This observational study describes the characteristics of the education programmes used in Italian PD-centres, evaluating a possible relationship between programmes and peritonitis rates. The survey involved 150 non-paediatric public dialysis centres in Italy. The data were collected by a questionnaire and evaluated with SPSS software. Descriptive statistics of synthesis were calculated, Kruskal-Wallis, Wilcoxon's test were used to verify the differences in the replies, and association between variables was tested with Pearson correlation and Pearson's chi2 test. 120 dialysis centres took part in the survey and reported a median incidence of peritonitis of 1/29 months. Training occurs in all the centres, while pre-dialysis education, home visits and re-training take place in 38.3%, 50% and 44.2% respectively. A lower peritonitis rates proves to be correlated to these activities rather than to presence of specialised personnel, to ratio nurses-patients or training time.

No abstract

Encephalopathy is emerging as a recurrent complication of COVID-19 yet remains poorly characterized. We report the case of a middle-aged woman with COVID-19-related encephalopathy presenting as expressive aphasia and inattentiveness, subsequently progressing to agitation and marked confusion. Brain MRI and CSF analysis were unremarkable, while EEG showed slowing with frontal sharp waves. Neuropsychiatric symptoms resolved following treatment with tocilizumab. CNS involvement in COVID-19 may present as a subacute encephalopathy characterized by prominent frontal lobe dysfunction, with language disturbances as first neurological manifestation. Future studies should further investigate the role of tocilizumab in treating COVID-19-related encephalopathy.

A patient with the antiphospholipid syndrome (APS), in whom a nonfatal myocardial infarction ensued after valvular heart replacement despite anticoagulation, is described. The report further stresses the role of concomitant risk co-factors in inducing thrombotic events and points out that cardiosurgery might represent a potential major risk for myocardial ischaemic damage in APS.

No abstract

Twelve patients with clinical and laboratory findings typical of essential mixed cryoglobulinemia, type II (EMC II) underwent multiple liver and bone marrow biopsies. In 9 of 12 cases (all hepatitis B surface antibody-negative), routine histology revealed patent infiltration of liver portal tracts, lobules and sinusoids by small lymphocytes provided with cytological characteristics closely resembling those of the LP immunocytoma of the Kiel classification. At immunophenotyping on frozen sections, these elements expressed the CD22 antigen (marker of B cells) and bore the same type of immunoglobulin (IgM/k = 8, IgM/λ = 1) as the monotypic component in the serum. Furthermore, in 7 of 9 patients repeated bone marrow needle biopsies showed multiple foci of infiltration by plasmacytoid cells, often with paratrabecular location. In the remaining 3 cases (all hepatitis B surface and core antigen-positive), liver biopsies were consistent with a diagnosis of cirrhosis (two) or chronic active hepatitis (one). In two of them, however, Jamshidi needle biopsy evidenced bone marrow infiltrates quite similar to those observed in the other group. On the basis of these findings, the authors discuss the hypothesis that most EMC II are substained by a low-grade malignant lymphoma.

No abstract

Scrotal swelling suggesting testicular torsion is a rare urological emergency which requires a clinical urgent evaluation and most of the times must be managed surgically. In newborns it can occur in the postnatal period, usually within the twenty-eighth day of life, or more frequently in utero, during the descent of the testis into the scrotum. Usually its poor fixedness allows the testis an abnormal mobility inside the scrotum, configuring the framework of extravaginal torsion. On the contrary during the perinatal period a twist that takes place inside the tunica vaginalis, known as intravaginal torsion, is extremely uncommon and only few cases are well documented in the literature. Authors present a rare case of intravaginal testicular torsion occurred in perinatal period. In this situation only the early surgical exploration of the scrotum may allow the rescue of the gonad, although in rare cases. Timing of surgical treatment and need for contralateral testicular fixation remain controversial. However since the anatomical defect of the tunica vaginalis can be bilateral the surgical fixation even of the contralateral testis is important, now or later, in order to prevent any future torsion of this gonad. The authors also present a brief review of recent literature on the subject.