A nurse-led coaching intervention with home telemonitoring for patients with heart failure: Protocol for a feasibility randomized clinical trial

Poor treatment adherence and lack of self-care behaviors are significant contributors to hospital readmissions of people with heart failure (HF). A transitional program with non-invasive telemonitoring may help sustain patients and their caregivers to timely recognize signs and symptoms of exacerbation.We will conduct a Randomized Clinical Trial (RCT) to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of a 6-month supportive intervention for patients discharged home after cardiac decompensation. Forty-five people aged 65 years and over will be randomized to either receive a supportive intervention in addition to standard care, which combines nurse-led telephone coaching and a home-based self-monitoring vital signs program, or standard care alone. Four aspects of the feasibility will be assessed using a mixed-methods approach: process outcomes (e.g., recruitment rate), resources required (e.g., adherence to the intervention), management data (e.g., completeness of data collection), and scientific value (e.g. 90- and 180-day all-cause and HF-related readmissions, self-care capacity, quality of life, psychological well-being, mortality, etc.). Participants will be interviewed to explore preferences and satisfaction with the intervention. The study is expected to provide valuable insight into the design of a definitive RCT

XIPE: the x-ray imaging polarimetry explorer

XIPE, the X-ray Imaging Polarimetry Explorer, is a mission dedicated to X-ray Astronomy. At the time of writing XIPE is in a competitive phase A as fourth medium size mission of ESA (M4). It promises to reopen the polarimetry window in high energy Astrophysics after more than 4 decades thanks to a detector that efficiently exploits the photoelectric effect and to X-ray optics with large effective area. XIPE uniqueness is time-spectrally-spatially- resolved X-ray polarimetry as a breakthrough in high energy astrophysics and fundamental physics. Indeed the payload consists of three Gas Pixel Detectors at the focus of three X-ray optics with a total effective area larger than one XMM mirror but with a low weight. The payload is compatible with the fairing of the Vega launcher. XIPE is designed as an observatory for X-ray astronomers with 75 % of the time dedicated to a Guest Observer competitive program and it is organized as a consortium across Europe with main contributions from Italy, Germany, Spain, United Kingdom, Poland, Sweden

The Low-Dose ACTH Test: Usefulness of Combined Analysis of Serum and Salivary Maximum Cortisol Response in Pediatrics

Context: The low-dose (1 μg) ACTH test (LDT) is widely used to assess central adrenal insufficiency (CAI); however, the serum cortisol cutoff value is controversial. Salivary cortisol (SC) may be a more accurate measurement for CAI. Objective: To assess a new maximum cutoff value of serum cortisol after LDT in pediatric patients, taking into account serum and SC measurements. Design and Setting: Prospective study in a pediatric tertiary referral center. Working Hypothesis: The combined analysis of serum and SC response to LDT might improve LDT for CAI diagnosis. Participant and Outcome Measurement: A total of 145 pediatric patients underwent LDT. Serum and SC levels were measured. A central adrenal sufficient (CAS) response was established according to the reference serum cortisol cutoff value of ≥497 nmol/L. Results: The LDT study showed central adrenal sufficiency in 72 patients and CAI in 73 patients. Considering the lower quartile of maximum SC value (21 nmol/L) in the CAS group, an intermediate CAI (InCAI) group and a real CAI (RCAI) group were defined. Regarding the median maximum value of serum cortisol levels in the InCAI group, a new serum cortisol cutoff value of 450 nmol/L was established. Furthermore, 91% of the patients in the RCAI group were below this cutoff value. Conclusion: The combined evaluation of maximum serum and SC levels to LDT might be useful to define an InCAI group and to avoid unnecessary hormone replacement therapy. However, rigorous patient follow-up is required © 2019Fil: Vaiani, Elisa. Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires. Hospital de Pediatría "Juan P. Garrahan"; ArgentinaFil: Lazzati, Juan Manuel. Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires. Hospital de Pediatría "Juan P. Garrahan"; ArgentinaFil: Ramirez, Pablo. Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires. Hospital de Pediatría "Juan P. Garrahan"; ArgentinaFil: Costanzo, Mariana. Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires. Hospital de Pediatría "Juan P. Garrahan"; ArgentinaFil: Gil, Silvia. Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires. Hospital de Pediatría "Juan P. Garrahan"; ArgentinaFil: Dratler, Gustavo. Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires. Hospital de Pediatría "Juan P. Garrahan"; ArgentinaFil: Zaidman, Verónica. Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires. Hospital de Pediatría "Juan P. Garrahan"; ArgentinaFil: Chaler, Eduardo Adrian. Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires. Hospital de Pediatría "Juan P. Garrahan"; ArgentinaFil: Belgorosky, Alicia. Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires. Hospital de Pediatría "Juan P. Garrahan"; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin

Pediatric adrenocortical tumors cohort characteristics and long-term follow-up at a single Argentinian tertiary center

Pediatric adrenocortical tumors are rare and heterogeneous endocrine malignancies. Objectives: To report clinical, biochemical, and histological features, staging, and therapeutic interventions in a cohort of 28 patients treated at a single tertiary center. Methods: A retrospective review of medical records of children with PACT (diagnosed before <18 years of age) followed between 1987-2018 at Hospital de Pediatría Garrahan, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Results: Mean age at diagnosis was 4.6 years (range, 0.3-17.3 years) and median follow-up was 4.17 years (range, 0-12 years). Female to male ratio was 2.5:1. Signs and symptoms that prompted medical intervention were hormonal overproduction (57%), abdominal complaints (36%), and hypertensive encephalopathy (7%). In patients with clinically virilizing tumors (n=16) mean height standard deviation score (SDS) and bone age advance were significantly higher while body mass index (BMI) SDS was significantly lower than in those with clinical Cushing's (n=10) (p<0.05). Serum dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS) levels were significantly higher in stage IV than in stage I (p=0.03). Total adrenalectomy was performed in 26 patients. Eight patients (stage III-IV) received adjuvant chemotherapy. Five-year overall and disease-free survival were 100% for ST I-II, and 51% (95% CI 21-82) and 33% (95% CI 1.2-65) for ST III-IV, respectively (p=0.002). No statistical difference was found when comparing 2-year parameters with and without adjuvant chemotherapy. Conclusions: Height SDS and BMI SDS seem to mirror hormonal secretion in pediatric adrenocortical tumors. Higher DHEAS levels were found in patients with more advanced disease. Further large-scale studies are needed to validate a possible role for DHEAS as a biochemical marker of tumor stage and to draw robust conclusions on the use of adjuvant chemotherapy.Fil: Mattone, María Celeste. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires. Hospital de Pediatría "Juan P. Garrahan"; ArgentinaFil: Gil, Silvia. Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires. Hospital de Pediatría "Juan P. Garrahan"; ArgentinaFil: Costanzo, Mariana. Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires. Hospital de Pediatría "Juan P. Garrahan"; ArgentinaFil: Galluzzo Mutti, María Laura. Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires. Hospital de Pediatría "Juan P. Garrahan"; ArgentinaFil: Casanovas, Alejandra. Ministerio de Salud. Instituto Nacional del Cáncer; Argentina. Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires. Hospital de Pediatría "Juan P. Garrahan"; ArgentinaFil: Zaidman, Verónica. Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires. Hospital de Pediatría "Juan P. Garrahan"; ArgentinaFil: Lazzati, Juan Manuel. Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires. Hospital de Pediatría "Juan P. Garrahan"; ArgentinaFil: Ciaccio, Marta Graciela Cristina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Belgorosky, Alicia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires. Hospital de Pediatría "Juan P. Garrahan"; ArgentinaFil: Guercio, Gabriela Viviana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires. Hospital de Pediatría "Juan P. Garrahan"; Argentin

Prevalence of undiagnosed celiac disease in the parents of preterm and/or small for gestational age infants

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of undiagnosed celiac disease (CD) in the parents of preterm and/or small for gestational age (SGA) infants. METHODS: A sample of 1,714 parents (868 women, 846 men) of 905 preterm (< 37 wk of gestational age) and/or SGA (< 10th percentile of birthweight) infants consecutively born in Lombardy, Northern Italy, and not diagnosed with CD prior to pregnancy, were tested for CD. Diagnosis was based on antitissue transglutaminase and anti-endomysial antibodies and confirmed by duodenal biopsy. RESULTS: The overall prevalence of undiagnosed CD was 0.64% (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.32-1.15%), 0.92% (0.40-1.81%) in women and 0.35% (0.07-1.03%) in men. In the mothers of preterm infants prevalence of CD was 0.39% (0.05-1.39%). In the mothers of SGA infants prevalence of CD was 1.60% (0.64-3.27%), and the observed number of mothers with CD was 2.25 times higher than the expected one in the Italian female population (P = 0.039). Undiagnosed CD in mothers was associated with an increased risk of SGA birth (odds ratio 6.97, 95% CI 1.11-43.55%). CONCLUSIONS: While additional powered studies are needed, the present results suggest that the prevalence of undiagnosed CD in the mothers of SGA infants is higher than in the general female population