Road traffic injuries in one local health unit in the Lazio region: results of a surveillance system integrating police and health data

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Objective</p> <p>Different sources are available for the surveillance of Road Traffic injuries (RTI), but studied individually they present several limits. In this paper we present the results of a surveillance integrating healthcare data with the data gathered by the municipal police in the southeastern area of Rome (630,000 inhabitants) during the year 2003.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The Municipal police RTI reports, which list the exact location, circumstances and some risk factor of the crash, were searched in the emergency visit, hospitalization and mortality databases, to integrate them with the information on health consequences.</p> <p>A multivariate analysis was conducted to evaluate risk factors (crash circumstances, age ad gender of the casualty) associated with hospital admission following a RTI.</p> <p>Mapping of RTI locations was created. The locations with higher risk of accidents with severe health consequences and at higher risk for pedestrians were identified.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>According to police records 4571 RTI occurred in 2003, 75% of which led to emergency department admissions. Sixteen percent of these emergency visits ended in hospitalization, and 44 deaths were reported within 30 days of the event, most of which occurred in young men.</p> <p>The people with the highest risk of hospitalization after an RTI were the cyclists, pedestrians and followed by people on two-wheeled vehicles. The type of crash with the highest risk of hospitalization was head-on collision.</p> <p>Geographical analyses showed four clusters with higher severity of RTI. Specific attention was paid to pedestrian injuries. Analyzing the locations of RTIs involving pedestrians permitted us to rank the most dangerous streets. The roads at high risk for pedestrians identified problems in the bus stop constructions and in the placement of the zebra pedestrian crossings.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This study proves the feasibility of an integrated surveillance system of RTI by using routinely collected local data. The high-risk locations identified with the geographic analyses method in this study highlighted infrastructural problems, suggesting immediate preventive interventions.</p

Levels of anti-HBs antibody in HBV-vaccinated students enrolled in the faculty of medicine, dentistry and health professions of a large italian university

Prophylaxis against hepatitis B virus (HBV) addressed to students of the faculties of health professions has received great attention. Objectives. The present study aims to assess vaccination coverage against hepatitis B in healthcare professionals in training.A retrospective study was carried out using data from the students of medicine, dentistry, and health professions. 4180 vaccination certifications were examined through the internal database. Significant differences (<0.0001) emerge between the number of doses applied and the antibody level. 50.4% of the students have nonprotective antibody levels (<10 IU). The age of the first dose significantly influences the level of coverage, resulting in more coverage in those vaccinated with earlier onset (1-10 years). Antibody levels are not significantly different by type of course; the levels of noncoverage are present in 44.4% of the students of medicine and dentistry and in 50.6% among those belonging to the health professions. This study represents one of the first experiences in Italy on vaccination against HBV and the relationship between doses of vaccination and antibody titer in the biomedical students that can configure a step forward in the real-time monitoring in order to establish a register of vaccination

Revision of the behavior of Italian universities towards the HBV vaccination and tuberculosis prophylaxis

Diagnostic screening for hepatitis B and tuberculosis infection bears a very important role for health care professionals even considering the decreasing epidemiological trends. According to the WHO predictions in 2030 these diseases will remain at third and fourth places among the causes of death for infectious diseases in industrial countries. The aim of this study is to verify the presence of hepatitis B and tuberculosis prophylaxis among the entry requirements for Medical Schools (MED) and Healthcare Professions Degree (PS) courses in 2011/2012 enrollment announcements. We examined 39 websites of Italian Public and Private Universities and we discovered 38 different announcements for MED and PS courses looking for any reference about hepatitis B and tuberculosis vaccinations and Mantoux skin test. The statistical analysis is descriptive (frequency tables). Hepatitis B vaccination was required in 7 (18.4%) enrollment announcements for MED and 6 (13.6%) for PS, respectively. Tuberculosis vaccination and/or Mantoux skin test were found among requirements of only 10 announcements for MED and 7 for PS, respectively. According to this study there is a great and unexpected variability among the different universities. A homologation of these requirements would be strongly desirable among Italian regions and on the entire national territory

Latent tuberculosis infection: prevalence amongst healthcare students at the Sapienza University of Rome (Italy

Healthcare workers, including medical, dentistry and nursing students, have an increased risk of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection. In this study the prevalence of tuberculin skin test (TST) positivity (defined as induration ≥ 5 mm) among healthcare students enrolled at the Sapienza University of Rome (Italy) in the years 2011-2012 was evaluated. Overall, 2,519 students with a mean age of 20.6 years were tested, of whom 62.4% were female, 0.4% were vaccinated with BCG and 4.6% were foreign-born. Eighty-two students (3.3%) were found to have a positive TST. Prevalence varied by age and geographical place of birth. A baseline evaluation of medical and other healthcare students' TST status at the beginning of their training is essential to better implement infection and control measures for tuberculosis infection.Healthcare workers, including medical, dentistry and nursing students, have an increased risk of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection. In this study the prevalence of tuberculin skin test (TST) positivity (defined as induration ≥ 5 mm) among healthcare students enrolled at the Sapienza University of Rome (Italy) in the years 2011-2012 was evaluated. Overall, 2,519 students with a mean age of 20.6 years were tested, of whom 62.4% were female, 0.4% were vaccinated with BCG and 4.6% were foreign-born. Eighty-two students (3.3%) were found to have a positive TST. Prevalence varied by age and geographical place of birth. A baseline evaluation of medical and other healthcare students' TST status at the beginning of their training is essential to better implement infection and control measures for tuberculosis infection