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Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of sex on patients undergoing total hip arthroplasty (THA) for hip osteoarthritis (HOA), aiming to assess the clinical and functional outcomes using patient‐reported outcome measures (PROMs). Methods: A retrospective analysis of patients undergoing THA at Ospedale Galeazzi‐Sant'Ambrogio between 2016 and 2022 was conducted. Inclusion criteria encompassed Kellgren–Lawrence grade III or IV HOA, with preoperative and 12‐month postoperative PROMs. Enroled patients have been selected from a larger cohort without matching design for confounders. The analyses were performed using R software v4.0.3 (R Core Team) and data distributions were assessed using the Shapiro–Wilk normality test. Results: One hundred ninety patients (72 male and 118 female) who had both preoperative and postoperative PROMs have been analysed from our institutional prosthesis registry (Datareg). Baseline and 12‐month post‐THA PROMs showed significant improvements overall. VAS score dropped notably from baseline to 3 months postsurgery (7.1 ± 2.1 vs. 0.9 ± 1.7). Functional and mental PROMs, including Harris Hip Score‐functional (HHS‐F), Harris Hip Score‐total (HHS‐t), SF‐12PS and SF‐12MS, exhibited substantial improvements post‐THA. Stratifying by sex, males had lower baseline VAS, higher HHS‐F, SF‐12MS and hip disability and osteoarthritis outcome score‐physical function short form (HOOS‐PS). At 12 months, males displayed significantly better VAS, HHS‐F, SF‐12PS and HOOS‐PS scores. Complication rates were minimal (1.5%), with stable rates across genders, mostly involving dislocation and periprosthetic fractures. Implant survival at 12 months reached an impressive 99%. Conclusion: THA remains an effective treatment for severe HOA. However, females presented with worse baseline conditions and showed relatively less improvement at 1‐year postsurgery compared to males. This difference could be attributed to physiological and psychosocial factors associated with sex, including hormonal changes, muscle mass decline and perception of pain. Longer follow‐ups and prospective studies are necessary to validate these findings and facilitate personalised approaches in HOA treatment, emphasising the need for careful consideration of sex‐related variables in clinical decision‐making for THA patients. Level of Evidence: Level III. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plenty of studies demonstrate that hospital-acquired anemia (HAA) can increase transfusion rates, mortality, morbidity and cause unnecessary patient burden, including additional length of hospital stay, sleep disruption and venipuncture harms resulting from blood samples unlikely to change clinical management. Beyond patient costs, community costs should also be considered, such as laboratory time and resources waste, environmental impact, increasing pressure on labs and fewer tests available on time for patients who can benefit from them most. Blood over-testing does not support the principles of non-maleficence, justice and respect for patient autonomy, at the expense dubious beneficence. Reducing the number and frequency of orders is possible, to a certain extent, by adopting nudge strategies and raising awareness among prescribing doctors. However, reducing the orders may appear unsafe to doctors and patients. Therefore, reducing blood volume from each order is a better alternative, which is worth implementing through technological, purchasing and organizational arrangements, possibly combined according to need (smaller tubes, adequate analytic platforms, blind dilution, blood conservative devices, aggregating tests and laboratory units). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traumatic brain injury is a significant global health issue, affecting approximately 69 million people annually. Early diagnosis is crucial for effective management, and biomarkers provide a promising approach to identifying traumatic brain injury in various settings. This study investigates the perceived usefulness of biomarker testing in two distinct contexts: emergency departments and sports settings. Comprehensive interviews were conducted among healthcare professionals in emergency departments and sports-related medical staff. The interviews assessed their perceptions of the diagnostic accuracy, practicality, and overall value of traumatic brain injury biomarker testing. The findings indicate that the perceived usefulness of biomarker testing is high among professionals in both settings. However, significant differences emerged in the perceived barriers to implementation, with emergency department staff citing logistical issues and sports professionals expressing cost concerns. Addressing identified barriers could enhance the adoption and effectiveness of these tests, ultimately improving patient outcomes. Future research should focus on optimizing testing protocols and reducing implementation challenges. This study aims to evaluate the implementation of mild traumatic brain injury biomarkers within the framework of value-based health care, focusing on diagnostic accuracy and patient outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The clinical laboratory is often evaluated for the volume of testing. However, it is undeniable that laboratory tests affect clinical decision-making and are included in many clinical guidelines, meaning their contribution to determining clinical outcomes. Therefore, the clinical laboratory professional has the task of enhancing laboratory tests by optimizing the request and reporting phase and addressing patient outcomes. This opinion paper, presenting practical examples of managing value-based health care in the clinical laboratory context, underlines the need to shift towards value-based management to optimize outcome-based health care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the increasing digitalization of health technologies and systems for collecting and storing health data has allowed for the creation of value from data and its use. However, this has led to the need to implement risk management regarding the protection and loss of health data. Observational studies, by nature, do not pose direct additional risks to the health of patients. However, the privacy of patients' needs to be preserved. This document, by presenting the obligations introduced by the current Regulation and delving into its impacts on governance, security, and management of health data, aims to provide technical-organizational measures to support the use of health data for research purposes in retrospective observational studies, particularly in laboratory medicine. It should be noted that this document is merely illustrative with reference to the cases analyzed and does not intend in any way to eliminate the evaluations of the Data Protection Officer (DPO) of the involved structures, as well as the necessary and timely risk assessment reserved for the Data Controller (DC). The document therefore aims to support the researcher in the task of providing the DPO and the DC with all the preliminary information regarding the study, in order to simplify and speed up the evaluation process. Accordingly, the document has been structured so that the researcher can benefit not only from information on the current legislation but also from informal tools such as dialogue windows with the lawyer and the analysis of real-world case studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The total testing process harmonization is central to laboratory medicine, leading to the laboratory test's effectiveness. In this opinion paper the five phases of the TTP are analyzed, describing, and summarizing the critical issues that emerged in each phase of the TTP with the SARS-CoV-2 serological tests that have affected their effectiveness. Testing and screening the population was essential for defining seropositivity and, thus, driving public health policies in the management of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the many differences in terminology, the unit of measurement, reference ranges and parameters for interpreting results make analytical results difficult to compare, leading to the general confusion that affects or completely precludes the comparability of data. Starting from these considerations related to SARS-CoV-2 serological tests, through interdisciplinary work, the authors have highlighted the most critical points and formulated proposals to make total testing process harmonization effective, positively impacting the diagnostic effectiveness of laboratory tests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]