Early Lung Ultrasound Findings in Patients With COVID-19 Pneumonia: A Retrospective Multicenter Study of 479 Patients.

Objectives: Lung ultrasound (LUS) holds the promise of an accurate, radiation-free, and affordable diagnostic and monitoring tool in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pneumonia. We sought to evaluate the usefulness of LUS in the diagnosis of patients with respiratory distress and suspicion of interstitial severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pneumonia, in comparison to other imaging modalities.

Methods: This was a multicenter, retrospective study.

Accuracy of Point-of-Care Ultrasound in Detecting Fractures in Children: A Validation Study.

This study sought to compare point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) and conventional X-rays for detecting fractures in children. This was a prospective, non-randomized, convenience-sample study conducted in five medical centers. It evaluated pediatric patients with trauma.

Endometriosis: seeking optimal management in women approaching menopause.

The incidence of endometriosis in middle-aged women is not minimal compared to that in the reproductive age group. The treatment of affected women after childbearing age to the natural transition toward menopause has received considerably poor attention. Disease management is problematic for these women due to increased contraindications regarding hormonal treatment and the possibility for malignant transformation, considering the increased cancer risk in patients with a long-standing history of the disease.

Nickel sensitization and dietary nickel are a substantial cause of symptoms provocation in patients with chronic allergic-like dermatitis syndromes.

Data in literature seem to show that, in patients with contact allergic dermatitis, dietary nickel might be a cause of systemic dermatitis, but little information exists in literature about the role of nickel sensitization and dietary nickel in patients with allergic-like chronic dermatitis syndromes. The prevalence of nickel sensitization in patients with chronic allergic-like, non-IgE-mediated skin diseases, and the possible impact of dietary nickel on symptom provocation and persistence has been assessed in the present retrospective study on a case series of 1726 patients referred to our allergy unit for chronic allergic-like skin diseases. IgE-mediated pathogenesis and other differential diagnoses excluded, patients were patch tested.

Long-term adherence to sublingual therapy: literature review and suggestions for management strategies based on patients' needs and preferences.

Sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) is an at-home, self-administered, long-term therapy. As with other chronic diseases, patient adherence is a prerequisite for the success of SLIT. Its ease of intake and convenience should ensure adequate patient compliance; however, a recent post-marketing manufacturers' survey has shown a very high rate of discontinuation.

An experimental biological test to diagnose hypersensitivity reactions to carboplatin: new horizons for an old problem.

Carboplatin, a second-generation platinum compound, is a chemotherapeutic drug effective in many types of cancers. Its use is limited by the development of systemic allergic reactions in up to 30% of the cancer patients. Therefore, it is very important to make a correct diagnosis of true carboplatin allergy, for the crucial clinical implications.

Risk assessment of immediate systemic reactions from skin tests with β-lactam antibiotics.

Background: Some clinical studies have demonstrated that skin tests for β-lactam antibiotics may cause more adverse reactions than skin tests for common allergens.

Objective: To assess the risk of systemic reactions from penicillin skin testing, based on a pre-test categorization of patients, in order to establish an appropriate strategy for preempting and dealing with cases.

Methods: A case series of 175 patients with a suspected allergy to penicillin was reviewed, and patients were classified as having a low or high probability of allergic sensitization to penicillin, according to their clinical history.

The complex clinical picture of presumably allergic side effects to cytostatic drugs: symptoms, pathomechanism, reexposure, and desensitization.

The number of drugs used for the treatment of different types of cancers is constantly increasing and actually exceeds 100 distinct chemical formulations. The use of most cytotoxic agents is associated with potential hypersensitivity reactions, and the constant increase of their administration has caused an increase in incidence of these adverse effects, thus becoming a relevant problem for clinicians. Hypersensitivity reactions are common with platinum compounds, L-asparaginase, taxanes, procarbazine, and epipodophyllotoxins, whereas they are unusual, but always possible, with the other chemotherapeutic drugs.

Pertussis in adults. A study in an Italian population with chronic cough.

Objective: Pertussis is commonly regarded as a disease of children but a number of clinical studies show that quite often it occurs in older children and adults, too. The purpose of the present study was to determine the prevalence of Bordetella pertussis infection in an Italian population of adults with persistent non-productive cough.

Methods: Pertussis was considered in the differential diagnosis of a prospective case series of 180 adult patients with unexplained non-productive chronic cough.

Assay of prick test inoculum volume. II. Average values and individual variability.

Introduction: The amount of reagent introduced into the skin by a prick test is critical in studies on the reproducibility and standardization of the method.

Objective: The purpose of the present study was to measure the average volume and the individual variability of the inoculum performed with a prick test standardized technique.

Methods: Two hundred forty prick tests--16 inoculations per subject--were performed on the volar sides of arms of 15 healthy volunteers.

Assay of prick test inoculum volume. I. Use and reliability of a gamma camera-based method.

Introduction: In dermatology and allergy there are clinical research circumstances where very small amounts of substances introduced into the skin have to be measured "in vivo." An example is the assay of reagents injected by prick test. As injected volumes are very small, it is necessary to use indicators that can be measured at very low concentrations.

Chronic allergic-like dermatopathies in nickel-sensitive patients. Results of dietary restrictions and challenge with nickel salts.

Nickel frequently contaminates foods. In sensitized patients, dietary nickel can cause a relapse of contact eczema and also widespread chronic dermatopathies quite similar to those triggered by authentic food allergy (IgE-mediated), from atopic dermatitis to chronic urticaria with angioedema. The present study was intended to evaluate the the results of an elimination diet and of the oral challenge test with nickel salts in a population of adults suffering from chronic urticaria or angioedema, pruritus or atopic dermatitis, and concomitant contract sensitization to nickel salts.

Lipoid pneumonia: a case of cavitary bilateral nodular opacity.

Lipoid pneumonia is a rare disease resulting from the inhalation of fatty or oily materials into the lungs. It can look like acute or chronic pneumonia or a localized granuloma (called paraffinoma). The clinical and radiological features are usually nonspecific and can suggest lung cancer or tuberculosis.

The role of additives in chronic pseudo-allergic dermatopathies from food intolerance.

In the vast area of qualitative pathologies caused by foods, real IgE-mediated allergic reactions are rather rare. More commonly observed and apparently on a constant rise in Western countries are reactions from food intolerance, especially in relationship with the massive exposure to additives used in industrial food products. This study involved a population of 582 adult patients with chronic pseudo-allergic dermatopathies.

Oral tuberculosis: primary localisation in an elderly non-immunodepressed patient.

We report a case of oral tuberculosis in an elderly non-immunodepressed patient. We emphasize and discuss the main epidemiological and clinical aspects as compared with the more common pictures of the past.

Prilotest, an innovative disposable skin puncture test: qualitative aspects.

Prilotest is a new disposable skin puncture test that has been recently produced and marketed by Laboratorio Farmaceutico Lofarma, Milan-Italy. The tip of the device is submerged in a well containing the allergen extract. As a result, the product is ready for use and there is no longer a need to place a drop of the allergen extract on the skin beforehand.

Tietze's syndrome: a case report and topical methods in diagnostic imaging.

In the present study, we report a recently observed case of Tietze's syndrome. The clinical features of the case and the present methods of diagnostic imaging are discussed. The role and advantages of echography are emphasized, with reference to the syndrome diagnosis and follow-up.