Valeria Di Onofrio

Prevalence of overweight in children with bone fractures: a case control study.

BackgroundChildrens fractures have been enlisted among orthopaedics complaints of childhood obesity. Unhealthy lifestyle behaviours may contribute to increased risk. This study described the prevalence of overweight/obesity in children and adolescents reporting a recent fracture in relation to gender, dynamic of trauma, and site of fracture.MethodsFour-hundred-forty-nine children and adolescents with fracture and 130 fracture-free controls were recruited from a large children’s hospital. The interaction between overweight and gender, dynamic of trauma, site of fracture was explored. Sports participation, television viewing, and calcium intake were also investigated.ResultsOverweight/obesity rate was increased in girls with fracture either at the upper or the lower limb (p= 0.004), while it was increased only in boys with fracture at the lower limb (p <0.02). Overweight/obesity rate did not differ between groups with low or moderate trauma. TV viewing ≥ 2 hrs was more frequent in children with fractures than controls (61.5% vs 34.5%, p =0.015) in the overweight/obese group.ConclusionsThe increased prevalence of overweight/obesity in children with fractures is related to gender and site of fracture. Higher levels of sedentary behaviours characterize overweight children reporting fractures.

Pattern of fractures across pediatric age groups: analysis of individual and lifestyle factors

BackgroundKnowledge of the epidemiology of childrens fractures is essential to develop preventive strategies. The aim of this study was to analyze the individual/lifestyle determinants of fractures across pediatric age groups.MethodsA cross-sectional study was performed in the first six months of 2008 through questionnaire on a sample of children from an outpatient clinic for pediatric fractures. Differences in gender, anatomic site, circumstances and location of fracture occurrence, behavioural lifestyle, and calcium intake were investigated among three different age classes (pre-school children, school children, and adolescents).ResultsThe sample consisted of 382 subjects (2-14 years of age) sustaining a fracture after low or moderate trauma. Males were at a higher risk of fractures than females; greater than two-thirds of injuries occurred after low-energy trauma and the upper limb was more frequently involved. With increasing age, the male/female ratio and time spent in sports participation increased (p < 0.001), while calcium intake and time spent in sedentary behaviors decreased (p < 0.001 and < 0.003, respectively). Gender discordance existed in pre-school children with respect to the anatomic location, and in school children and adolescents with respect to the dynamics. In the adolescent group, males were more physically active and also more sedentary than females. Fractures most frequently occurred in homes (41.6%), followed by playgrounds and footpaths (26.2%), sports facilities (18.3%), and educational facilities (13.9%), with gender differences existing only in adolescence. Twenty-three percent of the subjects sustained one or more fractures in the past. The percentage of recurrent fractures increased with age (p = 0.001), with a similar trend in both genders.ConclusionsGender differences were shown in the prevalence of injuries, characteristics, and circumstances across ages. These differences may be explained by the related changes in behaviors, together with attending different places. Individual and lifestyle factors can in part explain the variability in the occurrence of fractures and can also address targeted preventive strategies.

Adult immunization with 13-valent pneumococcal vaccine in Campania region, South Italy: an economic evaluation.

Pneumococcal pneumonia has a high clinical burden in terms of morbidity, mortality and hospitalization rate, with heavy implications for worldwide health systems. In particular, higher incidence and mortality rates of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) cases, with related costs, are registered among elderly. This study aimed to an economic evaluation about the immunization with PCV13 in the adult population in Campania region, South Italy. For this purpose we performed, considering a period of 5 y, a budget impact analysis (BIA) and a cost-effectiveness analysis which considered 2 scenarios of immunization compared with lack of immunization for 2 targeted cohorts: first, the high risk subjects aged 50–79 y, and second the high risk individuals aged 50–64 y, together with all those aged 65 y. Regarding the first group, the decrease of pneumonia could give savings equal to €29 005 660, while the immunization of the second cohort could allow savings equal to €10 006 017. The economic evaluation of pneumococcal vaccine for adult groups represents an essential instrument to support health policies. This study showed that both hypothesized immunization strategies could produce savings. Obtained results support the use of pneumococcal conjugate vaccine for adults. This strategy could represent a sustainable and savings-producer health policy.

Awareness of health risks related to body art practices among youth in Naples, Italy: a descriptive convenience sample study

BackgroundBody art practices have emerged as common activities among youth, yet few studies have investigated awareness in different age groups of possible health complications associated with piercing and tattooing.MethodsWe investigated perceptions of and knowledge about health risks. To highlight differences among age groups, we gathered data from students at high schools and universities in the province of Naples.ResultsOf 9,322 adolescents, 31.3% were pierced and 11.3% were tattooed. Of 3,610 undergraduates, 33% were pierced and 24.5% were tattooed (p < 0.05). A higher number of females were pierced in both samples, but there were no gender differences among tattooed students. Among high school students, 79.4% knew about infectious risks and 46% about non-infectious risks; the respective numbers among university students were 87.2% and 59.1%. Only 3.5% of students in high school and 15% of university undergraduates acknowledged the risk of viral disease transmission; 2% and 3% knew about allergic risks. Among adolescents and young adults, 6.9% and 15.3%, respectively, provided signed informed consent; the former were less knowledgeable about health risks (24.7% vs. 57.1%) (p < 0.05). Seventy-three percent of the high school students and 33.5% of the university students had body art done at unauthorized facilities. Approximately 7% of both samples reported complications from their purchased body art.ConclusionsResults indicate a need for adequate information on health risks associated with body art among students in Naples, mainly among high school students. Therefore, adolescents should be targeted for public health education programs.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa in Swimming Pool Water: Evidences and Perspectives for a New Control Strategy.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is frequently isolated in swimming pool settings. Nine recreational and rehabilitative swimming pools were monitored according to the local legislation. The presence of P. aeruginosa was correlated to chlorine concentration. The ability of the isolates to form a biofilm on plastic materials was also investigated. In 59.5% of the samples, microbial contamination exceeded the threshold values. P. aeruginosa was isolated in 50.8% of these samples. The presence of P. aeruginosa was not correlated with free or total chlorine amount (R2 < 0.1). All the isolates were moderate- to strong-forming biofilm (Optical Density O.D.570 range 0.7–1.2). To control biofilm formation and P. aeruginosa colonization, Quantum FreeBioEnergy© (QFBE, FreeBioEnergy, Brisighella, Italy), has been applied with encouraging preliminary results. It is a new, promising control strategy based on the change of an electromagnetic field which is responsible for the proliferation of some microorganisms involved in biofilm formation, such as P. aeruginosa.

Compliance with herpes zoster vaccination in young and adult individuals in two regions of Italy.

BackgroundThe purpose of this work was to explore the knowledge and acceptance of Varicella Zoster Virus (VZV)-Herpes Zoster (HZ) vaccination in the general Italian population, where the HZ vaccine has not yet been distributed, using a prevalence study of subjects from two regions in Italy.MethodsA group of 3,173 individuals were interviewed using a questionnaire. The youngest age group (≤ 20 year) was composed of students interviewed at university. The middle age group (21-40 years) and the older age group (≥ 41 years) were interviewed by general practitioners in their office.ResultsIn both regions, the majority of subjects had been infected with varicella, and only 165 (5.2%) subjects reported receiving the VZV vaccination. Regarding HZ, 2,749 (86.6%) individuals stated that they knew of the virus and 2,233 (70%) were willing to be vaccinated against HZ. The majority of people willing to be vaccinated were in the middle and older age groups (36.6% and 44.7%, respectively).ConclusionCompliance versus vaccination results were satisfactory and probably, with the upcoming availability of the HZ vaccine in Italy, adults will be favourably disposed towards vaccination.

Microbiological evaluation of the efficacy of two new biodetergents on multidrug-resistant nosocomial pathogens

BackgroundIn the last few years, several outbreaks of nosocomial infections caused by multidrug-resistant pathogenic agents have been observed, and various biocides products were developed in order to control this phenomenon. We investigated the efficacy of two natural biodetergents composed of plants and kelps extracts, BATT1 and BATT2, against multidrug-resistant strains.MethodsIn-vitro antibacterial efficacy of BATT1 and BATT2 against nosocomial multidrug-resistant isolates was assessed using a suspension-inhibition test, with and without bovine serum albumin (BSA). The test was also carried out on glass surfaces with and without BSA.ResultsIn vitro tests with both biocidal disinfectants at 25% concentration demonstrated an overall drop in bacterial, mould and yeast counts after 10 min of contact with or without organic substances. For Pseudomonas aeruginosa, it was necessary to use undiluted disinfectants with and without an organic substance. The same results were obtained in tests carried out on glass surfaces for all strains.ConclusionsThe natural products BATT1 and BATT2 behave like good biocides even in presence of organic substances. The use of both disinfectants may be beneficial for reducing hospital-acquired pathogens that are not susceptible to disinfectants.However, it has to be stressed that all these experiments were carried out in vitro and they still require validation from use in clinical practice.

Automated cleaning of fan coil units with a natural detergent-disinfectant product

BackgroundAir conditioning systems represent one important source of microbial pollutants for indoor air. In the past few years, numerous strategies have been conceived to reduce the contamination of air conditioners, mainly in hospital settings. The biocidal detergent BATT2 represents a natural product obtained through extraction from brown seaweeds, that has been tested previously on multidrug-resistant microorganisms.MethodsBATT2 has been utilized for the disinfection of fan coil units from four air conditioning systems located in hospital environments with a mean degree of risk. Samples were collected from the air supplied by the conditioning systems and from the surfaces of fan coil units, before and after sanitization procedures. Total microbial counts at 37°C and 22°C and mycotic count at 32°C were evaluated. Staphylococci and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were also detected on surfaces samples.ResultsThe biodetergent was able to reduce up 50% of the microbial pollution of fan coil units surfaces and air supplied by the air conditioners.ConclusionsBATT2 could be considered for cleaning/disinfection of air conditioning systems, that should be performed on the basis of accurate and verifiable sanitization protocols.

Phenotypic and genotypic characterization of vancomycin-resistant enterococci in a university hospital of southern Italy

Background: In the last decades vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) have emerged as important pathogensresponsibleforhospital-acquiredinfections.ToanalyzethespreadandclonalrelatednessofVRE, a two-year study of isolates was carried out in the hospital of the University “Federico II” in Naples. Methods: Enterococcus species were identified by using API-20 Strep and antibiotic susceptibility was determined through the use of four tests: disk diffusion, broth dilution methods, Etest and Vitek 2. Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) was used to analyse glycopeptide resistance. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and arbitrarily primed (AP)-polymerase chain reaction were used for molecular typing of the strains. Results: Thirty-two isolates of enterococci (18 E. faecium and 14 E. faecalis) showed resistance to vancomycin and teicoplanin and all the strains were vanA-positive. AP-PCR showed a unique clone of E. faecium, as well as for E. faecalis isolates. Identical results were obtained by PFGE for E. faecalis isolates, while three different PFGE patterns emerged for E. faecium. Conclusions: The low degree of genetic diversity among the isolates strongly suggests a clonal spread of antibiotic-resistant strains among hospitalized patients in high-risk wards. This report represents the first step to understanding VRE spread in our hospital as well as contributing to the comparison among different antibiotic susceptibility tests and molecular typing methods.

Investigating the Role of Physical Education in Physical Activity Promotion: An Italian Multicenter Study

BACKGROUND Physical education (PE) can be considered an instrument for active lifestyle promotion, and PE teachers can motivate youths to continue their studies in the field of Movement Sciences (MS). METHODS To evaluate the role of PE in higher secondary school in promoting physical activity (PA) and MS careers, previous PE experiences and current PA practice were investigated in a sample of Italian freshmen enrolled in different university degree courses. RESULTS A total of 7033 questionnaires were completed by students from 14 universities (41.3% males, mean age 20 ± 2.76 years). Recreation seemed to be the principal aim (42.2%) pursued during PE lessons, which are based mainly on practical activities (51.7%). Of all respondents, 67.2% were satisfied with the PE received during higher secondary school, and 51.6% participated in extracurricular PA. Current practice of PA was reported by 58.1% of the sample. Extracurricular activities were associated with choice of MS curricula (odds ratio: 2.15; 95% confidence interval, 1.85-2.50) and with current practice of PA (odds ratio: 1.68, 95% confidence interval, 1.51-1.87). Geographical differences concerning lessons organization and satisfaction were registered (P < .01). CONCLUSIONS To enhance its role in health promotion, PE teaching should be improved by increasing the time allocated to PE and by strengthening the provision of school-based extracurricular PA.