A case of bilateral extracranial internal carotid artery dissection due to the helmet strap after motorcycle crash

The authors report a case of a man who developed stroke symptoms a few days after a road accident on his motorcycle. Radio-graphic examinations revealed the presence of bilateral dissection of the extracranial internal carotid arteries with signs of involvement of the brain parenchyma. The location, timing, and presentation lead to the conclusion that the carotid lesions were secondary to the motorcycle collision; in particular, we suppose that it is due to the pressure exerted by the helmet strap worn. Although helmets have undoubtedly prevented serious injuries, this report highlights that the helmets themselves may cause injuries, especially to cervical soft tissues and vessels

Predictors of Treatment Failure in HIV-Positive Children Receiving Combination Antiretroviral Therapy: Cohort Data From Mozambique and Uganda

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EARLY METABOLIC RESPONSE IN FOLLICULAR LYMPHOMA: A SUBSET ANALYSIS OF THE FOLL12 TRIAL BY THE FONDAZIONE ITALIANA LINFOMI (FIL)

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The prognostic role of post-induction FDG-PET in patients with follicular lymphoma: a subset analysis from the FOLL05 trial of the Fondazione Italiana Linfomi (FIL)

BACKGROUND: [18F]fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography (PET) is emerging as a strong diagnostic and prognostic tool in follicular lymphoma (FL) patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS: In a subset analysis of the FOLL05 trial (NCT00774826), we investigated the prognostic role of post-induction PET (PI-PET) scan. Patients were eligible to this study if they had a PI-PET scan carried out within 3 months from the end of induction immunochemotherapy. Progression-free survival (PFS) was the primary study end point. RESULTS: A total of 202 patients were eligible and analysed for this study. The median age was 55 years (range 33-75). Overall, PI-PET was defined as positive in 49 (24%) patients. Conventional response assessment with CT scan was substantially modified by PET: 15% (22/145) of patients considered as having a complete response (CR) after CT were considered as having partial response (PR) after PI-PET and 53% (30/57) patients considered as having a PR after CT were considered as a CR after PI-PET. With a median follow-up of 34 months, the 3-year PFS was 66% and 35%, respectively, for patients with negative and positive PI-PET (P<0.001). At multivariate analysis, PI-PET (hazard ratio 2.57, 95% confidence interval 1.52-4.34, P<0.001) was independent of conventional response, FLIPI and treatment arm. Also, the prognostic role of PI-PET was maintained within each FLIPI risk group. CONCLUSIONS: In FL patients, PI-PET substantially modifies response assessment and is strongly predictive for the risk of progression. PET should be considered in further updates of response criteria

Retained sponges in abdomen: An analysis of the judgments of the Italian supreme court

The administration of justice in Italy includes first, second and third instance. The first and second instances are represented by the Court of First Instance and the Court of Appeal: these are judgment of merit. The court of last appeal for both the civil and the criminal jurisdiction is the Court of Cassation, the Italian Supreme Court. It is a court of legitimacy that should provide for a consistent and uniform interpretation of the law and that only on points of law, not on factual evidence. The Court of Cassation can confirm the sentence of second instance, can dismiss it without referral, can deciding and closing the trial definitively, or dismiss it referring the case to the judge of merit that must decide according to the principles set out in the legitimacy. The aim of this study is to analyze the Supreme Cassation Court\u2019s judgments on the legal proceedings about retained sponges in abdomen

Phosphatidylethanol in Maternal or Neonatal Blood to Detect Alcohol Exposure during Pregnancy: A Systematic Review

Background: Alcohol consumption during pregnancy, even at low doses, may damage the fetus. Pregnant women tend to underreport their alcohol consumption generating the need for sensitive and specific biomarkers, among which PEth has emerged due to its high specificity and possibility to be measured in both maternal and neonatal blood. The aim of this study is to systematically review the latest 20 years of literature for depicting the state of the art, the limitations, and the prospects of PEth for estimating alcohol consumption during pregnancy. Materials and methods: A systematic search, adhering to PRISMA guidelines, of the latest 20 years of literature through “MeSH” and “free-text” protocols in the databases PubMed, SCOPUS, and Web of Science, with time limits 1 January 2002–1 March 2022, was performed. The inclusion criteria were as follows: PEth used for detecting alcohol consumption during pregnancy, quantified in blood through liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry, and full texts in the English language. Opinion papers, editorials, and narrative reviews were excluded. Results: Sixteen (16) papers were included in the present review (0.81% of total retrieved records). All the included records were original articles, of which there were seven prospective cohort/longitudinal studies, six cross-sectional studies, two observational-descriptive studies, and one retrospective study. All studies assayed PEth in at least one biological matrix; seven (7) studies quantified PEth in maternal blood, seven studies in newborn blood, and only two studies in both maternal and neonatal blood. In several included papers, PEth proved more sensitive than self-reports for identifying pregnant women with an active alcohol intake with the diagnostic efficiency improving with the increase of the maternal alcohol intake. Conclusions: Further studies, performed on wider and well-stratified populations, are needed to drive any definitive conclusion. PEth is a promising marker for monitoring alcohol use in pregnancy; however, at the present time, its use is still limited mainly by the absence of a globally agreed interpretative cut-off, the paucity of data regarding its specificity/sensitivity, and the lack of standardization on the diagnostic efficiency of the different isoforms

Cytogenetic Analysis of Pediatric Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma

Background Anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL) constitutes approximately 15% of pediatric and 3% of adult non-Hodgkin lymphomas. Most pediatric cases harbor the reciprocal translocation t(2;5)(p23;q35), involving the alk gene. Cytogenetic studies of ALCL have mostly been published as case-reports. The aim of this study was to determine the cytogenetic profiles of a series of pediatric ALCL and to compare them with pediatric and adult ALCL from the literature. Methods Eighteen children treated at our Institution were studied by standard cytogenetic analysis and RT-PCR for the specific t(2;5) translocation product. Comparative analysis was performed on our findings and on the karyotypes of 48 pediatric and 39 adult ALCL reported in the literature. Results Karyotype was obtained in 16/18 ALCL: 9 showed translocation t(2;5) and 1 an alk variant form. Structural and numeric chromosomal abnormalities were identified in both pediatric and adult series. Trisomies were found preferentially in pediatric patients (P\u2009=\u20090.013) and monosomies in adults (P\u2009=\u20090.038). Trisomy 7 was found in 22% (13/59) of pediatric cases with abnormal karyotype and only in 5% (2/38) of adults; monosomy of chromosome 13 in 13% (5/38) of adults and only in 2% (1/59) of pediatric patients and monosomy of chromosome 15 in 16% (6/38) of adults and in none of the pediatric ALCL. Conclusion Our data suggest that pediatric and adult ALCL are characterized by different numerical chromosomal abnormalities. Larger prospective studies may elucidate their potential prognostic impact