Knowledge, attitudes, and behavior concerning dental trauma among parents of children attending primary school

BACKGROUND: Traumatic dental injuries occur frequently in children and adolescents. The purpose of the present study is to examine the levels of knowledge and behaviors regarding dental trauma among parents of children attending primary schools in the Apulia region of Italy. METHODS: The study was carried out using an anonymous questionnaire with closed answers distributed to 2,775 parents who were enrolled based on the entire regional school population. Analyses were conducted using the PROC CORRESP (procedure to perform multiple correspondence analysis) and PROC FASTCLUS (procedure to perform cluster analysis). Statistical significance was set at p-value <0.05. RESULTS: A total 15.5% of the sample reported that their children had experienced dental trauma. Overall, 53.8% of respondents stated that they knew what to do in cases of dental injury. Regarding the time limit within which it is possible to usefully intervene for dental trauma, 56.8% of respondents indicated "within 30 minutes". Of the total sample, 56.5% knew how to preserve a displaced tooth. A total 62.9% of parents felt it was appropriate for their children to use dental guards during sports activities. The multivariate analysis showed that wrong knowledge are distributed among all kinds of subject. Parents with previous experience of dental trauma referred right behaviours, instead weak knowledge and wrong behaviours are associated with parents that easily worried for dental events. CONCLUSIONS: This study showed that most parents reported no experience of dental trauma in their children, and half of them did not know what to do in case of traumatic dental injury and they would intervene within 30 minutes, suggesting that dental trauma may trigger panic. However, they did not have the information needed to best assist the affected child. Motivating parents to assume a preventive approach towards dental trauma may produce positive changes that would result an increase of long-term health benefits among both parents and children

Wastewater surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 variants in October-November 2022 in Italy: detection of XBB.1, BA.2.75 and rapid spread of the BQ.1 lineage

This study adds insight regarding the occurrence and spread of SARS-CoV-2 Variants of Concern (VOCs) and Var-iants of Interest (VOIs) in Italy in October and November 2022, by testing urban wastewater collected through-out the country. A total of 332 wastewater samples were collected from 20 Italian Regions/Autonomous Provinces (APs) within the framework of national SARS-CoV-2 environmental surveillance. Of these, 164 were collected in the first week of October and 168 in the first week of November. A similar to 1600 bp fragment of the spike protein was sequenced by Sanger (for individual samples) and long-read nanopore sequencing (for pooled Region/AP samples).In October, mutations characteristic of Omicron BA.4/BA.5 were detected in the vast majority (91 %) of the samples amplified by Sanger sequencing. A fraction of these sequences (9 %) also displayed the R346T mutation. Despite the low prevalence documented in clinical cases at the time of sampling, amino acid substitutions characteristic of sublineages BQ.1 or BQ.1.1 were detected in 5 % of sequenced samples from four Regions/APs. A significantly higher variability of sequences and variants was documented in November 2022, when the rate of se-quences harbouring mutations of lineages BQ.1 and BQ1.1 increased to 43 %, and the number of Regions/APs positive for the new Omicron subvariant more than tripled (n = 13) compared to October. Moreover, an increase in the number of sequences with the mutation package BA.4/BA.5 + R346T (18 %), as well as the detection of variants never observed before in wastewater in Italy, such as BA.2.75 and XBB.1 (the latter in a Region where no clinical cases asso-ciated with this variant had ever been documented) was recorded.The results suggest that, as predicted by the ECDC, BQ.1/BQ.1.1 is rapidly becoming dominant in late 2022. Environ-mental surveillance proves to be a powerful tool for tracking the spread of SARS-CoV-2 variants/subvariants in the population

A Possible Outbreak by Serratia Marcescens: Genetic Relatedness between Clinical and Environmental Strains

Serratia marcescens (SM) is a Gram-negative bacterium that is frequently found in the environment. Since 1913, when its pathogenicity was first demonstrated, the number of infections caused by SM has increased. There is ample evidence that SM causes nosocomial infections in immunocompromised or critically ill patients admitted to the intensive care units (ICUs), but also in newborns admitted to neonatal ICUs (NICUs). In this study, we evaluated the possible genetic correlation by PFGE between clinical and environmental SM strains from NICU and ICU and compared the genetic profile of clinical strains with strains isolated from patients admitted to other wards of the same hospital. We found distinct clonally related groups of SM strains circulating among different wards of a large university hospital. In particular, the clonal relationship between clinical and environmental strains in NICU and ICU 1 was highlighted. The identification of clonal relationships between clinical and environmental strains in the wards allowed identification of the epidemic and rapid implementation of adequate measures to stop the spread of SM

Indirizzi operativi per la sorveglianza clinica e ambientale della legionellosi nelle strutture sanitarie e assistenziali della Regione Puglia

La prima epidemia di legionellosi, verificatasi nel luglio del 1976 durante l'American Legion Annua/ Convention a Philadelphia, fece registrare oltre 200 casi con 34 decessi. Solo un anno più tardi, nei laboratori dei Centers far Disease Contrai and Prevention (CDC) dì Atlanta , fu isolato e identificato il microrganismo che, in memoria della prima epidemia, fu chiamato Legionella pneumophila. la sorgente dell' infezione fu individuata nell' impianto di aria condizionata presente nell'hotel. La scoperta suscitò un grande interesse, tale da incoraggiare alcuni studiosi ad effettuare indagini sierologiche retrospettive su campioni di siero provenienti da soggetti affetti da polmonite di origine sconosciuta. Fu possibile in tal modo risalire ad altri episodi epidemici, quali gli eventi accaduti nel 1965 tra i pazienti dell'Ospedale Psichiatrico St. Elisabeth di Washington e nel 1968 tra coloro che lavoravano nel Servizio di Sanità Pubblica di Pontiac (in Michigan). In seguito, si verificarono altre epidemie che hanno contribuito ad approfondire le conoscenze scientifiche non solo sull'etiologia, patogenesi, diagnosi e terapia della legionellosi, ma anche sulle caratteristiche biochimiche, morfologiche e immunologiche dell'agente patogeno, compreso il suo habitat natura le. In Italia, il primo focolaio epidemico risale al 1978 sul Lago di Garda ed interessò 10 soggetti. Da allora le segnalazioni di casi, sia sporadici sia epidemici , sono diventate sempre più frequ enti, anche se è difficile stabilire se questo incremento sia dovuto ad un reale aumento dell' incidenza, al perfezionam ento delle tecniche diagnostiche o ad una maggiore att enzione alla diagnosi e segnalazione dei casi. Nel Sud Italia, la Puglia è tra le regioni con il maggior numero di casi di legionellosi notificati [Notiziar io ISS 2017]. I fattori che rendono diff icile il controllo e la gestione del probl ema sono la disomogeneità nelle procedure di campionamento, le difformità negli intervent i di bonif ica, la scarsa esperienza nella gestione del rischio associato alle diverse concentrazioni di Legionella rilevate nelle reti idriche. L'entità del problema, per la sua complessità, richiede sempre piu un'accurata attenzione a causa delle pesanti conseguenze legali e di immagine che possono coinvolgere sia le strutture sanitarie sia quelle turistico-ricettive, pertanto la Giunta regionale ha approvato nel 2012 il documento Indirizzi per l'Adozione di un Sistema per la sorveglianza e il controllo delle infezioni da Legionella in Puglia, con il quale ha istituito un sistema di rete regionale formato da due livelli organizzativi: uno centrale e l'altro periferico [D.G.R. n. 2261/2012] . Il livello organizzativo centrale è rappresentato da un apposito Nucleo di Riferimento Regionale che definisce percorsi comun i e codificati nell'ambito delle attività di prevenzione e controllo della malattia ed esercita funzioni chiave per la governance del sistema . Il mandato strategico è quello di assumere l'impegno di "regolare" la rete, attraverso un ruolo di att ivazione, sviluppo e manutenzione di procedure codificate tra i componenti della rete stessa. Il livello organizzativo periferico , costituito dal Nucleo Operativo Territo riale presso ogni Azienda Sanitaria Locale, è incaricato delle attività in materia di prevenzione e controllo della legionellosi e rappresenta, a livello aziendale, il momento d'incontro e condivisione tra il Dipartimento di Prevenzione, la Direzione Sanitaria, i reparti di ricovero, i laborato ri di analisi aziendali, oltre che di coordinamento e collaborazione con l'Agenzia Regionale per la Prevenzione e la Protezione dell'Ambiente (ARPA) provinciale. I punti deboli di ogni strategia di controllo della legionellosi sono riportabili alla mancanza di una chiara correlazione dose-effetto e di una soglia limi te ben definita , ancora oggi associate all'impossibilità di bonificare il sistema idrico in maniera definitiva. Per ridurre il rischio e il numero dei casi di malattia , il presente documento si propone di pianificare un iter omogeneo di procedure da applicare per il controllo e la prevenzione della legionellosi, ponendosi nella linea della prevenzione primaria piuttosto che in quella dell'intervento al verificarsi dei casi. - Il presente documento è rivolto a tutte le strutture sanitarie e assistenziali della Regione Puglia e fornisce indicazioni su: 1. metodi più appropriati per lo screening e la diagnosi della legionellosi; 2. modalità di campionamento per la ricerca di Legionella negli impianti idrici e aeraulici; 3. sistemi efficaci per la sorveglianza e il controllo delle reti idriche; 4. procedure e mezzi per la bonifica e la ridu zione del rischio; 5. attività di comunicaz ione e formazione degli operatori sanitari e degli addetti al controllo; 6. responsabilità medico-legali connesse al verificarsi di casi di malattia associati alle strutture coinvolte

Benign Ancient Schwannoma of the abdominal wall: An unwanted birthday present

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>There has been a recent growth in the use of whole body Computerised Tomography (CT) scans in the private sector as a screening test for asymptomatic disease. This is despite scant evidence to show any positive effect on morbidity or mortality. There has been concern raised over the possible harms of the test in terms of radiation exposure as well as the risk and anxiety of further investigation and treatment for the large numbers of benign lesions identified.</p> <p>Case Presentation</p> <p>A healthy 64 year old lady received a privately funded whole body CT scan for her birthday which revealed an incidental mass in the right iliac fossa. This was investigated with further imaging and colonoscopy and as confident diagnosis could not be made, eventually excised. Histology demonstrated this to be a benign ancient schwannoma and we believe this to be the first reported case of an abdominal wall schwannoma in the English literature</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Ancient schwannomas are rare tumours of the peripheral nerve sheaths more usually found in the head, neck and flexor surfaces of extremities. They are a subtype of classical schwannomas with a predominance of degenerative changes. Our case highlights the pitfalls of such screening tests in demonstrating benign disease and subjecting patients to what turns out to be unnecessary invasive investigation and treatment. It provides evidence as to the consequences of the large number of false positive results that are created by blind CT scanning of asymptomatic patients i.e. its tendency to detect pseudodiesease rather than affect survival rates. Should the number of scans increase there may be an unnecessary burden on NHS resources due to the large numbers of benign lesions picked up, that are then referred for further investigation.</p

Distal Xq duplication and functional Xq disomy

Distal Xq duplications refer to chromosomal disorders resulting from involvement of the long arm of the X chromosome (Xq). Clinical manifestations widely vary depending on the gender of the patient and on the gene content of the duplicated segment. Prevalence of Xq duplications remains unknown. About 40 cases of Xq28 functional disomy due to cytogenetically visible rearrangements, and about 50 cases of cryptic duplications encompassing the MECP2 gene have been reported. The most frequently reported distal duplications involve the Xq28 segment and yield a recognisable phenotype including distinctive facial features (premature closure of the fontanels or ridged metopic suture, broad face with full cheeks, epicanthal folds, large ears, small and open mouth, ear anomalies, pointed nose, abnormal palate and facial hypotonia), major axial hypotonia, severe developmental delay, severe feeding difficulties, abnormal genitalia and proneness to infections. Xq duplications may be caused either by an intrachromosomal duplication or an unbalanced X/Y or X/autosome translocation. In XY males, structural X disomy always results in functional disomy. In females, failure of X chromosome dosage compensation could result from a variety of mechanisms, including an unfavourable pattern of inactivation, a breakpoint separating an X segment from the X-inactivation centre in cis, or a small ring chromosome. The MECP2 gene in Xq28 is the most important dosage-sensitive gene responsible for the abnormal phenotype in duplications of distal Xq. Diagnosis is based on clinical features and is confirmed by CGH array techniques. Differential diagnoses include Prader-Willi syndrome and Alpha thalassaemia-mental retardation, X linked (ATR-X). The recurrence risk is significant if a structural rearrangement is present in one of the parent, the most frequent situation being that of an intrachromosomal duplication inherited from the mother. Prenatal diagnosis is performed by cytogenetic testing including FISH and/or DNA quantification methods. Management is multi-specialist and only symptomatic, with special attention to prevention of malnutrition and recurrent infections. Educational and rehabilitation support should be offered to all patients

The effect of fluid resuscitation on the effective circulating volume in patients undergoing liver surgery: a post-hoc analysis of a randomized controlled trial

To assess the significance of an analogue of the mean systemic filling pressure (Pmsa) and its derived variables, in providing a physiology based discrimination between responders and non-responders to fluid resuscitation during liver surgery. A post-hoc analysis of data from 30 patients undergoing major hepatic surgery was performed. Patients received 15 ml kg(-1) fluid in 30 min. Fluid responsiveness (FR) was defined as an increase of 20% or greater in cardiac index, measured by FloTrac-Vigileo((R)). Dynamic preload variables (pulse pressure variation and stroke volume variation: PPV, SVV) were recorded additionally. Pvr, the driving pressure for venous return (=Pmsa-central venous pressure) and heart performance (EH; Pvr/Pmsa) were calculated according to standard formula. Pmsa increased following fluid administration in responders (n = 18; from 13 +/- 3 to 17 +/- 4 mmHg, p < 0.01) and in non-responders (n = 12; from 14 +/- 4 to 17 +/- 4 mmHg, p < 0.01). Pvr, which was lower in responders before fluid administration (6 +/- 1 vs. 7 +/- 1 mmHg; p = 0.02), increased after fluid administration only in responders (from 6 +/- 1 to 8 +/- 1 mmHg; p < 0.01). EH only decreased in non-responders (from 0.56 +/- 0.17 to 0.45 +/- 0.12; p < 0.05). The area under the receiver operating characteristics curve of Pvr, PPV and SVV for predicting FR was 0.75, 0.73 and 0.72, respectively. Changes in Pmsa, Pvr and EH reflect changes in effective circulating volume and heart performance following fluid resuscitation, providing a physiologic discrimination between responders and non-responders. Also, Pvr predicts FR equivalently compared to PPV and SVV, and might therefore aid in predicting FR in case dynamic preload variables cannot be used

Legionella spp. contamination in indoor air: preliminary results of an Italian multicenter study

AbstractOBJECTIVE: To propose a standardized protocol for the evaluation of Legionella contamination in air.DESIGN: A bathroom having a Legionella contamination in water >1,000 cfu/l was selected in 10 different healthcare facilities. Air contamination was assessed by active (Surface Air System, SAS) and passive (Index of Microbial Air, IMA) sampling for 8 hours, about 1 m away from the floor and 50 cm from the tap water. Two hundred liters of air were sampled by SAS every 12 min, after flushing water for 2 min. The IMA value was calculated as the mean value of colony forming units/16 plates exposed during sampling (2 plates/hour). Water contamination was evaluated at T0, after 4 and 8 hours, according to the standard methods.RESULTS: Air contamination by Legionella was found in three healthcare facilities (one with active and two with passive sampling), showing a concomitant tap water contamination (median=40,000; range 1,100-43,000 cfu/l). The remaining seven hospitals isolated Legionella spp. exclusively from water samples (median=8,000; range 1,200-70,000 cfu/l).CONCLUSIONS: Our data suggest that environmental Legionella contamination cannot be assessed only through the air sampling, even in the presence of an important water contaminatio