Isolated Fetal Ascites Secondary to Persistent Urogenital Sinus

Objective. To present a case of isolated ascites secondary due to urogenital abnormalities (urogenital sinus) without any other prenatal ultrasound marker. Method. A 36-year-old woman with prenatal isolated ascites delivered a female baby, weighing 2.285 g; ascites was drained at birth and the baby underwent several episodes of urinary retention prior to undergoing X-ray investigations. Results. A voiding cystourethrogram revealed a short urogenital sinus: a vesicostomy was performed. A vaginoscopy revealed double vagina with a large posterior vagina. A posterior sagittal anorectal pull-through with genitoplasty was performed at 2 years old with 1-year follow-up. Conclusions. Though rare, a urogenital abnormality is to be suspected in fetal ascites cases with negative viral tests and no cardiac anomalies. The most common ultrasound marker of such abnormalities (fluid filled cavity) may be missing because of complete drainage of urine through the tubes into peritoneum

A 20-year study of persistence of lower urinary tract symptoms and urinary incontinence in young women treated in childhood

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether urinary incontinence (UI) and lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) persist over years, patients treated for UI and LUTS in childhood were re-evaluated in adulthood. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Forty-seven women (cases) treated in childhood for daytime UI/LUTS (group A) and nocturnal enuresis (group B) self-completed (average age: 24.89 ± 3.5 years) the International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire for Female with LUTS (ICIQ-FLUTS). ICIQ-FLUTS was self-administered to 111 healthy women (average age: 23 ± 5.1 years) from a nursing school as a control group. Data obtained from ICIQ-FLUTS and quality of life (QoL) score (0-10) were compared (Fisher's exact test) between patients and controls, and between group A (n = 28) and group B (n = 19). RESULTS: Prevalence of LUTS was higher in patients than in controls. The difference between patients and controls was statistically significant (p = 0.0001) for UI (34% vs. 7%) and feeling of incomplete bladder emptying (49% vs. 28%). QoL score was >5 in 59% of patients and 1% of controls (p = 0.0001). No significant differences were found between groups A and B. CONCLUSIONS: UI and LUTS are confirmed in young women who suffered for the same condition in childhood. Longitudinal studies are needed to assess if these symptoms persist or are newly onset

Case Report Isolated Fetal Ascites Secondary to Persistent Urogenital Sinus

Objective. To present a case of isolated ascites secondary due to urogenital abnormalities (urogenital sinus) without any other prenatal ultrasound marker. Method. A 36-year-old woman with prenatal isolated ascites delivered a female baby, weighing 2.285 g; ascites was drained at birth and the baby underwent several episodes of urinary retention prior to undergoing X-ray investigations. Results. A voiding cystourethrogram revealed a short urogenital sinus: a vesicostomy was performed. A vaginoscopy revealed double vagina with a large posterior vagina. A posterior sagittal anorectal pull-through with genitoplasty was performed at 2 years old with 1-year follow-up. Conclusions. Though rare, a urogenital abnormality is to be suspected in fetal ascites cases with negative viral tests and no cardiac anomalies. The most common ultrasound marker of such abnormalities (fluid filled cavity) may be missing because of complete drainage of urine through the tubes into peritoneum

Psychometric properties of the Italian versions of the Gambling Urge Scale (GUS) and the Gambling Refusal Self-Efficacy Questionnaire (GRSEQ)

Gambling urges and gambling refusal self-efficacy beliefs play a major role in the development and maintenance of problem gambling. This study aimed to translate the Gambling Urge Scale (GUS) and the Gambling Refusal Self-Efficacy Questionnaire (GRSEQ) from English to Italian (GUS-I, GRSEQ-I) and to test their factor structure, internal consistency, construct validity, concurrent validity, and gender differences in 513 individuals from the Italian community. Factor structure and construct validity were tested through Confirmatory Factor Analysis, internal consistency through Cronbach’s alpha, concurrent validity through correlations with gambling-related cognitions (GRCS-I), probable pathological gambling (SOGS-I), and gambling functioning (GFA-R-I). Results confirmed that the 6 items of the GUS-I load highly on one dimension of Gambling Urge, and each of the 26 items of the GRSEQ-I load highly on their relevant sub-dimension, among the following: situations/thoughts, drugs, positive emotions, negative emotions. Both scales are internally consistent and show concurrent validity with gambling-related cognitions, probable pathological gambling, and gambling functioning. Males score higher than females at the GUS-I; females score higher than males at the GRSEQ-I. The findings from the present study suggest that the GUS-I and the GRSEQ-I are internally consistent and valid scales for the assessment of gambling urges and gambling refusal self-efficacy in Italian individuals from the community, with significant repercussions in terms of assessment, prevention, and intervention

Enzo Mari and Lea Vergine, intellectuals without doubts - Enzo Mari e Lea Vergine, intellettuali senza remore

Among the many prominent figures of the Italian culture who were victims of the terrible ongoing pandemic, we cannot forget two undisputed protagonists of that «critical and ideological antagonism» that has given so much to the creative universe of design and Italian art criticism of the last fifty years. Enzo Mari and Lea Vergine, a couple in life but not in their professional spheres – her being an art critic, and him being an artist and undisputed master of Italian design –, have in fact left us a few days apart from one another