1,720,991 research outputs found
RE: 'Willingness to pay for policies to reduce future deaths from climate change: evidence from a British survey'
No full textWillingness to pay for policies to reduce future deaths from climate change: evidence from a British survey
PSA-based, prostate cancer risk on-line calculators: no such thing as a crystal ball?
No full textPSA-based, prostate cancer risk on-line calculators: no such thing as a crystal ball
Stat testing utilization in clinical laboratories. National survey of Italian Society of Clinical Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (SIBioC).
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Controlling sources of preanalytical variability in doping samples: challenges and solutions
No full textThe use of illicit substances and methods contravenes the ethics of sports and may be associated with side effects. Antidoping testing is an essential tool for preventing or limiting the consequences of cheating in sports. As for conventional laboratory testing, major emphasis has been placed on analytical quality, overlooking the inherent risks that may arise from analysis of unsuitable doping samples. The adherence to scrupulous criteria for collection, handling, transportation and storage of samples, especially blood and urine samples, is essential. The leading preanalytical variables that influence doping sample quality include biological variability, sample collection, venous stasis, spurious hemolysis and presence of other interfering substances, sample manipulation and degradation, and inappropriate conditions for transportation and storage. This article provides a personal overview about the current challenges in preanalytical management of doping samples, as well as potential solutions for preventing the negative impact of preanalytical variables on sample quality and test results
How Much has COVID-19 Contributed to Increase the Worldwide Consumption of Paracetamol and Ibuprofen? Evidence From an Infodemiological Analysis
No full textWe have planned an infodemiological analysis to establish whether the consumption of some representative NSAIDs has increased all around the world after the spread of COVID-19. We accessed Google Trends using the key words “paracetamol” (or acetaminophen) and “ibuprofen,” setting the geographical location to “worldwide,” and limiting our search to the past 5 years. A highly significant Spearman’s correlation was found between time and weekly Google Trends score of both paracetamol (r = .89; 95% CI, 0.87-0.92; P < .001) and ibuprofen (r = .78; 95% CI, 0.73-0.83; P < .001). Compared to the pre-COVID-19 period, the median (and interquartile range; IQR) weekly Google Trends score significantly increased by 54% for paracetamol (43 with IQR 34-47 vs 28 with IQR 26-31; P < .001) and by 24% for ibuprofen (31 with IQR 27-37 vs 25 with IQR 23-27; P < .001) during the COVID-19 pandemic, with Google Trends score of paracetamol remaining constantly higher than that of Ibuprofen (P < .001). The results of this infodemiological analysis confirm that NSAIDs consumption may have dramatically increased on a worldwide scale after the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic
Healthcare indicators associated with COVID-19 death rates in the European Union
No full textObjectives: Identification of environmental and hospital indicators that may influence coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) mortality in different countries is essential for better management of this infectious disease. Study design: Correlation analysis between healthcare system indicators and COVID-19 mortality rate in Europe. Methods: For each country in the European Union (EU), the date of the first diagnosed case and the crude death rate for COVID-19 were retrieved from the John Hopkins University website. These data were then combined with environmental, hospital and clinical indicators extracted from the European Health Information Gateway of the World Health Organization. Results: The COVID-19 death rate in EU countries (mean 1.9 ± 0.8%) was inversely associated with the number of available general hospitals, physicians and nurses. Significant positive associations were also found with the rate of acute care bed occupancy, as well as with the proportion of population who were aged older than 65 years, overweight or who had cancer. Total healthcare expenditure, public sector health expenditure and the number of hospital and acute care beds did not influence COVID-19 death rate. Conclusions: Some common healthcare system inadequacies, such as limited numbers of general hospitals, physicians and nurses, in addition to high acute care bed occupancy, may be significant drivers of nationwide COVID-19 mortality rates in EU countries
Highly efficient respirators are needed for the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2
No full textIn keeping with recent data attesting that the volume of exhaled viral particles is magnified in patients infected by the Omicron lineage, it seems advisable not only to reinforce a mask-wearing advice, but also to suggest that more efficient respirators (like N95 or similar) would be preferable to grant major protection against highly infective SARS-CoV-2 lineages such as Omicron
Has SARS-CoV-2 evolved and adapted to circulate at high temperatures?
No full textBackground: Since SARS-CoV-2 has undergone a considerable genetic evolution over time, we investigated its infectivity in the province of Verona (Italy), during the month of July of the first three pandemic years (i.e., 2020, 2021 and 2022). Methods: The daily number of new COVID-19 diagnoses in the province of Verona between July 1-27 of the years 2020, 2021 and 2022 was retrieved from the database of the Regional Healthcare Service, whilst the mean daily air temperature during the same period in the same area was downloaded from an official Italian meteorological website. Results: The mean July air temperature in Verona was 24±2°C in 2020, 25±2°C in 2021 and 28±2°C in 2022. The daily number of new COVID-19 diagnoses in the province of Verona increased from 2.5±5.7 in July 2020, to 106.0±71.8 in July 2021, up to 1287.4±509.9 in July 2022. The number of new COVID-19 diagnoses made in the province of Verona in July 2022 has increased by 519- and 12-fold in 2022 compared to the same month of the previous two years, despite the fact that the mean air temperature also notably increased by 18% and 15% compared to the years 2020 and 2021, respectively. Conclusion: The results of this analysis suggest that the strong evolutive pressure placed on SARS-CoV-2 over time may have fostered the accumulation of mutations that have contributed to evolve and adapt the virus to circulate even at high temperatures, thus calling for reinforcing preventive measures and healthcare preparedness even during the warmest periods of the year
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