Approaches for Selective Vaccinations in Cirrhotic Patients.

Bacterial and viral infections are common in cirrhotic patients, and their occurrence is associated with the severity of liver disease. Bacterial infection may increase the probability of death by 3.75 times in patients with decompensated cirrhosis, with ranges of 30% at 1 month and 63% at 1 year after infection. We illustrate the indications and the modalities for vaccinating cirrhotic patients. This topic is important for general practitioners and specialists.

COVID emergency: an opportunity to increase the interaction between hepatologist and primary care physician.

The outbreak of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) worldwide had evidenced the opportunity to increase the interaction between specialist and primary care physician (PCP). COVID 19, started in December 2019 in China, has been considered a public health emergency by the Department of Health and Human Services and, now, it is a pandemic disease with worldwide diffusion. The COVID-19 crisis permits to increase the role of telemedicine as a tool for the delivery of health care services at distance and to slow down the virus diffusion. This technology is cheap and easy to use but it is limited by governmental licensing restrictions, reimbursement barriers, lesser extent of infrastructure and difficulties related to the change. During COVID-19 epidemy, telemedicine is safe, low cost and-permits to treat urgent and routine specialist cases without human proximity and contact which would spread infection, particularly to the elderly and immunocompromised patients. In COVID-19 era, the goal of PCP is to reduce travels and visits in specialized center for liver disease patients. A strict collaboration between specialized hepatologist and PCP is needed.

Pneumococcal vaccination in celiac disease.

INTRODUCTION: Celiac disease (CD) is an immune-mediated disorder associated with gluten exposure in genetically predisposed subjects. Areas covered: Infectious disease is one of the causes of morbidity and mortality in CD patients. Invasive streptococcus pneumoniae (pneumococcus) is a particularly dangerous morbid condition in both the general population and celiac patients. Pneumococcal vaccination is the most effective means for its prevention. Expert opinion: In CD, evaluation of spleen function should be useful to select patients who may benefit from vaccination to reduce the risk of pneumococcal disease. Different strategies could be employed: physicians could search for signs of hyposplenism on peripheral blood smear or abdominal ultrasound. However, the best strategy to identify which patients will benefit from pneumococcal vaccination has not yet been defined.

Achieving vocational training goals during six months in an Italian general practice.

BACKGROUND: General practice training in Europe is still an unresolved issue. Italy has developed a formation course similar to specialty schools, awarding a certificate of attendance at the end of a 3-year period. Its training goals are defined mainly as work hours in medical facilities, including two semesters at two general practices. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate if a registrar, during a semester in a general practice, has access to a case spectrum consistent enough to achieve the training goals, both 'methodological' (work organization targets) and 'specific' (targets of opportunity). METHODS: During a six-month period, every patient contact qualified for tutoring was recorded. For each visit, access mode and priority, patient name, age, patient reason for encounter (RFE), diagnosis, referrals, prescribed laboratory tests and treatment were recorded. Data was evaluated as in other Italian medical specialties; i.e. compared to target numbers. RESULTS: A total of 1 828 contacts and 2 437 RFE in 122 work days were recorded. There were 1 007 and 613 contacts with and without appointment respectively, 88 'family contacts,' 44 scheduled check-ups, 11 phone contacts, and 65 nurse interventions. Of all contacts, 9.8% were indirect. In six months, we had at least one contact with 792 patients out of 1 500 (52.8%). Main RFE resulted from respiratory and musculoskeletal symptoms while most frequent diagnoses belonged to musculoskeletal, cardiovascular and respiratory fields. CONCLUSIONS: A six months training period can be sufficient for representing a general practitioner's work organization and primary care epidemiology. However, deficiencies were observed.