Iuav: paesaggi della contemporaneità

La pubblicazione introdotta da uno scritto di Mario Virano (Commissario governativo per l'Alta Velocità in Val Susa) presenta gli elaborati sviluppati nel Laboratorio integrato di Progettazione Architettonica nella Laurea specialistica Architettura per il Paesaggio, condotto dai proff. S. Maffioletti, M. Virano, B. Zan, D. Trabucco, P. Ceccon. Il tema proposto riguarda la riprogettazione di tre aree di sosta e servizio autostradale lungo il tratto veneto della A4. Tali aree sono caratterizzate dalla presenza o di manufatti rilevanti, quali il "cubo" di Costantino Dardi progettato per ENI-AGIP e un autogrill a ponte progettato da Pierluigi Nervi con Antonio Nervi e Melchiorre Bega, o di un paesaggio naturale e culturale di rilevante importanza (il Carso e il castello di Duino). Gli studenti sono stati fortemente impegnati nell'aggiornamento del ruolo di un'area di sosta/sevizio rispetto al dibattito e alle proposte internazionali, cercando un'impegnativa contestualizzazione sia naturalistica che architettonica e una notevole articolazione dell'offerta funzionale. I progetti sono stati presentati allo IUAV in una mostra, alla cui inaugurazione hanno partecipato tra altri Marc Augé, la Fondazione Benetton, l'a.d. di Autostrade per l'Italia Castellucci

Intracranial bleeding risk after minor traumatic brain injury in patients on antithrombotic drugs

Background: Intracranial haemorrhage (ICH) risk after minor traumatic brain injury (mTBI) in patients on antithrombotic treatment is unclear. We compared ICH rates in mTBI patients on single, double and no antithrombotic therapy. Antithrombotic drugs encompassed vitamin K antagonists (VKAs), direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) and antiplatelets. Secondary aim was to identify potential predictors of ICH.Methods: We retrospectively analysed consecutive adults referred to our emergency department for mTBI. All clinical information was retrieved by patients' charts review. Patients were divided in 5 groups: 1) no antithrombotic users, 2) antiplatelet users, 3) vitamin K antagonist users, 4) direct oral anticoagulants users, and 5) double antithrombotic users.Results: A total of 1846 patients were enrolled, mean age 71 years (IQR 46-83); 1222 (66.2%) were in group 1, 407 (22.0%) in group 2, 120 (6.5%) in group 3, 51 (2.7%) in group 4 and 46 (2.5%) in group 5. At entry, 1387 (75.1%) patients underwent brain CT, 787 (64.4%) in group 1, 387 (95.1%) in group 2, 119 (99.2%) in group 3 and 51 (100%) in group 4 and 43 (93.5%) in group 5. ICH was documented in 36 patients (4.6%; CI 95%: 3.2-6.3) in group 1, 22 (5.9%; CI 95%: 3.6-8.5) in group 2, 5 (4.2%; CI 95%: 1.4-9.5) in group 3, 2 (3.9%; CI 95%: 0.5-13.5) in group 4 and 3 (7.0%; CI 95%: 1.5-19.1) in group 5 (p-value for across groups comparison = 0.86). At multivariable analysis GCS < 15 (OR 7.95 CI 95%: 3.12-20.28), post-traumatic amnesia (OR 6.49; CI 95%: 3.57-11.82), vomiting (OR 4.45 CI 95%: 1.47-13.50), clinical signs of cranial fractures (OR 8.41 CI 95%: 2.12-33.33), scalp lesions (OR 2.31 CI 95%: 1.09-4.89), but none of antithrombotic drugs were independently associated with ICH.Conclusion: mTBI-related ICH rate was similar in patients with and without antithrombotic use. Potential predictors of ICH can be drawn from patients' clinical examination

The second generation of HIV-1 vertically exposed infants: A case series from the Italian Register for paediatric HIV infection

Background: In the Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART) era, the prognosis of children perinatally infected with HIV-1 has significantly improved, so the number of perinatally-infected females entering child-bearing age and experiencing motherhood is increasing.Methods: A description of the medical history and pregnancy outcomes of women with perinatal acquired HIV-1 infection enrolled in the Italian Register for HIV infection in Children.Results: Twenty-three women had 29 pregnancies. They had started an antiretroviral therapy at a median of 7.7 years (interquartile range, IQR 2.3 - 11.4), and had experienced a median of 4 therapeutic regimens (IQR 2-6). Twenty women (87%) had taken zidovudine (AZT) before pregnancy, in 14 cases as a starting monotherapy. In 21 pregnancies a protease inhibitor-based regimen was used. At delivery, the median of CD4+ T lymphocytes was 450 mu L (IQR 275-522), and no viral load was detectable in 15 cases (reported in 21 pregnancies). Twenty-eight children were delivered through caesarean section (median gestational age: 38 weeks, IQR 36-38, median birth weight: 2550 grams, IQR 2270 -3000). Intravenous AZT was administered during delivery in 26 cases. All children received oral AZT (median: 42 days, IQR 31 - 42), with no adverse events reported. No child acquired HIV-1 infection.Conclusions: Despite a long history of maternal infection, multiple antiretroviral regimens and, perhaps, the development of drug-resistant viruses, the risk of mother-to-child transmission does not seem to have increased among the second-generation of HIV-1 exposed infants

Missed opportunities to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV in Italy

Objectives: Vertical transmission of HIV can be effectively controlled through antenatal screening, antiretroviral treatment and the services provided during and after childbirth for mother and newborn. In Italy, the National Health Service guarantees universal access to prenatal care for all women, including women with HIV infection. Despite this, children are diagnosed with HIV infection every year. The aim of the study was to identify missed opportunities for prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV. Methods: The Italian Register for HIV Infection in Children, which was started in 1985 and involves 106 hospitals throughout the country, collects data on all new cases of HIV infection in children. For this analysis, we reviewed the database for the period 2005 to 2015. Results: We found 79 HIV-1-infected children newly diagnosed after birth in Italy. Thirty-two of the mothers were Italian. During the pregnancy, only 15 of 19 women with a known HIV diagnosis were treated with antiretroviral treatment, while, of 34 women who had received an HIV diagnosis before labour began, only 23 delivered by caesarean section and 17 received intrapartum prophylaxis. In 25 mothers, HIV infection was diagnosed during pregnancy or in the peripartum period. Thirty-one newborns received antiretroviral prophylaxis and 39 received infant formula. Conclusions: We found an unacceptable number of missed opportunities to prevent mother-to-child transmission (MCTC). Eliminating HIV MTCT is a universal World Health Organization goal. Elucidating organization failures in Italy over the past decade should help to improve early diagnosis and to reach the zero transmission target in newborns

RAAS inhibitors are not associated with mortality in COVID-19 patients: findings from an observational multicenter study in Italy and a meta-analysis of 19 studies

Objective: The hypothesis that been set forward that use of Renin Angiotensin Aldosterone System (RAAS) inhibitors is associated with COVID-19 severity. We set-up a multicenter Italian collaboration (CORIST Project, ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT04318418) to retrospectively investigate the relationship between RAAS inhibitors and COVID-19 in-hospital mortality. We also carried out an updated meta-analysis on the relevant studies. Methods: We analyzed 4,069 unselected patients with laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection and hospitalized in 34 clinical centers in Italy from February 19, 2020 to May 23, 2020. The primary end-point in a time-to event analysis was in-hospital death, comparing patients who received angiotensin-converting\u2013enzyme inhibitors (ACE-I) or angiotensin-receptor blockers (ARB) with patients who did not. Articles for the meta-analysis were retrieved until July 13th, 2020 by searching in web-based libraries, and data were combined using the general variance-based method. Results: Out of 4,069 COVID-19 patients, 13.5% and 13.3% received ACE-I or ARB, respectively. Use of neither ACE-I nor ARB was associated with mortality (multivariable hazard ratio (HR) adjusted also for COVID-19 treatments: 0.96, 95% confidence interval 0.77-1.20 and HR=0.89, 0.67-1.19 for ACE-I and ARB, respectively). Findings were similar restricting the analysis to hypertensive (N=2,057) patients (HR=1.00, 0.78-1.26 and HR=0.88, 0.65-1.20) or when ACE-I or ARB were considered as a single group. Results from the meta-analysis (19 studies, 29,057 COVID-19 adult patients, 9,700 with hypertension) confirmed the absence of association. Conclusions: In this observational study and meta-analysis of the literature, ACE-I or ARB use was not associated with severity or in-hospital mortality in COVID-19 patients