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In Italy, vaccination against hepatitis B virus infection was strongly recommended for healthcare workers since 1985. Update findings on vaccination coverage are lacking.To assess current vaccination coverage against hepatitis B in this job category.In 2006, 1,632 healthcare workers randomly selected in 15 Italian public hospitals completed a self-administered precoded questionnaire.The overall vaccination coverage was 85.3%, a figure higher than the 64.5% observed in 1996. Vaccine coverage showed a significant downtrend (p0.01) from the Northern (93.1%) to the Southern (77.7%) areas. Logistic regression analysis showed that residence in the North (Odds ratio 4.2; 95% confidence interval 2.6-6.7) and youngest age (Odds ratio 4.5; 95% confidence interval 2.6-7.8), both were independent predictors of vaccine acceptance.Ten years apart, vaccine coverage has markedly increased, closely paralleling the downtrend in the incidence of acute B hepatitis among healthcare workers in Italy.

A growth curve is presented, that using the Tanner and Whitehouse's 50th centile, plots the height versus weight, both for males and females. The age is gives as parameter on the curves. In this way, weight, height and age are merged on a single chart for every sex. After exemplifying its advantages, the simpler relief of deviation from the values of the height-weight medians on the various ages, because the values of weight refer to the real height (and back), not to the age. With the same rule, curves relating to 10th and 90th centiles are processed by Tanner and Whitehouse's values. Collating between them, curves allow some morphological relief. Moreover, for both referred to the 50th centile of Tanner and Whitehouse curves (for the male sex and the female one), is presented a simple mathematical expression of interpolation, which shows and excellent representation of the measured dates. This expression is composed of a third-degree polynomial (cubic), which is fitted to the dates by the method of least square. The result of the correlation height-weight allows both to synthesize the dates in a sole expression and a simpler relief of discordance in the growth.

The influence of the model of object relations on modern psychodynamic research has led to increased emphasis on the importance of relations and traumatic events in the genesis of some psychic disorders, especially with regard to personality disorders. The development of axis II in the DSM-III system has increased the number of empiric studies in this field. In this paper, the Authors report data relating to a sample of 49 subjects with personality disorders (DSM-III-R) in which the presence of sexual abuse, physical maltreatment and negative family atmosphere was examined using a self-administered questionnaire (CAT). The results suggest a significant presence of these events throughout the sample and reveal a correlation between some personality disorders and specific traumatic events. It may therefore be hypothesized that the presence of these events represents an important factor from the point of treatment, both in technical and in prognostic terms.

The prescriptions of antiepileptic drugs in the years 1985 and 1986 were used to identify all possible cases of epilepsy in a population of about 50,000 people. The general practitioners of the study area filled out a questionnaire for each user of antiepileptic drugs registered as a patient of theirs. This information was integrated using data obtained by local specialist services or directly collected by visits and/or phone interviews. Two-hundred and fifty-six of the 417 antiepileptic drug users proved to be active epileptics with a prevalence rate of 5.2/1000, the annual incidence rate for 1986 being 51.8/100,000. The main patterns of the disease appeared to be consistent with those of the literature while the prior history of seizures in the previous five years was generally lower. The health care of epileptic patients involved a wide range of specialists. The general practitioners were responsible for the final diagnosis of epilepsy in 10% of patients and for the management of the disease in 22%, most of the patients being over 50 years old. The calculated mean prescribed daily doses of the antiepileptic drugs suggested that many epileptics were taking therapeutic schedules lower than those of the literature.

To estimate the risk of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection among student nurses, we measured the prevalence of HBV infection in 218 student nurses (192 female and 26 male nurses) and the annual attack rate in a subgroup of 117 subjects. In both studies sera were tested with an enzyme immunoassay for the presence of HBsAg, anti-HBc and anti-HBs. In the prevalence study 24 student nurses (11.1%) had a marker of prior HBV infection; the presence of both anti-HBc and anti-HBs was the most prevalent serologic pattern. 2 student nurses were HBsAg positive (0.9%). Prevalence of infection was strongly related to increasing age, while the occupation of the head of the family showed no effect. In the incidence study 7 subjects seroconverted in a year (6.2%): 6 acquired only anti-HBc and 1 only anti-HBs. These data suggested the hypothesis that the presence of anti-HBc alone (a pattern usually associated with past infections in which anti-HBs is no more detectable) may represent false positive results. The implications of such hypothesis are discussed with particular reference to prevaccination screening policy.

The results of a serosurvey for leptospiral antibodies in a random sample of healthy subjects are reported. The study was carried out in an area where a waterborne outbreak of leptospirosis, due to leptospires of serogroup Australis, had occurred a month before. Sera were tested with the microagglutination technique. Leptospiral agglutinins were found in 13.8% of tested subjects, mostly in adult females. The highest prevalence rate was observed for serovar lora belonging to serogroup Australis. The leptospires of this group have a relevant spread in the study area in keeping with other surveys carried out in Italy.

A mini-epidemic consisting of 5 cases of Legionnaire's disease treated during september 1983 is reported. These patients shared many of the symptoms distinguishing the most common form of this disease in its severe or very severe form and some characteristic features of this case series are emphasised. It was impossible to trace the source of the outbreak, in spite of the fact that the mini-epidemic took place in an open situation. It is underlined that diagnosis is mainly clinical. The Legionella pneumophila bacteria should always be considered as one of the causal agents of bronchopneumonia, particularly when the following conditions are fulfilled: a) the disease takes the form of a confined, out-of-season, mini-epidemic; b) it is accompanied by multisystemic symptomatology and/or much greater involvement of general conditions that is usually to be expected in normal cases of bronchopneumonia. Since the disease is often fatal, erythromycin or rifampicin treatment should be started upon the slightest suspicion of contagion.

The Luria-Nebraska Neuropsychological Battery was administered to 22 patients with ascertained multiple sclerosis. The result is tht in these patients a brain damage exists in 54.5% of cases, but without preferential localization of the damage. Furthermore, the damage is not significantly correlated to four clinical parameters of the illness: age of the patient, age of the onset of the illness, duration of the illness and disability level.

SUMMARYIn one locality in Italy where the incidence of psittacosis has increased rapidly since 1980, a hospital-based study and a seroepidemiological survey were carried out in order to define the clinical and epidemiological features of psittacosis in that area.Registers of the Virology Unit of the University of Ancona, Italy, were reviewed and all hospitalized patients with a serological diagnosis of psittacosis were identified. A total of 76 cases were found and studied. A presumptive bird source was identified in 80% of 62 patients, on whom a detailed investigation had been possible. Poultry represented the most frequent probable source of infection. Clinically, the predominant pattern of illness was a moderately severe lower respiratory tract infection, with chest X-rays showing pulmonary shadowings in 68 patients (89%).In the seroepidemiological study, 51 out of 143 subjects were exposed to birds (35·7%), but only 7 out of 90 urban adult blood donors (7·3%) were positive for chlamydial antibodies using the microimmunofluorescence test.

Sleep research has underlined how sleep is a specific functional moment inserted in the more complex system of circadian psychobiological rhythms. Many experimental data have evidenced that in particular REM sleep is involved in information processing and cognitive processes. The authors examine correlations between daytime cognitive performances and sleep patterns in a group of 11 schizophrenic patients, and in a control group made of 11 non-schizophrenic (borderline, depressed, character disorders) patients. Results show that there exists a relationship between REM sleep and cognitive activities, beyond nosographic partitions. They on the other side suggest caution in using sleep as a means of discrimination between schizophrenic and non-schizophrenic patients.