed; and the role of Bioethics of Protection and Bioethics of Intervention is stressed. It is concluded that, because of their vulnerability, people with disabilities should be protected by the state and funds must be allocated to guarantee their access to healthcare services.

Klebsiella pneumoniae meningitis in a 38-year-old Chinese traveller with impaired glucose tolerance: a new emerging syndrome?

Early diagnosis and appropriate empirical treatment of bacterial meningitis reduce morbidity and mortality. Prevalence rates of different causative pathogens associated with bacterial meningitis can depend on age, the underlying medical condition, way of infection and geographical distribution. Klebsiella pneumoniae represents an infrequent cause of community-acquired meningitis in South-East Asia and North-East Asia, where it accounts for 20% of all bacterial meningitis, frequently associated with septic metastatic complications.

Prolonged treatment (2 years) with different doses (3 versus 6 MU) of interferon alpha-2b for chronic hepatitis type C. Results of a multicenter randomized trial.

Background/aims: To examine the effect of prolonged treatment with different doses of interferon alpha-2b on the relapse rate in patients with chronic hepatitis C.

Methods: One hundred and seventy-one patients with non-cirrhotic chronic hepatitis C were enrolled in an Italian multicenter trial. All patients were treated for 3 months with 3,000,000 Units (3 MU) of interferon alpha-2b given subcutaneously three times a week (t.

Treatment of early chronic delta hepatitis with lymphoblastoid alpha interferon: a pilot study.

Seven carriers of the Hepatitis B surface antigen who had acquired a form of chronic hepatitis D in the recent past were treated with lymphoblastoid alpha interferon (IFN) (10 MU three times weekly for 4 months, 6 MU three times weekly for other 8 months, with a 12 month follow-up after treatment). At the beginning of the study, these patients had a chronic active hepatitis with intrahepatic hepatitis D antigen but without signs of cirrhosis. By the end of therapy, five had normal amino-transferases and no trace of HDV-RNA in the serum.

Serological diagnosis of hepatitis B and delta virus (HBV/HDV) coinfection.

Diagnosis of acute hepatitis B virus/hepatitis delta virus (HBV/HDV) coinfection is currently based on detection of anti-HD, however this antibody may be undetectable during the acute phase of hepatitis. To evaluate the entity of misdiagnosis of HBV/HDV coinfection in acute HBsAg-anti-HBc IgM positive hepatitis we examined sera from 245 consecutive patients obtained at admission and day 30, 60, 120, 210 and 400 of their follow-up. Anti-HD was detected in the serum of 26 out of 245 patients (10.

[Infection monitoring in orthopedics].

The results of infection surveillance in orthopaedics are reported: the high incidence of hospital infections in patients undergoing major surgery, the paucity of microbiological data and the failure to standardise prophylaxis protocols were the most significant findings as well as providing a point of departure for programming future fields of intervention and for redefining the operating framework for continuous infection surveillance.

[Hospital infections in an emergency surgery ward].

A study was conducted on hospital infections in an emergency surgery ward. The survey lasted one year and confirmed the higher incidence of infections after contaminated and dirty operations. Rates of infection were also high after clean operations due to the large number of subjects at risk among the group examined.

[Blood ammonia evaluation in acute hepatitis A and B].

The significance of blood ammonia levels was assessed in 100 cases of viral hepatitis (82 cases of AVH B end 18 cases of AVH A). No valid correlation was noted between the course of blood ammonia levels and that of clinical symptoms or the other blood chemical parameters considered (transaminase, prothrombin time, bilirubinemia and parameters strictly related to the clinical course).

[Bacampicillin vs amoxicillin in respiratory pathology].

Clinical research was conducted to evaluate the comparative therapeutic efficacy in respiratory pathology of 800 mg X 2 per diem bacampicillin v. 1000 mg X 2 per diem amoxicillin, both orally administered. The results were more or less identical and are interpreted as indicating the better constant absorption of the precursor, hence its higher concentration gradient that produces a higher antibiotic concentration in the lungs.

[Cephalosporins and enzymuria].

Urinary enzyme excretion was studied in 56 patients treated with cephalosporins in order to evaluate their potential nephrotoxicity. Only in 4 out of 56 patients (7%) was increased NAG, gamma-GT, AlP excretion seen. A rapid return to normal values was observed just after the end of the therapy.

[Clinico-epidemiologic findings in a group of patients with acute viral hepatitis].

Certain clinical and epidemiological findings among 2262 AVH patients are reported. The patients were all admitted to the A. di Savoia Hospital for Infectious Diseases in Turin over a two-year period.

[Ceftriaxone, a long-acting cephalosporin. Microbiological, kinetic and clinical study].

Ceftriaxone effectively inhibited 332 out of 452 (73.45%) bacterial strains in vitro tests. 291 out of 365 (79.

[Piperacillin: microbiological and clinical studies].

A microbiological and clinical study of the action of piperacillin is presented. The drug showed an excellent in vitro antibacterial action on gram positive and gram negative microorganisms. Its in vitro action on Ps.

[Microbiological, kinetic and clinical study on a new cephamycin: cefotetan].

Microbiological, kinetic and clinical studies were conducted on a new cephamycin, cephotetan. In vitro the antibiotic was found to be very effective against all strains tested. It had a particularly strong action against Gram negative bacteria too.

[Pathological changes in serum bile acids in acute and chronic hepatitis].

In view of the current interest in changes in serum bile acids during diseases of the liver, an assessment was made of their prognostic significance, following their determination with standard hospital laboratory equipment. Increases over normal values were found to be related to the degree of liver cell damage, i.e.