Gender medicine: an up-date

Women get sick more, use more health services, take more drugs, and have a higher frequency of serious adverse reactions. Despite this, the drugs we use are little studied in women: both clinical studies and pre-clinical experiments are carried out predominantly in males and the young. Before 1990, no more than 26-30% of women were usually enrolled in a trial, so we lacked the statistical power of showing the efficacy and safety of the drugs being studied in the whole population. The gender blindness (transposition of the male studies in female populations) resulted in a lack of awareness of the differences between males and females, and this prevented both genders from receiving the best possible care. This gender bias also, to a lower degree, hurts men: depression, migraines, osteoporosis have not been studied properly in males. Although the process is slow, the scientific community has begun to pay more attention to direct and indirect influences that gender exercise on biological mechanisms, and this includes both internal and external cultural and environmental factors. Therefore, the differences between the old, the young, children, and pregnant women (considered the third gender group) will become increasingly more important as care becomes more personalized. The first course of gender medicine was established only in 2002 at Columbia University, New York, USA. The World Health Organization has incorporated gender medicine into the Equity Act. This implies that the treatment given must be the most appropriate and best suited the individual patient's gender. The Committee on Women's Health of the Ministry of Health in Italy was established in 2007. Institutions now pay great attention to the importance of this clinical perspective and are sensitive to the need for change. This review focuses on specific open questions regarding gender: pharmacology, clinical trial recruitment, cardiovascular prevention, stroke, osteoporosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, depression, and discusses presentations made to the 1st course of gender medicine organized as part of the 18th National Congress of the Federation of Associations of Hospital Doctors on Internal Medicine (FADOI), 2012

Gender medicine: an up-date

Women get sick more, use more health services, take more drugs, and have a higher frequency of serious adverse reactions. Despite this, the drugs we use are little studied in women: both clinical studies and pre-clinical experiments are carried out predominantly in males and the young. Before 1990, no more than 26-30% of women were usually enrolled in a trial, so we lacked the statistical power of showing the efficacy and safety of the drugs being studied in the whole population. The gender blindness (transposition of the male studies in female populations) resulted in a lack of awareness of the differences between males and females, and this prevented both genders from receiving the best possible care. This gender bias also, to a lower degree, hurts men: depression, migraines, osteoporosis have not been studied properly in males. Although the process is slow, the scientific community has begun to pay more attention to direct and indirect influences that gender exercise on biological mechanisms, and this includes both internal and external cultural and environmental factors. Therefore, the differences between the old, the young, children, and pregnant women (considered the third gender group) will become increasingly more important as care becomes more personalized. The first course of gender medicine was established only in 2002 at Columbia University, New York, USA. The World Health Organization has incorporated gender medicine into the Equity Act. This implies that the treatment given must be the most appropriate and best suited the individual patient’s gender. The Committee on Women’s Health of the Ministry of Health in Italy was established in 2007. Institutions now pay great attention to the importance of this clinical perspective and are sensitive to the need for change. This review focuses on specific open questions regarding gender: pharmacology, clinical trial recruitment, cardiovascular prevention, stroke, osteoporosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, depression, and discusses presentations made to the 1st course of gender medicine organized as part of the 18th National Congress of the Federation of Associations of Hospital Doctors on Internal Medicine (FADOI), 2012

Appropriateness of antiplatelet therapy for primary and secondary cardio- and cerebrovascular prevention in acutely hospitalized older people

Aims: Antiplatelet therapy is recommended for the secondary prevention of cardio- and cerebrovascular disease, but for primary prevention it is advised only in patients at very high risk. With this background, this study aims to assess the appropriateness of antiplatelet therapy in acutely hospitalized older people according to their risk profile. Methods: Data were obtained from the REPOSI register held in Italian and Spanish internal medicine and geriatric wards in 2012 and 2014. Hospitalized patients aged ≥65 assessable at discharge were selected. Appropriateness of the antiplatelet therapy was evaluated according to their primary or secondary cardiovascular prevention profiles. Results: Of 2535 enrolled patients, 2199 were assessable at discharge. Overall 959 (43.6%, 95% CI 41.5–45.7) were prescribed an antiplatelet drug, aspirin being the most frequently chosen. Among patients prescribed for primary prevention, just over half were inappropriately prescribed (52.1%), being mainly overprescribed (155/209 patients, 74.2%). On the other hand, there was also a high rate of inappropriate underprescription in the context of secondary prevention (222/726 patients, 30.6%, 95% CI 27.3–34.0%). Conclusions: This study carried out in acutely hospitalized older people shows a high degree of inappropriate prescription among patients prescribed with antiplatelets for primary prevention, mainly due to overprescription. Further, a large proportion of patients who had had overt cardio- or cerebrovascular disease were underprescribed, in spite of the established benefits of antiplatelet drugs in the context of secondary prevention

Frequency of Left Ventricular Hypertrophy in Non-Valvular Atrial Fibrillation

Left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) is significantly related to adverse clinical outcomes in patients at high risk of cardiovascular events. In patients with atrial fibrillation (AF), data on LVH, that is, prevalence and determinants, are inconsistent mainly because of different definitions and heterogeneity of study populations. We determined echocardiographic-based LVH prevalence and clinical factors independently associated with its development in a prospective cohort of patients with non-valvular (NV) AF. From the "Atrial Fibrillation Registry for Ankle-brachial Index Prevalence Assessment: Collaborative Italian Study" (ARAPACIS) population, 1,184 patients with NVAF (mean age 72 \ub1 11 years; 56% men) with complete data to define LVH were selected. ARAPACIS is a multicenter, observational, prospective, longitudinal on-going study designed to estimate prevalence of peripheral artery disease in patients with NVAF. We found a high prevalence of LVH (52%) in patients with NVAF. Compared to those without LVH, patients with AF with LVH were older and had a higher prevalence of hypertension, diabetes, and previous myocardial infarction (MI). A higher prevalence of ankle-brachial index 640.90 was seen in patients with LVH (22 vs 17%, p = 0.0392). Patients with LVH were at significantly higher thromboembolic risk, with CHA2DS2-VASc 652 seen in 93% of LVH and in 73% of patients without LVH (p <0.05). Women with LVH had a higher prevalence of concentric hypertrophy than men (46% vs 29%, p = 0.0003). Logistic regression analysis demonstrated that female gender (odds ratio [OR] 2.80, p <0.0001), age (OR 1.03 per year, p <0.001), hypertension (OR 2.30, p <0.001), diabetes (OR 1.62, p = 0.004), and previous MI (OR 1.96, p = 0.001) were independently associated with LVH. In conclusion, patients with NVAF have a high prevalence of LVH, which is related to female gender, older age, hypertension, and previous MI. These patients are at high thromboembolic risk and deserve a holistic approach to cardiovascular prevention

Risk factors for three-month mortality after discharge in a cohort of non-oncologic hospitalized elderly patients: Results from the REPOSI study

Background: Short-term prognosis, e.g. mortality at three months, has many important implications in planning the overall management of patients, particularly non-oncologic patients in order to avoid futile practices. The aims of this study were: i) to investigate the risk of three-month mortality after discharge from internal medicine and geriatric wards of non-oncologic patients with at least one of the following conditions: permanent bedridden status during the hospital stay; severely reduced kidney function; hypoalbuminemia; hospital admissions in the previous six months; severe dementia; ii) to establish the absolute risk difference of three-month mortality of bedridden compared to non-bedridden patients. Methods: This prospective cohort study was run in 102 Italian internal medicine and geriatric hospital wards. The sample included all patients with three-months follow-up data. Bedridden condition was defined as the inability to walk or stand upright during the whole hospital stay. The following parameters were also recorded: estimated GFR <= 29 mL/min/1.73 m(2); severe dementia; albuminemia << 2.5 g/dL; hospital admissions in the six months before the index admission. Results: Of 3915 patients eligible for the analysis, three-month follow-up were available for 2058, who were included in the study. Bedridden patients were 112 and the absolute risk difference of mortality at three months was 0.13 (CI 95% 0.08-0.19, p << 0.0001). Logistic regression analysis also adjusted for age, sex, number of drugs and comorbidity index found that bedridden condition (OR 2.10, CI 95% 1.12-3.94), severely reduced kidney function (OR 2.27, CI 95% 1.22-4.21), hospital admission in the previous six months (OR 1.96, CI 95% 1.22-3.14), severe dementia (with total or severe physical dependence) (OR 4.16, CI 95% 2.39-7.25) and hypoalbuminemia (OR 2.47, CI 95% 1.12-5.44) were significantly associated with higher risk of three-month mortality. Conclusions: Bedridden status, severely reduced kidney function, recent hospital admissions, severe dementia and hypoalbuminemia were associated with higher risk of three-month mortality in non-oncologic patients after discharge from internal medicine and geriatric hospital wards

Pattern of in-hospital changes in drug use in the older people from 2010 to 2016

Purpose: To assess the pattern of in-hospital changes in drug use in older patients from 2010 to 2016. Methods: People aged 65 years or more acutely hospitalized in those internal medicine and geriatric wards that did continuously participate to the REgistro POliterapie Società Italiana di Medicina Interna register from 2010 to 2016 were selected. Drugs use were categorized as 0 to 1 drug (very low drug use), 2 to 4 drugs (low drug use), 5 to 9 drugs (polypharmacy), and 10 or more drugs (excessive polypharmacy). To assess whether or not prevalence of patients in relation to drug use distribution changed overtime, adjusted prevalence ratios (PRs) was estimated with log-binomial regression models. Results: Among 2120 patients recruited in 27 wards continuously participating to data collection, 1882 were discharged alive and included in this analysis. The proportion of patients with very low drug use (0-1 drug) at hospital discharge increased overtime, from 2.7% in 2010 to 9.2% in 2016. Results from a log-logistic adjusted model confirmed the increasing PR of these very low drug users overtime (particularly in 2014 vs 2012, PR 1.83 95% CI 1.14-2.95). Moreover, from 2010 to 2016, there was an increasing number of patients who, on polypharmacy at hospital admission, abandoned it at hospital discharge, switching to the very low drug use group. Conclusion: This study shows that in internal medicine and geriatric wards continuously participating to the REgistro POliterapie Società Italiana di Medicina Interna register, the proportion of patients with a very low drug use at hospital discharge increased overtime, thus reducing the therapeutic burden in this at risk population

Adherence to antithrombotic therapy guidelines improves mortality among elderly patients with atrial fibrillation: insights from the REPOSI study

none331noneProietti, Marco; Nobili, Alessandro; Raparelli, Valeria; Napoleone, Laura; Mannucci, Pier Mannuccio; Lip, Gregory Y. H.; Pasina, Luca; Franchi, Carlotta; Marcucci, Maura; Eldin, Tarek Kamal; Di Blanca, Maria Pia Donatella; Perticone, Francesco; Salerno, Francesco; Corrao, Salvatore; Prisco, Domenico; Silvestri, Elena; Cenci, Caterina; Emmi, Giacomo; Biolo, Gianni; Guarnieri, Gianfranco; Zanetti, Michela; Fernandes, Giovanni; Vanoli, Massimo; Grignani, Giulia; Casella, Gianluca; Bernardi, Mauro; Bassi, Silvia Li; Santi, Luca; Zaccherini, Giacomo; Mannarino, Elmo; Lupattelli, Graziana; Bianconi, Vanessa; Paciullo, Francesco; Nuti, Ranuccio; Valenti, Roberto; Ruvio, Martina; Cappelli, Silvia; Palazzuoli, Alberto; Salvatore, Teresa; Sasso, Ferdinando Carlo; Girelli, Domenico; Olivieri, Oliviero; Matteazzi, Thomas; Barbagallo, Mario; Plances, Lidia; Alcamo, Roberta; Licata, Giuseppe; Calvo, Luigi; Valenti, Maria; Zoli, Marco; Arnò, Raffaella; Pasini, Franco Laghi; Capecchi, Pier Leopoldo; Bicchi, Maurizio; Palasciano, Giuseppe; Modeo, Maria Ester; Peragine, Maria; Pappagallo, Fabrizio; Di Gennaro, Carla; Postiglione, Alfredo; Barbella, Maria Rosaria; De Stefano, Francesco; Cappellini, Maria Domenica; Fabio, Giovanna; Seghezzi, Sonia; De Amicis, Margherita Migone; Mari, Daniela; Rossi, Paolo Dionigi; Ottolini, Barbara Brignolo; Pugliese, Stefania; Lenti, Marco Vincenzo; Padula, Donatella; Murialdo, Giovanni; Marra, Alessio; Cattaneo, Federico; Secchi, Maria Beatrice; Ghelfi, Davide; Anastasio, Luigi; Sofia, Lucia; Carbone, Maria; Davì, Giovanni; Guagnano, Maria Teresa; Sestili, Simona; Mancuso, Gerardo; Calipari, Daniela; Bartone, Mosè; Meroni, Maria Rachele; Perin, Paolo Cavallo; Lorenzati, Bartolomeo; Gruden, Gabriella; Bruno, Graziella; Amione, Cristina; Fornengo, Paolo; Tassara, Rodolfo; Melis, Deborah; Rebella, Lara; Pretti, Vincenzo; Masala, Maristella Salvatora; Bolondi, Luigi; Rasciti, Leonardo; Serio, Ilaria; Fanelli, Filippo Rossi; Amoroso, Antonio; Molfino, Alessio; Petrillo, Enrico; Zuccalà, Giuseppe; Franceschi, Francesco; De Marco, Guido; Chiara, Cordischi; Marta, Sabbatini; Romanelli, Giuseppe; Delitala, Giuseppe; Chiesa, Deborah; Picardi, Antonio; Gentilucci, Umberto Vespasiani; Gallo, Paolo; Annoni, Giorgio; Corsi, Maurizio; Zazzetta, Sara; Bellelli, Giuseppe; Arturi, Franco; Succurro, Elena; Rubino, Mariangela; Sesti, Giorgio; Loria, Paola; Becchi, Maria Angela; Martucci, Gianfranco; Fantuzzi, Alessandra; Maurantonio, Mauro; Carta, Stefano; Atzori, Sebastiana; Serra, Maria Grazia; Bleve, Maria Antonietta; Gasbarrone, Laura; Sajeva, Maria Rosaria; Brucato, Antonio; Ghidoni, Silvia; Di Corato, Paola; Agnelli, Giancarlo; Marchesini, Emanuela; Fabris, Fabrizio; Carlon, Michela; Baritusso, Aldo; Manfredini, Roberto; Molino, Christian; Pala, Marco; Fabbian, Fabio; Boari, Benedetta; De Giorgi, Alfredo; Paolisso, Giuseppe; Rizzo, Maria Rosaria; Laieta, Maria Teresa; Rini, Giovanbattista; Mansueto, Pasquale; Pepe, Ilenia; Borghi, Claudio; Strocchi, Enrico; De Sando, Valeria; Sabbà, Carlo; Vella, Francesco Saverio; Suppressa, Patrizia; Valerio, Raffaella; Capobianco, Caterina; Fenoglio, Luigi; Bracco, Christian; Giraudo, Alessia Valentina; Testa, Elisa; Serraino, Cristina; Fargion, Silvia; Bonara, Paola; Periti, Giulia; Porzio, Marianna; Peyvandi, Flora; Tedeschi, Alberto; Rossio, Raffaella; Monzani, Valter; Savojardo, Valeria; Folli, Christian; Magnini, Maria; Gobbo, Giulia; Balduini, Carlo L.; Bertolino, Giampiera; Provini, Stella; Quaglia, Federica; Dallegri, Franco; Ottonello, Luciano; Liberale, Luca; Chin, Wu Sheng; Carassale, Laura; Caporotundo, Silvia; Traisci, Giancarlo; De Feudis, Lucrezia; Di Carlo, Silvia; Liberato, Nicola Lucio; Buratti, Alberto; Tognin, Tiziana; Bianchi, Giovanni Battista; Giaquinto, Sabrina; Purrello, Francesco; Di Pino, Antonino; Piro, Salvatore; Rozzini, Renzo; Falanga, Lina; Montrucchio, Giuseppe; Greco, Elisabetta; Tizzani, Pietro; Petitti, Paolo; Perciccante, Antonio; Coralli, Alessia; Salmi, Raffaella; Gaudenzi, Piergiorgio; Gamberini, Susanna; Semplicini, Andrea; Gottardo, Lucia; Vendemiale, Gianluigi; Serviddio, Gaetano; Forlano, Roberta; Masala, Cesare; Mammarella, Antonio; Basili, Stefania; Perri, Ludovica; Landolfi, Raffaele; Montalto, Massimo; Mirijello, Antonio; Vallone, Carla; Bellusci, Martino; Setti, Donatella; Pedrazzoli, Filippo; Guasti, Luigina; Castiglioni, Luana; Maresca, Andrea; Squizzato, Alessandro; Molaro, Marta; Bertolotti, Marco; Mussi, Chiara; Libbra, Maria Vittoria; Miceli, Andrea; Pellegrini, Elisa; Carulli, Lucia; Sciacqua, Angela; Quero, Michele; Bagnato, Chiara; Corinaldesi, Roberto; De Giorgio, Roberto; Serra, Mauro; Grasso, Valentina; Ruggeri, Eugenio; Salvi, Andrea; Leonardi, Roberto; Grassini, Chiara; Mascherona, Ilenia; Minelli, Giorgio; Maltese, Francesca; Gabrielli, Armando; Mattioli, Massimo; Capeci, William; Martino, Giuseppe Pio; Messina, Silvia; Ghio, Riccardi; Favorini, Serena; Col, Anna Dal; Minisola, Salvatore; Colangelo, Luciano; Afeltra, Antonella; Alemanno, Pamela; Marigliano, Benedetta; Castellino, Pietro; Blanco, Julien; Zanoli, Luca; Cattaneo, Marco; Fracasso, Paola; Amoruso, Maria Valentina; Saracco, Valter; Fogliati, Marisa; Bussolino, Carlo; Durante, Vittorio; Eusebi, Giovanna; Tirotta, Daniela; Mete, Francesca; Gino, Miriam; Cittadini, Antonio; Arcopinto, Michele; Salzano, Andrea; Bobbio, Emanuele; Marra, Alberto Maria; Sirico, Domenico; Moreo, Guido; Scopelliti, Francesco; Gasparini, Francesca; Cocca, Melissa; Nieves, Ramirez Duque; Alberto, Muela Molinero; Pedro, Abad Requejo; Vanessa, Lopez Pelaez; Lara, Tamargo; Xavier, Corbella Viros; Francesc, Formiga; Jesus, Diez Manglano; Esperanza, Bejarano Tello; Behamonte Esther, Del Corral; Maria, Sevil Puras; Romero, Manuel; Blanca, Pinilla Llorente; Cristina, Lopez Gonzalez-Cobos; Victoria, Villalba Garcia M.; Saez, Lopez; Bosco, Juan; Susana, Sanz Baena; Marta, Arroyo Gallego; Concepcion, Gonzalez Becerra; Antonio, Fernandez Moyano; Hernandez, Mercedes Gomez; Borrego, Manuel Poyato; Raquel, Pacheco Cuadros; Florencia, Perez Rojas; Beatriz, Garcia Olid; Sara, Carrascosa Garcia; Cervellera Alfonso, Gonzalez-Cruz; Marta, Peinado Martinez; Alberto, Ruiz Cantero; Antonio, Albarracín Arraigosa; Montserrat, Godoy Guerrero; Miguel Ángel, Barón Ramos; Manuel, Machin Jose; Ignacio, Novo Veleiro; Lucía, Alvela Suarez; Alfonso, Lopez; David, Rubal Bran; Iria, Iñiguez Vazquez; Monica, Rios Prego; On behalf of REPOSI investigators, nullProietti, Marco; Nobili, Alessandro; Raparelli, Valeria; Napoleone, Laura; Mannucci, Pier Mannuccio; Lip, Gregory Y. H.; Pasina, Luca; Franchi, Carlotta; Marcucci, Maura; Eldin, Tarek Kamal; Di Blanca, Maria Pia Donatella; Perticone, Francesco; Salerno, Francesco; Corrao, Salvatore; Prisco, Domenico; Silvestri, Elena; Cenci, Caterina; Emmi, Giacomo; Biolo, Gianni; Guarnieri, Gianfranco; Zanetti, Michela; Fernandes, Giovanni; Vanoli, Massimo; Grignani, Giulia; Casella, Gianluca; Bernardi, Mauro; Bassi, Silvia Li; Santi, Luca; Zaccherini, Giacomo; Mannarino, Elmo; Lupattelli, Graziana; Bianconi, Vanessa; Paciullo, Francesco; Nuti, Ranuccio; Valenti, Roberto; Ruvio, Martina; Cappelli, Silvia; Palazzuoli, Alberto; Salvatore, Teresa; Sasso, Ferdinando Carlo; Girelli, Domenico; Olivieri, Oliviero; Matteazzi, Thomas; Barbagallo, Mario; Plances, Lidia; Alcamo, Roberta; Licata, Giuseppe; Calvo, Luigi; Valenti, Maria; Zoli, Marco; Arnò, Raffaella; Pasini, Franco Laghi; Capecchi, Pier Leopoldo; Bicchi, Maurizio; Palasciano, Giuseppe; Modeo, Maria Ester; Peragine, Maria; Pappagallo, Fabrizio; Di Gennaro, Carla; Postiglione, Alfredo; Barbella, Maria Rosaria; De Stefano, Francesco; Cappellini, Maria Domenica; Fabio, Giovanna; Seghezzi, Sonia; De Amicis, Margherita Migone; Mari, Daniela; Rossi, Paolo Dionigi; Ottolini, Barbara Brignolo; Pugliese, Stefania; Lenti, Marco Vincenzo; Padula, Donatella; Murialdo, Giovanni; Marra, Alessio; Cattaneo, Federico; Secchi, Maria Beatrice; Ghelfi, Davide; Anastasio, Luigi; Sofia, Lucia; Carbone, Maria; Davì, Giovanni; Guagnano, Maria Teresa; Sestili, Simona; Mancuso, Gerardo; Calipari, Daniela; Bartone, Mosè; Meroni, Maria Rachele; Perin, Paolo Cavallo; Lorenzati, Bartolomeo; Gruden, Gabriella; Bruno, Graziella; Amione, Cristina; Fornengo, Paolo; Tassara, Rodolfo; Melis, Deborah; Rebella, Lara; Pretti, Vincenzo; Masala, Maristella Salvatora; Bolondi, Luigi; Rasciti, Leonardo; Serio, Ilaria; Fanelli, Filippo Rossi; Amoroso, Antonio; Molfino, Alessio; Petrillo, Enrico; Zuccalà, Giuseppe; Franceschi, Francesco; De Marco, Guido; Chiara, Cordischi; Marta, Sabbatini; Romanelli, Giuseppe; Delitala, Giuseppe; Chiesa, Deborah; Picardi, Antonio; Gentilucci, Umberto Vespasiani; Gallo, Paolo; Annoni, Giorgio; Corsi, Maurizio; Zazzetta, Sara; Bellelli, Giuseppe; Arturi, Franco; Succurro, Elena; Rubino, Mariangela; Sesti, Giorgio; Loria, Paola; Becchi, Maria Angela; Martucci, Gianfranco; Fantuzzi, Alessandra; Maurantonio, Mauro; Carta, Stefano; Atzori, Sebastiana; Serra, Maria Grazia; Bleve, Maria Antonietta; Gasbarrone, Laura; Sajeva, Maria Rosaria; Brucato, Antonio; Ghidoni, Silvia; Di Corato, Paola; Agnelli, Giancarlo; Marchesini, Emanuela; Fabris, Fabrizio; Carlon, Michela; Baritusso, Aldo; Manfredini, Roberto; Molino, Christian; Pala, Marco; Fabbian, Fabio; Boari, Benedetta; De Giorgi, Alfredo; Paolisso, Giuseppe; Rizzo, Maria Rosaria; Laieta, Maria Teresa; Rini, Giovanbattista; Mansueto, Pasquale; Pepe, Ilenia; Borghi, Claudio; Strocchi, Enrico; De Sando, Valeria; Sabbà, Carlo; Vella, Francesco Saverio; Suppressa, Patrizia; Valerio, Raffaella; Capobianco, Caterina; Fenoglio, Luigi; Bracco, Christian; Giraudo, Alessia Valentina; Testa, Elisa; Serraino, Cristina; Fargion, Silvia; Bonara, Paola; Periti, Giulia; Porzio, Marianna; Peyvandi, Flora; Tedeschi, Alberto; Rossio, Raffaella; Monzani, Valter; Savojardo, Valeria; Folli, Christian; Magnini, Maria; Gobbo, Giulia; Balduini, Carlo L.; Bertolino, Giampiera; Provini, Stella; Quaglia, Federica; Dallegri, Franco; Ottonello, Luciano; Liberale, Luca; Chin, Wu Sheng; Carassale, Laura; Caporotundo, Silvia; Traisci, Giancarlo; De Feudis, Lucrezia; Di Carlo, Silvia; Liberato, Nicola Lucio; Buratti, Alberto; Tognin, Tiziana; Bianchi, Giovanni Battista; Giaquinto, Sabrina; Purrello, Francesco; Di Pino, Antonino; Piro, Salvatore; Rozzini, Renzo; Falanga, Lina; Montrucchio, Giuseppe; Greco, Elisabetta; Tizzani, Pietro; Petitti, Paolo; Perciccante, Antonio; Coralli, Alessia; Salmi, Raffaella; Gaudenzi, Piergiorgio; Gamberini, Susanna; Semplicini, Andrea; Gottardo, Lucia; Vendemiale, Gianluigi; Serviddio, Gaetano; Forlano, Roberta; Masala, Cesare; Mammarella, Antonio; Basili, Stefania; Perri, Ludovica; Landolfi, Raffaele; Montalto, Massimo; Mirijello, Antonio; Vallone, Carla; Bellusci, Martino; Setti, Donatella; Pedrazzoli, Filippo; Guasti, Luigina; Castiglioni, Luana; Maresca, Andrea; Squizzato, Alessandro; Molaro, Marta; Bertolotti, Marco; Mussi, Chiara; Libbra, Maria Vittoria; Miceli, Andrea; Pellegrini, Elisa; Carulli, Lucia; Sciacqua, Angela; Quero, Michele; Bagnato, Chiara; Corinaldesi, Roberto; De Giorgio, Roberto; Serra, Mauro; Grasso, Valentina; Ruggeri, Eugenio; Salvi, Andrea; Leonardi, Roberto; Grassini, Chiara; Mascherona, Ilenia; Minelli, Giorgio; Maltese, Francesca; Gabrielli, Armando; Mattioli, Massimo; Capeci, William; Martino, Giuseppe Pio; Messina, Silvia; Ghio, Riccardi; Favorini, Serena; Col, Anna Dal; Minisola, Salvatore; Colangelo, Luciano; Afeltra, Antonella; Alemanno, Pamela; Marigliano, Benedetta; Castellino, Pietro; Blanco, Julien; Zanoli, Luca; Cattaneo, Marco; Fracasso, Paola; Amoruso, Maria Valentina; Saracco, Valter; Fogliati, Marisa; Bussolino, Carlo; Durante, Vittorio; Eusebi, Giovanna; Tirotta, Daniela; Mete, Francesca; Gino, Miriam; Cittadini, Antonio; Arcopinto, Michele; Salzano, Andrea; Bobbio, Emanuele; Marra, Alberto Maria; Sirico, Domenico; Moreo, Guido; Scopelliti, Francesco; Gasparini, Francesca; Cocca, Melissa; Nieves, Ramirez Duque; Alberto, Muela Molinero; Pedro, Abad Requejo; Vanessa, Lopez Pelaez; Lara, Tamargo; Xavier, Corbella Viros; Francesc, Formiga; Jesus, Diez Manglano; Esperanza, Bejarano Tello; Behamonte Esther, Del Corral; Maria, Sevil Puras; Romero, Manuel; Blanca, Pinilla Llorente; Cristina, Lopez Gonzalez-Cobos; Victoria, Villalba Garcia M.; Saez, Lopez; Bosco, Juan; Susana, Sanz Baena; Marta, Arroyo Gallego; Concepcion, Gonzalez Becerra; Antonio, Fernandez Moyano; Hernandez, Mercedes Gomez; Borrego, Manuel Poyato; Raquel, Pacheco Cuadros; Florencia, Perez Rojas; Beatriz, Garcia Olid; Sara, Carrascosa Garcia; Cervellera Alfonso, Gonzalez-Cruz; Marta, Peinado Martinez; Alberto, Ruiz Cantero; Antonio, Albarracín Arraigosa; Montserrat, Godoy Guerrero; Miguel Ángel, Barón Ramos; Manuel, Machin Jose; Ignacio, Novo Veleiro; Lucía, Alvela Suarez; Alfonso, Lopez; David, Rubal Bran; Iria, Iñiguez Vazquez; Monica, Rios Prego; On behalf of REPOSI investigators, Nul

Adherence to antibiotic treatment guidelines and outcomes in the hospitalized elderly with different types of pneumonia

Background: Few studies evaluated the clinical outcomes of Community Acquired Pneumonia (CAP), Hospital-Acquired Pneumonia (HAP) and Health Care-Associated Pneumonia (HCAP) in relation to the adherence of antibiotic treatment to the guidelines of the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) and the American Thoracic Society (ATS) in hospitalized elderly people (65 years or older). Methods: Data were obtained from REPOSI, a prospective registry held in 87 Italian internal medicine and geriatric wards. Patients with a diagnosis of pneumonia (ICD-9 480-487) or prescribed with an antibiotic for pneumonia as indication were selected. The empirical antibiotic regimen was defined to be adherent to guidelines if concordant with the treatment regimens recommended by IDSA/ATS for CAP, HAP, and HCAP. Outcomes were assessed by logistic regression models. Results: A diagnosis of pneumonia was made in 317 patients. Only 38.8% of them received an empirical antibiotic regimen that was adherent to guidelines. However, no significant association was found between adherence to guidelines and outcomes. Having HAP, older age, and higher CIRS severity index were the main factors associated with in-hospital mortality. Conclusions: The adherence to antibiotic treatment guidelines was poor, particularly for HAP and HCAP, suggesting the need for more adherence to the optimal management of antibiotics in the elderly with pneumonia

Multimorbidity and polypharmacy in the elderly: Lessons from REPOSI

The dramatic demographic changes that are occurring in the third millennium are modifying the mission of generalist professionals such as primary care physicians and internists. Multiple chronic diseases and the related prescription of multiple medications are becoming typical problems and present many challenges. Unfortunately, the available evidence regarding the efficacy of medications has been generated by clinical trials involving patients completely different from those currently admitted to internal medicine: much younger, affected by a single disease and managed in a highly controlled research environment. Because only registries can provide information on drug effectiveness in real-life conditions, REPOSI started in 2008 with the goal of acquiring data on elderly people acutely admitted to medical or geriatric hospital wards in Italy. The main goals of the registry were to evaluate drug prescription appropriateness, the relationship between multimorbidity/polypharmacy and such cogent outcomes as hospital mortality and re-hospitalization, and the identification of disease clusters that most often concomitantly occur in the elderly. The findings of 3-yearly REPOSI runs (2008, 2010, 2012) suggest the following pertinent tasks for the internist in order to optimally handle their elderly patients: the management of multiple medications, the need to become acquainted with geriatric multidimensional tools, the promotion and implementation of a multidisciplinary team approach to patient health and care and the corresponding involvement of patients and their relatives and caregivers. There is also a need for more research, tailored to the peculiar features of the multimorbid elderly patient

Prognostic value of degree and types of anaemia on clinical outcomes for hospitalised older patients

Study objective This study investigated in a large sample of in-patients the impact of mild-moderate-severe anaemia on clinical outcomes such as in-hospital mortality, re-admission, and death within three months after discharge. Methods A prospective multicentre observational study, involving older people admitted to 87 internal medicine and geriatric wards, was done in Italy between 2010 and 2012. The main clinical/laboratory data were obtained on admission and discharge. Based on haemoglobin (Hb), subjects were classified in three groups: group 1 with normal Hb, (reference group), group 2 with mildly reduced Hb (10.0–11.9 g/dL in women; 10.0–12.9 g/dL in men) and group 3 with moderately-severely reduced Hb (<10 g/dL in women and men). Results Patients (2678; mean age 79.2 ± 7.4 y) with anaemia (54.7%) were older, with greater functional impairment and more comorbidity. Multivariable analysis showed that mild but not moderate-severe anaemia was associated with a higher risk of hospital re-admission within three months (group 2: OR = 1.62; 95%CI 1.21–2.17). Anaemia failed to predict in-hospital mortality, while a higher risk of dying within three months was associated with the degree of Hb reduction on admission (group 2: OR = 1.82;95%CI 1.25–2.67; group 3: OR = 2.78;95%CI 1.82–4.26) and discharge (group 2: OR = 2.37;95%CI 1.48–3.93; group 3: OR = 3.70;95%CI 2.14–6.52). Normocytic and macrocytic, but not microcytic anaemia, were associated with adverse clinical outcomes. Conclusions Mild anaemia predicted hospital re-admission of older in-patients, while three-month mortality risk increased proportionally with anaemia severity. Type and severity of anaemia affected hospital re-admission and mortality, the worst prognosis being associated with normocytic and macrocytic anaemia