Trace metals and the hemostatic system.

In this narrative review we report the main relationships between trace metals and the hemostatic system since this aspect has seldom attracted the attention of the scientific community. A basic aspect to be considered is the importance of maintaining the fine control of all trace metals' levels since they have an important impact on the pathophysiology of the hemostatic system. It is worth noting that poor diet habits are responsible for most trace metal deficiencies, while pollution is responsible for dangerous exposure to them with a consequent negative impact on the general population. This appears of paramount importance in planning the implementation of food and nutrient support to ameliorate the hidden hunger and the quality of life of people especially in developing countries and limiting poisons both in the air and food. As it often happens, when damage to certain mechanisms takes a very long time to appear, no attention is paid to the importance of a systematic prevention to avoid late negative outcomes.

Chronic intravascular coagulation in liver cirrhosis predicts a high hemorrhagic risk.

OBJECTIVE: In liver cirrhosis, a complex coagulopathy does exist. The aim was to investigate whether a possible chronic consumption coagulopathy is the underlying phenomenon of the disease. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We measured endogenous thrombin generation with and without thrombomodulin (ETP ratio) along with D-Dimer in a group of consecutive 282 cirrhotic patients. Fibrinogen, Platelet count and the Hemorrhagic score were previously computed in the same patients. The ETP ratio represents the resistance to the anticoagulant activity of TM and should be considered as an index of a procoagulant imbalance. RESULTS: ETP ratio and D-Dimer showed higher values in the cirrhotic patients when compared to controls thus showing a hypercoagulable state. When the patients were divided based on the Hemorrhagic score >7, we found that Fibrinogen, ETP ratio, D-Dimer and the platelet count were significantly different between the two groups. Again, when we considered ETP ratio >0.88, the median value of the cirrhotic patients, all parameters, were statistically different between the two groups. D-Dimer were higher while fibrinogen and platelet count were statistically lower in cirrhotic patients with higher ETP ratio values. Even when the same patients were divided based on their platelet count ( 100 x 109/L) the results showed a similar behavior. ROC curves showed significant AUCs when the hemorrhagic score was challenged against Fibrinogen, D-Dimer, Platelet count and ETP ratio. CONCLUSIONS: In liver cirrhosis hypercoagulable state is associated with an increase in D-Dimer levels along with a decrease in fibrinogen and platelet count thus indicating a low-grade intravascular coagulation which predicts a high hemorrhagic risk.

Clot wave analysis and thromboembolic score in liver cirrhosis: two opposing phenomena.

INTRODUCTION: Prothrombin time (PT) and activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT) are abnormal but unreliable in cirrhotic patients to express their risk of bleeding. However, these patients may also suffer from thrombotic episodes. In order to investigate the dynamics of the formation of fibrin, the clot waveform analysis (CWA) of aPTT was studied together with a score for the evaluation of the thromboembolic risk. METHODS: CWA in terms of velocity (1st derivative), acceleration (2nd derivatives) and density (Delta) of aPTT and the Padua Prediction Score (PPS) for venous thromboembolism were studied in 191 cirrhotic patients. RESULTS: CWA values were lower in the cirrhotic patients when compared to the control groups. However, Delta, 1st and 2nd derivatives were higher in cirrhotic patients with elevated PPS in comparison to those with a low PPS. The 1st derivative was significantly associated with a high PPS score (>4): OR: 2.66, CI: 95% 1.23-5.78. CONCLUSIONS: Two opposing tendencies seem to be present in cirrhotic disease: the first shows a weakness of clot formation while the second a predisposition towards thrombosis, identified by the PPS.

Partial laryngectomies: when the problem is the pexy.

To analyse the complications related to pexy, the main clinical manifestations that may raise suspicions of a pexy line rupture/detachment, the most suitable diagnostic technique and the optimum treatment to resolve this complication. This is a retrospective chart review in tertiary university referral centre. Medical charts of patients with oncological laryngeal pathologies admitted to the Otolaryngology Department of the University Hospital of Modena between May 2003 and March 2012 were analysed. Ten patients with rupture of the pexy were identified and included in the present study. The clinical manifestations were dysphagia, alteration of sensitivity of hypopharyngeallaryngeal structures, fever, infection and diastasis of surgical wounds, bleeding, dysphonia and aspiration pneumonia. Rupture of the pexy was diagnosed through endoscopic evaluations, radiological techniques or directly in the operating room during revision surgery of the earlier operation. Surgical treatments, coupled with effective swallowing rehabilitation, allowed progressive functional recovery. Patients were hospitalised until recovery of laryngeal functions was complete. In conclusion, pexy line rupture is one of the complications in the post-operative period of partial laryngectomies. Certain clinical manifestations may indicate this complication, helping the surgeon to establish an early diagnosis and administer prompt treatment.

The clinical response on bone metastasis from breast and lung cancer during treatment with zoledronic acid is inversely correlated to skeletal related events (SRE).

Current management of bone metastases involves a multimodal approach. Aminobisphosphonates (BPs) are a valid weapon in the treatment of skeletal localization of tumour disease. Patients with bone metastases from breast and lung cancer were enrolled in order to evaluate the impact of the addition of bisphosphonates therapy to standard treatments in terms of (i) pain control, (ii) quality of life (QoL) and (iii) toxicity and to evaluate (iv) any relations between clinical activity and the occurrence of SREs. A total of 60 patients were included in the study. Median age was 76 years (range 40-83). The majority of patients were treated with chemotherapy or hormonal therapy. All patients received zoledronic acid (ZOL) (4 mg) every 3-4 weeks for at least 3 cycles. No significant improvement in Performance Status of patients after 12 cycles of ZOL (p = 0.1672) was recorded. A statistically significant early and long-lasting amelioration of both pain, narcotic scores and QoL was found. Twenty-one patients (48%) experienced at least one SRE during the study. The most common SRE was radiation to bone (30% of patients). An inverse correlation between bone tumour response and SREs was also found (p = 0.019). ZOL addition induces a clinical benefit and improves QoL of patients with bone metastases. Moreover, the occurrence of bone clinical response is related to a reduced risk of SREs.

[The MMPI-2 test in the evaluation of the mobbing syndrome]. / Il test MMPI-2 nella valutazione della sindrome da mobbing.

MMPI-2 test is widely used in psychodiagnostic evaluation as well as in the evaluation of psychic pathologies related to psychosocial adversative events in working activities. A more efficacious use of MMPI-2 test in the working context can be achieved by the individuation of indexes able to facilitate the evaluation of mobbing syndrome. This work is based on the analysis of 150 cases (39.7% women and 60.7% men, 30 to 60 years of age), evaluated through an accurate examination of working history and a series of clinic conversations, followed by psychodiagnostic evaluation. The average of T-scores on the clinical scale, the content scale, the PK addition scale and the validation scale were calculated from tests. Pathologic high T-scores on the scales Hs, D. Hy e Pa were found in subjects having positive mobbing anamnesis. These results strongly indicate the presence of clinical specificities in workers exposed to working harassments, and that these specificities can be efficaciously evidenced by the MMPI-2 test.

[Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) and work]. / La sindrome delle apnee ostruttive (OSAS) in ambiente lavorativo.

Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome (OSAS) is a very common disease in work age. Aim of study is to assess the impact of OSAS in a workers population. 138 workers (M 117, F 21), age 35-65 (mean 52.66 +/- 3.042) consecutively referred to Respiratory Hospital Monaldi and to Occupational Health Medicine Department of Second University of Naples performed an anthropometric evaluation of BMI, neck and an overnight polisomnography with Embletta X10 (Flaga Medical Devices; Reykjavik, Iceland). Workers' population was divided into three groups according to the impact of daytime sleepiness on work efficiency. Occupational Health Medicine needs to evaluate the high prevalence of obesity and metabolic syndrome (OSAS, diabetes, insulin-resistance) in work age population.

[Perception of alcoholism risk in health workers: medical role in prevention and surveillance]. / La percezione del rischio alcol negli operatori sanitari: il ruolo del medico competente nell'attività di sorveglianza sanitaria e di prevenzione.

According to Italian laws (legge 125/01, art. 15, comma 1) about safety on workplaces, it's forbidden alcohol drinking and taking for health workers (art. 8, comma 6, legge 5/06/2003 number 131) (e.g. anaesthesiology, surgery, radiology, nursing etc.). National alcoholism risk prevention program to assess number for year of accidents in health workplaces, is actually in progress leaded by Health Minister and Regional administration (e.g. Tuscany). Particularly, prevention program acts consist in comprehensive informations for health workers and their co- workers, about prevention and identification of alcoholism- related risks. To assess the size of alcohol problems in health workplaces, Occupational Health Medicine Institute of Second University of Naples is going to enrol 500 subjects (200 nursing students, 200 Specialist Registrars of different areas, 100 Consultants). Actually our population consists in 160 Specialist Registrars of different medical subjects (surgery, clinical and laboratory). To verify the importance of alcoholism risk perception, a not validated questionnaire was administrated. This original assessing instrument consists in 23 items with closed answers about demographic information, university, career, lifestyle, knowledge about rules taking alcoholic drinks. Results show a dangerous lack of information about alcohol health effects, even in Medical Specialist Registrars.

Temporal relationship between the appearance of thyroid autoantibodies and development of destructive thyroiditis in patients undergoing treatment with two different type-1 interferons for HCV-related chronic hepatitis: a prospective study.

In this prospective study we performed repeated evaluations of thyroid status in patients undergoing treatment with different preparations of recombinant interferons (IFNs), in order to identify early markers of thyroid dysfunction. Moreover, we aimed to investigate whether the development of thyroid dysfunction was related to the appearance of thyroid autoimmunity. Our study included 51 consecutive patients without pre-existing thyroid disease, admitted to our hospital for Hepatitis C virus (HCV)-related chronic hepatitis. Thirty-six patients (Gr. A) were treated with IFN-alpha 2b plus ribavirin (RIBA), whereas 15 patients (Gr. B) underwent treatment with IFN-alphacon-1 (CIFN) plus RIBA. Thyroid autoimmunity and function were prospectively evaluated before, every month during treatment and for 6 months after IFN withdrawal. At study entry, all patients were euthyroid and negative for thyroid autoantibodies. In Gr. A, 10 patients developed thyroid autoimmunity after a median period of 3 months (range: 1-6) treatment with IFN-alpha+RIBA. At the time of appearance of thyroid autoantibodies, 4 patients developed destructive thyrotoxicosis (overt in one case, subclinical in 3 cases), while other 4 patients showed a high reduction of serum TSH levels (median decrease: -75.7%, range: -61.9- -84.2), which reached the low values of normal range. After a median period of 2 months (range: 1-3) from these biochemical abnormalities, 6 patients continuing antiviral treatment developed hypothyroidism (overt in 3 cases and subclinical in the other 3). In Gr. B, 5 patients developed thyroid autoimmunity after a median period of 3 months (range: 2-10) of treatment with CIFN+RIBA. Soon after the appearance of thyroid autoantibodies, all patients developed an overt thyrotoxicosis (with hyperthyroidism in 2 cases). Antiviral treatment was discontinued in all 5 cases. Thereafter, thyroid function recovered spontaneously without significant modifications of serum TGAb and TPOAb levels until the end of the study. In conclusion our prospective study demonstrated that: 1) the appearance of thyroid autoantibodies during treatment with IFN was accompanied in most cases by the occurrence of a destructive process in the thyroid gland; 2) The clinical expression of destructive thyroiditis was more evident in patients treated with CIFN than that in patients treated with IFN; 3) The thyroid clinical outcome of these patients was strictly correlated to the continuation of cytokine treatment.