22 research outputs found

    Prevalence and characteristics of diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH) in Italy

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    Purpose Diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH) is a benign condition characterized by ossification of the spine and prominent enthesopathies. Highly heterogeneous epidemiological figures have been reported in the literature, while in Italy the largest study has been conducted in 1992. The aim of our research is to contribute updated information about prevalence of DISH in Italy and to describe the clinical and radiographic characteristics associated with the disorder. Material and methods A retrospective review of lumbosacral spine, thoracic spine and pelvis radiographs was performed. Consecutive patients visiting the emergency department of our Institution over 3 years were enrolled. Presence of DISH was evaluated applying the Resnick and Niwayama criteria. Clinical and radiological features were also assessed. Results We included 1012 individuals (60.6% women), and DISH was present in 130 cases. The overall prevalence of DISH was 12.8% (95% CI 10.8-15.1), with higher figures in the male sample (16.8%) than in females (10.3%). In binary logistic regression adjusted for age, BMI (OR 1.50, p < 0.001) diabetes (OR 1.85, p = 0.003), hypertension (OR 2.04, p = 0.007) ischiopubic enthesopathy (OR 7.08, p < 0.001), iliac crest enthesopathy (OR 4.63, p < 0.001) and greater trochanter enthesopathy (OR 3.51, p < 0.001), were significantly associated with the condition. Conclusion The prevalence of DISH observed in our study is consistent with previous literature, and we confirm that the disorder is more frequently retrieved in men and that it is associated with the presence of metabolic disorders and pelvic enthesopathy. Knowledge about the epidemiology and characteristics of DISH is needed to properly identify the condition

    Higher 90-Day Mortality after Surgery for Hip Fractures in Patients with COVID-19: A Case-Control Study from a Single Center in Italy

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    The mortality of hip fracture (HF) patients is increased by concomitant COVID-19; however, evidence is limited to only short follow-up. A retrospective matched case-control study was designed with the aim to report the 90-day mortality and determine the hazard ratio (HR) of concomitant HF and COVID-19 infection. Cases were patients hospitalized for HF and diagnosed with COVID-19. Controls were patients hospitalized for HF not meeting the criteria for COVID-19 diagnosis and were individually matched with each case through a case-control (1:3) matching algorithm. A total of 89 HF patients were treated during the study period, and 14 of them were diagnosed as COVID-19 positive (overall 15.7%). Patients' demographic, clinical, and surgical characteristics were similar between case and control groups. At 90 days after surgery, 5 deaths were registered among the 14 COVID-19 cases (35.7%) and 4 among the 42 HF controls (9.5%). COVID-19-positive cases had a higher risk of mortality at 30 days (HR = 4.51; p = 0.0490) and 90 days (HR = 4.50; p = 0.025) with respect to controls. Patients with concomitant HF and COVID-19 exhibit high perioperative mortality, which reaches a plateau of nearly 30-35% after 30 to 45 days and is stable up to 90 days. The mortality risk is more than four-fold higher in patients with COVID-19

    Seasonality of Back Pain in Italy: An Infodemiology Study

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    Background: E-health tools have been used to assess the temporal variations of different health problems. The aim of our infodemiology study was to investigate the seasonal pattern of search volumes for back pain in Italy. Methods: In Italian, back pain is indicated by the medical word “lombalgia”. Using Google Trends, we selected the three search terms related to “lombalgia” with higher relative search volumes (RSV), (namely, “mal di schiena”, “dolore alla schiena” and “dolore lombare”), representing the semantic preferences of users when performing web queries for back pain in Italy. Wikipedia page view statistics were used to identify the number of visits to the page “lombalgia”. Strength and direction of secular trends were assessed using the Mann–Kendall test. Cosinor analysis was used to evaluate the potential seasonality of back pain-related RSV. Results: We found a significant upward secular trend from 2005 to 2020 for search terms “mal di schiena” (τ = 0.734, p < 0.0001), “dolore alla schiena” (τ = 0.713, p < 0.0001) and “dolore lombare” (τ = 0.628, p < 0.0001). Cosinor analysis on Google Trends RSV showed a significant seasonality for the terms “mal di schiena” (pcos < 0.001), “dolore alla schiena” (pcos < 0.0001), “dolore lombare” (pcos < 0.0001) and “lombalgia” (pcos = 0.017). Cosinor analysis performed on views for the page “lombalgia” in Wikipedia confirmed a significant seasonality (pcos < 0.0001). Both analyses demonstrated a peak of interest in winter months and decrease in spring/summer. Conclusions: Our infodemiology approach revealed significant seasonal fluctuations in search queries for back pain in Italy, with peaking volumes during the coldest months of the year

    Seasonality of Back Pain in Italy: An Infodemiology Study

    No full text
    Background: E-health tools have been used to assess the temporal variations of different health problems. The aim of our infodemiology study was to investigate the seasonal pattern of search volumes for back pain in Italy. Methods: In Italian, back pain is indicated by the medical word "lombalgia". Using Google Trends, we selected the three search terms related to "lombalgia" with higher relative search volumes (RSV), (namely, "mal di schiena", "dolore alla schiena" and "dolore lombare"), representing the semantic preferences of users when performing web queries for back pain in Italy. Wikipedia page view statistics were used to identify the number of visits to the page "lombalgia". Strength and direction of secular trends were assessed using the Mann-Kendall test. Cosinor analysis was used to evaluate the potential seasonality of back pain-related RSV. Results: We found a significant upward secular trend from 2005 to 2020 for search terms "mal di schiena" (\u3c4 = 0.734, p < 0.0001), "dolore alla schiena" (\u3c4 = 0.713, p < 0.0001) and "dolore lombare" (\u3c4 = 0.628, p < 0.0001). Cosinor analysis on Google Trends RSV showed a significant seasonality for the terms "mal di schiena" (pcos < 0.001), "dolore alla schiena" (pcos < 0.0001), "dolore lombare" (pcos < 0.0001) and "lombalgia" (pcos = 0.017). Cosinor analysis performed on views for the page "lombalgia" in Wikipedia confirmed a significant seasonality (pcos < 0.0001). Both analyses demonstrated a peak of interest in winter months and decrease in spring/summer. Conclusions: Our infodemiology approach revealed significant seasonal fluctuations in search queries for back pain in Italy, with peaking volumes during the coldest months of the year
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