Stage 1 Registered Report: Testing mediumship accuracy with a triple-blind protocol

Even if mediumship is a practice that probably originated at the outset of human history and is embedded in many cultural and religious traditions, scientific investigations into mediumship are quite recent. In this study, we aim to investigate if self-defined mediums can retrieve information about specific deceased persons in an unconventional way, that is, without retrieving the information from the parents or friends of the deceased person or by other conventional means. To our knowledge, this is the first registered report related to this phenomenon. Our experimental design will be triple-blinded: the mediums and their interviewer will only know the first name of the deceased person and of the requesting person. The parents or the close friends of the deceased person will not interact in any way with the medium. Furthermore, they will be blind about which of two lists of information (readings) paired with deceased persons of the same gender is related to their parents or friend. Accuracy of information will be analysed by three criteria: (1) percentage of correct identification of the readings related to the requested person; (2) comparison of the global scores (on a scale 1 to 6) assigned to the intended readings with that of control readings; and (3) comparison of the difference between the percentage of correct minus incorrect information identified in the intended readings with that of the control readings

C-Reactive Protein Levels at the Midpregnancy Can Predict Gestational Complications

Although essential for a successful pregnancy, a growing body of evidence suggests that maternal inflammation, when dysregulated, may represent a risk factor for both maternal and neonatal outcomes. Here, we assessed the accuracy of maternal C-reactive protein (CRP) concentrations at the middle phase of pregnancy in the identification of maternal adverse outcomes (MAO) until delivery. A correlation between CRP and a complicated pregnancy including both maternal and neonatal adverse outcomes has been investigated, too. In this retrospective study, conducted at the Diabetology Unit of IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, Genoa (Italy), 380 outpatient pregnant women have been enrolled at the prenatal visit before performing a 75 g oral glucose tolerance test at 24th-26th gestational week for gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) screening. Demographic, medical, and reproductive history has been obtained by verbal interview. Data about pregnancy and delivery have been retrieved from medical records. The median value of maternal baseline serum CRP was 3.25 \u3bcg/mL. Women experiencing MAO were older, more frequently suffering from hypertension, and showed higher CRP concentrations, with a cutoff value >1.86 \u3bcg/mL found by a ROC curve analysis to be accurately predictive for MAO. By a logistic regression analysis, serum CRP levels >1.86 \u3bcg/mL have been found to predict MAO also considering maternal age, hypertension, and GDM. Maternal CRP levels have been positively associated with overall pregnancy adverse outcomes (maternal and neonatal), too. In conclusion, in pregnant women serum levels of CRP can early recognize subjects at higher risk for maternal and neonatal complications needing a more stringent follow-up

Antidiabetic Drug Prescription Pattern in Hospitalized Older Patients with Diabetes

Objective: To describe the prescription pattern of antidiabetic and cardiovascular drugs in a cohort of hospitalized older patients with diabetes. Methods: Patients with diabetes aged 65 years or older hospitalized in internal medicine and/or geriatric wards throughout Italy and enrolled in the REPOSI (REgistro POliterapuie SIMI—Società Italiana di Medicina Interna) registry from 2010 to 2019 and discharged alive were included. Results: Among 1703 patients with diabetes, 1433 (84.2%) were on treatment with at least one antidiabetic drug at hospital admission, mainly prescribed as monotherapy with insulin (28.3%) or metformin (19.2%). The proportion of treated patients decreased at discharge (N = 1309, 76.9%), with a significant reduction over time. Among those prescribed, the proportion of those with insulin alone increased over time (p = 0.0066), while the proportion of those prescribed sulfonylureas decreased (p < 0.0001). Among patients receiving antidiabetic therapy at discharge, 1063 (81.2%) were also prescribed cardiovascular drugs, mainly with an antihypertensive drug alone or in combination (N = 777, 73.1%). Conclusion: The management of older patients with diabetes in a hospital setting is often sub-optimal, as shown by the increasing trend in insulin at discharge, even if an overall improvement has been highlighted by the prevalent decrease in sulfonylureas prescription

The “Diabetes Comorbidome”: A Different Way for Health Professionals to Approach the Comorbidity Burden of Diabetes

(1) Background: The disease burden related to diabetes is increasing greatly, particularly in older subjects. A more comprehensive approach towards the assessment and management of diabetes’ comorbidities is necessary. The aim of this study was to implement our previous data identifying and representing the prevalence of the comorbidities, their association with mortality, and the strength of their relationship in hospitalized elderly patients with diabetes, developing, at the same time, a new graphic representation model of the comorbidome called “Diabetes Comorbidome”. (2) Methods: Data were collected from the RePoSi register. Comorbidities, socio-demographic data, severity and comorbidity indexes (Cumulative Illness rating Scale CIRS-SI and CIRS-CI), and functional status (Barthel Index), were recorded. Mortality rates were assessed in hospital and 3 and 12 months after discharge. (3) Results: Of the 4714 hospitalized elderly patients, 1378 had diabetes. The comorbidities distribution showed that arterial hypertension (57.1%), ischemic heart disease (31.4%), chronic renal failure (28.8%), atrial fibrillation (25.6%), and COPD (22.7%), were the more frequent in subjects with diabetes. The graphic comorbidome showed that the strongest predictors of death at in hospital and at the 3-month follow-up were dementia and cancer. At the 1-year follow-up, cancer was the first comorbidity independently associated with mortality. (4) Conclusions: The “Diabetes Comorbidome” represents the perfect instrument for determining the prevalence of comorbidities and the strength of their relationship with risk of death, as well as the need for an effective treatment for improving clinical outcomes

Clinical features and outcomes of elderly hospitalised patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, heart failure or both

Background and objective: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and heart failure (HF) mutually increase the risk of being present in the same patient, especially if older. Whether or not this coexistence may be associated with a worse prognosis is debated. Therefore, employing data derived from the REPOSI register, we evaluated the clinical features and outcomes in a population of elderly patients admitted to internal medicine wards and having COPD, HF or COPD + HF. Methods: We measured socio-demographic and anthropometric characteristics, severity and prevalence of comorbidities, clinical and laboratory features during hospitalization, mood disorders, functional independence, drug prescriptions and discharge destination. The primary study outcome was the risk of death. Results: We considered 2,343 elderly hospitalized patients (median age 81 years), of whom 1,154 (49%) had COPD, 813 (35%) HF, and 376 (16%) COPD + HF. Patients with COPD + HF had different characteristics than those with COPD or HF, such as a higher prevalence of previous hospitalizations, comorbidities (especially chronic kidney disease), higher respiratory rate at admission and number of prescribed drugs. Patients with COPD + HF (hazard ratio HR 1.74, 95% confidence intervals CI 1.16-2.61) and patients with dementia (HR 1.75, 95% CI 1.06-2.90) had a higher risk of death at one year. The Kaplan-Meier curves showed a higher mortality risk in the group of patients with COPD + HF for all causes (p = 0.010), respiratory causes (p = 0.006), cardiovascular causes (p = 0.046) and respiratory plus cardiovascular causes (p = 0.009). Conclusion: In this real-life cohort of hospitalized elderly patients, the coexistence of COPD and HF significantly worsened prognosis at one year. This finding may help to better define the care needs of this population

Clinical features and outcomes of elderly hospitalised patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, heart failure or both

Background and objective: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and heart failure (HF) mutually increase the risk of being present in the same patient, especially if older. Whether or not this coexistence may be associated with a worse prognosis is debated. Therefore, employing data derived from the REPOSI register, we evaluated the clinical features and outcomes in a population of elderly patients admitted to internal medicine wards and having COPD, HF or COPD + HF. Methods: We measured socio-demographic and anthropometric characteristics, severity and prevalence of comorbidities, clinical and laboratory features during hospitalization, mood disorders, functional independence, drug prescriptions and discharge destination. The primary study outcome was the risk of death. Results: We considered 2,343 elderly hospitalized patients (median age 81 years), of whom 1,154 (49%) had COPD, 813 (35%) HF, and 376 (16%) COPD + HF. Patients with COPD + HF had different characteristics than those with COPD or HF, such as a higher prevalence of previous hospitalizations, comorbidities (especially chronic kidney disease), higher respiratory rate at admission and number of prescribed drugs. Patients with COPD + HF (hazard ratio HR 1.74, 95% confidence intervals CI 1.16-2.61) and patients with dementia (HR 1.75, 95% CI 1.06-2.90) had a higher risk of death at one year. The Kaplan-Meier curves showed a higher mortality risk in the group of patients with COPD + HF for all causes (p = 0.010), respiratory causes (p = 0.006), cardiovascular causes (p = 0.046) and respiratory plus cardiovascular causes (p = 0.009). Conclusion: In this real-life cohort of hospitalized elderly patients, the coexistence of COPD and HF significantly worsened prognosis at one year. This finding may help to better define the care needs of this population

Cinquanta quartine facili. Con note esplicative di Laura Liberale

Contiene cinquanta strofe in sanscrito scritte e tradotte dall'autore. Il volumetto \ue8 accompagnato da note esplicative e quattro componimenti in italiano di Laura Liberale

Stage 2 Registered Report: Testing mediumship accuracy with a triple-blind protocol

In this study, we investigated if self-defined mediums could retrieve information about specific deceased persons in an unconventional way, that is, without retrieving the information from the parents or friends of the deceased person or by other conventional means. To our knowledge, this is the first registered report related to this phenomenon. Our experimental design is triple-blinded: the mediums and their interviewer will only know the first name of the deceased person and the requesting person. The deceased person's parents or close friends will not interact in any way with the medium. Furthermore, they will be blind about which of two lists of information (readings) paired with deceased persons of the same gender is related to their parents or friends. Accuracy of information has been analyzed by three criteria: (1) percentage of correct identification of the readings related to the requested person; (2) comparison of the global scores (on a scale of 1 to 6) assigned to the intended readings with that of control readings; and (3) comparison of the difference between the percentage of correct minus incorrect information identified in the intended readings with that of the control readings. Results: Only criteria 2, was confirmed. This registered report can be an example of how it is possible to study a controversial phenomenon, such as mediumship, with the best methodological scientific tools