Real life experience of knowledge, attitudes and acceptance rate of covid-19 and influenza vaccine administration in one of the main vaccination hub of sicilian region at the university hospital of palermo, Italy

Introduction: In temperate countries of the southern hemisphere, influenza surveillance showed an increase in influenza circulation in 2022 season, anticipating a peak of influenza cases in the Northern hemisphere during 2022/2023 season. The Italian Health Ministry strongly recommend coadministration of seasonal influenza vaccines with other vaccines, including bivalent COVID-19 vaccines. The Vaccination HUB of University Hospital (UH) of Palermo, since the beginning of the campaign, administered over 90, 000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines and more than 900 influenza vaccines have been co-administered with COVID-19 vaccines in the 2021/2022 season. Materials and methods Data were collected from October to December 2022 at the Vaccination Hub of UH of Palermo, using a self-administered online questionnaire to subjects afferent to the Center, by Google® Forms platform. The research group had access and recorded all data on a password-protected Excel file (ver. 1997–2003). The questionnaire consisting in 15 items, the informative of the study and the consent form was approved by the Ethic Committee of the Palermo’s UH Results: Overall, 904 subjects answered the questionnaire. 74.5% of the respondents were willing to receive the co-administration with the COVID19 and seasonal influenza vaccines. The main reason reported for accepting the coadministration was confidence in the official recommendations (43.5%) whereas 46.6% were not willing to receive the co-administration for fear of side effects. At the multivariable analysis subject with age ≤59 years (AdJOR: 0.48;CI95%:0.31–0.75) and those who received the two vaccines co-administered during the last season (AdJOR: 87.1;CI95%:61.4–463.8) were significantly associated with coadministration during 2022/2023 season. Conclusion: First data obtained from this study show that those who received COVID19 and seasonal influenza vaccination in the same session also in the 2021/2022 season are willing to receive the co-administration of the two vaccinations again for the current season, arguing for the absolute safety and efficacy of the co-administration

A BRIEF DISSECTION GUIDE TO HUMAN THORAX

The purpose of this technical report is to present that, in summer 2018, a group of students from the University of Palermo did at the University of malta. The students have the experience to dissected a thorax under a guide to expert dissectors. This work would be also a small dissection guide for young students who want to learn the main bases of dissectio

Case series: convalescent plasma therapy for patients with COVID-19 and primary antibody deficiency

Patients with primary antibody deficiency are at risk for severe and in many cases for prolonged COVID-19. Convalescent plasma treatment of immunocompromised individuals could be an option especially in countries with limited access to monoclonal antibody therapies. While studies in immunocompetent COVID19 patients have demonstrated only a limited benefit, evidence for the safety, timing, and effectiveness of this treatment in antibody-deficient patients is lacking. Here, we describe 16 cases with primary antibody deficiency treated with convalescent plasma in four medical centers. In our cohort, treatment was associated with a reduction in viral load and improvement of clinical symptoms, even when applied over a week after onset of infection. There were no relevant side effects besides a short-term fever reaction in one patient. Longitudinal full-genome sequencing revealed the emergence of mutations in the viral genome, potentially conferring an antibody escape in one patient with persistent viral RNA shedding upon plasma treatment. However, he resolved the infection after a second course of plasma treatment. Thus, our data suggest a therapeutic benefit of convalescent plasma treatment in patients with primary antibody deficiency even months after infection. While it appears to be safe, PCR follow-up for SARS-CoV-2 is advisable and early re-treatment might be considered in patients with persistent viral shedding

Long-term proactive management of psoriasis with calcipotriol and betamethasone dipropionate foam: an Italian consensus through a combined nominal group technique and Delphi approach

Background: Although long-term management of psoriasis is paramount, this approach is challenging in clinical practice. In the recent PSO-LONG trial, a fixed-dose combination of betamethasone dipropionate (BD) and calcipotriol (Cal) foam applied twice a week on non-consecutive days for 52 weeks (proactive treatment) reduced the risk of relapse. However, the role of Cal/BD foam in the long-term management of psoriasis needs further clarifications. The ProActive Management (PAM) program, a nationwide Italian project, aims at reaching a consensus on the role of proactive management of psoriasis. Methods: A steering committee generated some statements through the nominal group technique (NGT). The statements were voted by an expert panel in an adapted Delphi voting process. Results: Eighteen statements were proposed, and the majority of them (14/18) reached a consensus during the Delphi voting. The need to provide long-term proactive topical treatment to reduce the risk of relapse for the treatment of challenging diseases sites or in patients where phototherapy or systemic therapies are contraindicated/ineffective was widely recognized. A consensus was reached about the possibility to associate the proactive treatment with systemic and biological therapies, without the need for dose intensification, thus favoring a prolonged remission. Moreover, the proactive treatment was recognized as more effective than weekend therapy in increasing time free from relapses. Approaches to improve adherence, on the other hand, need further investigation. Conclusions: The inclusion in guidelines of a proactive strategy among the effective treatment options will be a fundamental step in the evolution of a mild-moderate psoriasis therapeutic approach

A DISSECTION'S GUIDE TO HUMAN ABDOMINAL CAVITY

The purpose of this article is to show the abdominal cavity's dissection method. In the summer of 2018 a group of students from the University of Palermo, who had already taken the anatomy exam and had good knowledege of English, went for a period of two weeks to do a dissection course at the University of malta. The students dissected skin, subcutaneously, muscle layers, parietal peritoneum and abdominal organs. this works proves to be a small dissection guide for young medical students who want to learn the main bases of dissection and important information for topographical anatomy