Treatment of human brucellosis with rifampin plus minocycline

In order to evaluate the efficacy and tolerability of a high intravenous dose of rifampin plus oral minocycline (administered daily for 3 weeks) for the treatment of acute brucellosis, we retrospectively reviewed the outcome of 239 consecutive patients (135 adults and 104 children) diagnosed and treated over a 17-year period in Italy. The combination used resulted in 100% response and a relapse rate lower than 2%. Fifty-two (30 adults and 22 children) (29.8%) complained of mild adverse effects including an increase in aspartate aminotransferase (>250 IU) observed in 12 cases and considered related to rifampin and in 11 cases a reversible hyperpigmentation of the tongue attributed to minocycline. A randomized prospective comparative study should be performed to confirm our encouraging result

Chest ultrasound in italian geriatric wards: Use, applications and clinicians’ attitudes

Background and aims. Bedside chest ultrasound has emerged as a versatile and accurate diagnostic tool for the management of respiratory conditions in several clinical settings, integrating traditional imaging. The current utilization of this technique in geriatric hospital wards is still unknown. Our aim was to assess availability, uses and applications of chest ultrasonography in a convenience sample of 25 Italian geriatric wards. Methods. A questionnaire, based on the current literature state-of-the-art, was e-mailed to head doctors of geriatric wards of Italian hospitals. The questionnaire explored ultrasound equipment availability, practice of chest ultrasound, expertise of ward physicians, clinical indications, and perceived impact on patient care. Results. Ultrasound equipment was available in 92% of wards, and chest ultrasound was performed in 82% of cases. Among the wards where chest ultrasound was performed, it was considered as routine assessment in only 52% of cases, mainly for diagnosis of pleural effusions (95%) and acute heart failure (89%), assessment of volemic state (79%), and assistance to invasive procedures (79%). It was used in emergency/ urgency assessment of acute dyspnea in only 53% of cases. In most wards, only three or less physicians were able to perform chest ultrasound. In 53% of cases, head doctors declared that they perceived benefits of chest ultrasound in patient care in only selected cases. Conclusions. Chest ultrasound utilization in Italian geriatric wards is inhomogeneous, and the number of trained physicians is still limited. Geriatricians’ attitude towards chest ultrasound is generally cautious. Research and training programs are needed to spread the correct use of this technique in geriatric practice

Relationship between bone cross-sectional area and indices of peripheral artery disease

Most studies on the relationship between bone mineral density and atherosclerosis have used dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, but this method is relatively insensitive to bone geometry. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between bone area and indices of carotid and peripheral atherosclerosis. We studied 841 persons aged 65 years or older (women = 444, mean age 73.8 years; men = 397, mean age = 75.3 years) enrolled in the InCHIANTI study and free from active malignancies, chronic use of bisphosphonates or steroids, and estrogen replacement therapy. The tibial cortical and total cross-sectional area (CSA) were measured by peripheral quantitative computed tomography and their ratio was calculated (cortical/total cross-sectional area ratio, cCSA/tCSA); carotid plaques were screened by echography, and peripheral artery disease (PAD) was defined as an ankle/brachial index <0.9 or presence of intermittent claudication. No association between cCSA/tCSA and atherosclerosis was observed in men. In women, lower cCSA/tCSA was associated with both carotid plaques [odds ratio (OR) for lowest vs. best quartile = 2.09, 95 % confidence interval (CI) 1.2-3.68] and PAD (OR = 3.43, 95 % CI 1.58-8.12). After correction for potential confounders (age since menopause, body mass index, Parathyroid hormone, vitamin D, leptin, DHEA-S, testosterone, physical activity, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and reduced renal function), the association was not confirmed. According to partial logistic regression, the carotid plaque-cCSA/tCSA association, but not the PAD-cCSA/tCSA association, was mostly dependent on years since menopause. In women the association between osteoporosis and carotid plaques likely reflects hormonal deprivation, whereas that between osteoporosis and PAD seems multifactorial in origin. © 2013 Springer Science+Business Media New York

Ultrasound Evaluation of Diaphragmatic Mobility and Contractility After Osteopathic Manipulative Techniques in Healthy Volunteers : A Prospective, Randomized, Double-Blinded Clinical Trial

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of a session of osteopathic manipulative techniques on diaphragmatic motion and thickness in healthy participants. Methods: This was a prospective, randomized, double-blinded, case vs sham vs control clinical trial performed in an outpatient osteopathic clinic in Rome, Italy. Sixty-seven healthy participants, mean age 40.4 \ub1 14.5 years, received an ultrasound evaluation of diaphragmatic motion and thickness, followed by a systematic osteopathic evaluation. After randomization, the experimental group (n = 22) received osteopathic manipulation, whereas the sham (n = 22) and the control (n = 22) groups had a light touch approach and simple observation, respectively. After a 1-session intervention, new osteopathic and ultrasound assessments were repeated in all participants. Results: A statistically significant increase in diaphragmatic mobility was observed in the experimental group after the osteopathic manipulation (\u394 = 14.5 mm, P < .001; analysis of variance P < .001 vs both sham: \u394 = -0.22 mm, and control: \u394 = -2.09 mm groups). A strong linear relationship was observed between the diaphragmatic motion gradient, measured with ultrasonography, and the score assigned by the operator evaluating the change of diaphragm mobility after intervention. Conclusion: Osteopathic techniques used in this study improved the diaphragmatic motion (but not the muscle thickness) in healthy participants. Further studies are needed to confirm our findings and eventually identify the clinical conditions that may benefit from osteopathic manipulative treatment of the diaphragm

Human toxocariasis: a report of nine cases

Aim: Human toxocariasis is caused by infection with the larval stage of nematode parasites of dogs and cats, Toxocara canis or Toxocara cati. These helminths are not able to complete their life cycle in undefinitive hosts and so undergo aberrant migrations in the tissues causing a wide spectrum of signs and symptoms. Eosinophilia is often severe and sometimes represents the only sign of infection, except in ocular and neurological forms. Methods: We describe the clinical features of nine children affected by toxocariasis admitted to our Infectious Diseases department from 2004 to 2006. Results: Fever and hepatomegaly were the most common clinical findings. In two cases eosinophilia was not present. Diagnosis was performed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay employing excretory–secretory antigens of Toxocara. canis larvae. All patients were successfully treated with oral albendazole with no side effects

Integral Field Spectroscopy of 23 Spiral Bulges

We have obtained Integral Field Spectroscopy for 23 spiral bulges using INTEGRAL on the William Herschel Telescope and SPIRAL on the Anglo-Australian Telescope. This is the first 2D survey directed solely at the bulges of spiral galaxies. Eleven galaxies of the sample do not have previous measurements of the stellar velocity dispersion (sigma*). These data are designed to complement our Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph program for estimating black hole masses in the range 10^6-10^8M_sun using gas kinematics from nucleated disks. These observations will serve to derive the stellar dynamical bulge properties using the traditional Mgb and CaII triplets. We use both Cross Correlation and Maximum Penalized Likelihood to determine projected sigma* in these systems and present radial velocity fields, major axis rotation curves, curves of growth and sigma* fields. Using the Cross Correlation to extract the low order 2D stellar dynamics we generally see coherent radial rotation and irregular velocity dispersion fields suggesting that sigma* is a non-trivial parameter to estimate.Comment: 11 pages, 30 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ

The Spitzer Archival Far-InfraRed Extragalactic Survey

We present the Spitzer Archival Far-InfraRed Extragalactic Survey (SAFIRES). This program produces refined mosaics and source lists for all far-infrared extragalactic data taken during the more than six years of the cryogenic operation of the Spitzer Space Telescope. The SAFIRES products consist of far-infrared data in two wavelength bands (70 um and 160 um) across approximately 180 square degrees of sky, with source lists containing far-infrared fluxes for almost 40,000 extragalactic point sources. Thus, SAFIRES provides a large, robust archival far-infrared data set suitable for many scientific goals.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figures, published in ApJ