Efficacy and safety of exogenous surfactant therapy in patients under 12 months of age invasively ventilated for severe bronchiolitis (SURFABRON): protocol for a multicentre, randomised, double-blind, controlled, non-profit trial.

Introduction: Some evidence indicates that exogenous surfactant therapy may be effective in infants with acute viral bronchiolitis, even though more confirmatory data are needed. To date, no large multicentre trials have evaluated the effectiveness and safety of exogenous surfactant in severe cases of bronchiolitis requiring invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV).

Methods And Analysis: This is a multicentre randomised, placebo-controlled, double-blind study, performed in 19 Italian paediatric intensive care units (PICUs).

Systemic Inflammation Is Associated with Oncological Outcome in Patients with High-Grade Myxofibrosarcoma of the Extremities: A Retrospective Analysis.

Background: The aim of this retrospective study is to verify whether preoperative systemic inflammatory markers (serum C-reactive protein [CRP] and neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio [NLR]) can help in predicting the disease-specific survival (DSS) and local recurrence (LR) rate in adult patients affected by localized myxofibrosarcoma (MFS) of the extremities.

Methods: We reviewed 126 adult patients with primary, localized MFS of the limbs. We analyzed DSS and LR.

Prevalence of pressure ulcers in hospitalised patients: a cross-sectional study.

Objective: The main aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of pressure ulcers (PU) and related risk factors of PU development in hospitalised patients in Italy. Furthermore, the study investigated the association between risk factors for PU present on admission and the development during hospitalisation (hospital-acquired pressure ulcer, HAPU).

Methods: A cross-sectional study, using two separate designs at two separate timepoints: 2010 and 2015.

Long-term follow-up after radiofrequency ablation of ectopic atrial tachycardia in young patients.

Aim: Ectopic atrial tachycardia (EAT) is a common arrhythmia in children, adolescents, and young adults. Radiofrequency (RF) ablation is often considered the treatment of choice in this population. We sought to evaluate the long-term follow-up after RF ablation.

First-in-human, off-label use of BeGraft® stenting of non-conduit, large right ventricular outflow tract for transcatheter valve landing zone preparation.

Transcatheter implantation of pulmonary valve has emerged as a reliable approach in congenital heart patients presenting with chronic right ventricular volume or pressure overload after primary repair. Initial experience was limited by relatively narrow range of working diameter of transcatheter valves. Nowadays, improved technology allows extending this option to patient with large right ventricular outflow tract or conduit.

CKD-MBD management: what is the role of parathyroidectomy? Results from a nationwide survey in Italy.

We herein report on a nationwide survey conducted in Italy to investigate the use of parathyroidectomy (PTX). In spite of the availability of newer and more effective drugs to control chronic kidney disease mineral bone disorder (CKD-MBD) biochemical abnormalities, PTX still remains a resource for nephrologists to use. However, observational analyses suggest that in recent years there has been a constant decline in the number of patients undergoing PTX.

Prevalence and effectiveness of psychiatric treatments for patients with IBD: A systematic literature review.

Objectives: Higher prevalence of psychiatric disorders, such as anxiety and depression, has been found in people with Crohn's disease and Ulcerative Colitis compared to the general population. Nowadays, international guidelines advocate psychotherapy and psycho-pharmacological treatments as playing an important role in IBD care. The main goal of this systematic literature review was summarize the evidence on the utilization and effectiveness of treatments for depression and anxiety in persons with IBD.

Consensus Document of the Italian Association of Hospital Cardiologists (ANMCO), Italian Society of Pediatric Cardiology (SICP), and Italian Society of Gynaecologists and Obstetrics (SIGO): pregnancy and congenital heart diseases.

The success of cardiac surgery over the past 50 years has increased numbers and median age of survivors with congenital heart disease (CHD). Adults now represent two-thirds of patients with CHD; in the USA alone the number is estimated to exceed 1 million. In this population, many affected women reach reproductive age and wish to have children.

Acquired intracranial arterial aneurysm and stroke after vessel dissection in a child with coarctation of the aorta.

Vascular events in patients with coarctation of the aorta have been extensively reported and account for the majority of morbidity and mortality in untreated patients. The exact mechanism for this association is not completely understood and may include acquired anomalies or congenital abnormalities of intracranial vessel. Here we report a case of intracranial internal carotid artery dissection with subsequent formation of acquired large carotid aneurysm in a child with severe systemic hypertension and coarctation of the aorta.

Tumor and circulating biomarkers in patients with second-line hepatocellular carcinoma from the randomized phase II study with tivantinib.

Unlabelled: ARQ 197-215 was a randomized placebo-controlled phase II study testing the MET inhibitor tivantinib in second-line hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients. It identified tumor MET as a key biomarker in HCC.Aim of this research was to study the prognostic and predictive value of tumor (MET, the receptor tyrosine kinase encoded by the homonymous MNNG-HOS transforming gene) and circulating (MET, hepatocyte growth factor [HGF], alpha-fetoprotein [AFP], vascular endothelial growth factor [VEGF]) biomarkers in second-line HCC.

Glucocorticoid pharmacogenetics in pediatric idiopathic nephrotic syndrome.

Idiopathic nephrotic syndrome represents the most common type of primary glomerular disease in children: glucocorticoids (GCs) are the first-line therapy, even if considerable interindividual differences in their efficacy and side effects have been reported. Immunosuppressive and anti-inflammatory effects of these drugs are mainly due to the GC-mediated transcription regulation of pro- and anti-inflammatory genes. This mechanism of action is the result of a complex multistep pathway that involves the glucocorticoid receptor and several other proteins, encoded by polymorphic genes.

Pathogens causing urinary tract infections in infants: a European overview by the ESCAPE study group.

Unlabelled: Knowledge of the distribution spectrum of causative organisms and their resistance patterns has become a core requirement for the rational and effective management of urinary tract infections. In the context of a prospective trial on the use of antibiotic prophylaxis in infants with underling kidney malformations, we conducted an online survey among paediatric nephrologists on positive urine cultures (July 2010-June 2012) from both hospitalized and non-hospitalized infants under 24 months of age. We collected 4745 urine cultures (UCs) at 18 units in 10 European countries.

Fatigue and pruritus at onset identify a more aggressive subset of primary biliary cirrhosis.

Background & Aims: In recent years, primary biliary cirrhosis is mostly diagnosed in patients who are asymptomatic; however, a proportion of cases still present with typical complaints such as fatigue and/or pruritus. We compared biochemical, histological and immunological features of patients with or without fatigue and/or pruritus at onset to see whether the different clinical presentation may eventually impact on disease progression.

Methods: We analysed the Bologna cohort of 216 patients with primary biliary cirrhosis referred to our Centre between 1997 and 2007, according to symptomatic (fatigue and/or pruritus) or asymptomatic presentation.

Interfaces for noninvasive mechanical ventilation: technical aspects and efficiency.

Noninvasive mechanical ventilation (NIV) has become a standard of care in select patients with both hypercapnic and non-hypercapnic acute respiratory failure (ARF). Consequent to the increasing use of NIV, new interfaces of different designs, shapes, sizes, and materials have been proposed for clinical use in recent years. The aim of this report is to examine the most relevant physiological aspects related to the choice of interface with particular emphasis on the problems related to dead space and air leaks that may affect the synchrony between the patient and the machine, ultimately determining the patient's compliance and therefore NIV success.