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Copyright of Summa, Animali da Compagnia is the property of Point Veterinaire Italie s.r.l. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This essay offers the reader a series of reflections on medicines as technical objects, objects of use, and artefacts coping with the corporeality of the patient as a user. Since the intent here is not to propose or validate a theory, medications are mainly devoted descriptive attention, along with an effort to render practical scenes and problematize and advocate awareness for the relevance of user-centredness. Intended as a theoretical contribution that highlights some critical issues concerning user-related factors for the in-home medication management, its contents mainly review some consolidated literature from the anthropology of medications.

According to article 187 of the Italian Traffic Regulations, to establish if a driver is under the influence of drugs, one has to ascertain both the biological positivity and the impairment of the psychophysical status while driving. Several precursor devices exist that measure the influence of drugs and other psychoactive substances, but no instrument can verify the psychophysical conditions. Answers can only come from a forensic exam, either on-site or at the hospital. During seven night shifts, a joint team composed of medical specialists and Police officers tested the psychological conditions of drivers as a result of the levels of alcohol and drugs in their bodies via a specific precursor known as Safedrive®, in fact, an app for mobile devices. This tool is straightforward to use, impartial, safe, repeatable, transportable, and low cost. The test results can be stored as legal evidence. About 20% of participants passed the test, a result comparable with the sample population of reference. No differences were observed between tests on male and female subjects, but there are differences among age groups. Based on the test results, the authors suggest a comparison between the evaluations of the psychophysical status of drivers made by medical specialists and the Safedrive® app. A similarity between test results could be established to fine-tune the app and use it as an impartial precursor of psychophysical conditions. Legal advice would be required before the device is officially cleared for use and its results have legal value. Further clinical evaluations are also needed to certify the possibility that the device can be used regularly. Should the Safedrive® app be adopted as a legal precursor for the evaluation of the drivers' physical condition, dedicated training sessions for Police Officers would be advised. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Summa, Animali da Compagnia is the property of Point Veterinaire Italie s.r.l. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

L'aderenza alla terapia rappresenta uno dei fattori principali di successo clinico soprattutto per i pazienti con patologie croniche come quelli con I.R.C. Spesso però, sono numerosi i fattori che la compromettono e il medico e l'infermiere sono chiamati ad intervenire per rafforzare l'alleanza terapeutica con il paziente al fine di migliorare l'aderenza. L'indagine condotta in questo studio su 56 dei 70 pazienti emodializzanti nell'ospedale S. Vito di Torino, ha permesso di individuare quali elementi influenzano la loro aderenza alla terapia farmacologica domiciliare, soprattutto nell'ambito delle conoscenze sui farmaci assunti e del supporto informativo fornito dai medici e gli infermieri del Centro Dialisi. La dimenticanza nell'assumere la terapia si è rivelata tra i fattori principali di non aderenza, seguita dalla posologia delle prescrizioni farmacologiche poco coniugabili con lo stile di vita del paziente. I risultati del questionario somministrato agli assistiti, hanno dimostrato che la conoscenza da parte del paziente sulla terapia assunta e un minor numero di farmaci prescritti, influenzano positivamente la sua aderenza. A1 contrario, la chiarezza delle informazioni ricevute dal personale sanitario non è risultata significativa in questo ambito. Al termine dello studio sono stati individuati alcuni interventi atti ad affrontare le criticità emerse dall'indagine. (sian) (nursing)

The range of osteoporosis treatments is increasingly large and, like any disease, the pharmacological management of patients should involve a risk/benefit evaluation to attain the greatest reduction in risk of fracture with the lowest incidence of adverse events. The aim of this review is to critically appraise the literature about the safety issues of the main pharmacological treatments of osteoporosis. This document is the result of a consensus of experts based on a systematic review of regulatory documents, randomized controlled trials, metaanalyses, pharmacovigilance surveys and case series related to possible adverse drug reactions to osteoporosis treatment with calcium and vitamin D supplements, bisphosphonates, strontium ranelate, selective estrogen receptor modulators, denosumab, and teriparatide. As expected, randomized controlled trials showed only the most common adverse events due to the samples size and the short observation time. Case series and observational studies are able to provide data about uncommon side effects, but in some cases a sure cause-effect relationship needs still to be confirmed. Consistently with methodological limitations, the newer drugs have a tolerance profile that has not been fully explored yet. Osteoporosis treatments showed an overall good tolerance profile with rare serious adverse events that, however, must be well known by the clinician who prescribes these drugs. The concern about possible adverse events should be weighed against the reduction of morbidity and mortality associated with a significant fracture risk reduction.