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Objectives: Explore the effect of the introduction of a hybrid CT angio suite on the in-hospital workflow time of patients with acute ischemic stroke. Methods: This was a retrospective observational case-control study. All consecutive patients admitted to our emergency department with suspected ischemic stroke who underwent stroke imaging and mechanical thrombectomy (MT) in the new hybrid CT angio suite from October 2023 to March 2024 were included in the study. The primary outcome was the evaluation of in-hospital workflow times by the assessment of both the time from hospital admission to the beginning of the endovascular treatment (door-to-groin time, DTG) and the time from the interpretation of imaging to arterial puncture (CT-to-groin time, CTTG). The secondary aim was the evaluation of the clinical outcome through the evaluation of the mRS at 3 months. These data were compared to the control group. Results: Between October 2023 and March 2024, 50 consecutive patients with suspected ischemic stroke underwent neuroimaging and MT in the hybrid CT angio suite. We observed a significant reduction of the median DTG time from 71 min to 36 min (p < 0.001) and the median CT-to-groin time from 44 min to 12 min (p < 0.001) compared to the control group. Conclusions: The introduction of the hybrid CT angio suite dedicated to acute ischemic stroke has definitely reduced in-hospital delays, allowing better management of these patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Aim: Helicobacter pylori infection is one of the most common bacterial infections affecting humans, causing gastroduodenal and extraintestinal diseases. Treatment of the infection remains challenging for the clinicians, and different factors are involved in the failure of the therapeutic approach. The importance of the intensity of acid secretion inhibition remains an unclear issue. The aim of this study is to assess whether 80 mg/day esomeprazole‐based 10‐day sequential therapy (esomeprazole‐ST) achieved different eradication rates when compared to 80 mg/day pantoprazole‐based analogous regimen (pantoprazole‐ST). Methods: This was a retrospective observational study where data of consecutive patients referred by their physicians to our unit to perform an upper gastrointestinal endoscopy were analyzed. Results: Overall, 1,327 patients were available for the analysis: 599 and 728 patients received pantoprazole‐ST and esomeprazole‐ST, respectively. Eradication rate was significantly higher in patients receiving esomeprazole‐ST (92.6%, 95% CI: 91–94.5) than pantoprazole‐ST (89.3%, 95% CI: 86.7–91.7; difference: 3.3%; 95% CI: 0.2–6.5; P = 0.037). Even after a multivariate analysis, the esomeprazole‐ST achieved a significantly higher eradiation (OR: 1.44; 95% CI: 1.1–2.17). Conclusions: This study showed that esomeprazole‐ST achieved significantly higher H. pylori cure rates than pantoprazole‐ST. Prospective and well‐designed trials are demander to confirm this prelaminar finding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and objective: Our study compares the clinical outcome of chronic low back pain present for over six months treated with alpha-lipoic acid (ALA) + palmitoylethanolamide (PEA) and myrrh and periradicular infiltrations of oxygen-ozone under CT guide to periradicular steroidal infiltrations in a short (one week), medium (three months) and long-term period (six months). Methods: We enrolled 246 patients (Group A) with low back pain treated with periradicular infiltrations of oxygen-ozone under CT guide combined with 800 mg/day of ALA + 600 mg/day of PEA + 200 mg/day of myrrh orally. Group B consisted of 176 patients with low back pain treated with periradicular infiltrations of steroids. Patients were clinically monitored one week after the end of treatment, at three months, and at six months using a modified version of McNab's method. Results: In Group A, the one-week clinical follow-up registered a complete remission of painful symptoms in 206 patients (83.7%), and this manifestation remained optimal in 191 patients at the three-month follow-up (77.6%) and in 178 at six months (72.3%). While the results were satisfactory in 28 patients (10.9%) at one week, 32 (13%) in the medium term, and 41 (16.6%) in the long term, non-significant results were found in 12 patients in the control at one week (4.6%), in 23 at three months (9.3%) and in 27 at six months (10.9%). In Group B, at the short-term follow-up we obtained an excellent clinical result in 103 patients (80.5%), while at three months 85 patients reported the persistence of clinical benefit (66.4%) and at six months, 72 (56.2%) reported the same result. The result was rated satisfactory in 11 (8.5%) and poor in 4 (3%). At the three-month follow-up, 23 (18%) reported a satisfactory result, and 20 (15.6%) had a poor result. At six months, 24 (18.8%) reported the persistence of a satisfactory result while for 32 the result was poor (25%). Conclusion: The results highlight how the treatment associated with ozone therapy and oral administration of alpha-lipoic acid + palmitoylethanolamide and myrrh can be considered a valid alternative to common therapeutic approaches in the treatment of chronic low back pain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection is a widespread infection that causes various gastroduodenal diseases and some extraintestinal disorders. Curing this infection remains challenging for clinicians, mainly because of bacterial resistance towards the few available antibiotics. Therefore, as for other infectious diseases, therapeutic approaches should be opportunely designed using the principles of antimicrobial stewardship. Theoretically, only susceptibility-based antimicrobial therapy should be considered as appropriate for treating this infection. Unfortunately, H. pylori owns some particular characteristics that make the infection slightly peculiar. More specifically, it is "fastidious" about growing in culture, and its isolation is not easily achieved, even in dedicated laboratories that, to make matters worse, are only scantily spread among countries. We examined the pros and cons of bacterial culture for antibiotic susceptibility testing before different therapy lines, and its applicability in the real clinical life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]