Quality of life and satisfaction of patients after oncoplastic or traditional breast-conserving surgery using the BREAST-Q (BCT module): a prospective study

Introduction: The oncoplastic conservative surgery was developed as a natural evolution of traditional surgery, attempting to improve the therapeutic and aesthetic outcomes where tumor resection could be followed by not-adequate results. Our primary aim is to evaluate how patient satisfaction and quality-of-life after conservative oncoplastic surgery, using BREAST-Q (BCT Module), change pre- and post-operatively. The secondary aim is to compare patient-reported outcome after oncoplastic or traditional conservative surgery. Patients and methods: We enrolled 647 patients who underwent traditional conservative surgery or oncoplastic surgery from January 2020 to December 2022. Only 232 women (35.9%) completed the BREAST-Q questionnaire on a web-based platform, at the preoperative phase and 3 months after treatment. Results: The average score of "Psychosocial well-being" and "Satisfaction with Breasts" 3 months after surgery showed a statistically significant improvement, while the average score for "Physical well-being: Chest" at 3 months showed a worsening compared to the baseline. "Sexual well-being" did not show statistically significant change. A significant difference between the post-operative outcome of oncoplastic surgery and traditional surgery was observed only for Physical well-being (better for traditional surgery). Conclusions: The study showed significant improvement in patient-reported outcomes 3 months after the surgery, except for physical discomfort that increases especially after oncoplastic surgery. Furthermore, our data, as well as many others, point to the appropriateness of using OCS where there is an effective indication, while the perspective of patients cannot find significant superiority over TCS in any of the areas analyzed

Inotropes and Vasopressors Use in Critical Care and Perioperative Medicine: Evidence-Based Approach (Review)

Inotropes and vasopressors are frequently required in critically ill patients and in patients undergoing major surgery. Several molecules are currently available, including catecholamines, phosphodiesterase-3 inhibitors, vasopressin and its analogues, and calcium sensitizers.We will review current evidence on inotropes use in perioperative and critically ill patients, with focus on most recent randomized controlled trials (RCTs).Despite being widely used in anesthesia and intensive care, evidences on safety and efficacy of inotropes are scarce. Data from observational studies suggest that inotropes administration may increase mortality in cardiac surgery, acute heart failure, and cardiogenic shock patients. However, randomized controlled trials did not confirm these findings in acute care settings.Epinephrine has been associated with increased mortality especially in cardiogenic shock, but randomized trials failed to show evidence of increased mortality associated with epinephrine use. Norepinephrine has been traditionally considered contraindicated in patients with ventricular dysfunction, but recent trials suggested hemodynamic effects similar to epinephrine in patients with cardiogenic shock. Dopamine has no additional advantages over norepinephrine and increases the risk of tachyarrhythmias and may increase mortality in cardiogenic shock. Phosphodiesterase-3 (PDE-3) inhibitors are equivalent to catecholamines in terms of major outcomes. Levosimendan is the most investigated inotrope of the last 30 years, but despite promising early studies, high-quality multicenter RCTs repeatedly failed to show any superiority over available agents. There is no highquality RCT clearly demonstrating superiority of one agent over another. In summary, current evidence suggest that the choice of inotrope is unlikely to affect outcome, as long as the target hemodynamic goals are achieved.Finally, in recent years, mechanical circulatory support (MCS) has become increasingly popular. Thanks to improvement in technology, the safety and biocompatibility of devices are constantly growing. MCS devices have theoretical advantages over inotropes, but their use is limited by costs, availability, and invasiveness.Conclusion. Future studies should investigate safety, efficacy, and cost-effectiveness of primary MCS versus primary inotropes in patients with acute cardiovascular failure

Management of Bleeding and Hemolysis During Percutaneous Microaxial Flow Pump Support A Practical Approach

© 2023 The Author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY), https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Percutaneous ventricular assist devices (pVADs) are increasingly being used because of improved experience and availability. The Impella (Abiomed), a percutaneous microaxial, continuous-flow, short-term ventricular assist device, requires meticulous postimplantation management to avoid the 2 most frequent complications, namely, bleeding and hemolysis. A standardized approach to the prevention, detection, and treatment of these complications is mandatory to improve outcomes. The risk for hemolysis is mostly influenced by pump instability, resulting from patient- or device-related factors. Upfront echocardiographic assessment, frequent monitoring, and prompt intervention are essential. The precarious hemostatic balance during pVAD support results from the combination of a procoagulant state, due to critical illness and contact pathway activation, together with a variety of factors aggravating bleeding risk. Preventive strategies and appropriate management, adapted to the impact of the bleeding, are crucial. This review offers a guide to physicians to tackle these device-related complications in this critically ill pVAD-supported patient population.Peer reviewe

Guideline-directed medical therapy in severe heart failure with reduced ejection fraction: an analysis from the HELP-HF registry.

AIM: Persistent symptoms despite guideline-directed medical therapy (GDMT) and poor tolerance of GDMT are hallmarks of patients with advanced heart failure (HF) with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). However, real-world data on GDMT use, dose, and prognostic implications are lacking. METHODS AND RESULTS: We included 699 consecutive patients with HFrEF and at least one 'I NEED HELP' marker for advanced HF enrolled in a multicentre registry. Beta-blockers (BB) were administered to 574 (82%) patients, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, angiotensin receptor blockers or angiotensin receptor-neprilysin inhibitors (ACEi/ARB/ARNI) were administered to 381 (55%) patients and 416 (60%) received mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists (MRA). Overall, ≥50% of target doses were reached in 41%, 22%, and 56% of the patients on BB, ACEi/ARB/ARNI and MRA, respectively. Hypotension, bradycardia, kidney dysfunction and hyperkalaemia were the main causes of underprescription and/or underdosing, but up to a half of the patients did not receive target doses for unknown causes (51%, 41%, and 55% for BB, ACEi/ARB/ARNI and MRA, respectively). The proportions of patients receiving BB and ACEi/ARB/ARNI were lower among those fulfilling the 2018 HFA-ESC criteria for advanced HF. Treatment with BB and ACEi/ARB/ARNI were associated with a lower risk of death or HF hospitalizations (adjusted hazard ratio [HR] 0.63, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.48-0.84, and HR 0.74, 95% CI 0.58-0.95, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: In a large, real-world, contemporary cohort of patients with severe HFrEF, with at least one marker for advanced HF, prescription and uptitration of GDMT remained limited. A significant proportion of patients were undertreated due to unknown reasons suggesting a potential role of clinical inertia either by the prescribing healthcare professional or by the patient. Treatment with BB and ACEi/ARB/ARNI was associated with lower mortality/morbidity

A multi-element psychosocial intervention for early psychosis (GET UP PIANO TRIAL) conducted in a catchment area of 10 million inhabitants: study protocol for a pragmatic cluster randomized controlled trial

Multi-element interventions for first-episode psychosis (FEP) are promising, but have mostly been conducted in non-epidemiologically representative samples, thereby raising the risk of underestimating the complexities involved in treating FEP in 'real-world' services

Gli insegnamenti di "Diritto comparato delle religioni" in Italia

Il saggio presenta una rassegna sullo stato degli insegnamenti di "Diritto comparato delle religioni" e presenta alcuni spunti ricostruttivi