Search results for "Italy"

Cost-effectiveness of sofosbuvir plus ribavirin with or without pegylated interferon for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C in Italy.

2015

Objective:Across Italy up to 7.3% of the population is infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV), with long-term complications resulting in high medical costs and significant morbidity and mortality. Current treatment options have limitations due to side effects, interferon intolerability and ineligibility, long treatment durations and low sustained virological response (SVR) rates, especially for the most severe patients). Sofosbuvir is the first nucleotide polymerase inhibitor with pan-genotypic activity. Sofosbuvir, administered with ribavirin (RBV) and with or without pegylated interferon (PEG-INF), resulted in >90% SVR across treatment-naïve (TN) genotype (GT) 1-6 patients. It is also t…

Reliability of EMA Binding Test in Diagnosis of Hereditary Spherocytosis in Italian Patients

2010

An Update on the Role of the Quality of LDL in Cardiovascular Risk:The Contribution of the Universities of Palermo and Zurich

2007

Low density lipoproteins (LDL) size seems to be an important predictor of cardiovascular events and progression of coronary artery disease and the predominance of small dense LDL have been accepted as an emerging cardiovascular risk factor by the National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III. We recently showed increased LDL size or higher levels of small, dense LDL in different categories of patients at higher cardiovascular risk, such as those with coronary (including acute myocardial infarction) and non-coronary (including carotid disease, abdominal aortic aneurysm and peripheral arterial disease) forms of atherosclerosis or metabolic diseases (including type-II diabet…

Telemedicine during Covid-19 pandemic: Advantage or critical issue?

2020

Telemedicine offers a support to traditional medicine, delivering clinical services when distance is a critical factor. Although this tool does not replace a medical examination, during Covid-19 pandemic, it reduces the spread of infection and avoids the need for a patient’s visit. It is useful in the management of chronic disorders or for patients undergoing palliative treatment. The University Hospital of Palermo has applied this in cases of chronic illness caring for patients who cannot stop their treatment, such as Department of Onco-Haematology, Internal Medicine, Dermatology, etc. The Department of Legal Medicine of Palermo, in particular, is also using telemedicine to manage medico-…

Management of biological therapies for chronic plaque psoriasis during COVID-19 emergency in Italy

2020

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, is creating an unprecedented global public health emergency with the continuous growth of infected individuals worldwide. Italy was one of the first European country to face the first wave of infection outside mainland China. The first case of COVID-19 was confirmed in Lombardy on February 20th , 2020, and subsequently, a rapid increase in the number of detected cases was observed, spreading through Italy and the rest of Europe.3 As of April 22nd , confirmed COVID-19 cases in Italy were 183,957.

Optimal savings and health spending over the life cycle

2010

This paper investigates the relationship between saving and health spending in a two-period overlapping generations economy. Individuals work in the first period of life and live in retirement in old age. Health spending is an activity that increases quality of life and longevity. Empirical evidence shows that both health spending and saving behave as luxury goods but their behaviour differs markedly according to the level of per capita GDP. The share of saving on GDP has a concave shape with respect to per capita GDP, whereas the share of health spending on GDP increases more than proportionally with respect to per capita GDP. The ratio of saving to spending is nonlinear with respect to in…

Osteonecrosis of the jaws in patients assuming oral bisphosphonates for osteoporosis: A retrospective multi-hospital-based study of 87 Italian cases

2013

Abstract Background Bisphosphonates (BPs) are currently the chief drugs for the prevention/treatment of osteoporosis; one of their adverse effects is the osteonecrosis of the jaw (BRONJ). The primary endpoints of this multi-center cross-sectional study are: i) an observation of the clinical features of BRONJ in 87 osteoporotic, non-cancer patients; and ii) an evaluation of their demographic variables and comorbidities. Methods 87 BRONJ patients in therapy for osteoporosis with BPs from 8 participating clinical Italian centers were consecutively identified and studied. After BRONJ diagnosis and staging, comorbidities and data relating to local and drug-related risk factors for BRONJ were col…

Use of Marginal Donors in Kidney Transplantation: Our Experience

2006

The use of elderly donors has been advocated to expand the organ donor pool because of increased needs and the organ shortage. The aim of this study was to analyze whether the use of elderly donors and marginal kidneys affected the outcome of renal transplantations. Herein we presented data on 126 kidney transplantations performed from January 1996 to September 2003 using 32 marginal donors (group A) and 94 ideal donors (group B). We analyzed the medical and surgical complications and the graft survivals at a median follow-up of 18 months. Medical and surgical complications occurred in 22% and 5% versus 7% and 4% in groups A and B, respectively. The mean cold ischemia time and the mean age …

AISF position paper on HCV in immunocompromised patients.

2018

Abstract This report summarizes the clinical features and the indications for treating HCV infection in immunocompromised and transplanted patients in the Direct Acting Antiviral drugs era.

What Is the Impact of Innovative Electronic Health Interventions in Improving Treatment Adherence in Asthma? The Pediatric Perspective

2019

Suboptimal adherence to treatment is a significant issue in the management of pediatric asthma and is a major cause of uncontrolled disease, life-threatening attacks, and increased utilization of healthcare resources. Electronic health (e-Health) solutions have the potential to positively impact asthma self-management in children and adolescents and their families, thereby improving treatment adherence and asthma outcomes. However, there is a lack of sufficient data to support widespread adoption of e-Health tools in pediatric asthma practice. A critical evaluation of the impact of these new interventions on treatment adherence in childhood asthma must consider unmet needs, heterogeneity of…