Fetal chronic hypoxia does not affect urinary presepsin levels in newborns at birth.

Objectives: Early sepsis detection and diagnosis still constitutes an open issue since the accuracy of standard-of care parameters is biased by a series of perinatal factors including hypoxia. Therefore, we aimed at investigating the effect of fetal chronic hypoxia insult on urine levels of a promising new marker of sepsis, namely presepsin (P-SEP).

Methods: We conducted a prospective case-control study in 22 cases of early-intrauterine growth restriction (E-IUGR) compared with 22 small-for-gestational-age (SGA) newborns and 66 healthy controls.

Lung ultrasound and supine chest X-ray use in modern adult intensive care: mapping 30 years of advancement (1993-2023).

In critically ill patients with acute respiratory failure, thoracic images are essential for evaluating the nature, extent and progression of the disease, and for clinical management decisions. For this purpose, computed tomography (CT) is the gold standard. However, transporting patients to the radiology suite and exposure to ionized radiation limit its use.

Air embolism as a rare complication of lung biopsy: A case report.

Lung biopsy is an important interventional radiology procedure allowing the characterization of lesions with suspected malignancy. The most frequent complications are pneumothorax and hemorrhage. Air embolism is a rare but potentially fatal occurrence.

Conversion to Brivaracetam Monotherapy in Clinical Practice: A Retrospective Study.

Introduction: The study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of brivaracetam (BRV) as conversion monotherapy in adults with focal epilepsy treated in the context of real-world clinical practice.

Methods: This was a retrospective, observational, non-interventional study in adults with focal epilepsy who converted to BRV monotherapy following the withdrawal of background antiseizure medications (ASMs). Primary effectiveness outcome was the retention rate of BRV as single ASM at 6 and 12 months.

Elevated S100B urine levels predict seizures in infants complicated by perinatal asphyxia and undergoing therapeutic hypothermia.

Objectives: Seizures (SZ) are one of the main complications occurring in infants undergoing therapeutic hypothermia (TH) due to perinatal asphyxia (PA) and hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE). Phenobarbital (PB) is the first-line therapeutic strategy, although data on its potential side-effects need elucidation. We investigated whether: i) PB administration in PA-HIE TH-treated infants affects S100B urine levels, and ii) S100B could be a reliable early predictor of SZ.

Successful wound healing by autologous peripheral blood mononuclear cell therapy in a diabetic patient on hemodialysis with no-option critical limb ischemia: a case report.

Peripheral artery disease is a common condition in patients on chronic dialysis treatment, end-stage kidney failure itself being a risk factor. The most severe stage of peripheral artery disease, critical limb ischemia, causes marked chronic pain and is associated with risk of limb loss. Despite improvements in revascularization procedures, the results of limb salvage procedures among dialysis patients remains poor, and lower extremity amputation is associated with high mortality and grim socio-economic implications.

Health equity, care access and quality in headache - part 1.

Current definitions of migraine that are based mainly on clinical characteristics do not account for other patient's features such as those related to an impaired quality of life, due to loss of social life and productivity, and the differences related to the geographical distribution of the disease and cultural misconceptions which tend to underestimate migraine as a psychosocial rather than neurobiological disorder.Global differences definition, care access, and health equity for headache disorders, especially migraine are reported in this paper from a collaborative group of the editorial board members of the Journal of Headache and Pain. Other components that affect patients with migraine, in addition to the impact promoted by the migraine symptoms such as stigma and social determinants, are also reported.

Transcranial Doppler and Color-Coded Doppler Use for Brain Death Determination in Adult Patients: A Pictorial Essay.

Transcranial Doppler (TCD) is a repeatable, at-the-bedside, helpful tool for confirming cerebral circulatory arrest (CCA). Despite its variable accuracy, TCD is increasingly used during brain death determination, and it is considered among the optional ancillary tests in several countries. Among its limitations, the need for skilled operators with appropriate knowledge of typical CCA patterns and the lack of adequate acoustic bone windows for intracranial arteries assessment are critical.

Guillain-Barré syndrome and COVID-19 vaccination: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Case-reports/series and cohorts of Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) associated with COVID-19 vaccination have been reported.

Methods: A systematic review and meta-analysis of cohort studies of GBS after COVID-19 vaccination was carried out. Incidence and incidence rate ratio for a number of vaccine doses and risk of GBS, also considering the specific vaccine technology, were calculated in a random-effects model.

Clinical Outcomes of HER2-Negative Metastatic Breast Cancer Patients in Italy in the Last Decade: Results of the GIM 13-AMBRA Study.

GIM 13-AMBRA is a longitudinal cohort study aimed at describing therapeutic strategies and the relative outcome parameters in 939 HER2-ve MBC patients. Taxanes-based regimens, or taxanes + targeted agents, mainly Bevacizumab, were the preferred first choice in both Luminal (30.2%) and TNBC (33.

Significant burden of post-COVID exertional dyspnoea in a South-Italy region: knowledge of risk factors might prevent further critical overload on the healthcare system.

Background: Exertional dyspnoea in post-COVID syndrome is a debilitating manifestation, requiring appropriate comprehensive management. However, limited-resources healthcare systems might be unable to expand their healthcare-providing capacity and are expected to be overwhelmed by increasing healthcare demand. Furthermore, since post-COVID exertional dyspnoea is regarded to represent an umbrella term, encompassing several clinical conditions, stratification of patients with post-COVID exertional dyspnoea, depending on risk factors and underlying aetiologies might provide useful for healthcare optimization and potentially help relieve healthcare service from overload.

Late-onset multiple sclerosis: disability trajectories in relapsing-remitting patients of the Italian MS Registry.

Background: Generally infrequent, multiple sclerosis (MS) with late onset (LOMS) is characterized by an onset over the age of 50 and a mainly progressive course, while relapsing-remitting (RR) forms are less frequently observed and explored. This study aimed to characterize a large cohort of MS patients with RRMS at onset to assess the baseline factors related to the worst disability trajectories and explore the role of LOMS.

Methods: The data were extracted from the Italian MS Register (IMSR).

Upper Gastrointestinal Endoscopy Quality in Italy: A Nationwide Study.

Background And Aims: International guidelines advise improving esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) quality in Western countries, where gastric cancer is still diagnosed in advanced stages. This nationwide study investigated some indicators for the quality of EGD performed in endoscopic centers in Italy.

Methods: Clinical, endoscopic, and procedural data of consecutive EGDs performed in one month in the participating centers were reviewed and collected in a specific database.