Panminerva medica
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The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, caused by symptomatic severe acute respiratory syndrome-Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, has wreaked havoc globally, challenging the healthcare, economical, technological and social status quo of developing but also developed countries. For instance, the COVID-19 scare has reduced timely hospital admissions for ST-elevation myocardial infarction in Europe and the USA, causing unnecessary deaths and disabilities. While the emergency is still ongoing, enough efforts have been put to study and tackle this condition such that a comprehensive perspective and synthesis on the potential role of breakthrough healthcare technologies is possible. Indeed, current state-of-the-art information technologies can provide a unique opportunity to adapt and adjust to the current healthcare needs associated with COVID-19, either directly or indirectly, and in particular those of cardiovascular patients and practitioners. ⋯ We are confident that refinement and command of smartcare technologies will prove extremely beneficial in the short-term, but also dramatically reshape cardiovascular practice and healthcare delivery in the long-term future, for COVID-19 as well as other diseases.
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The aim of this registry study was the prospective evaluation of the efficacy of Pycnogenol® in idiopathic fibromyalgia (FM), over 4 weeks in comparison with the standard management (SM). ⋯ Pycnogenol® supplementation appears to control and reduce the intensity of common symptoms and complaints - especially pain-related - associated with FM. Pycnogenol® could be a 'soft', safe supplementation and prevention method to manage the symptoms of most of these patients, even for longer periods, reducing the need for drugs.
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Emergency contraception (EC) has been prescribed for decades, in order to lessen the risk of unplanned and unwanted pregnancy following unprotected intercourse, ordinary contraceptive failure, or rape. EC and the linked aspect of unintended pregnancy undoubtedly constitute highly relevant public health issues, in that they involve women's self-determination, reproductive freedom and family planning. ⋯ In addition, the rights of health care professionals who object to EC on conscience grounds have been subject to considerable legal and ethical scrutiny, in light of their potential to damage patients who need EC drugs in a timely fashion. Ultimately, reproductive health, freedom and conscience-based refusal on the part of operators are elements that have proven extremely hard to reconcile; hence, it is essential to strike a reasonable balance for the sake of everyone's rights and well-being.
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Multiple myeloma (MM) is a hematological malignancy due to uncontrolled proliferation of neoplastic plasma cells in the bone marrow, associated to chromosomal instability and cytogenetic abnormalities, which could have an impact on prognosis. Response to treatment and survival of newly diagnosed myeloma patients is heterogeneous, with median overall survival ranging from two to more than ten years, due to clinical and biological factors. To warrant long-term control of disease, several strategies have been proposed in the last years, including short-term high-dose of treatment, named as consolidation, before maintenance. This review will discuss the role of consolidation in the current myeloma treatment landscape, and further improvements required to optimize tailored front-line therapy.
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Observational Study
At the peak of COVID-19 age and disease severity but not comorbidities are predictors of mortality: COVID-19 burden in Bergamo, Italy.
Findings from February 2020, indicate that the clinical spectrum of COVID-19 can be heterogeneous, probably due to the infectious dose and viral load of SARS-CoV-2 within the first weeks of the outbreak. The aim of this study was to investigate predictors of overall 28-day mortality at the peak of the Italian outbreak. ⋯ At the peak of the outbreak, with a probable high infectious dose and viral load, older age, the severity of respiratory failure and renal impairment at presentation, but not comorbidities, are predictors of 28-day mortality in COVID-19.