L'Italia come modello per l'Europa e per il mondo nelle politiche sanitarie per il trattamento dell'epatite cronica da HCV

The World Health Organization foresees the elimination of HCV infection by 2030. In light of this and the curre nt, nearly worldwide, restriction in direct-acting agents (DAA) accessibility due to their high price, we aimed to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of two alternative DAA treatment policies: Policy 1 (universal): treat all patients, regardless of the fibrosis stage; Policy 2 (prioritized): treat only priori tized patients and delay treatment of the remaining patients until reaching stage F3. T he model was based on patient’s data from the PITER cohort. We demonstrated that extending HC V treatment of patients in any fibrosis stage improves health outcomes and is cost-effective

Arthrosis and osteoporosis

The relationships between osteoarthritis and osteoporosis are very intriguing and debated. In the Western populations there is evidence of osteoarthritis in about 80% of individual above 70 years of age, while osteoporosis affects one third of postmenopausal women. Studies on bone mineral density measured by absorptiometry in subjects with osteoarthritis have yielded conflicting results. Recently it has been described the presence of remarkable anthropometric differences between women with postmenopausal osteoporosis and women with generalized osteoarthritis. Other authors have also analyzed bone biopsies from the iliac crest showing a significant increase of bone mass in the osteoarthritic subjects. These and other results suggest that caution is needed when interpreting the values of bone mineral density in the lumbar area of patients with osteophytosis, due to the possibillity of false negative results. Data showing a generalized increase in bone mineral density in individuals with osteoarthritis stimulate further research on the hypothesis that primitive osteoarthritis can represent a generalized bone disorde

An Experimental Analysis of Five Household Equipment-Based Methods for Decontamination and Reuse of Surgical Masks

The current coronavirus pandemic has increased worldwide consumption of individual protective devices. Single-use surgical masks are one of the most used devices to prevent the transmission of the COVID-19 virus. Nevertheless, the improper management of such protective equipment threatens our environment with a new form of plastic pollution. With the intention of contributing to a responsible policy of recycling, in the present work, five decontamination methods for used surgical masks that can be easily replicated with common household equipment are described. The decontamination procedures were hot water at 40◦C and 80◦C; autoclave; microwave at 750 W; and ultraviolet germicidal irradiation. After each decontamination procedure, the bacterial load reduction of Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 6538 was recorded to verify the effectiveness of these methods and, moreover, bacterial filtration efficiency and breathability tests were performed to evaluate mask performances. The best results were obtained with the immersion in 80◦C water and the microwave-assisted sterilization. Both methods achieved a high degree of mask decontamination without altering the filtration efficiency and breathability, in accordance with the quality standard. The proposed decontamination methods represent a useful approach to reduce the environmental impact of this new waste material. Moreover, these procedures can be easily reproduced with common household equipment to increase the recycling efforts

RILIEVO DI UN'INCIDENZA ESTREMAMENTE BASSA DI FRATTURE DEL FEMORE PROSSIMALE DA OSTEOPOROSI NELLA POPOLAZIONE DELL'ISOLA DI ISCHIA

We present the raw data from a study done on the incidence of osteoporotic hip fractures on Ischia, an island facing the Bay of Naples. Its 43,975 inhabitants form a well-defined, stable and homogeneous population. Since no air transportation to the mainland is available for residents, acute health care is provided by the sole local hospital. We carried out a discharge data survey by reviewing the hospital medical records from 1980-1989. During that decade, 148 residents (111 women, 37 men) had new hip fractures. The age-sex adjusted incidence for the population aged 50 years or more was 170.3 cases/100,000/year [95% confidence interval (CI) = 144.8-195.9] (women = 241.4 with 95% CI = 211.0-271.9; men = 79.4 with 95% CI = 62.0-96.9). Age-specific rates increased with age and were higher among women only over 60 years old. On the basis of the 1981 census and comparison of age-adjusted rates, we determined that incidence rates of these fractures for men and women on Ischia are among the lowest in the world: Ischian men have a hip fracture incidence second only to that of South African Bantu males. The female/male ratio on the island, one of the highest reported, is 3.05:1. Our data suggest that further studies on Ischia may provide important clues regarding risk and/or protective factors for hip fracture

Alcohol-Based Hand Sanitizers: Does Gelling Agent Really Matter?

Hand hygiene, social distancing, and face covering are considered the first protection against Coronavirus spreading. The high demand during the COVID-19 emergency has driven a frenetic production and marketing of hand sanitizer gels. Nevertheless, the effect of the gelling agent and its amount on the effectiveness of alcohol-based hand sanitizers (ABHSs) needs to be clarified. We presented a systematic study on the effect of the characteristics and concentration of the most employed excipients on the properties and antimicrobial activity of ABHSs. Three different gelling agents, carbopol, hydroxypropylmethylcellulose (HPMC), and hydroxyethylcellulose (HEC), at four different concentrations were used to prepare ABHSs. Viscosity, spreadability, delivery from commercial dispensers, evaporation rate, rubbing time, and hand distribution of the ABHSs were then explored. Biocidal activity of selected ABHSs was evaluated in vitro on ATCC and clinical strains. The studied ABHS can be considered bioactive and comfortable. Nevertheless, the cellulose polymers and ethanol interactions led to a slight but significant reduction in the biocidal activity compared with carbopol-based formulations. Our results underline the importance of the gelling agent properties and support the choice of carbopol as one of the best thickener agents in ABHS formulations