Aortic angle distribution and predictors of horizontal aorta in patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve replacement.

Background: Horizontal aorta (HA) is an anatomical feature that can pose significant technical challenges for the successful positioning of the bioprosthetic valve during transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). Physiological range of aortic angle (AA) is unknown; hence there is no cutoff AA for classifying HA. Moreover, patient characteristics predicting HA are under-investigated.

Differences in surgical and functional outcomes in benign prostate hyperplasia patients with only lower urinary tract symptoms versus those in retention: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Aims: To evaluate outcomes after benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH) surgery among men with lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) only versus those with urinary retention (UR).

Methods: The protocol was registered in PROSPERO with ID#232253. Eligible studies identified from four electronic databases.

Delayed surgery for localised and metastatic renal cell carcinoma: a systematic review and meta-analysis for the COVID-19 pandemic.

Purpose: The COVID-19 pandemic has led to the cancellation or deferment of many elective cancer surgeries. We performed a systematic review on the oncological effects of delayed surgery for patients with localised or metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC) in the targeted therapy (TT) era.

Method: The protocol of this review is registered on PROSPERO(CRD42020190882).

On the dependence of quantitative diffusion-weighted imaging on scanner system characteristics and acquisition parameters: A large multicenter and multiparametric phantom study with unsupervised clustering analysis.

Purpose: The purpose of this multicenter phantom study was to exploit an innovative approach, based on an extensive acquisition protocol and unsupervised clustering analysis, in order to assess any potential bias in apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) estimation due to different scanner characteristics. Moreover, we aimed at assessing, for the first time, any effect of acquisition plan/phase encoding direction on ADC estimation.

Methods: Water phantom acquisitions were carried out on 39 scanners.

PONDx: real-life utilization and decision impact of the 21-gene assay on clinical practice in Italy.

Clinicopathological prognostic features have limited value to identify with precision newly diagnosed patients with hormone receptor (HR)-positive, HER2-negative breast cancer (BC), who would benefit from chemotherapy (CT) in addition to adjuvant hormonal therapy (HT). The 21-gene Oncotype DX Breast Recurrence Score (RS) assay has been demonstrated to predict CT benefit, hence supporting personalized decisions on adjuvant CT. The multicenter, prospective, observational study PONDx investigated the real-life use of RS results in Italy and its impact on treatment decisions.

Development and Validation of a Simplified Score to Predict Early Relapse in Newly Diagnosed Multiple Myeloma in a Pooled Dataset of 2,190 Patients.

Purpose: Despite the improvement of therapeutic regimens, several patients with multiple myeloma (MM) still experience early relapse (ER). This subset of patients currently represents an unmet medical need.

Experimental Design: We pooled data from seven European multicenter phase II/III clinical trials enrolling 2,190 patients with newly diagnosed MM from 2003 to 2017.

Effectiveness of ketoacidosis prevention campaigns at diagnosis of type 1 diabetes in children: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Aim: To determine if diabetes awareness campaigns are an effective intervention to reduce diabetes ketoacidosis at diagnosis of type 1 diabetes in children and youth.

Methods: Search strategies included PubMed, Scopus, CINAHL and WOS electronic databases, hand search of select journals and a grey literature search "Google" search to include all relevant information. Studies included community-based interventions focused on children younger than 18 years old.

Effectiveness of a family nurse-led programme on accuracy of blood pressure self-measurement: A randomised controlled trial.

Aims And Objectives: To evaluate the effectiveness of a Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP)-led programme on the degree of adherence of current recommendations on home blood pressure self-measurement (HBPM) as compared to routine care and management.

Background: HBPM plays an important role for monitoring hypertensive patients; however, patients' adherence to current guidelines is unsatisfactory. A nurse-led training programme in the community setting could be an effective strategy to achieve high level of patients' adherence to recommendations.

Critical concepts and management recommendations for cutaneous T-cell lymphoma: A consensus-based position paper from the Italian Group of Cutaneous Lymphoma.

In this paper, we present a review of critical concepts, and produce recommendations on management issues in cutaneous T-cell lymphomas (CTCLs) of adults. A panel of nine experts was selected for their expertise in research and clinical practice of CTCLs. During an initial meeting, the areas of major concern in the management of CTCLs were selected by generating and rank-ordering clinical key questions using the criterion of clinical relevance, through group discussion.

FISSIT (Fistula Surgery in Italy) study: A retrospective survey on the surgical management of anal fistulas in Italy over the last 15 years.

Background: Surgical treatment of anal fistulas is still a challenge. The aims of this study were to evaluate the adoption and healing rates for the different surgical techniques used in Italy over the past 15 years.

Methods: This was a multicenter retrospective observational study of patients affected by simple and complex anal fistulas of cryptoglandular origin who were surgically treated in the period 2003-2017.

Shedding light on polypragmasy of pain after transurethral prostate surgery procedures: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Purpose And Objective: To evaluate and compare the incidences of post-operative pelvic pain (PPP) in patients undergoing ablation, enucleation and conventional transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP).

Methods: A systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted according to the PRISMA guidelines. Using MEDLINE via PubMed and Cochrane CENTRAL, randomised control trials (RCTs) and observational studies reporting PPP rates post-ablation, enucleation or TURP were identified.

Dose/schedule-adjusted Rd-R vs continuous Rd for elderly, intermediate-fit patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma.

Lenalidomide-dexamethasone (Rd) is standard treatment for elderly patients with multiple myeloma (MM). In this randomized phase 3 study, we investigated efficacy and feasibility of dose/schedule-adjusted Rd followed by maintenance at 10 mg per day without dexamethasone (Rd-R) vs continuous Rd in elderly, intermediate-fit newly diagnosed patients with MM. Primary end point was event-free survival (EFS), defined as progression/death from any cause, lenalidomide discontinuation, or hematologic grade 4 or nonhematologic grade 3 to 4 adverse event (AE).

Subcutaneous bortezomib-containing regimens as up-front treatment of newly diagnosed transplant-eligible multiple myeloma patients: a retrospective, non-interventional observational study.

Subcutaneous (SC) bortezomib-based regimens represent the standard induction therapy prior to autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) in newly diagnosed multiple myeloma patients. Published data are based principally on intravenous (IV) administration: this retrospective observational study aimed to define patients' outcomes upon SC bortezomib administration, before and after ASCT. Of 131 enrolled patients, 86% received bortezomib-dexamethasone plus thalidomide (VTD), 5% plus cyclophosphamide (VCD), and 9% alone (VD), for a median of 4 cycles induction therapy, followed by single (52%) or double (48%) ASCT.

Novel Experimental Drugs for Treatment of Multiple Myeloma.

Multiple myeloma (MM) is the second most frequent hematological malignancy characterized by bone marrow aberrant plasma cells proliferation leading to a genetic complex and heterogeneous disease, with a median survival ranging from two to more than 10 years. By using new drugs such as proteasome inhibitors (PIs), immunomodulatory drugs (IMiDs), monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) in different combinations and high-dose therapy followed by auto-transplantation, there has been an amazing improvement in the outcome of this disease in recent years. Despite this, MM is still considered an incurable disease, characterized by remission periods alternated with relapse/progression episodes finally leading to resistant disease.

Daratumumab for the Management of Newly Diagnosed and Relapsed/Refractory Multiple Myeloma: Current and Emerging Treatments.

Immunotherapy is changing the paradigm of multiple myeloma (MM) management and daratumumab is the first-in-class human monoclonal antibody targeting CD38 approved for the treatment of this malignancy. Daratumumab exerts anti-myeloma activity by different mechanisms of action as antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC), antibody-dependent cellular phagocytosis (ADCP), complement-dependent cytotoxicity (CDC), direct apoptosis, and immunomodulation. After GEN501 and SIRIUS trials showed efficacy of daratumumab monotherapy in heavily pretreated relapsed-refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM), in patients with at least two previous line of therapy, two phase III trials demonstrated superior overall response rate (ORR) and progression free survival (PFS) using triplets daratumumab-bortezomib-dexamethasone (DVd) Vd (CASTOR) or daratumumab-lenalidomide-dexamethasone (DRd) Rd (POLLUX) in relapsed-refractory MM patients; so these combinations have been approved and introduced in clinical practice.

Pediatric trans-olecranon fracture dislocation of the elbow associated with fracture of the radial head and with medial collateral ligament lesion: A case report and review of the literature.

Introduction: We report what is, to the best of our knowledge, the first case of pediatric trans-olecranon fracture dislocation of the elbow associated with a radial head fracture and with a medial collateral ligament disruption.

Case Presentation: A 7-year-old girl presented to the emergency department after a fell on his right elbow while playful activity at home. The elbow X-ray showed acute trans-olecranon fracture dislocation of the elbow associated with a radial head fracture.

Adjunctive IgM-enriched immunoglobulin therapy with a personalised dose based on serum IgM-titres versus standard dose in the treatment of septic shock: a randomised controlled trial (IgM-fat trial).

Introduction: In patients with septic shock, low levels of circulating immunoglobulins are common and their kinetics appear to be related to clinical outcome. The pivotal role of immunoglobulins in the host immune response to infection suggests that additional therapy with polyclonal intravenous immunoglobulins may be a promising option in patients with septic shock. Immunoglobulin preparations enriched with the IgM component have largely been used in sepsis, mostly at standard dosages (250 mg/kg per day), regardless of clinical severity and without any dose adjustment based on immunoglobulin serum titres or other biomarkers.

When to test fetuses for RASopathies? Proposition from a systematic analysis of 352 multicenter cases and a postnatal cohort.

Purpose: Recent studies have identified suggestive prenatal features of RASopathies (e.g., increased nuchal translucency [NT], cystic hygroma [CH], hydrops, effusions, congenital heart diseases [CHD], polyhydramnios, renal anomalies).

Will "Hybrid" Meetings Replace Face-To-Face Meetings Post COVID-19 Era? Perceptions and Views From The Urological Community.

Objective: To understand the preference and role of 'hybrid' urological meetings compared to face-to-face and online meetings during and after COVID-19 pandemic. The secondary outcome was finding out the most preferable webinar setting.

Methods: An online global survey was done between June 06 and July 05, 2020, using SurveyMonkey.

Smoking status during first-line immunotherapy and chemotherapy in NSCLC patients: A case-control matched analysis from a large multicenter study.

Background: Improved outcome in tobacco smoking patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) following immunotherapy has previously been reported. However, little is known regarding this association during first-line immunotherapy in patients with high PD-L1 expression. In this study we compared clinical outcomes according to the smoking status of two large multicenter cohorts.

Tocilizumab in COVID-19 interstitial pneumonia.

Background: Published reports on tocilizumab in COVID-19 pneumonitis show conflicting results due to weak designs or heterogeneity in critical methodological issues.

Methods: This open-label trial, structured according to Simon's optimal design, aims to identify factors predicting which patients could benefit from anti-IL6 strategies and to enhance the design of unequivocal and reliable future randomized trials. A total of 46 patients with COVID-19 pneumonia needing of oxygen therapy to maintain SO2 > 93% and with recent worsening of lung function received a single infusion of tocilizumab.

Italian expert-based recommendations on the use of photo(chemo)therapy in the management of mycosis fungoides: Results of an e-Delphi consensus.

Background: Phototherapy is a mainstay for the treatment of MF. However, there is scarce evidence for its use, mostly due to the lack of a unified schedule.

Aims: The primary aim of this study was to establish the first structured, expert-based consensus regarding the indications and technical schedules of NB-UVB and PUVA for MF.