Recent Advances and Patents on Standardized Health Data Managing and Exchange

The computerization of hospital systems has traditionally been incremental in manner, over the years, various computer systems have been linked together. Frequently, however, a hospital utilizes computer systems from multiple vendors. One reason is that various hardware and/or human systems are provided with their own computerized systems (e.g., an image processing workstation can have a specific imaging system). There is a gradual movement to integrate such systems, for example, by setting standards (DICOM, HL7) and by providing integrated systems that simultaneously replace several hospital systems. This review summarizes the available methods for exchanging medical records and surveys a range of patents that describe the latest advancements taking place in this area

A Web interfaced database for biogeographical and ecological analyses

The Maritime Alps were identified by M\ue9dail and Qu\ue9zel as one of the ten maximum biodiversity Mediterranean areas, and following studies have confirmed their significance and major characteristics. This southern parte of the Alpine chain is distributed both on the Italian and French territory. With the development of European community policies the need for sharing knowledge and data is today an important priority for the elaboration of common environmental management strategies. The purpose of this project is to create a database for a georeferenced collection of flora recordings. Such recordings form the basis for a decision support system which settles in an objective way the importance of the relatioships between a particular area and a taxon or a group of taxa. The conceptual model of the database contains both information on the different plants, such as taxonomical and ecological features (habitat, altitudinal belt, soil and moisture requirement, etc.), and data about the territory where they live or not, such as the environmental features of each OGU (bioclimate, glacial events, lithological composition). An interface with Web architecture was developed in order to permit the consultation, modification and update of the database also in long distance collaboration among institutions. Two user typologies have been implemented with distinct access modalities and permissions: administrator and external user. The users throughout a guided procedure may upload some files: taxa description, ecological matrix of the geographical area of interest and matrix based on presence/absence of plants in the grid cells. Such guided procedure will end with the analyses necessary for the identification of the areas of endemism and will supply information about the species and their biogeographical relationships

Una Base di Dati con interfaccia Web per analisi biogeografica ed ecologica: l'esempio delle piante endemiche delle Alpi Marittime italiane

Prime note sulla costituzione di una banca dati di inflormazioni floristiche nelle Alpi Marittime per permettere analisi biogeografich

The immunogenicity and safety of a single 0.5mL dose of virosomal subunit influenza vaccine administered to unprimed children aged ≥6 to <36 months : Data from a randomized, Phase III study

This study evaluated the immunogenicity, safety and tolerability of a single 0.5mL dose of the seasonal virosomal subunit influenza vaccine (Inflexal V, Crucell, Switzerland) in 205 healthy, unprimed children aged at least 6 to <36 months, evaluated at four weeks post-vaccination and seven months from baseline. Of the enrolled children, 102 received one single 0.5mL dose and 103 received the standard two 0.25mL doses given four weeks apart. Both treatments evoked an immune response that satisfied the EMA/CHMP criteria for yearly vaccine licensing for all three vaccine strains. Exploratory analyses revealed no differences between the groups at four weeks post-vaccination. Furthermore, immunogenicity was maintained seven months after the first vaccination after both the 0.5mL and standard two 0.25mL doses. Adverse events were comparable between groups and were as expected according to the safety profile of the vaccine; overall, the vaccine was well tolerated. Our results show that a single 0.5mL dose effectively and safely provided long-term immunogenicity to all three influenza strains in unprimed children aged at least 6 to <36 months

The management of acute venous thromboembolism in clinical practice - study rationale and protocol of the European PREFER in VTE Registry

Background: Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a major health problem, with over one million events every year in Europe. However, there is a paucity of data on the current management in real life, including factors influencing treatment pathways, patient satisfaction, quality of life (QoL), and utilization of health care resources and the corresponding costs. The PREFER in VTE registry has been designed to address this and to understand medical care and needs as well as potential gaps for improvement. Methods/design: The PREFER in VTE registry was a prospective, observational, multicenter study conducted in seven European countries including Austria, France Germany, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, and the UK to assess the characteristics and the management of patients with VTE, the use of health care resources, and to provide data to estimate the costs for 12 months treatment following a first-time and/or recurrent VTE diagnosed in hospitals or specialized or primary care centers. In addition, existing anticoagulant treatment patterns, patient pathways, clinical outcomes, treatment satisfaction, and health related QoL were documented. The centers were chosen to reflect the care environment in which patients with VTE are managed in each of the participating countries. Patients were eligible to be enrolled into the registry if they were at least 18 years old, had a symptomatic, objectively confirmed first time or recurrent acute VTE defined as either distal or proximal deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism or both. After the baseline visit at the time of the acute VTE event, further follow-up documentations occurred at 1, 3, 6 and 12 months. Follow-up data was collected by either routinely scheduled visits or by telephone calls. Results: Overall, 381 centers participated, which enrolled 3,545 patients during an observational period of 1 year. Conclusion: The PREFER in VTE registry will provide valuable insights into the characteristics of patients with VTE and their acute and mid-term management, as well as into drug utilization and the use of health care resources in acute first-time and/or recurrent VTE across Europe in clinical practice. Trial registration: Registered in DRKS register, ID number: DRKS0000479