Angela Meggiolaro

The effectiveness of measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccination in the prevention of pediatric hospitalizations for targeted and untargeted infections: A retrospective cohort study

ABSTRACT Objectives: To evaluate the effectiveness of the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine in reducing hospitalizations for infectious disease, targeted and not targeted, as well as from respiratory diseases in children in Rome. Methods: The cohort was recomposed through record linkage of 2 archives (vaccination register and hospital discharge records. Results: The analysis included 11,004 children. 20.9% did not receive the MMR vaccination, 49% and 30.1% received one and 2 doses. There were no hospitalizations for rubella, 2 for mumps, and 12 for measles. The vaccine was highly protective against measles and mumps hospitalizations (HR = 0.10; 95% CI: 0.03.0.34). Regarding all infectious diseases there were 414 hospitalizations, and the vaccine was protective (HR = 0.29; 95% CI: 0.25 to 0.34). Concerning respiratory diseases, there were 809 admissions (7.4%), and the vaccine was highly protective (HR: 0.18; 95% CI: 0.07 to 0.48). Conclusions: MMR vaccination is effective for the primary prevention of target and not targeted infectious diseases and may also limit hospitalizations for respiratory diseases.

Economic evaluation of HBV vaccination: A systematic review of recent publications (2000-2013).

ABSTRACT Aim: To conduct a systematic review of the economic evaluations (EE) of HBV vaccination, taking also into account the studies published in the new millennium.Methods: An extensive scientific literature review was conducted using two electronic medical journal databases: Scopus and PubMed engines for published studies on EE of HBV vaccination.Results: 22 articles were reviewed, 9, 5 and 8 cost-effectiveness, cost-benefit and cost-utility analysis, respectively. Studies were mainly concerning EE of universal vaccination (UV), mostly with regards to low or low-medium income countries. For high income countries, EE were focused on the possible implementation of HBV vaccination in particular settings, such as diabetic, renal and other chronic conditions care, as well as infectious diseasesUV has usually a very good cost-effectiveness ratio (80%), ranging from cost-saving (China) or few Euro per LY/QALY gained (in Thailand, and Vietnam) to 630.00

What is the impact of reporting guidelines on Public Health journals in Europe? The case of STROBE, CONSORT and PRISMA

/QALY in USA (Asian and Pacific Islands) Moreover, EE of HBV vaccination are favorable in the infectious diseases field as well as for chronic conditions. In relation to diabetes the studies gave controversial results.Conclusion: This systematic review highlighted the importance of introducing HBV vaccination not only for infant UV program but also for other settings in which patients are people affected by communicable and non-communicable diseases.

Reliability of the telephone-administered International Physical Activity Questionnaire in an Italian pilot sample

BACKGROUND The aim was to evaluate the use of PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses), CONSORT (Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials) and STROBE (Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology) methods in reviews, clinical trials and observational studies, respectively, which were published in European journals within the field of Public Health (PH). METHODS Papers published between 2010 and 2013 in seven PH journals were evaluated. The presence of the words PRISMA, STROBE and CONSORT was considered in the search criteria. RESULTS In total, 2355 of 3456 retrieved articles were included: 1.5% appeared to follow the guidelines. The boundaries within which the criteria were applied are 0-100% for CONSORT, 0-0.6% for STROBE and 0-37% for PRISMA. CONCLUSIONS A strong heterogeneity in the application of guideline statements was observed. A common agreement among journals regarding research-reporting methodologies could improve the quality of PH research publishing.

Association between Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) vaccination and risk of Multiple Sclerosis: A systematic review

Background: the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) is an instrument for crossnational monitoring of physical activity and inactivity. The aim of the study was the reliability evaluation of the Italian telephone-administered IPAQ version in Rome. Methods: the IPAQ short form (IPAQ-SF), consisting of 7 items, was administered. The responses, used to compute Metabolic Equivalent Task (MET in minutes per week), were processed to analyze the internal consistency. Standardized Cronbach’s alpha was used for reliability estimation. Results: a total of 133 adults (51 males and 82 females) participated in the study, with a mean age of 51 years (SD=19). The mean MET was 4 130, corresponding to good physical activity levels. The standardized Cronbach’s alpha on 6 items, concerning time spent on vigorous and moderate activity and walking, was 0.614. Conclusions: according to the findings from other countries, the Italian IPAQ-SF has acceptable measurement properties, as good as other established self-reports. The IPAQ-SF has a questionable reliability as previously reported, but the results of the present pilot study are promising and suggest that these instruments can be used to compare population estimates of physical activity.

Errori in medicina: la percezione degli studenti in Infermieristica di Roma

ABSTRACT INTRODUCTION: The vaccination against Humanpapilloma Virus (HPV) is an effective strategy to prevent high-risk HPV infection and subsequent cervical carcinogenesis. Although the safety profile has been ascertained, the relation with the development of central nervous system (CNS) autoimmune disorders (AD) appears still controversial. Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is the most common cause of chronic neurological impairment in young people, typically striking females. The main purpose of this review was to assess the association between HPV vaccination and MS. METHODS: The systematic review of the literature was carried out using 5 search engines: MEDLINE, SCOPUS, ISI WEB OF KNOWLEDGE, GOOGLE SCHOLAR and ClinicalTrial.gov. The web search was updated on January 2017. PRISMA checklist was adopted to address the content of the systematic review. The measures of outcome were reported as relative risk (RR) in cohort studies and odds ratio (OR) in case-control studies. RESULTS: The systematic review identified 5 observational studies, 9 reviews, and 1 randomized clinical trials (RCT) pooled analysis. The RR of MS onset detected by cohort studies ranged from 1.54 (95%CI, 0.04–8.59) to 1.37 (95%CI, 0.74–3.20). Concerning case-control studies, the OR spanned from 0.3, (95%CI 0.1–0.9) to 1.60 (95%CI = 0.79–3.25) for the group exposed to HPV vaccination. No result was significant. CONCLUSION: This review showed no significant association between HPV vaccination and MS. The low statistical power of the studies agreed with the low incidence of MS disease among general population. In order to overcome the shortcoming the research may be extended to the entire pattern of CNS ADs.