The BBS seems to be a valid and reliable tool able to be adopted also by professionals of the ballroom dancing sector (e.g., Valzer, Polka and Mazurka classes). Instructors may evaluate the functional ability of their attendees through BBS to easily obtain more information and better plan ballroom dance classes. Moreover, we highlight that these conclusions need to be supported by other studies with different cohorts and a larger population scale.

Colonization and/or infection with multidrug-resistant microorganisms (MDRO) of pressure ulcers in patients receiving care at home have seldom been investigated. The objective of this study was to assess the prevalence of MDRO colonization in pressure ulcers of patients receiving home care in Palermo, Italy. Vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE), methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), and multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacilli (MDRGN) were isolated, identified, and characterized from pressure ulcers and selected home environment surfaces. Thirty-two patients were enrolled, of whom 12 were under antimicrobial therapy. Five patients had been admitted to hospital in the preceding year. Nineteen patients tested positive for 1 or more MDROs. In particular, 1 patient was colonized by a vanA-containing strain of VRE, 5 by MRSA, and 17 by MDRGN of different species. Our findings suggest that pressure ulcers in home care patients could play a role in bringing MDROs into the community setting.

In this study 45 isolates of Acinetobacter baumannii identified from patients in intensive care units of three different hospitals and from pressure ulcers in home care patients in Palermo, Italy, during a 3-month period in 2010, were characterized. All isolates were resistant to at least three classes of antibiotics, but susceptible to colistin and tygecycline. Forty isolates were non-susceptible to carbapenems. Eighteen and two isolates, respectively, carried the bla(OXA-23-like) and the bla(OXA-58-like) genes. One strain carried the VIM-4 gene. Six major rep-PCR subtype clusters were defined, including isolates from different hospitals or home care patients. The sequence type/pulsed field gel electrophoresis group ST2/A included 33 isolates, and ST78/B the remaining 12. ST2 clone proved to be predominant, but a frequent involvement of the ST78 clone was evident.

Elevated TC seems to be associated with better functional outcomes in patients with first-time stroke.

No abstract