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Biomedical subjects

F Romano

Publications and source records attributed to F Romano.

At least 145 records · Page 8Linked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

[Research on Pisa University student's life style and health].

Surveys on life and health conditions of university students besides providing useful epidemiologic data partly related to the young population. They are potentially useful for the intervention planning aimed to remove possible environmental or behavioural risk factors. Following these purpose a survey sample about 1200 student attending the University of Pisa was carried out through an anonymous questionnaire about 41 questions focused on behaviours and lifestyles of young people, possible health problems, self-perception of the health state, the use of public health services, and the more commonly used (or preferred) sources of information on health topics. The results suggest that although the self perception of the state of health is broadly positive for the majority of students, there is also a significant frequency of individuals declaring significant at risk behaviours (persistence of sexual practices at risk, drug use, alcohol and smoke abuse). The consumption, also sporadic, of psicoattive substances has been declared gives beyond 40% of the students, in particular 37% asserts to have tried drugs. The habit to smoke appeared diffused much between the students; the percentage of smokers turns out equal to 41% in total (40% females, 42% males). 76% of the interviewed ones has declared to be sexually active, the percentage of those who have declared multiple relations or occasional is elevated (12%), and 47% of the students asserts to use the condom with fixed partner and 77% with occasional partner. Moreover there seems to be a significant association between the changes in the diet and other lifestyles that are due to the "university lifestyle" (as a consequence of leaving the family or increased commuting) and the insurgence of several types of sickness, e.g. gastroenteric disturbances and fever attacks. Finally, the present investigation suggests that few interventions on services offered to students (such as accommodation, teaching structures and especially the creation of a "health office" where students can acquire information on health and other topics related to their condition) could have a significantly beneficial impact on the general state of health of the university population.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Debridement and local application of tetracycline in the management of persistent periodontitis. Clinical and microbiological results after 12 months.

AIM: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the clinical and microbiological efficacy of local delivery of tetracycline in persistent periodontal lesions after topical therapy. METHODS: A total of 44 bilateral pockets 4-5 mm deep and bleeding on probing were selected in 11 non-smokers patients, 22 treated by scaling and root planing plus tetracycline fibres (test sites) and 22 with scaling and root planing alone (control sites) in a split-mouth design. Bleeding on probing, probing depth and clinical attachment level were recorded at baseline, 6 and 12 months postoperatively. The prevalence of Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans, Porphyromonas gingivalis, Prevotella intermedia, Bacteroides forsythus and Treponema denticola was monitored by PCR at baseline, fibres removal, 6 and 12 months following treatment. RESULTS: The improvements in clinical parameters were greater in the tetracycline than in the control group. The reduction of bleeding on probing scores was 86.4% and 40.9%, the decrease of probing depth was 2.25 mm and 1.19 mm and the gain of clinical attachment level was 2.04 mm and 0.64 mm for test and control groups, respectively, over the 12-month period. The adjunctive use of tetracycline consistently resulted in a lower percentages of sites with detectable levels of A. actinomycetemcomitans, P. intermedia and P. gingivalis, while no differences were detected between treatments in the prevalence of T. denticola and B. forsythus. The pathogens could be eliminated from 3 periodontal pockets by debridement alone and from 12 sites by tetracycline at 12 months. CONCLUSIONS: Tetracycline local delivery gave the greatest advantage in the long-term treatment of periodontal persistent lesions.

Administration, Topical↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Epidemiology of hospital loads in patients with multiple hospitalizations due to diabetes].

This study describes the results of a retrospective study carried out to evaluate the hospitalizations of patients with type 2 diabetes admitted from January to June 2001 in the teaching hospital "SS. Annunziata" of Chieti. This research evaluates the generic appropriateness using the PRUO manual and the specific appropriateness using the guidelines approved by Italian Diabetes Association, Italian Diabetes Society and Italian College of General Practitioners. A sample of 196 medical charts was examined. The percentage of inappropriate admission was 21.9%. The "critical" clinical conditions of patients were responsible for only 23.7% of inappropriate admissions. The first reason of the inappropriateness of the admission was the execution of diagnostic examinations (60.5%), followed by the execution of medical therapy (23.2%) and waiting for surgical intervention (16.3%). 46.5% of inappropriate hospitalization was prescribed by specialists. Concerning specific appropriateness, 42.3% of hospitalization was inappropriate. These findings suggest that a system for the assessment of disease management of diabetes should be started up in the Abruzzo region. Moreover, guidelines utilization should be implemented in order to get a more correct utilization of acute hospital by specialists and GPs.

Age Factors↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Prevalence of obesity, overweight and hypertension in children and adolescents from Abruzzo, Italy].

The present survey was aimed at determining the prevalence of overweight, obesity, hypertension, their correlation and the association with gender, age and provenience, in the pediatric population of Pescara province, Italy. During the academic year 2001-2002, the body mass index (BMI) and blood pressure of 15.612 scholars aged 6-14 years (mean age 9.9), coming from all province schools, have been measured. Two scales have been used to define obesity and overweight status (one developed by the National Center for Health Statistics--NCHS--the other by Cacciari et al.); while hypertension has been attributed using National Institute of Health curves. Several multiple logistic regression models have been fitted to analyze data. According to NCHS standards, the prevalence of childhood and adolescence overweight and obesity was, respectively, 40.6% and 19.5%. Using curves by Cacciari, the prevalence were 33.3% and 7.7%. Hypertensive subjects were 11.1%. With both scales, the prevalence of weight problems widely decreased after 12 years of age, and either obesity or overweight were significantly related with male sex, hypertension and rural area residence. A strong independent association was found between living inside the city and hypertension. Although the differences in the dimension of the problem "overweight" according to the used scale, and a potential overestimation of hypertension must be taken into account, the overall data suggest an urgent need, especially for primary school children, of preventive interventions aimed at reducing both overweight and blood pressure.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Streptococcus mitis endocarditis. Description of a clinical case].

The diagnostic iter of a case of Streptococcus mitis endocarditis is reported. Bacterial endocarditis was diagnosed in a 32-year-old patient following ultrasound cardiography and microbiological tests. The paper stresses the importance of ultrasound cardiography in the diagnosis of bacterial endocarditis.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Evaluation of microbial air contamination in dental areas].

The Authors carried out a survey in dental wards in order to evaluate the qualitative and quantitative microbial contamination level of the air, which is considered a crucial habitat for the transmission of many infectious diseases. A high microbial counts were found in all of the environments tested; the microorganisms isolated belonged to pathogenous species such as Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus haemoliticus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Acinetobacter calcoaceticus var. lwoffi. It seems necessary, therefore, to carry out preventive interventions directed to the protection of the personnel of dental care and, in particular, of the patients.

Acinetobacter↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Evaluation of the effectiveness of disinfectants used in several Neapolitan hospitals].

Among the various and complex aspects concerning the etiology of nosocomial infections, a relevant role is played by the indiscriminate and incorrect use of disinfectants: they may change paradoxically from devices used for nosocomial infection prevention into carriers of infections. Critical situations are: a) inadequate cleaning of the container; b) inaccurate concentrations set up; c) use of unsterilized water as a diluent; d) introduction of gauze or cotton flocks into the container; e) disinfectant contact with inactivating substances such as soaps, detergents, and organic substances; f) solution stability; etc.. Therefore, in the light of the experience we acquired in the field of nosocomial infections, we believed interesting to carry out a study in order to detect contamination of disinfectants used in various hospitals in Naples as well as their usage. In the period from January to May 1988, 243 disinfecting solutions routinely used in surgical departments of the 2nd School of Medicine and of three large neapolitan hospitals were tested for microbiological contamination. The analysis was carried out according to Kelsey and Maurer. 13 disinfectants were contaminated. The bacterial count exceeded the value of 5000 col/ml in 6 cases, while for he other disinfectants there were levels between 2500 and 4500 col/ml. 64% of the microorganisms isolated belonged to Pseudomonas spp. (cepacia, aeruginosa, fluorescens, maltophilia), while Acinetobacter calcoaceticus and Staphylococcus epidermidis were found in 21% and 15% of specimens respectively. A major consideration arising out from our study is the little attention played to health problems related to disinfection by hospital staff, together with a lack of knowledge about the proper way of using disinfectants.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Disinfectants↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Levels of anti-Legionella antibodies in a healthy Neapolitan population].

Legionella pneumophila was firstly recognized as the causative agent of a serious pneumonia about a decade ago. Since then a number of studies was carried out in order to define the epidemiological and clinical features of the microorganism. So far a high variability of the geographic distribution of the infection has been reported, with prevalences up to 50% of healthy populations. Therefore, a seroepidemiological survey was carried out on prevalence of Legionella pneumophila infections among healthy people in Naples. 562 serum specimens were randomly collected and examined by the indirect fluorescent antibody technique for antibodies against serogroups 1 to 6 of Legionella pneumophila, using 1:256 as the cut off titer. An overall prevalence of 23% was observed among the 562 persons tested. 24.5% among males and 21.9% among females had antibodies against Legionella pneumophila. There were no significant differences associated with sex and age, even though an apparent increase with age was observed. The highest prevalence was found for antibodies against serogroup 3 (9.4%). This finding was confirmed in all the age-sex groups, but among males aging between 21 and 40 years and among elderly people, 12.1% of persons tested had antibodies against only one serogroup of Legionella pneumophila, whilst 5.3%, 3.4% and 2.1% of subjects had antibodies against 2, 3 and 4 serogroups respectively. No serologic cross reactivity of Legionella pneumophila groups was found among seropositivities to different serogroups.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Effect of metformin on plasma lipoprotein lipase].

The action of metformin with respect to in vitro turbidimetric clarification of a glyceridic system (lipostrate) has been studied in a group of metabolically healthy subjects. It is observed that biguanide associated with 3GS, heparinoid with known structure and costant liposemec activity, significantly accentuates clarifying activity whereas biguanide alone leads to only a slight increase in the clarification index, at least 5 times less than that induced by 3GS. Results are discussed. These agree with some recent experiments on the catabolic and antiatherogenic effect in vivo of biguanide on the VLDL and LDL, fostering their conversion into high density lipoproteins.

Adult↗