Healthcare-associated Clostridium difficile infection: role of correct hand hygiene in cross-infection control

Introduction - Clostridium difficile (CD) is the most common cause of health-care-associated infectious diarrhea and incidence and severity have increased in recent years. The main cause of hospital’s acquired cross infections can be attributed to incorrect hand hygiene. We described the epidemiology of CD infection (CDI) in a teaching hospital in Southern Italy during a two years surveillance period and evaluated the health-care workers compliance to hand hygiene.Methods - CDI Incidence rates were calculated as the number of patients with positive C. difficile toxin assay per 10,000 patient-days. Compliance with hand hygiene was the ratio of the number of performed actions to the number of opportunities observed. Approximately 400 Hand Hygiene (HH) opportunities/year /ward were observed.We finally checked out if any correlation could be found.Results - From January 2015 to December 2016 a total number of 854 CD determinations were performed in patients with clinical symptoms of diarrhea. The search for toxins A and B was positive in 175 cases (21,2 %), confirming the diagnosis of CDI.Compliance to hand hygiene was significantly inversely associated with the number of CDIs: the lower the compliance of  health-care workers with hand hygiene the higher was the number of cases of CDIs (p=0.003).Conclusion - According to our results proper handwashing of health-care workers appears to be a key intervention in interrupting CD cross infections regardless of age and type of department in which the patient is admitted. 

Radiation Macular Edema after Ru-106 Plaque Brachytherapy for Choroidal Melanoma Resolved by an Intravitreal Dexamethasone 0.7-mg Implant

Purpose: To report the effective treatment of radiation macular edema following ruthenium-106 plaque brachytherapy for a choroidal melanoma with a dexamethasone 0.7-mg (Ozurdex®) intravitreal implant. Methods: An interventional case report with optical coherence tomography (OCT) scans. Results: A 65-year-old Caucasian woman was suffering from radiation macular edema following ruthenium-106 plaque brachytherapy for a choroidal melanoma on her left eye. She had undergone one intravitreal injection of 0.5 mg bevacizumab (Avastin®, Genentech/Roche) in the following months without functional or anatomical improvement. Seven months after the development of radiation macular edema, she received a single intravitreal injection of dexamethasone 0.7 mg (Ozurdex). Four weeks following the injection, her best-corrected visual acuity improved from 0.3 to 0.5. Radiation macular edema resolved with a reduction of central retinal thickness from 498 µm before Ozurdex injection to 224 µm after Ozurdex injection, as measured by OCT scan. Conclusion: Dexamethasone 0.7 mg (Ozurdex) has proven to be an effective treatment option in retinal vein occlusion and noninfectious uveitis. It can also be considered as off-label treatment in radiation macular edema following ruthenium-106 plaque brachytherapy for a choroidal melanoma

Sleep quality and duration is related with diet and obesity in young adolescent living in Sicily, Southern Italy

AbstractThe aim of this study was to evaluate the association between sleeping habits, Mediterranean diet pattern, and weight status in an adolescent population. The sample consisted of 1586 individuals aged 11–14 years attending 15 secondary schools of Sicily, Southern Italy. School were randomly selected and the data collected during two school years. Anthropometric data was collected and body composition was assessed by bioelectrical impedance analysis. Demographic information, sleep duration, pediatric daytime sleepiness questionnaire (PDSS), physical activity and dietary habits (including adherence to the Mediterranean Diet using the KIDMED score) were further collected. The mean age was 12±0.7 and about 24% were overweight and obese. An inverse correlation between total sleep time and body mass index (β=−0.829, P=0.021), fat mass (β=−0.526, P=0.025), and waist circumference (β=−0.426, P=0.045) was found. Similar results were found for weekdays sleep time, while an inverse relationship was found with PDSS score. Adherence to Mediterranean Diet was higher in under/normal weight adolescent with a significant linear association between the KIDMED score and the PDSS, weekdays sleep time and total sleep time. Sleep duration was also associated positively with fruits and vegetable intake and negatively with sweet and snack consumption and eating outside habits. Short sleep duration and poor sleep were associated with an increase in BMI and fat mass as well as to unhealthy eating behaviors. These findings suggest that sleep patterns could be a potential target for obesity prevention programs in young adolescence

Resolution of Persistent Cystoid Macular Edema due to Central Retinal Vein Occlusion in a Vitrectomized Eye following Intravitreal Implant of Dexamethasone 0.7 mg

We report the case of a 62-year-old woman with a history of vitreoretinal surgery for vitreous hemorrhage secondary to central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO). Because of the persistence of macular edema (ME), she received 2 intravitreal injections of bevacizumab 0.5 mg (Avastin®, Genentech/Roche) three months after vitrectomy, without functional or anatomical improvement. Six months after vitrectomy, she therefore received an intravitreal implant of dexamethasone 0.7 mg (Ozurdex®). An improvement in her best-corrected visual acuity and central macular thickness, as measured by optical coherence tomography, was detected 7 days after the injection, and complete resolution of the ME and retinal hemorrhages was observed 6 months after the injection. Dexamethasone intravitreal implant might be an effective treatment option in ME secondary to CRVO, also in vitrectomized eyes

High fat diet subverts hepatocellular iron uptake determining dysmetabolic iron overload.

Increased serum ferritin associated with mild hepatic iron accumulation, despite preserved upregulation of the iron hormone hepcidin, is frequently observed in patients with dysmetabolic overload syndrome (DIOS). Genetic factors and Western diet represent predisposing conditions, but the mechanisms favoring iron accumulation in DIOS are still unclear. Aims of this study were to assess the effect a high-fat diet (HFD) on hepatic iron metabolism in an experimental model in rats, to further characterize the effect of free fatty acids on iron metabolism in HepG2 hepatocytes in vitro, and to assess the translational relevance in patients with fatty liver with and without iron accumulation. Despite decreased uptake of dietary iron, rats fed HFD accumulated more hepatic iron than those fed regular diet, which was associated with steatosis development. Hepatic iron accumulation was paralleled by induction of ferritin, in the presence of preserved upregulation of hepcidin, recapitulating the features of DIOS. HFD was associated with increased expression of the major iron uptake protein Transferrin receptor-1 (TfR-1), consistently with upregulation of the intracellular iron sensor Iron regulated protein-1 (IRP1). Supplementation with fatty acids induced TfR-1 and IRP1 in HepG2 hepatocytes, favoring intracellular iron accumulation following exposure to iron salts. IRP1 silencing completely abrogated TfR-1 induction and the facilitation of intracellular iron accumulation induced by fatty acids. Hepatic TfR-1 mRNA levels were upregulated in patients with fatty liver and DIOS, whereas they were not associated with liver fat nor with inflammation. In conclusion, increased exposure to fatty acids subverts hepatic iron metabolism, favoring the induction of an iron uptake program despite hepatocellular iron accumulation

Impact of natural Neuromedin-B receptor variants on iron metabolism

Iron overload heritability remains partly unexplained. By performing whole exome sequencing in three patients with clinical phenotype of hemochromatosis not accounted by known genetic risk factors, we identified in all patients rare variants predicted to alter activity of Neuromedin-B receptor (NMBR). Coding NMBR mutations were enriched in 129 patients with hereditary hemochromatosis or iron overload phenotype, as compared to ethnically matched controls including 100 local healthy blood donors and 1000Genomes project participants (15.5% vs 5%, p=0.0038 at burden test), and were associated with higher transferrin saturation in regular blood donors (p=0.04). Consistently, in 191 patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver, the most common low-frequency p.L390M variant was independently associated with higher ferritin (p=0.03). In 58 individuals, who underwent oral iron challenge, carriage of the p.L390M variant was associated with higher transferrin saturation and lower hepcidin release. Furthermore, the circulating concentration of the natural NMBR ligand, Neuromedin-B, was reduced in response to iron challenge, and was decreased in individuals carrying the p.L390M variant and with hemochromatosis in parallel with increased transferrin saturation. In mice, Nmbr was induced by chronic dietary iron overload in the liver, gut, pancreas, spleen, and skeletal muscle, while Nmb was downregulated in the gut, pancreas and the spleen. Finally, Nmb amplified holo-transferrin dependent induction of hepcidin in primary mouse hepatocytes, which was abolished by the NMBR antagonist PD168368.Conclusions: NMBR natural variants were enriched in patients with iron overload and associated with facilitated iron absorption possibly related to a defect of iron-induced hepcidin release. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved

Ceruloplasmin gene variants are associated with hyperferritinemia and increased liver iron in patients with {NAFLD}

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a multifactorial disorder resulting from genetic and environmental factors. Hyperferritinemia has been associated with increased hepatic iron stores and worse outcomes in patients with NAFLD. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of variants of iron-related genes and their association with hyperferritinemia, hepatic iron stores and liver disease severity in patients with NAFLD

Clinicians’ and Patients’ Perceptions and Use of the Word “Cured” in Cancer Care: An Italian Survey

Background. The words “hope” and “cure” were used in a greater number of articles and sentences in narrative and editorial papers than in primary research. Despite concomitant improvements in cancer outcomes, the related reluctance to use these terms in more scientifically oriented original reports may reflect a bias worthy of future exploration. This study aims to survey a group of physicians and cancer patients regarding their perception and use of the word cure. Materials and Method. An anonymous online and print survey was conducted to explore Italian clinicians’ (the sample includes medical oncologists, radiotherapists, and oncological surgeons) and cancer patients’ approach to the perception and use of the word “cure” in cancer care. The participants received an email informing them of the study’s purpose and were invited to participate in the survey via a linked form. A portion, two-thirds, of questionnaires were also administered to patients in the traditional paper form. Results. The survey was completed by 224 clinicians (54 oncologists, 78 radiotherapists, and 92 cancer surgeons) and 249 patients. The results indicate a favourable attitude for patients in favour of a new language (“cured” vs. “complete remission”) of the disease experience. Conclusions. The use of the word cured is substantially accepted and equally shared by doctors and patients. Its use can facilitate the elimination of metaphoric implications and toxic cancer-related connotations registered in all cultures that discourage patients from viewing cancer as a disease with varied outcomes, including cure