CRP Predicts Safe Patient Discharge after Colorectal Surgery. Reply

Reply: We would like to thank Aurelie´n Dupre`, Johan Gagnie´r, Heloı¨se Samba, Michel Rivoire, and Karem Slim for their comments about our article ‘‘Procalcitonin Reveals Early Dehiscence in Colorectal Surgery: The PREDICS Study.’’1 It is very rewarding to realize that this paper is stimulating so many observations, this means thatwe are talking about an interesting topic

Aromatic Characterisation of Malvasia Odorosissima Grapevines and Comparison with Malvasia di Candia Aromatica

Malvasia odorosissima is an aromatic grapevine (Vitis vinifera L., 1753) variety that is often confused with Malvasia di Candia aromatica (Vitis vinifera L., 1753), despite the genetic information now available on the pedigree and genetic relationships linking the two varieties. In an effort to offer a contribution to fill this gap, also from an aromatic point of view, free and glycosylated aroma compounds were determined using the SPE extraction method, followed by GC-MS analysis in two consecutive vintages. The results have for the first time provided the aromatic characterisation of Malvasia odorosissima. Geraniol and its derivatives were the most abundant set of volatiles. In contrast to Malvasia di Candia aromatica and the other aromatic varieties, Malvasia odorosissima showed a very small amount of glycosylated volatiles, thus expressing its aromatic potential almost completely. The abundance of free terpenoids in the aromatic profile of Malvasia odorosissima, even higher than in Malvasia di Candia aromatica, is a main feature for the oenological exploitation of this variety, which is on the brink of extinction. In addition, the presence of rose oxides, found solely in Malvasia odorosissima, renders its aromatic profile more similar to that of White Muscat. This result is consistent with the parent-offspring relationship linking the two varieties that was recently ascertained

Procalcitonin Reveals Early Dehiscence in Colorectal Surgery: The PREDICS Study

Objectives: We designed a multicentric, observational study to test if Procalcitonin (PCT) might be an early and reliable marker of anastomotic leak (AL) after colorectal surgery (ClinicalTrials.govIdentifier:NCT01817647). Background: Procalcitonin is a biomarker used to monitor bacterial infections and guide antibiotic therapy. Anastomotic leak after colorectal surgery is a severe complication associated with relevant short and long-term sequelae. Methods: Between January 2013 and September 2014, 504 patients underwent colorectal surgery, for malignant colorectal diseases, in elective setting. White blood count (WBC), C-reactive protein (CRP) and PCT levels were measured in 3rd and 5th postoperative day (POD). AL and all postoperative complications were recorded. Results: We registered 28 (5.6%) anastomotic leaks. Specificity and negative predictive value for AL with PCT less than 2.7 and 2.3 ng/mL were, respectively, 91.7% and 96.9% in 3rd POD and 93% and 98.3% in 5th POD. Receiver operating characteristic curve for biomarkers shows that in 3rd POD, PCTand CRP have similar area under the curve (AUC) (0.775 vs 0.772), both better than WBC (0.601); in 5th POD, PCT has a better AUC than CRP and WBC (0.862 vs 0.806 vs 0.611). Measuring together PCT and CRP significantly improves AL diagnosis in 5th POD (AUC: 0.901). Conclusions: PCTand CRP demonstrated to have a good negative predictive value for AL, both in 3rd and in 5th POD. Low levels of PCT, together with low CRP values, seem to be early and reliable markers of AL after colorectal surgery. These biomarkers might be safely added as additional criteria of discharge protocols after colorectal surgery

Cleaning the Label of Cured Meat; Effect of the Replacement of Nitrates/Nitrites on Nutrients Bioaccessibility, Peptides Formation, and Cellular Toxicity of In Vitro Digested Salami

Curing salts composed of mixtures of nitrates and nitrites are preservatives widely used in processed meats. Despite many desirable technological effects, their use in meat products has been linked to methemoglobinemia and the formation of nitrosamines. Therefore, an increasing "anti-nitrite feeling" has grown among meat consumers, who search for clean label products. In this view, the use of natural compounds as alternatives represents a challenge for the meat industry. Processing (including formulation and fermentation) induces chemical or physical changes of food matrix that can modify the bioaccessibility of nutrients and the formation of peptides, impacting on the real nutritional value of food. In this study we investigated the effect of nitrate/nitrite replacement with a combination of polyphenols, ascorbate, and nitrate-reducing microbial starter cultures on the bioaccessibility of fatty acids, the hydrolysis of proteins and the release of bioactive peptides after in vitro digestion. Moreover, digested salami formulations were investigated for their impacts on cell proliferation and genotoxicity in the human intestinal cellular model (HT-29 cell line). The results indicated that a replacement of synthetic nitrates/nitrites with natural additives can represent a promising strategy to develop innovative "clean label" salamis without negatively affecting their nutritional value

COVID-19 vaccine immunogenicity in 16 patients with autoimmune systemic diseases. Lack of both humoral and cellular response to booster dose and ongoing disease modifying therapies

Patients with autoimmune systemic diseases (ASDs) represent a frail population during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The vaccination is the major preventive measure; however, a significant number of ASD patients show an impaired production of anti-COVID-19 neutralizing antibodies (NAb), possibly counterbalanced by adequate T-cell response. The present study aimed at evaluating both humoral and cellular response to COVID-19 vaccine booster dose in this particular setting

Migrants rescued on the Mediterranean Sea route: nutritional, psychological status and infectious disease control

Introduction: North Africa has become a key migratory hub where a large number of migrants attempt the journey by sea from the Libyan coastline to the south of Europe. In this humanitarian disaster scenario, the Mediterranean route has been one of the most used by illegal boats. Methodology: In this report, the state of physical and psychological health of a cluster of Eritrean migrants, escaped from Libya and rescued in the Mediterranean Sea after a shipwreck, was described by epidemiological, clinical and laboratory investigations. Results: Data suggest that despite the majority of the migrants being apparently in good health upon a syndromic surveillance approach, most of them suffered a decline in psychological status as well as severe malnutrition. The emergence of infectious diseases, related to poor living conditions during the journey, is not a rare event. Conclusion: The present report highlights the risks of failures of the syndromic medical approach in the setting of the extremely challenging migration route and underlines migrant frailties consequent to a prolonged journey and long period of detention. These stressors, which can degrade the initial health condition of traveling migrants, can lead to a premature "exhausted migrant effect" that should be carefully investigated in order to avoid the early emergence of diseases related to frailty

Covid-19 And Rheumatic Autoimmune Systemic Diseases: Role of Pre-Existing Lung Involvement and Ongoing Treatments

The Covid-19 pandemic may have a deleterious impact on patients with autoimmune systemic diseases (ASD) due to their deep immune-system alterations

The rapid spread of SARS-COV-2 Omicron variant in Italy reflected early through wastewater surveillance

The SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant emerged in South Africa in November 2021, and has later been identified worldwide, raising serious concerns. A real-time RT-PCR assay was designed for the rapid screening of the Omicron variant, targeting characteristic mutations of the spike gene. The assay was used to test 737 sewage samples collected throughout Italy (19/21 Regions) between 11 November and 25 December 2021, with the aim of assessing the spread of the Omicron variant in the country. Positive samples were also tested with a real-time RT-PCR developed by the European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC), and through nested RT-PCR followed by Sanger sequencing. Overall, 115 samples tested positive for Omicron SARS-CoV-2 variant. The first occurrence was detected on 7 December, in Veneto, North Italy. Later on, the variant spread extremely fast in three weeks, with prevalence of positive wastewater samples rising from 1.0% (1/104 samples) in the week 5–11 December, to 17.5% (25/143 samples) in the week 12–18, to 65.9% (89/135 samples) in the week 19–25, in line with the increase in cases of infection with the Omicron variant observed during December in Italy. Similarly, the number of Regions/Autonomous Provinces in which the variant was detected increased fromone in the first week, to 11 in the second, and to 17 in the last one. The presence of the Omicron variant was confirmed by the JRC real-time RT-PCR in 79.1% (91/115) of the positive samples, and by Sanger sequencing in 66% (64/97) of PCR amplicons

The rapid spread of SARS-COV-2 Omicron variant in Italy reflected early through wastewater surveillance

The SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant emerged in South Africa in November 2021, and has later been identified worldwide, raising serious concerns. A real-time RT-PCR assay was designed for the rapid screening of the Omicron variant, targeting characteristic mutations of the spike gene. The assay was used to test 737 sewage samples collected throughout Italy (19/21 Regions) between 11 November and 25 December 2021, with the aim of assessing the spread of the Omicron variant in the country. Positive samples were also tested with a real-time RT-PCR developed by the European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC), and through nested RT-PCR followed by Sanger sequencing. Overall, 115 samples tested positive for Omicron SARS-CoV-2 variant. The first occurrence was detected on 7 December, in Veneto, North Italy. Later on, the variant spread extremely fast in three weeks, with prevalence of positive wastewater samples rising from 1.0% (1/104 samples) in the week 5-11 December, to 17.5% (25/143 samples) in the week 12-18, to 65.9% (89/135 samples) in the week 19-25, in line with the increase in cases of infection with the Omicron variant observed during December in Italy. Similarly, the number of Regions/Autonomous Provinces in which the variant was detected increased from one in the first week, to 11 in the second, and to 17 in the last one. The presence of the Omicron variant was confirmed by the JRC real-time RT-PCR in 79.1% (91/115) of the positive samples, and by Sanger sequencing in 66% (64/97) of PCR amplicons. In conclusion, we designed an RT-qPCR assay capable to detect the Omicron variant, which can be successfully used for the purpose of wastewater-based epidemiology. We also described the history of the introduction and diffusion of the Omicron variant in the Italian population and territory, confirming the effectiveness of sewage monitoring as a powerful surveillance tool