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In the published article, there was an error in affiliation(s) 29. Instead of “Departement of Pediatrics, Diabetes Research Institute, IRCCS San Raffaele, Milano, Italy”, it should be “Diabetes Research Institute, IRCCS San Raffaele Hospital, Milan, Italy”. The authors apologize for this error and state that this does not change the scientific conclusions of the article in any way. The original article has been updated.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: To study the role of photodynamic therapy (PDT) as a therapeutic modality in myopic patients with dome-shaped macula (DSM) associated with foveal serous retinal detachment (SRD). PATIENTS AND METHODS: Retrospective interventional case series. The medical records of 10 consecutive myopic patients (10 eyes) with DSM associated with subfoveal SRD and treated with PDT were reviewed. Visual gain and loss were considered as increasing or decreasing of two or more lines of best corrected visual acuity (BCVA), respectively, and eyes with fluid resolution were deemed responsive to PDT. RESULTS: All eyes underwent several PDT treatments, with a median of three and a median follow-up time of 15.5 months. At final follow-up, six eyes (60%) showed complete resolution of the foveal SRD. The baseline hypocyanescent macular area observed during late indocyanine green angiography (ICGA) frames was significantly lower in the group of patients who responded to PDT and had an increase of at least two Snellen lines in BCVA ( P = .01). CONCLUSION: Data suggest that myopic eyes associated with DSM and foveal SRD may be responsive to PDT, showing total resolution of fluid accumulation and positive BCVA changes if baseline ICGA findings show evidence of a limited hypocyanescent macular area. [ Ophthalmic Surg Lasers Imaging Retina. 2015;46:217–223.]

Purpose: Different strategies applicable to control for confounding by indication in observational studies were compared in a large population-based study regarding the effect of bisphosphonates (BPs) for secondary prevention of fractures. Methods: The cohort was drawn from healthcare utilization databases of 13 Italian territorial units. Patients aged 55years or more who were hospitalized for fracture during 2003-2005 entered into the cohort. A nested case-control design was used to compare BPs use in cohort members who did (cases) and who did not experience (controls) a new fracture until 2007 (outcome). Three designs were employed: conventional-matching (D1), propensity score-matching (D2), and user-only (D3) designs. They differed for (i) cohort composition, restricted to patients who received BPs straight after cohort entry (D3); (ii) using propensity score for case-control matching (D2); and (iii) compared groups of BPs users versus no users (D1 and D2) and long-term versus short-term users (D3). Results: Bisphosphonate users had odds ratios (95% confidence interval) of 1.20 (1.01 to 1.44) and 0.95 (0.74 to 1.24) by applying D1 and D2 designs, respectively. Statistical evidence that long-term BPs use protects the outcome onset with respect to short-term use was observed for user-only design (D3) being the corresponding odds ratio (95% confidence interval) 0.64 (0.44 to 0.93). Conclusions: User-only design yielded closer results to those seen in RCTs. This approach is one possible strategy to account for confounding by indication. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Purpose: Osteoporosis is a chronic disease of the bone, whose incidence increases progressively with aging. The main consequences of osteoporosis are fragility fractures, which have considerable medical, social, and economic implications. Adequate treatment of osteoporosis must be considered as a compelling public health intervention. Bisphosphonates (BPs) represent the most significant advance in this field in the past decade, and they are widely used in the treatment of osteoporosis. However, evidence for their effectiveness is limited to secondary prevention, whereas their effect in primary prevention is uncertain and needs further investigation. Methods: Using administrative data collected in the "Biphosphonates Efficacy-Safety Tradeoff" (BEST) study, a nested case-control study was conducted by including 56,058 participants, aged 55 years who were started on oral BPs from 2003 to 2005. Cases were the 1,710 participants who were hospitalized for osteoporotic fractures until 2007. Up to 20 controls were randomly selected for each case. Conditional logistic regression model was used to estimate odds ratio of fracture associated with categories of treatment duration. Results: Compared with participants assuming BPs for less than 1 year, those who remained on therapy for at least 2 years had a 21 % (95 % confidence interval (CI) 7 to 33 %) fracture risk reduction. Conclusion: This study provides evidence that BPs, dispensed for primary prevention of osteoporotic fractures, are associated with a reduced risk of osteoporotic fractures after at least 2 years of treatment. © 2014 Springer-Verlag.

Background: This study investigates the effects of the antimicrobial cationic peptide omiganan-alone and combined with the antibiotic imipenem-on colonic anastomosis healing in presence of intraperitoneal sepsis induced in a rodent model of cecal ligation and puncture (CLP). Methods: Forty male Wistar rats were divided into 5 groups of 8 animals. Group 1 (control group) underwent laparotomy and cecal mobilization and the next day received left colon anastomosis. In group 2 (CLP without treatment), group 3 (CLP + imipenem), group 4 (CLP + omiganan), and group 5 (CLP + omiganan + imipenem), the left colon anastomosis was performed the day after CLP. Imipenem and omiganan were administered by intraperitoneal injection immediately before anastomosis construction and subsequently at 24 h intervals until the 7th postoperative day, when rats were sacrificed. Anastomotic bursting pressure was measured in situ. Tissue samples were collected for determination of hydroxyproline content and histological characteristics. Results: Only rats receiving omiganan + imipenem displayed re-epithelialization, reduced neovascularization of granulation tissue, and a bursting pressure that was similar to that of controls. Omiganan-alone and combined with imipenem-was associated with a better control of inflammatory parameters than imipenem alone. In addition omiganan, like imipenem, counteracted the collagen depletion typical of sepsis. Conclusions: This experimental study demonstrates the efficacy of the new antimicrobial agent omiganan, alone and in combination with imipenem, in delaying the effects of intraperitoneal sepsis on colonic anastomosis healing and provides evidence of the value of omiganan as a therapeutic agent.

Background Oral bisphosphonates (BPs) are the primary agents for the treatment of osteoporosis. Although BPs are generally well tolerated, serious gastrointestinal adverse events have been observed. Aim To assess the risk of severe upper gastrointestinal complications (UGIC) among BP users by means of a large study based on a network of Italian healthcare utilization databases. Methods A nested case-control study was carried out by including 110,220 patients aged 45 years or older who, from 2003 until 2005, were treated with oral BPs. Cases were the 862 patients who experienced the outcome (hospitalization for UGIC) until 2007. Up to 20 controls were randomly selected for each case. Conditional logistic regression model was used to estimate odds ratio (OR) associated with current use of BPs after adjusting for several covariates. A set of sensitivity analyses was performed in order to account for sources of systematic uncertainty. Results The adjusted OR for current use of BPs with respect to past use was 0.94 (95% CI 0.81 to 1.08). There was no evidence that this risk changed either with BP type and regimen, or concurrent use of other drugs or previous hospitalizations. Conclusions No evidence was found that current use of BPs increases the risk of severe upper gastrointestinal complications compared to past use.

Ketoacidosis is a potentially life-threatening complication in patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM), particularly children. If diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) is diagnosed late, the child risks cerebral edema, permanent neurological damage or even death. There have been only few studies of DKA in Italy.From January-May 2014 a nation-wide observational, retrospective study of DKA at diabetes onset was done by the Pediatric Diabetology Study Group (PDSG) of the Italian Society of Pediatric Endocrinology and Diabetes (ISPED), involving 76 Italian centers. DKA was defined using ISPAD criteria; 7457 new cases of T1DM were recruited from mainland Italy and the island of Sicily and 770 from Sardinia, in the period 2004-2013. On the mainland and in Sicily, DKA at diabetes onset was about 32.9% (95% CI 31.8-34.0%), and there was 6.6% (95% CI 6.02-7.20%) of the severe form. Mild and severe DKA risk was significantly higher in children aged 0-4 years; no significant temporal trend was found in the study period. Patients living in Sardinia or having a firstdegree relative with T1DM were at significantly lower risk of DKA at diabetes onset. In the ten-year study period three children died of DKA at onset and four suffered permanent neurological lesions. From November 2011-April 2012 the PDSG conducted a retrospective study based on a sample of 2025 patients with T1DM, aged 0-18 years, involving 29 national centers for pediatric diabetes. The incidence of DKA was 2.4% (IC 95% 1.8-3.1), with children older than ten years at significantly higher risk, probably due to shortages of insulin. Multiple analysis showed a higher risk of DKA in those using a rapid-acting insulin analog and in those with high HbA1c. Young mothers and low levels of education were also associated with DKA.In conclusion, although a wide network of specialized home pediatricians and pediatric diabetes centers is spread across the country, the incidence of DKA at diabetes onset is still high. Further social and health-system efforts are needed to boost awareness of this risk and to reduce damages and costs related to the complication.

A multi-centre, observational, cross-sectional study was carried out to determine whether the healthrelated quality of life (HRQOL) of adolescents with type 1 diabetes is affected by different insulin treatment systems, and which features of HRQOL are impacted by the respective insulin treatment. The study regarded 577 adolescents, aged 10–17 years, with type 1 diabetes treated with continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion (CSII) (n = 306) or multiple daily injections (MDI) (n = 271). The Insulin Delivery System Rating Questionnaire was validated in Italian and was self-completed by the subjects during a routine visit to the centres. Subjects were compared following the domains of the questionnaire. Good HRQOL was seen in subjects treated with either MDI or CSII. Significant differences were not found in the domains for general diabetes, including diabetes worries, social burden and psychological well-being. Multiple quantile regression analysis showed that CSII confers significant advantages in terms of HRQOL with improvements in treatment satisfaction, perceived clinical efficacy and reduction in treatment interference with daily activities.This favourable impact was more evident in subjects reporting lower HRQOL scores, suggesting that CSII may be especially useful for individuals perceiving a poor HRQOL. Analysis of the domains indicated that CSII was associated with a higher HRQOL than MDI. Life-course HRQOL evaluation using a standardised questionnaire can ensure better chronic disease management. This is particularly important when providing individualized care for adolescents, as they become increasingly responsible for managing their diabetes.

Ketoacidosis is a potentially life-threatening complication in patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM), particularly children. If diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) is diagnosed late, the child risks cerebral edema, permanent neurological damage or even death. There have been only few studies of DKA in Italy. From January-May 2014 a nation-wide observational, retrospective study of DKA at diabetes onset was done by the Pediatric Diabetology Study Group (PDSG) of the Italian Society of Pediatric Endocrinology and Diabetes (ISPED), involving 76 Italian centers. DKA was defined using ISPAD criteria; 7457 new cases of T1DM were recruited from mainland Italy and the island of Sicily and 770 from Sardinia, in the period 2004-2013. On the mainland and in Sicily, DKA at diabetes onset was about 32.9% (95% CI 31.8-34.0%), and there was 6.6% (95% CI 6.02-7.20%) of the severe form. Mild and severe DKA risk was significantly higher in children aged 0-4 years; no significant temporal trend was found in the study period. Patients living in Sardinia or having a firstdegree relative with T1DM were at significantly lower risk of DKA at diabetes onset. In the ten-year study period three children died of DKA at onset and four suffered permanent neurological lesions. From November 2011-April 2012 the PDSG conducted a retrospective study based on a sample of 2025 patients with T1DM, aged 0-18 years, involving 29 national centers for pediatric diabetes. The incidence of DKA was 2.4% (IC 95% 1.8-3.1), with children older than ten years at significantly higher risk, probably due to shortages of insulin. Multiple analysis showed a higher risk of DKA in those using a rapid-acting insulin analog and in those with high HbA1c. Young mothers and low levels of education were also associated with DKA. In conclusion, although a wide network of specialized home pediatricians and pediatric diabetes centers is spread across the country, the incidence of DKA at diabetes onset is still high. Further social and health-system efforts are needed to boost awareness of this risk and to reduce damages and costs related to the complication.