0000000000384726
AUTHOR
Maria Concetta Cataldo
Group fitness activities for the elderly: an innovative approach to reduce falls and injuries
Aim The aim of this study was to examine the opportunity to adopt, for the elderly, already validated function ability tests to better understand how to prevent falls and injuries and to better plan group fitness activities like ballroom dance classes (e.g., Valzer, Polka, Mazurka). Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted. The Berg Balance Scale (BBS) and the Barthel Index (BI) were administered and the occurrence of falls during the previous 2 years was evaluated by anamnesis. One hundred and twenty-two elderly subjects living in Palermo city participated to the study. According to the anamnesis, subjects were divided into two groups: experimental group (EG) and control group (CG). T…
Characterization of Acinetobacter baumannii from intensive care units and home care patients in Palermo, Italy.
AbstractIn this study 45 isolates of Acinetobacter baumannii identified from patients in intensive care units of three different hospitals and from pressure ulcers in home care patients in Palermo, Italy, during a 3-month period in 2010, were characterized. All isolates were resistant to at least three classes of antibiotics, but susceptible to colistin and tygecycline. Forty isolates were non-susceptible to carbapenems. Eighteen and two isolates, respectively, carried the blaOXA-23-like and the blaOXA-58-like genes. One strain carried the VIM-4 gene. Six major rep-PCR subtype clusters were defined, including isolates from different hospitals or home care patients. The sequence type/pulsed …
Association of total serum cholesterol with functional outcome following home care rehabilitation in Italian patients with stroke.
Abstract Background Stroke is a disabling disease. In elderly populations, stroke is the third leading cause of death and the primary cause of reduction in or loss of functional ability and personal autonomy. Possible associations between levels of total serum cholesterol (TC) and both incidence of stroke and functional outcomes after rehabilitation are still under study. Objective To detect positive and negative prognostic factors associated with functional outcomes in first-time stroke patients admitted to an integrated home care rehabilitative program. Methods This study enrolled 141 patients with a first-time stroke who were admitted to a home care rehabilitation program. Primary outcom…
Methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus from pressure ulcers in patients receiving home care in Palermo, Italy
Dear Sir,Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a frequent and serious threat to hospitalized patients globally and now represents a challenge for public health, as community-acquire...
Depression and recovery of daily life autonomy in patients with stroke receiving home rehabilitative treatment.
Background : The object of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of post stroke depression and its possible role as a predictive negative factor in patients receiving home rehabilitation treatment. Methods : We analyzed 103 patients with stroke by correlating comorbidities, clinical and blood test parameters and characteristics of the lesion with depression class identified according to the Hamilton scale and the outcome of the rehabilitation program. Results : A significant association between hypertension and post-stroke severe depression emerged in the female patients. Conclusions : Since the literature offers conflicting data, our results may contribute a stimulus for further studie…
Colonization of pressure ulcers by multidrug-resistant microorganisms in patients receiving home care
Colonization and/or infection with multidrug-resistant microorganisms (MDRO) of pressure ulcers in patients receiving care at home have seldom been investigated. The objective of this study was to assess the prevalence of MDRO colonization in pressure ulcers of patients receiving home care in Palermo, Italy. Vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE), methicillinresistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), and multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacilli (MDRGN) were isolated, identifi ed, and characterized from pressure ulcers and selected home environment surfaces. Thirty-two patients were enrolled, of whom 12 were under antimicrobial therapy. Five patients had been admitted to hospital in the prece…