The IMMENSE Study: The Interplay Between iMMune and ENdothelial Cells in Mediating Cardiovascular Risk in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus.

Patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) have a significant increase in cardiovascular (CV) risk although they display a preserved number of circulating angiogenic CD3CD31CXCR4 T cells (T), a subpopulation of T cells which promotes repair of damaged endothelium. This happens due to the concomitant expansion of a T subset with immunosenescent features, such as the loss of CD28. Therefore, the aim of this study was to elucidate the interplay between T subpopulations and endothelial cells in a group of young SLE patients without previous cardiovascular events.

Recommendations from the Italian intersociety consensus on Perioperative Anesthesa Care in Thoracic surgery (PACTS) part 2: intraoperative and postoperative care.

Introduction: Anesthetic care in patients undergoing thoracic surgery presents specific challenges that require a multidisciplinary approach to management. There remains a need for standardized, evidence-based, continuously updated guidelines for perioperative care in these patients.

Methods: A multidisciplinary expert group, the Perioperative Anesthesia in Thoracic Surgery (PACTS) group, was established to develop recommendations for anesthesia practice in patients undergoing elective lung resection for lung cancer.

Epilepsy course during COVID-19 pandemic in three Italian epilepsy centers.

During epidemic outbreaks, epilepsy course can be modified by different physical and psychological stressors and, most importantly, by irregular therapy intake. The effect of COVID-19 and quarantine isolation on the course of epilepsy and on incidence of new-onset seizures is still unclear. With the aim of managing epilepsy in quarantined patients, three Italian Epilepsy Centers set up telephone consultations using a semistructured interview, allowing a prospective collection of data on seizure course and other seizure-related problems during pandemic.

Clinical characteristics and risk factors associated with COVID-19 severity in patients with haematological malignancies in Italy: a retrospective, multicentre, cohort study.

Background: Several small studies on patients with COVID-19 and haematological malignancies are available showing a high mortality in this population. The Italian Hematology Alliance on COVID-19 aimed to collect data from adult patients with haematological malignancies who required hospitalisation for COVID-19.

Methods: This multicentre, retrospective, cohort study included adult patients (aged ≥18 years) with diagnosis of a WHO-defined haematological malignancy admitted to 66 Italian hospitals between Feb 25 and May 18, 2020, with laboratory-confirmed and symptomatic COVID-19.

Impact of the 2019 European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology/American College of Rheumatology Classification Criteria for Systemic Lupus Erythematosus in a Multicenter Cohort Study of 133 Women With Undifferentiated Connective Tissue Disease.

Objective: We aimed to investigate the impact of applying the 2019 European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology (EULAR)/American College of Rheumatology (ACR) classification criteria for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in a previously described cohort of women with undifferentiated connective tissue disease (UCTD).

Methods: This study included 133 women with UCTD. At the time of inclusion into the study, none of the patients met any classification criteria for other defined systemic connective tissue disease.

Reply to the Letter to the Editor: The Italian Society of Rheumatology clinical practice guidelines for the management of polymyalgia rheumatica.

Not available.

Comparison of Hodgkin's Lymphoma in Children and Adolescents. A Twenty Year Experience with MH'96 and LH2004 AIEOP (Italian Association of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology) Protocols.

Adolescents and young adults (AYAs) represent a distinct group of patients. The objectives of this study were: To compare adolescent prognosis to that of younger children; to compare the results achieved with the two consecutive protocols in both age groups; to analyze clinical characteristics of children and adolescents. Between 1996 and 2017, 1759 patients aged <18 years were evaluable for the study.

Impact of COVID-19 epidemic on maxillofacial surgery in Italy.

Maxillofacial departments in 23 surgical units in Italy have been increasingly involved in facing the COVID-19 emergency. Elective surgeries have been progressively postponed to free up beds and offer human and material resources to those infected. We compiled an inventory of 32 questions to evaluate the impact of the SARS-COV2 epidemic on maxillofacial surgery in 23 selected Italian maxillofacial departments.

The Italian Society of Rheumatology clinical practice guidelines for the management of polymyalgia rheumatica.

Objective: to provide evidence-based up-to-date recommendations for the management of patients with a definite diagnosis of polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR).

Methods: A systematic literature review was performed to find the existing clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) on PMR and the framework of the Guidelines International Network Adaptation Working Group was used to appraise (AGREE II), synthesize, and customize the recommendations according to the needs of the Italian healthcare context. Rheumatologists on behalf of the Italian Society of Rheumatology (SIR) and from the SIR Epidemiology Unit joined the working group and identified the key health questions on PMR to guide the systematic literature review.

Utility of Ultrasound and Dual Energy CT in Crystal Disease Diagnosis and Management.

Purpose Of Review: The objective of this review is to critically discuss the latest evidence on the use of ultrasound and dual energy computed tomography (DECT) for the assessment of microcrystalline arthritis.

Recent Findings: Both techniques have been included in the classification and diagnostic criteria for gout, while only ultrasound appears in the diagnostic recommendations for CPPD. Regarding the management of the diseases, there is encouraging evidence for the use of both techniques for the follow-up of gout patients, while very few or null data are available for CPPD.

[Appropriateness criteria for the management of lipid-lowering therapy with alirocumab in high cardiovascular risk patients. The opinion of a multidisciplinary group of Italian experts].

High levels of LDL cholesterol (LDL-C) represent a causal factor for cardiovascular diseases on an atherosclerotic basis, with a direct correlation between these and mortality or cardiovascular events, such that the reduction of both is associated proportionally and linearly with the reduction of LDL-C.Statins and ezetimibe are used for LDL-C lowering but may not be sufficient to achieve the targets defined by the ESC/EAS guidelines, which recommend use of PCSK9 inhibitors for further LDL-C reduction in patients not at goal.This project submitted 86 clinical scenarios to a group of experts, cardiologists, internists and lipidologists, collecting their opinion on the appropriateness of different behaviors and decisions.

Conventional brain magnetic resonance imaging in the longitudinal evaluation of newly diagnosed systemic lupus erythematosus patients: a retrospective analysis from a single-centre cohort.

Introduction: Neuropsychiatric (NP) manifestations occur mostly in the early phases of the systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) course. Nonspecific alterations are evident in conventional brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), regardless of clinically overt NP symptoms. The main aims of this study were to assess the prevalence of MRI abnormalities in newly diagnosed SLE, and to evaluate the impact of MRI changes during follow-up (FU) and the clinical course of NP symptoms.

Comparative study between two European inception cohorts of patients with early systemic lupus erythematosus.

Objectives: To compare the main characteristics of two inception cohorts (Italian [ITC] and Spanish [SPC]) cohorts of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) at the time of diagnosis and at one year of follow-up.

Methods: Demographic, clinical and immunological characteristics, and treatments at SLE diagnosis and at 12 months of follow-up of ITC and SPC were compared.

Results: One hundred and sixty-four patients in the ITC and 231 patients in the SPC were compared.

A multicentre study of 244 pregnancies in undifferentiated connective tissue disease: maternal/fetal outcomes and disease evolution.

Objectives: To investigate fetal/perinatal and maternal outcomes from a large multicentre cohort of women diagnosed with UCTD.

Methods: This multicentre retrospective cohort study describes the outcomes of 224 pregnancies in 133 consecutive women with a diagnosis of UCTD, positive for ANA and aged <45 years old at study inclusion.

Results: Of the 224 pregnancies analysed, 177 (79%) resulted in live births, 45 (20.

The Role of the Multidisciplinary Evaluation of Interstitial Lung Diseases: Systematic Literature Review of the Current Evidence and Future Perspectives.

The opportunity of a multidisciplinary evaluation for the diagnosis of interstitial pneumonias highlighted a major change in the diagnostic approach to diffuse lung disease. The new American Thoracic Society, European Respiratory Society, Japanese Respiratory Society, and Latin American Thoracic Society guidelines for the diagnosis of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis have reinforced this assumption and have underlined that the exclusion of connective tissue disease related lung involvement is mandatory, with obvious clinical and therapeutic impact. The multidisciplinary team discussion consists in a moment of interaction among the radiologist, pathologist and pulmonologist, also including the rheumatologist when considered necessary, to improve diagnostic agreement and optimize the definition of those cases in which pulmonary involvement may represent the first or prominent manifestation of an autoimmune systemic disease.

Biological and synthetic target DMARDs in psoriatic arthritis.

Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) is a chronic multi-faceted immune-mediated systemic disorder, characterized by articular, cutaneous, enthesis, nail and spine involvement. Articular manifestations of PsA are particularly common and highly disabling for patients, while the heterogeneous clinical subsets of the disease are challenging for clinicians. In recent years, research has made many advances in understanding the pathogenesis of the disease from genetic, epigenetic and molecular points of view.

Efficacy and retention rate of adalimumab in rheumatoid arthritis and psoriatic arthritis patients after first-line etanercept failure: the FEARLESS cohort.

Few studies have compared the efficacy of switching from etanercept to adalimumab in the real-life setting in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and psoriatic arthritis (PsA). This study evaluated the 2-year retention rate and 12-month efficacy of adalimumab in RA and PsA patients, previously treated with etanercept. RA and PsA patients from 11 Italian Rheumatology Units received adalimumab after first-line etanercept failure.

Risk factors for group B streptococcus early-onset disease: an Italian, area-based, case-control study.

Intrapartum antibiotic prophylaxis (IAP) prevents group B streptococcus (GBS) early-onset disease (EOD). No European study evaluates the relative impact of risk factors (RFs) for EOD after a screening-based strategy and widespread IAP use We aimed to evaluate the risks of EOD in an Italian region where a screening-based strategy for preventing EOD was implemented. Cases of EOD born at or above 35 weeks' gestation were reviewed and matched with controls.

P2X7 Receptor Expression in Patients With Serositis Related to Systemic Lupus Erythematosus.

P2X7R is an extracellular ATP-gated receptor involved in inflammatory and autoimmune processes mainly acting through NLPR3-inflammasome activation and IL-1β release, also implicated in lymphocyte proliferation and cellular apoptosis. Several observations from animal models and patients' studies highlight a possible link between P2X7R-NLRP3 axis and Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) pathogenesis. The P2X7R-inflammasome axis in addition to the direct production of IL-1β and IL-18, indirectly mediates the release of other cytokines implicated in the pathogenesis of SLE, such as IL-6.

Classification and guidelines of hemorrhoidal disease: Present and future.

Classification and guidelines of hemorrhoidal disease are based on the subdivision in Grades of prolapse followed by any aspect related to both the treatment and its technique. When taking the proposals for classification and guidelines issued by prolific scientific societies into consideration, it is evident that strong contradictions and interpretative limits emerge in finding the best treatment to be adopted. After a critical examination of these limitations, a methodological proposal is shared to achieve a new classification, which plays a part in forming a new guideline for hemorrhoidal disease, identifying its evolution, dynamism of the prolapse, symptomatology, enteropathogenesis and gender characteristics.

2019 update of the EULAR recommendations for the management of systemic lupus erythematosus.

Our objective was to update the EULAR recommendations for the management of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), based on emerging new evidence. We performed a systematic literature review (01/2007-12/2017), followed by modified Delphi method, to form questions, elicit expert opinions and reach consensus. Treatment in SLE aims at remission or low disease activity and prevention of flares.

Late mortality and causes of death among 5-year survivors of childhood cancer diagnosed in the period 1960-1999 and registered in the Italian Off-Therapy Registry.

Introduction: Advances in paediatric oncology led to the increase in long-term survival, revealing the burden of therapy-related long-term side effects. We evaluated overall and cause-specific mortality in a large cohort of Italian childhood cancer survivors (CCSs) and adolescent cancer survivors identified through the off-therapy registry.

Materials And Methods: CCSs alive 5 years after cancer diagnosis occurring between 1960 and 1999 were eligible; the last follow-up was between 2011 and 2014.

OMERACT Definitions for Ultrasonographic Pathologies and Elementary Lesions of Rheumatic Disorders 15 Years On.

Objective: The Outcome Measures in Rheumatology (OMERACT) Ultrasound (US) Working Group (WG) operates research activities for the validation of US as an outcome measurement instrument according to the Filter 2.0 framework.

Methods: Original publications on definitions and scoring systems for pathophysiological manifestations and elementary lesions of various rheumatic disorders were reviewed from the onset of the WG research in 2005.

Immediate treatment with tumour necrosis factor inhibitors in synthetic disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs-naïve patients with rheumatoid arthritis: results of a modified Italian Expert Consensus.

Objective: To establish clinical consensus for the optimal placement of TNF inhibitor (TNFi) in DMARDs-naïve RA patients.

Methods: The steering group was composed of 15 Italian rheumatologists expert in the field of RA, who proposed and selected by consensus the clinically relevant questions on the role of TNFi treatment in DMARDs-naïve RA patients. The question was rephrased according to the population, intervention, comparison and outcome statement.