The prevalence of malnutrition is increasing globally due to factors such as age-related pathological conditions and diseases that impact food and beverage intake. In hospital settings, older adult ...patients often require homogenised diets, which can lead to malnutrition due to poor palatability and limited variety. This study compared the Standard Homogenised Diet (HSD) and a Modified Homogenized Diet (HMD) proposed in a tertiary hospital in Northern Italy. A retrospective and observational design was used to analyse data from 86 adult patients with various conditions requiring a homogenised diet. The primary goal was to compare food intake, rheological characteristics, and palatability of the two diets. The secondary objective was to evaluate the economic impact by comparing costs and quantifying food waste from unused meals. Patients on HMD had a median daily caloric intake of 852 kcal (IQR 787–926 kcal) compared to 631 kcal (IQR 506–797 kcal) in the HSD group. Taste, texture, palatability, and ease of intake for HMD outperformed HSD with scores such as 3.7 ± 0.6 vs. 2.5 ± 0.4 for taste. Economically, HMD was EUR 0.53 less expensive per day than HSD, and food wastage costs were significantly lower for HMD (EUR 2.66 ± 0.81) than HSD (EUR 4.66 ± 1.27). Overall, HMD presented substantial benefits in patient satisfaction and cost-efficiency. This insight may aid diverse care settings to enhance meal acceptance and nutritional intake for patients needing homogenised diets.
Hospital malnutrition is especially common among elderly patients with neurological deficits or dementia. These conditions can be exacerbated by unpalatable diets and issues such as dysphagia and ...presbyphagia. Our study aimed to investigate the prevalence of malnutrition in patients on a homogenized diet and to identify potential correlations with specific clinical variables. We conducted a retrospective observational study in compliance with the STrengthening the Reporting of OBservational studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) guidelines. The study encompassed 82 patients, mainly elderly and diagnosed with neurodegenerative diseases. Upon initial assessment, 46.34% of the sample displayed a risk of malnutrition based on the Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool (MUST), and 62.20% were classified as malnourished based on the Global Leadership Initiative on Malnutrition (GLIM) criteria. Only 45.12% retained autonomy in food intake. Weight loss identified prior to the study was closely tied to malnutrition and influenced BMI. Moreover, autonomy in food intake was strongly associated with a prolonged hospital stay (LOS), and a similar trend was observed for water intake. Our findings emphasize the importance of promptly recognizing patients at risk of malnutrition, especially within such a vulnerable population. Autonomy in food intake and hydration emerge as critical indicators in the clinical management of hospitalized patients.
The objective was to assess the adherence, persistence, and costs of bDMARDs through a multicentre study of nine Italian hospital pharmacies.
The drugs analysed were Abatacept, Adalimumab, ...Certolizumab, Etanercept, Golimumab and Tocilizumab.Adult subjects with Rheumatoid Arthritis were considered in the analysis.In this study, we calculated the following metrics: Adherence to treatment was evaluated as dose-intensity, which is the ratio between the amount of medication received and probably taken by the patient at home (Received Daily Dose, RDD) and the amount prescribed by the clinician (Prescribed Daily Dose, PDD). Persistence was calculated as the number of days between the first and last dispensing of the same drug. Lastly, costs were assessed based on persistence to treatment and normalized for adherence.
Adherence to treatment was found to be above 0.8 for all drugs studied. The median persistence for a 5-year treatment period was 1.4 years for Abatacept, 1.7 years for Adalimumab, 1.8 years for Certolizumab, 1.4 years for Etanercept, 1.3 years for Golimumab, and 1.6 years for Tocilizumab.
This multicentre retrospective observational study of bDMARDs used in the treatment of RA showed that, for all the drugs studied, there was no problem with adherence to treatment but rather a difficulty in maintaining treatment with the same drug over time.
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Background: The standard treatment options for LASCCHN are cCHT+RT or CET+RT. Strategies to improve the efficacy with the integration of induction chemotherapy are being ...investigated. Primary endpoints of this study were to compare: 1) the overall survival (OS) of induction vs. no induction arms; 2) the Grade(G)3-4 in-field toxicity of cCHT+RT vs. CET+RT. Methods: Patients (pts) with unresectable LASCCHN, stage III-IV, ECOG PS 0–1 were randomized to a 2x2 factorial design: Arm A1: cCHT+RT (2 cycles of ciplatin/5fluorouracil); Arm A2: CET+RTX; Arm B1: 3 cycles of TPF followed by the same cCHT+RT; Arm B2: 3 cycles of TPF followed by CET+RT. A total of 204 deaths over 420 pts ( including the 101 randomized in the phase II part of the study comparing cCHT+RT with or w/o induction TPF) were required to detect a HR of death of 0.675 (A1+A2 vs. B1+B2; 2-sided a=0.05; b=0.20) and a 10% difference in G3-4 in-field mucosal toxicity (A1+B1 vs. A2+B2). Results: By February 2012, 387 pts over 413 pts were evaluable for toxicity. 82% of pts were male; median age was 60y; PS: 0=77.8% and 1=22.2%. Disease stage was III (31%) or IV (69%). Sites of disease were oral cavity (21.7%), oropharynx (54.8%), hypopharynx (23.5%). At a median follow-up of 21 months, 126 deaths occurred. Data on G3-4 in-field toxicity (primary endpoint) and compliance to cCHT+RT vs CET+RT are shown in the table. Conclusions: No advantage for CET+RT over cCHT+RT was observed regarding G3-4 in-field toxicities and feasibility. Pts are still being followed-up to assess OS. Table: see text
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Background: This is the first phase III study directly comparing CRT vs CET/RT in LASCCHN. Primary endpoints of this study were to compare: 1) overall survival (OS) of induction ...vs. no induction arms; 2) Grade 3-4 in-field toxicity of CRT vs. CET/RT. Preliminary toxicity results of concomitant treatments (primary endpoint for this comparison) were reported at the 2012 ASCO meeting. Here we present response rate and survival data for the two concomitant treatments (CRT vs. CET/RT), irrespective of induction chemotherapy. Methods: Untreated patients with unresectable LASCCHN, stage III-IV, ECOG PS 0–1 were randomized to a 2x2 factorial design: Arm A1: CRT (2 cycles of cisplatin/5fluorouracil concomitant to RT); Arm A2: CET/RT; Arm B1: 3 cycles of TPF followed by the same CRT; Arm B2:3 cycles of TPF followed by CET/RT. Results: A total of421 patients were randomized: 261 received CRT (131 Arm A1+ 130 Arm B1) and 160 received CET/RT (80 Arm A2+ 80 Arm B2). 82% were male; median age was 60y; PS of 0 (79%) or 1 (21%). Stage was III (32%) or IV (68%). Sites of disease were: oral cavity 20%, oropharynx 57%, hypopharynx: 23%. No significant differences were observed in patients’ characteristics distribution. At a median follow-up of 32.9 months, a total of 174 deaths occurred (204 required for final OS analysis). Data on activity and efficacy of CRT and CET/RT are shown in the Table. Conclusions: No significant differences were observed in response rate, progression free survival and OS between CRT and CET/RT. Pts are still being followed-up to assess OS of induction vs. no induction arms. Clinical trial information: NCT01086826. Table: see text
Acute cardiac rejection, syndrome X, and arterial hypertension can induce small vessel damage and, therefore, restriction of coronary reserve in the presence of normal epicardial coronary arteries. A ...characteristic response pattern to dipyridamole (DIP) infusion has been previously described in syndrome X and arterial hypertension: ST segment depression without any measurable systolic dysfunction. The aim of this study was to establish whether acute cardiac rejection might induce electrocardiographic alterations during DIP infusion. Changes in the 12-lead electrocardiogram and two-dimensional echocardiogram during high-dose DIP infusion (up to 0.84 mg/kg in 10 minutes) were evaluated within 24 hours of endomyocardial biopsy in 14 transplanted patients. A total of 47 biopsy-controlled DIP studies were performed within 5 weeks after cardiac transplantation. For each patient, at least 7 days elapsed between two consecutive studies. Electrocardiographic and echocardiographic tracings were analyzed without prior knowledge of endomyocardial biopsy findings. No remarkable side effects occurred in any case, so that the DIP study could be completed in all patients. A diagnostic (greater than 0.1 mV) ST segment depression was found in 11 studies. The sensitivity and specificity of DIP-induced ST segment depression for the detection of biopsy-proven acute rejection were 72% and 94%, respectively. These data show that DIP stress is feasible and safe in transplanted patients and that acute cardiac rejection can be accompanied by DIP-induced ST segment depression without detectable impairment in systolic function. These changes might provide noninvasive markers for surveillance of rejection.
For noninvasive evaluation of anatomy and flow characteristics of internal mammary artery graft (IMA-graft), 2D echo-Color-Doppler (CDE) was performed in 60 patients (54 M, 6 F, mean age 54.1 +/- 6.9 ...y), who underwent coronary angiography 20.1 +/- 13 months after a coronary artery bypass graft (CABG). CDE was performed, using an echocardiographic unit equipped with a 5 MHz linear transducer. In all patients, measurements of IMA-graft diameter (mm), and peak systolic and diastolic flow velocity (cm/sec) were obtained at baseline and also in 16 patients after dipyridamole infusion (0.54 mg/Kg/min) and in 10 patients after sublingual nitroglycerin (NTG) (0.4 mg). Angiography showed the IMA-graft patency in 58/60 patients (96.8%). A typical biphasic flow was displayed by CDE in 49/58 patients (84.4%) with angiographic patency. Dipyridamole infusion increased both IMA-graft diameter and peak diastolic flow velocity (PDFV) from 2.28 +/- 0.51mm to 2.9 +/- 0.42mm and from 19.4 +/- 6.2 cm/sec to 93.9 +/- 29 cm/sec, respectively (p < 0.0001). No significant modifications of peak systolic flow velocity (PSFV) were observed. NTG increased PDFV from 29.11 +/- 8 cm/sec to 41.88 +/- 7.20 cm/sec (p < 0.005), while diameter and PSFV showed no statistically significant modifications. CDE is a useful diagnostic tool for noninvasive evaluation of IMA-graft patency both early after surgery and during long-term follow-up. CDE pharmacological stress improves the sensibility of the technique and it can provide indirect information about pathophysiology of recipient coronary vessel.
Methanol intoxication produces a well recognized clinical picture characterized by gastrointestinal, ocular and nervous system symptoms. The effect of poisoning on the cardiovascular system has not ...been well documented. We report the case of a 55 year old man whose acute methanol intoxication caused severe reversible cardiac failure. This represents the first description of an association between methanol toxicity and acute cardiac dysfunction in man.
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