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Biomedical subjects

C Maffei

Publications and source records attributed to C Maffei.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1996

Psychological stress in nurses' relationships with HIV-infected patients: the risk of burnout syndrome.

To assess the role played by psychological stress and sociodemographic factors as predictors of burnout in nurses, we administered the AIDS Impact Scale (AIS) and the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) to nurses in the AIDS field. The sample was composed of 410 nurses from 19 departments for the treatment of infectious diseases. In these subjects we observed a low level of burnout in the MBI, but a small proportion had a high level of burnout We did not find significant associations between sociodemographic variables and the MBI scales. We found significant correlations between the MBI and three AIS scales that specifically assessed the emotional involvement of nurses in their relationships with patients. The results suggest that an empathic involved relationship seems to be protective towards burnout rather than a frustrating involved relationship. Moreover nurses tolerate stress better if they receive supportive social rewards. We found that the impact of working with HIV-infected patients causes psychological stress (measured with the AIS), but it is a weak predictor of burnout (measured with the MBI). The results indicated the incompatibility between the relational/defensive model of the AIS and the environmental/work performance model of the MBI.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

An assessment of self-esteem in HIV-positive patients.

The objective of this research is to assess how self-esteem levels differ in HIV-infected subjects in three different risk behaviours: drug addicts, homosexuals, heterosexuals. The sample (n = 104) consisted of: drug addicts (n = 46); homosexual (n = 26); heterosexuals (n = 32). The Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES) and the Eysenck Personality Inventory (EPI) were used. A covariance analysis was used to assess the effect of the different personality traits on the 'self-esteem variable' and to eliminate the variance caused by the personality variables. Bonferroni's T-test was used to assess which group contributed to confute the hypothesis of equivalence between the RSES means of the groups. A significant association between the HIV-infection risk behaviour and the level of self-esteem was shown; this association was assessed by eliminating the effect of personality traits. The risk behaviour as well as the personality traits were both indicative of the level of self-esteem. The assessment of each group revealed that the drug addicts had a relatively lower self-esteem level (mean = 35.251) than the homosexuals (mean = 38.698) and the heterosexuals (mean = 38.227). In conclusion the RSES enables clinicians to identify subjects with low levels of self-esteem who need to be psychologically assessed within a vast population of HIV-infected patients.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

DSM-III-R brief reactive psychosis and personality disorders.

DSM-III and DSM-III-R defined the diagnostic criteria of brief reactive psychosis (BRP) identifying some personality disorders (PDs) as predisposing factors: up to now no experimental data support this hypothesis. In this research, the authors studied the link between BRP and PDs, assessing axis II diagnosis (SIDP-R), after recovery of BRP in a group of 23 patients. Eighty-seven percent of the patients (n = 19) received at least one diagnosis of PDs. The widespread presence of PDs and, particularly, the high prevalence of cluster C (n = 11, 47.8%), are only partially in accordance with the hypothesis of DSM-III. A possible alternative model of interaction is suggested.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Effects of personality on metabolic control in IDDM patients.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between poor metabolic control and maladaptive personality traits (according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Third Edition-Revised) in an adult-onset insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus sample group (n = 77). RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Metabolic control was evaluated through glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c). Personality traits were assessed with the Personality Diagnostic Questionnaire-Revised, a self-administered questionnaire. Residual pancreatic secretion (fasting serum C-peptide) was also evaluated. RESULTS: Principal components analysis revealed three personality profiles: "withdrawn-suspicious" (P1), "dramatic-dependent" (P2), and "aggressive-irresponsible" (P3). Multiple linear regression analysis showed that C-peptide levels and P2 personality profiles were significant and independent predictors of HbA1c plasma levels: P2 predicted high HbA1c values and C-peptide predicted low HbA1c levels. CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest that a P2 personality profile is a significant predictor of poor metabolic control.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Personality disorders and psychopathologic symptoms in patients with androgenetic alopecia.

BACKGROUND AND DESIGN: The few articles published on the interactions between psychological factors and alopecia seem to yield contrasting results. To assess the relationships between alopecia, gender, Diagnostic Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Revised Third Edition personality disorders, and psychopathologic symptoms reactive to alopecia, we administered the Personality Disorders Questionnaire-Revised and the Symptoms Checklist-90 to a randomly selected sample of 116 outpatients with androgenetic alopecia. RESULTS: The prevalence of personality disorders in subjects with androgenetic alopecia proved to be significantly higher than the prevalence of such diagnoses in the general population. Women did not show a higher prevalence of personality disorders or more psychopathologic symptoms than men. The factor analysis demonstrated the existence of three personality profiles (F1, F2, and F3) significantly and specifically associated with the subject's gender and with the psychopathologic reactive symptoms, measured using the Symptoms Checklist-90. CONCLUSIONS: The most important factor in developing a psychopathologic reaction to alopecia seems to be the presence of a Diagnostic Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Revised Third Edition personality disorder and not the subject's gender.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1993

[Childhood trauma and personality disorders].

The influence of the model of object relations on modern psychodynamic research has led to increased emphasis on the importance of relations and traumatic events in the genesis of some psychic disorders, especially with regard to personality disorders. The development of axis II in the DSM-III system has increased the number of empiric studies in this field. In this paper, the Authors report data relating to a sample of 49 subjects with personality disorders (DSM-III-R) in which the presence of sexual abuse, physical maltreatment and negative family atmosphere was examined using a self-administered questionnaire (CAT). The results suggest a significant presence of these events throughout the sample and reveal a correlation between some personality disorders and specific traumatic events. It may therefore be hypothesized that the presence of these events represents an important factor from the point of treatment, both in technical and in prognostic terms.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

Epilepsy in an Italian community as assessed by a survey for prescriptions of antiepileptic drugs: epidemiology and patterns of care.

The prescriptions of antiepileptic drugs in the years 1985 and 1986 were used to identify all possible cases of epilepsy in a population of about 50,000 people. The general practitioners of the study area filled out a questionnaire for each user of antiepileptic drugs registered as a patient of theirs. This information was integrated using data obtained by local specialist services or directly collected by visits and/or phone interviews. Two-hundred and fifty-six of the 417 antiepileptic drug users proved to be active epileptics with a prevalence rate of 5.2/1000, the annual incidence rate for 1986 being 51.8/100,000. The main patterns of the disease appeared to be consistent with those of the literature while the prior history of seizures in the previous five years was generally lower. The health care of epileptic patients involved a wide range of specialists. The general practitioners were responsible for the final diagnosis of epilepsy in 10% of patients and for the management of the disease in 22%, most of the patients being over 50 years old. The calculated mean prescribed daily doses of the antiepileptic drugs suggested that many epileptics were taking therapeutic schedules lower than those of the literature.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1991

How we teach the doctor-patient relationship.

Since the reform of the Italian medical degree in 1988, fourth-year students now study the dynamics of the doctor-patient relationship as part of the compulsory 'methodology of the clinical, therapeutic, prevention and rehabilitation approach' course. This work illustrates a pilot scheme carried out at the Milan University Medical School and begun shortly before the reform of the Italian medical degree. In dealing with the teaching of the doctor-patient relationship, the authors look into a relational-psychological perspective which is supported by notions and instruments intrinsic to medical pedagogy. The work is handled along three main lines: (a) presentation of a relational teaching model and definition of teaching objectives; (b) presentation of the methods and techniques used (role-playing, videotape recordings, video simulation and group work); and (c) discussion on the evaluation criteria.

Curriculum↗
PubMed1990

Nosocomial outbreak of systemic candidosis associated with parenteral nutrition.

Eight patients in two surgical units developed systemic candidosis during a 40-day period from June 5 to July 13, 1987 (in five cases Candida albicans was identified). Three of them died. All cases belonged to a group of 27 patients receiving parenteral nutrition (PN), while among the 108 patients who did not receive PN, no cases were observed (p = .000001). Candida was cultured from two PN bags administered to the cases. A specialized nutrition nurse was responsible for the PN compounding and for maintaining administration sets in the two wards involved. An epidemiological investigation, in which 19 uninfected patients who had had PN were used as controls, showed no significant difference between cases and controls except that lipids were more frequently added to bags administered to cases (p = .0005). Furthermore, the bags administered to cases contained a higher average number of multidose constituents (p = .0008) when the comparison was focused on the two days before the onset of symptoms. Given the favorable medium provided by lipids, even a low level contamination of PN solutions during compounding and/or administration could have been responsible for the exposure of cases to multidose vials suggests, although not conclusively, that an extrinsic contamination occurred during compounding. Six isolates of C albicans were available from four cases. C albicans was cultured from the pharyngeal swabs of two physicians and three nurses, including the specialized nutrition nurse.

Aged↗
PubMed1987

Psittacosis in a highly endemic area in Italy.

In one locality in Italy where the incidence of psittacosis has increased rapidly since 1980, a hospital-based study and a seroepidemiological survey were carried out in order to define the clinical and epidemiological features of psittacosis in that area. Registers of the Virology Unit of the University of Ancona, Italy, were reviewed and all hospitalized patients with a serological diagnosis of psittacosis were identified. A total of 76 cases were found and studied. A presumptive bird source was identified in 80% of 62 patients, on whom a detailed investigation had been possible. Poultry represented the most frequent probable source of infection. Clinically, the predominant pattern of illness was a moderately severe lower respiratory tract infection, with chest X-rays showing pulmonary shadowings in 68 patients (89%). In the seroepidemiological study, 51 out of 143 subjects were exposed to birds (35.7%), but only 7 out of 96 urban adult blood donors (7.3%) were positive for chlamydial antibodies using the microimmunofluorescence test.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

A waterborne outbreak of leptospirosis.

During the period from July 10-26, 1984, 33 cases of serologically confirmed leptospirosis occurred in a small town in central Italy. The fatality rate, including the deaths of two unconfirmed cases, was 8.6% (3 of 35). Based on serologic evidence, the infection was caused by leptospires of the serogroup Australis. Epidemiologic study showed that the patients contracted the infection by drinking water from a fountain. The source of leptospiral contamination was probably a hedgehog trapped in a reservoir of water not in use but still connected to the water system of the fountain.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

An international perspective on assessment of negative and positive symptoms in schizophrenia.

The authors used the Scale for Assessment of Negative Symptoms and the Scale for Assessment of Positive Symptoms in interviews of 96 psychiatric inpatients in Italy. They evaluated the interrater reliability and the internal consistency of these scales for the assessment of negative and positive symptoms in schizophrenia. Their findings indicate that the results of these scales are similar in Italy and the United States, countries with different languages and cultures.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Childhood enteritis: a community study.

The population aged 0-12 years living in the area of an Italian Local Health Unit (about 8,800 children) was studied for one year in order to estimate the overall incidence rate of enteritis and the incidence rates of diarrheas from bacterial agents. All children complaining of acute diarrhea and seen by the pediatric practices of the study area were recorded by date, age, and sex; the microbiological study of stools was performed for a sample of patients. All hospitalized cases of childhood enteritis occurring in the same period in the study population were studied too. Campylobacter jejuni and Salmonella were cultured from 5 out of 71 examined out-patients (7.0%), with a projected annual consultation rate of 2.1 per 1000 population aged 0-12 years. Yersinia enterocolitica was cultured from 2 out-patients (2.8%), while no cases from Shigella and enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli were observed in this group. Data concerning hospitalized cases confirmed this pattern of results. Bacterial enteritis is an important public health problem in the study area and its occurrence is possibly related to animal reservoirs of infection, with particular regard to poultry and pets.

Campylobacter Infections↗