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Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest None of the authors has any conflict of interest to disclose.

Background and Objectives : Late preterm (LP) infants (born between 34 and 36 weeks of gestational age) are considered at higher risk of neonatal morbidities, mortality, and neurological impairments than full-term born infants (FT). The aim of this study was to provide a critical review of the literature outlining the different aspects of neurological function reported both in the neonatal period and in the follow up of late preterm infants. Materials and Methods : A comprehensive search of the MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, and CINAHL electronic databases was made, using the following search terms: 'Late preterm infants', 'Near term infants', 'neurological assessment', 'neurological outcome', 'neuromotor outcome', cerebral palsy', 'CP', 'motor impairment', including all the studies reporting clinical neurological assessment of LP (including both neonatal period and subsequent ages). Results : A total of 35 articles, comprising 301,495 children, were included as fulfilling the inclusion criteria: ten reported neonatal neurological findings, seven reported data about the first two years after birth, eighteen reported data about incidence of CP and motor disorder during the infancy. Results showed a more immature neurological profile, explored with structured neurological assessments, in LP infants compared with FT infants. The LP population also had a higher risk of developing cerebral palsy, motor delay, and coordination disorder. Conclusion : LP had a higher risk of neurological impairments than FT infants, due to a brain immaturity and an increased vulnerability to injury, as the last weeks of gestational age are crucial for the development of the brain.

The authors report the case of a female patient (41 years old) affected by mucopolysaccharidosis type III or Sanfilippo syndrome submitted to a gynecologic surgical procedure and describe the main anesthesiologic problems. A sub-arachnoid anesthesia with hyperbaric Bupivacain 0.5% was used. This technique proved to be safe and convenient without peri- and postoperative complications.

In view of the growing number of examinations proposed and employed for the diagnosis of diseases of the thyroid, a retrospective evaluation was made of their validity in a series of 2500 patients (1500 operated). Attention was paid to scintiscanning, oncotropic indicators, echography, needle biopsy, thyrolymphography and thyroid hormones as aids to determining the nature of thyroid lesions and the planning of their treatment. Scintiscanning and needle biopsy proved of primary importance in determination of the nature of a lesion. Echography supplied additional, though not necessarily indispensable information. Oncotropic indicators and thyrolymphography do not appear to be useful. They do not provide data enabling a diagnostic problem to be solved, but can only help to increase any doubts that may exist. Determination of thyroid hormones is clearly indicated when planning the management of hot lesions (single, multiple or disseminated nodes), in cold lesions where thyroiditis is suspected, and in all cases where the clinical evidence suggests hypothyroidism. In euthyroid subjects requiring surgery with no objective signs of hypofunction, preoperative determinations appear to be unnecessary, where as post-operative values are of assistance in assessing the functional efficiency of the residual thyroid tissue. The conclusion to be drawn, therefore, is that diagnostic examinations should be employed in a more selective and discriminating manner.