Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension Incidence in Scleroderma Patients Treated with Bosentan for Digital Ulcers: Evidence from the Italian SPRING Registry.

Objective: Bosentan (BOS) is approved for treating pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and preventing digital ulcers (DU) in systemic sclerosis (SSc). Our study aimed to evaluate whether BOS prescribed for DU could reduce the incidence of PAH in a large SSc cohort from the SPRING registry.

Methods: Patients with SSc from the SPRING registry, meeting ACR/EULAR 2013 classification criteria with data on PAH onset, DU status, BOS exposure, and at least a one-year follow-up between 2015 and 2020, and no known PAH at baseline were included.

Use of Cangrelor in Older Patients: Findings from the itAlian pRospective Study on CANGrELOr Study.

Outcome data on using cangrelor in older patients are limited. This post hoc analysis of the itAlian pRospective Study on CANGrELOr (ARCANGELO) study aims to assess bleeding and ischemic outcomes with the transition from cangrelor to any oral P2Y inhibitors in age-stratified subgroups (≥75 years-older, <75 years-younger) of patients with acute coronary syndrome who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Of 995 patients, 215 (21.

Inflammation and Arterial Stiffness as Drivers of Cardiovascular Risk in Kidney Disease.

Background: Patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) have an increased cardiovascular (CV) risk. The lower the glomerular filtration rate, the higher the CV risk.

Summary: Current data suggest that several uremic toxins lead to vascular inflammation and oxidative stress that, in turn, lead to endothelial dysfunction, changes in smooth muscle cells' phenotype, and increased degradation of elastin and collagen fibers.

Safety of endoscopist-directed nurse-administered sedation in an Italian referral hospital: An audit of 2 years and 19,407 procedures.

Background And Study Aims: Balanced propofol sedation (BPS) administered by adequately trained non-anaesthesiologist personnel has gained popularity in GI endoscopy because of its shorter procedure and recovery time, high patient satisfaction, and low rate of adverse events (AEs), despite being considered controversial. We report data from an audit of endoscopist-directed (ED) nurse-administered sedation in an Italian referral hospital.

Patients And Methods: Consecutive endoscopic procedures performed between 2020 and 2022 were considered.

[Registers as central real world data source: the experience of the Italian Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders Register].

Registers collecting data from clinical practice (real world data) have gained increasing interest in recent years in the scientific, administrative, and regulatory fields. The value of longitudinal data collection in deepening knowledge about a specific pathology and its healthcare complexity is increasingly recognized. This article describes the development, organizational structure, and technical characteristics of the Italian Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders Register (RISM).

Lysosomal storage diseases.

Lysosomal storage disorders (LSDs) are a group of inherited metabolic diseases caused by dysfunction of the lysosomal system, with subsequent progressive accumulation of macromolecules, activation of inflammatory response, and cell death. Neurologic damage is almost always present, and it is usually degenerative. White matter (WM) involvement may be primary or secondary.

Cryotherapy versus radical prostatectomy as a salvage treatment for radio-recurrent prostate cancer.

Introduction: The aim of this study is to compare outcomes of SRP (salvage radical prostatectomy) with SCAP (salvage cryoablation of the prostate) in local radio-recurrent PCa (prostate cancer) patients.

Materials And Methods: A retrospective analysis of a multicentric European Society of Uro-technology (ESUT) database was performed. Data on patients with local recurrent PCa after radiotherapy who underwent salvage treatment were collected.

Human Proenkephalin A 119-159 (penKid) in Extracorporeal Therapies: Ex vivo Sieving Coefficient, Diffusive Clearance, and Hemoadsorption Kinetics.

Introduction: Enkephalins, endogenous opioid peptides, are involved in the regulation of renal function. One derived molecule, proenkephalin A, also known as penKid, has been demonstrated to be a reliable biomarker for kidney function and its plasma concentration correlates with measured glomerular filtration rate. penKid is used for prediction and diagnosis of AKI and need of renal replacement therapy (RRT).

The Ultra-Low-Profile Minos Endograft in Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms with Standard and Hostile Anatomy. A Multicenter Retrospective Study.

Background: Narrow and tortuous iliac axes are the second most common reason the feasibility of endovascular aortic repair (EVAR), and low-profile endografts were conceived to overcome the limitation of narrow and tortuous iliac axes. This study aims to report the initial results of EVAR performed with the ultra-low-profile Minos® abdominal endograft through a retrospective study conducted across 3 high-volume centers.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed a prospectively maintained database collecting all consecutive EVAR performed with the Minos endograft across 3 Centers of Vascular Surgery between 2020 and 2023.

The Impact of Dupilumab on Work Productivity and Emotional Health in CRSwNP: A Multicentric Study in Northeast Italy.

Chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP) in the severe forms is associated with a poor quality of life. Dupilumab has been suggested as an add-on treatment option for severe CRSwNP. Severe CRSwNP patients treated with Dupilumab in different rhinological units were considered for this study via their evaluation at the baseline at first and the consequential follow-up at 6-, 12-, and 24 months from the first administration.

Prevention of complications in endourological management of stones: What are the basic measures needed before, during, and after interventions?

Objective: This narrative review aims to describe measures to minimise the risk of complications during percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL), ureteroscopy, and retrograde intrarenal surgery.

Methods: A literature search was conducted from the PubMed/PMC database for papers published within the last 10 years (January 2012 to December 2022). Search terms included "ureteroscopy", "retrograde intrarenal surgery", "PCNL", "percutaneous nephrolithotomy", "complications", "sepsis", "infection", "bleed", "haemorrhage", and "hemorrhage".

International Alliance of Urolithiasis (IAU) guideline on staghorn calculi management.

Background: The stone burden based management strategy reported in the guidelines published by different associations is well known for a long time. Staghorn calculi, representing the largest burden and most complex stones, is one of the most challenging cases to practicing urologists in clinical practice. The International Alliance of Urolithiasis (IAU) has released a series of guidelines on the management of urolithiasis.

Navigating Entire Collecting System During Supine Percutaneous Nephrolithotomy: Is Rigid Nephroscopy Enough? A Prospective Study by International Alliance of Urolithiasis Supine Percutaneous Nephrolithotomy Working Group.

During percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL), accessibility to the entire collecting system is crucial to check the presence of any residual stone fragments. In this study, we aimed to identify the rate of accessibility of all caliceal cavities using lower-, middle- and, upper-pole punctures and the eventual benefit of simultaneous utilization of retrograde/antegrade flexible nephroscopy. Data of patients undergone supine PCNL in five different institutions were collected prospectively.

Predictive models in chronic kidney disease: essential tools in clinical practice.

Purpose Of Review: The integration of risk prediction in managing chronic kidney disease (CKD) is universally considered a key point of routine clinical practice to guide time-sensitive choices, such as dialysis access planning or counseling on kidney transplant options. Several prognostic models have been developed and validated to provide individualized evaluation of kidney failure risk in CKD patients. This review aims to analyze the current evidence on existing predictive models and evaluate the different advantages and disadvantages of these tools.

Percutaneous Ablation of T1 Renal Masses: Comparative Local Control and Complications after Radiofrequency and Cryoablation.

The efficacy and complication rates of percutaneous radiofrequency ablation (RFA) and cryoablation (CA) in the treatment of T1 renal masses in two Northern Italy hospitals were retrospectively investigated. Eighty-two patients with 80 T1a tumors and 10 T1b tumors treated with thermal ablation from 2015 through 2020 were included. A total of 43 tumors in 38 patients were treated with RFA (2.

Stone-scoring systems for predicting complications in percutaneous nephrolithotomy: A systematic review of the literature.

Objective: Percutaneous nephrolithotomy is a treatment of choice for larger stones of the upper urinary tract. Currently, several nephrolithometric nomograms for prediction of post-operative surgical outcomes have been proposed, although uncertainties still exist regarding their roles in the estimation of complications.

Methods: We conducted a systematic review on PubMed and Web of Sciences databases including English studies with at least 100 cases and published between January 2010 and December 2021.

Organization and Activity of Italian Echocardiographic Laboratories: A Survey of the Italian Society of Echocardiography and Cardiovascular Imaging.

Background: The Italian Society of Echocardiography and Cardiovascular Imaging (SIECVI) conducted a national survey to understand better how different echocardiographic modalities are used and accessed in Italy.

Methods: We analyzed echocardiography laboratory activities over a month (November 2022). Data were retrieved via an electronic survey based on a structured questionnaire, uploaded on the SIECVI website.

The role of warm ischemia time on functional outcomes after robotic partial nephrectomy: a radionuclide renal scan study from the clock randomized trial.

Purpose: To evaluate the relationship between warm ischemia time (WIT) duration and renal function after robot-assisted partial nephrectomy (RAPN).

Methods: The CLOCK trial is a phase 3 randomized controlled trial comparing on- vs off-clamp RAPN. All patients underwent pre- and postoperative renal scintigraphy.

Unclassified clinical presentations of chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy.

Background: To assess the ability of the 2021 European Academy of Neurology/Peripheral Nerve Society (EAN/PNS) clinical criteria for chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy (CIDP) to include within their classification the whole spectrum of clinical heterogeneity of the disease and to define the clinical characteristics of the unclassifiable clinical forms.

Methods: The 2021 EAN/PNS clinical criteria for CIDP were applied to 329 patients fulfilling the electrodiagnostic (and in some cases also the supportive) criteria for the diagnosis of CIDP. Clinical characteristics were reviewed for each patient not strictly fulfilling the clinical criteria ('unclassifiable').