866 research outputs found
Idiopathic chronic constipation: pathophysiology, diagnosis and treatment
No full textConstipation is one of the most common disease in Western countries. Its prevalence is widely variable (5-30%), depending on criteria utilized for diagnosis. Usually constipated patients have mild-moderate symptoms and are self-treated. Only patients that do not benefit from simple therapy (dietary supplementation of fiber and water, laxatives) need examinations such as blood tests, colonoscopy, radiography with bario-enemas, intestinal transit time and manometry. These tests are able to differentiate idiopathic from secondary constipation. Idiopathic chronic constipation is a collective term that involves different functional disorders. More specific investigations (oro-cecal transit time, manometry, electromyography) allow one to distinguish between two different patterns of idiopathic chronic constipation (slow transit constipation and pelvic floor disease) and to utilize the appropriate treatment of disease. The aims of this paper are to review the recent world literature on chronic constipation and to propose a diagnostic and a therapeutic flow chart for this disorder
A potential link between outcome of periodic fever, aphthous stomatitis, pharyngitis, cervical adenitis (PFAPA) syndrome in children and breastfeeding: a retrospective single-center cohort snapshot
No full textBackground/Objectives: Periodic fever, aphthous stomatitis, pharyngitis, and cervical adenitis syndrome, often referred to as PFAPA syndrome, may enigmatically recur for an undetermined time in affected children: a potential reason to explain its recurring pattern for an unpredictable period or its self-limitation is currently unknown. We explored the relationship between different general, demographic, clinical, and laboratory features of PFAPA children and disease evolution over the course of a decade. Methods: We have retrospectively screened 150 Italian children with a history of PFAPA syndrome attending the Outpatients Clinic of Pediatric Rheumatology in our Institution during the period 2014–2024, all without any recognized chronic diseases: 88 males, 62 females, mean age at onset of 2.5 ± 1.7 years, age range of 0.3–9.4 years, and mean age at diagnosis of 4.5 ± 2.0 years. The whole cohort of PFAPA patients had been followed up for a median period of 5 years (IQR: 4–7). Results and Conclusions: After dividing patients into two groups based on either the disappearance or persistence of PFAPA symptoms during follow-up, we found that positive family history of recurring fevers, cervical lymphadenopathy, arthralgia, myalgia, and breastfeeding for more than 6 months were associated with the disappearance of febrile attacks for at least six months. Performing a multivariate analysis adjusted for sex and age, we found that only breastfeeding duration longer than 6 months and higher education level of PFAPA patients’ mothers were independently associated with the resolution of PFAPA symptoms
Clinical characteristics and prognostic factors in COVID-19 patients aged ≥80 years
No full textAim: The aim of the present study was to describe the clinical presentation of patients aged ≥80 years with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), and provide insights regarding the prognostic factors and the risk stratification in this population.
Methods: This was a single-center, retrospective, observational study, carried out in a referral center for COVID-19 in central Italy. We reviewed the clinical records of patients consecutively admitted for confirmed COVID-19 over a 1-month period (1-31 March 2020). We excluded asymptomatic discharged patients. We identified risk factors for death, by a uni- and multivariate Cox regression analysis. To improve model fitting and hazard estimation, continuous parameters where dichotomized by using Youden's index.
Results: Overall, 69 patients, aged 80-98 years, met the inclusion criteria and were included in the study cohort. The median age was 84 years (82-89 years is interquartile range); 37 patients (53.6%) were men. Globally, 14 patients (20.3%) presented a mild, 30 (43.5%) a severe and 25 (36.2%) a critical COVID-19 disease. A total of 23 (33.3%) patients had died at 30 days' follow up. Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that severe dementia, pO2 ≤90 at admission and lactate dehydrogenase >464 U/L were independent risk factors for death.
Conclusions: The present data suggest that risk of death could be not age dependent in patients aged ≥80 years, whereas severe dementia emerged is a relevant risk factor in this population. Severe COVID-19, as expressed by elevated lactate dehydrogenase and low oxygen saturation at emergency department admission, is associated with a rapid progression to death in these patients
-Azithromycin on soluble cell adhesion molecules and markers of inflammation in survivors of an acute coronary syndrome
No full textEvaluation with dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry in Mucopolysaccharidoses.
No full textDual-energy X-ray absorptiometry is the technique described for evaluating bone mineral densities in patients with mucopolysaccharidoses
Re: "Chronic Helicobacter pylori infection and migraine: a case-control study" (Pinessi L, Savi L, Pellicano R, et al. Headache. 2000;40:836-839)
No full textChronic Helicobacter pylori infection and migraine: a case-control study" (Pinessi L, Savi L, Pellicano R, et al. Headache. 2000;40:836-83
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