Overall mortality in combined pulmonary fibrosis and emphysema related to systemic sclerosis

OBJECTIVES: This multicentre study aimed to investigate the overall mortality of combined pulmonary fibrosis and emphysema (CPFE) in systemic sclerosis (SSc) and to compare CPFE-SSc characteristics with those of other SSc subtypes (with interstitial lung disease-ILD, emphysema or neither). METHODS: Chest CTs, anamnestic data, immunological profile and pulmonary function tests of patients with SSc were retrospectively collected. Each chest CT underwent a semiquantitative assessment blindly performed by three radiologists. Patients were clustered in four groups: SSc-CPFE, SSc-ILD, SSc-emphysema and other-SSc (without ILD nor emphysema). The overall mortality of these groups was calculated by Kaplan-Meier method and compared with the stratified log-rank test; Kruskal-Wallis test, t-Student test and χ² test assessed the differences between groups. P<0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: We enrolled 470 patients (1959 patient-year); 15.5 % (73/470) died during the follow-up. Compared with the SSc-ILD and other-SSc, in SSc-CPFE there was a higher prevalence of males, lower anticentromere antibodies prevalence and a more reduced pulmonary function (p<0.05). The Kaplan-Meier survival analysis demonstrates a significantly worse survival in patients with SSc-CPFE (HR vs SSc-ILD, vs SSc-emphysema and vs other-SSc, respectively 1.6 (CI 0.5 to 5.2), 1.6 (CI 0.7 to 3.8) and 2.8 (CI 1.2 to 6.6). CONCLUSIONS: CPFE increases the mortality risk in SSc along with a highly impaired lung function. These findings strengthen the importance to take into account emphysema in patients with SSc with ILD

Heart Rate and GPS data analysis of Kiteboard course racing during the Italian Championship

Background. Despite the growing popularity of kiteboard course racing, there is a paucity of scientific literature about the performance in this sport. Purpose. The aim of the present study was to analyze displacement (speed and direction) and heart rate (HR) data in high-level kiteboarders during competition. Methods. Five kiteboarders, ages 33.8 ± 5.3 years, weight: 80.6 ± 4.8 kg, height: 181.2 ± 7.8 cm, were monitored with a GPS receiver and a HR monitor during four races of the Italian Kiteboarding Championship for a total of 46 regattas. Results. Each regatta lasted 926 ± 175 s and was composed by 11 ± 1 beats. The average sailing speed recorded in competition was 8.9 ± 0.9 m/s. The speed was higher (p < 0.01) in the downwind leg (9.9 ± 1.4 m/s) than in the upwind leg (7.9 ± 0.3 m/s). The orientation of the kiteboard with respect to the wind direction during the upwind sailing phase was 66.4° ± 6.3°, resulting in been wider than in traditional sailing sports. The mean HR was 82.7 ± 0.9 % of HRreserve and 86% ± 1.2 HRmax, showing a relatively high exercise intensity compared to most of other sailing sports. Conclusion. The duration and intensity of a kiteboard racing suggest the need of specific physical training programs for competitive kiteboarders

Mitral Valve Replacement with a Third Generation Porcine Valve: an Italian Multicentered Study

Postoperative outcomes of 3rd generation porcine bioprosthesis for mitral valve replacement (MVR) have been poorly addressed. The objective of this study was to perform an independent, retrospective, multicenter study on outcomes of patients undergoing MVR with Mosaic (Medtronic Inc., Minneapolis, MN) porcine bioposthesis

Overall mortality in combined pulmonary fibrosis and emphysema related to systemic sclerosis

OBJECTIVES: This multicentre study aimed to investigate the overall mortality of combined pulmonary fibrosis and emphysema (CPFE) in systemic sclerosis (SSc) and to compare CPFE-SSc characteristics with those of other SSc subtypes (with interstitial lung disease-ILD, emphysema or neither). METHODS: Chest CTs, anamnestic data, immunological profile and pulmonary function tests of patients with SSc were retrospectively collected. Each chest CT underwent a semiquantitative assessment blindly performed by three radiologists. Patients were clustered in four groups: SSc-CPFE, SSc-ILD, SSc-emphysema and other-SSc (without ILD nor emphysema). The overall mortality of these groups was calculated by Kaplan-Meier method and compared with the stratified log-rank test; Kruskal-Wallis test, t-Student test and χ² test assessed the differences between groups. P<0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: We enrolled 470 patients (1959 patient-year); 15.5 % (73/470) died during the follow-up. Compared with the SSc-ILD and other-SSc, in SSc-CPFE there was a higher prevalence of males, lower anticentromere antibodies prevalence and a more reduced pulmonary function (p<0.05). The Kaplan-Meier survival analysis demonstrates a significantly worse survival in patients with SSc-CPFE (HR vs SSc-ILD, vs SSc-emphysema and vs other-SSc, respectively 1.6 (CI 0.5 to 5.2), 1.6 (CI 0.7 to 3.8) and 2.8 (CI 1.2 to 6.6). CONCLUSIONS: CPFE increases the mortality risk in SSc along with a highly impaired lung function. These findings strengthen the importance to take into account emphysema in patients with SSc with ILD

Cyclic vomiting syndrome in children. a nationwide survey of current practice on behalf of the Italian Society of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition (SIGENP) and Italian Society of Pediatric Neurology (SINP)

Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome (CVS) is a rare functional gastrointestinal disorder, which has a considerable burden on quality of life of both children and their family. Aim of the study was to evaluate the diagnostic modalities and therapeutic approach to CVS among Italian tertiary care centers and the differences according to subspecialties, as well as to explore whether potential predictive factors associated with either a poor outcome or a response to a specific treatment

Additional file 1 of Cyclic vomiting syndrome in children: a nationwide survey of current practice on behalf of the Italian Society of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition (SIGENP) and Italian Society of Pediatric Neurology (SINP)

Additional file 1: Supplementary Table 1. Web-based Questionnaire [original language]

Additional file 8 of Cyclic vomiting syndrome in children: a nationwide survey of current practice on behalf of the Italian Society of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition (SIGENP) and Italian Society of Pediatric Neurology (SINP)

Additional file 8: Supplementary Table 8. Long-term outcomes identified among patients with cyclic vomiting syndrome according to specific outpatient clinic

Additional file 3 of Cyclic vomiting syndrome in children: a nationwide survey of current practice on behalf of the Italian Society of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition (SIGENP) and Italian Society of Pediatric Neurology (SINP)

Additional file 3: Supplementary Table 3. Comorbidities recorded among patients with cyclic vomiting syndrome according to specific outpatient clinic