Do the omeprazole family compounds exert a protective effect against influenza-like illness?

BACKGROUND: Infections by influenza viruses place a heavy burden on public health and economies worldwide. Although vaccines are the best weapons against influenza, antiviral drugs could offer an opportunity to alleviate the burden of influenza. Since omeprazole family compounds block the “proton pump”, we hypothesized that they could interfere with the mechanism of fusion of the virus envelope and endosomal membrane, thereby hindering the M2 proton pump mechanism of influenza viruses. METHODS: A matched case-control study was performed in 2010-2011 in Italy. Cases were subjects aged over 18 years with a diagnosis of Influenza-like Illness (ILI); 254 case-control pairs were recruited. A multivariable conditional logistic regression analysis was used to assess the association between the prevention of ILI and the administration of omeprazole family compounds. The interaction between omeprazole family compounds and influenza vaccination was also examined. RESULTS: After control for potential confounders, subjects treated with omeprazole family compounds displayed a lower risk of catching ILI (OR(adj) = 0.29, 95% CI: 0.15-0.52). The risk of ILI in unvaccinated non-OFC users was about six times than that in vaccinated OFC users. CONCLUSIONS: Although confirmation is necessary, these results suggest that omeprazole family compounds could be profitably used in the prevention of ILI

A novel software tool for semi-automatic quantification of thoracic aorta dilatation on baseline and follow-up computed tomography angiography

A dedicated software package that could semi-automatically assess differences in aortic maximal cross-sectional diameters from consecutive CT scans would most likely reduce the post-processing time and effort by the physicians. The aim of this study was to present and assess the quality of a new tool for the semi-automatic quantification of thoracic aorta dilation dimensions. Twenty-nine patients with two CTA scans of the thoracic aorta for which the official clinical report indicated an increase in aortic diameters were included in the study. Aortic maximal cross-sectional diameters of baseline and follow-up studies generated semi-automatically by the software were compared with corresponding manual measurements. The semi-automatic measurements were performed at seven landmarks defined on the baseline scan by two operators. Bias, Bland–Altman plots and intraclass correlation coefficients were calculated between the two methods and, for the semi-automatic software, also between two observers. The average time difference between the two scans of a single patient was 1188 ± 622 days. For the semi-automatic software, in 2 out of 29 patients, manual interaction was necessary; in the remaining 27 patients (93.1%), semi-automatic results were generated, demonstrating excellent intraclass correlation coefficients (all values ≥ 0.91) and small differences, especially for the proximal aortic arch (baseline: 0.19 ± 1.30 mm; follow-up: 0.44 ± 2.21 mm), the mid descending aorta (0.37 ± 1.64 mm; 0.37 ± 2.06 mm), and the diaphragm (0.30 ± 1.14 mm; 0.37 ± 1.80 mm). The inter-observer variability was low with all errors in diameters ≤ 1 mm, and intraclass correlation coefficients all ≥ 0.95. The semi-automatic tool decreased the processing time by 40% (13 vs. 22 min). In this work, a semi-automatic software package that allows the assessment of thoracic aorta diameters from baseline and follow-up CTs (and their differences), was presented, and demonstrated high accuracy and low inter-observer variability

Computed tomography image quality of aortic stents in patients with aortic coarctation: a multicentre evaluation

Background: Stents are commonly used to treat aortic coarctation. The objective of this study was to evaluate the post-implantation computed tomography (CT) image quality of different stent types used to treat aortic coarctation. Methods: Adult and paediatric patients with stent-treated aortic coarctation who underwent contrast-enhanced CT were retrospectively included from three tertiary care centres. CT scans were subjectively scored for image quality using a 4-point scale (1 = unacceptable; 2 = poor; 3 = good; 4 = excellent). Furthermore, the amount of stent-induced blooming artefacts was measured as the percentage of the difference between outer and inner stent diameters over the outer stent diameter. Results: A total of 35 children and 34 adults implanted with 71 stents of six different types were included. The most commonly used stent type was the Cheatham Platinum stent (52 stents, 73%). The subjective image quality of the Cheatham Platinum stents was moderate with a score of 2.0±0.8 (mean ± standard deviation) in children and 2.3±0.6 in adults. The image quality in patients with Formula stents was 2.3±1.2. The Cheatham Platinum stents induced 34–48% blooming, the Formula stents 44–55%. The image quality in patients with the less commonly used Atrium Advanta V12, IntraStent, AndraStent and Palmaz stents was scored 3 (good) to 4 (excellent) with less blooming. The electrocardiographic gating and tube voltage (kVp) did not affect image quality. Conclusions: There is a substantial variation in CT image quality a

The epidemiology of mumps in Italy

In Italy, although vaccination has been recommended for a number of years, vaccination coverage for mumps is still sub-optimal. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the seroprevalence of mumps antibodies in the Italian population, stratified by age, gender and geographical area. The proportion of individuals positive for mumps antibodies remained stable in the age classes 0-11 months and 1 year (25.4% and 30.8%, respectively) and showed a continuous increase after the second year of life. The percentage of susceptible individuals was higher than 20% in persons 2-14 years of age and exceeded 10% in persons 15-39 years of age. No statistically significant differences were observed by gender or geographical area. Comparison between these results and the data obtained from a 1996 survey showed a statistically significant increase in seroprevalence in the age class 2-4 years. No changes were observed in the other age-groups. The results of this study confirm that the efforts made in recent years to improve vaccination coverage within the second year of life should be strengthened. \ua9 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Silent myocardial infarction fatty scars detected by coronary calcium score CT scan in diabetic patients without history of coronary heart disease

International audienceOBJECTIVES: To evaluate the prevalence of intra-myocardial fatty scars (IMFS) most likely indicating previous silent myocardial infarction (SMI), as detected on coronary artery calcium (CAC) computed tomography (CT) scans in diabetic patients without history of coronary heart disease (CHD). METHODS: Diabetic patients screened for silent coronary insufficiency in a tertiary-care, university hospital between Jan-2015 and Dec-2016 were categorized according to their CAC score in two groups comprising 242 patients with CACS = 0 and 145 patients with CACS ≥ 300. CAC-CT scans were retrospectively evaluated for subendorcardial and transmural IMFS of the left ventricle. Adipose remodeling, patients' characteristics, cardiovascular risk factors and metabolic profile were compared between groups. RESULTS: Eighty-three (21%) patients with IMFS were identified, 55 (37.9%) in the group CACS ≥ 300 and 28 (11.6%) in the CACS = 0 (OR = 4.67; 95% CI = 2.78-7.84; p \textless 0.001). Total and average surface of IMFS and their number per patient were similar in both groups (p = 0.55; p = 0.29; p = 0.61, respectively). In the group CACS ≥ 300, patients with IMFS were older (p = 0.03) and had longer-lasting diabetes (p = 0.04). Patients with IMFS were older and had longer history of diabetes, reduced glomerular filtration rate, more coronary calcifications (all p \textless 0.05), and higher prevalence of carotid plaques (OR = 3.03; 95% CI = 1.43-6.39, p = 0.004). After correction for other variables, only a CACS ≥ 300 (OR = 5.12; 95% CI = 2.66-9.85; p \textless 0.001) was associated with an increased risk of having IMFS. CONCLUSIONS: In diabetic patients without known CHD, IMFSs were found in patients without coronary calcifications, although not as frequently as in patients with heavily calcified coronary arteries. It remains to be established if this marker translates in an upwards cardiovascular risk restratification especially in diabetic patients with CACS = 0. CLINICAL RELEVANCE STATEMENT: In diabetic patients without history of coronary heart disease, intramyocardial fatty scars, presumably of post-infarction origin, can be detected on coronary artery calcium CT scans more frequently, but not exclusively, if the coronary arteries are heavily calcified as compared to those without calcifications. KEY POINTS: • Intramyocardial fatty scars (IMFS), presumably of post-infarction origin, can be detected on coronary artery calcium (CAC) CT scans more frequently, but not exclusively, in diabetic patients with CACS ≥ 300 as compared to patients CACS = 0. • Patients with IMFS were older and had longer history of diabetes, reduced glomerular filtration rate, and more coronary calcifications. • Carotid plaques and CACS ≥ 300 were associated with an increased risk of having IMFS, about three and five folds respectively

Bicuspid aortic valve annulus: assessment of geometry and size changes during the cardiac cycle as measured with a standardized method to define the annular plane

Purpose: Bicuspid aortic valve (BAV) is a complex malformation affecting not merely the aortic valve. However, little is known regarding the