Reactive vaccination as control strategy for an outbreak of invasive meningococcal disease caused by Neisseria meningitidis C:P1.5-1,10-8:F3-6:ST-11(cc11), Bergamo province,Italy, December 2019 to January 2020

In Italy, serogroup C meningococci of the clonal complex cc11 (MenC/cc11) have caused several outbreaks of invasive meningococcal disease (IMD) during the past 20 years. Between December 2019 and January 2020, an outbreak of six cases of IMD infected with MenC/cc11 was identified in a limited area in the northern part of Italy. All cases presented a severe clinical picture, and two of them were fatal. This report is focused on the microbiological and molecular analysis of meningococcal isolates with the aim to reconstruct the chain of transmission. It further presents the vaccination strategy adopted to control the outbreak. The phylogenetic evaluation demonstrated the close genetic proximity between the strain involved in this outbreak and a strain responsible for a larger epidemic that had occurred in 2015 and 2016 in the Tuscany Region. The rapid identification and characterisation of IMD cases and an extensive vaccination campaign contributed to the successful control of this outbreak caused by a hyperinvasive meningococcal strain.     

Bronchial carcinoid tumors: clinical and radiological correlation

PURPOSE: To evaluate the incidence of bronchial carcinoid tumor (BCT) in population affected by various lung tumors, retrospectively reviewed between 1986-2001, and to emphasize the radiographic patterns if they are characteristic. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In the above mentioned period, chest x-ray and CT were performed in 1110 patients, both male and female, affected by lung neoplasms. RESULTS: 20 patients were affected by BCT (16 males, and 13 females), aged between 26 and 75 years (mean age 57.5), with histopathologic diagnosis of typical (9 cases, 31%) and atypical (20 cases, 69%) bronchial carcinoid tumors. Localized right lung lesion were as follows: 7 cases in superior, 9 in middle and 4 in inferior lobes; in the left lung, 5 cases in superior, and 4 in inferior lobes. Size of the lesions was as average 2.4 cm in diameter (with a range of 0.5-12 cm). On x-ray and CT images, BCT appeared as a well marginated nodule, of which 9 were peripheral and 20 central. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: BCT are classified as neuroendocrine carcinomas,and are divided in typical and atypical forms, with variable grade of malignancy. Central neoplasms are symptomatic due to bronchial obstruction (i.e., pneumonia, atelectasis, bronchiectasis, emphysema and/or lung abscess); if airway obstruction is partial, then cough, wheezing and recurrent pulmonary infections occur. Peripheral tumors are generally asymptomatic and they are discovered occasionally, when chest x-ray is made for other reasons. Radiographic features are similar in typical and atypical BCT. In central tumors a rounded well circumscribed hilar mass is noted, with lobulated or bumpy margins. Central cavitation is not referred to. Peripheral BCT appear as a solitary nodule, inferioer then 3 cm in size, marginated, surrounded by normal pulmonary tissue. Signs and symptoms of BCT are evasive and vague. No current clinical or laboratory procedures are useful in confirming the diagnosis; particularly, no imaging modalities are able to differentiate between BCT and other pulmonary tumors. For this reason, a clinical radiologic endoscopic and histopathologic approach is necessary. CT is more sensiticve then conventional radiography, especially in detecting small lesions, calcification and enlarged lymph nodes. MRI may be useful in those patients, who cannot tolerate IV contrast media. Scintigraphy may be employed in discovering relapses and long standing metastases.     

How early L2 children perform on Italian clinical markers of SLI: A study of clitic production and nonword repetition

Early second language (EL2) learners generally perform more poorly than monolinguals in specific language domains, presenting similarities with children affected by specific language impairment (SLI). As a consequence, it can be difficult to correctly diagnose this disorder in EL2 children. The current study investigated the performance of 120 EL2 and 40 age-matched monolingual children in object clitic production and nonword repetition, which are two sensitive clinical markers of SLI in Italian. Results show that EL2 children underperform in comparison to monolinguals in the clitic task. However, in contrast to what is reported on Italian-speaking children with SLI, EL2 children tend not to omit clitics but instead produce the incorrect form, committing agreement errors. No differences are found between EL2 and monolingual children on nonword repetition. These results suggest that, at least in Italian, EL2 children only superficially resemble children with SLI and, on closer inspection, present a qualitatively and quantitatively different linguistic profile.     

Bone quality, as measured by trabecular bone score in patients with adrenal incidentalomas with and without subclinical hypercortisolism

Patients with adrenal incidentalomas (AIs) and subclinical hypercortisolism (SH) have increased risk of fracture independent of bone mineral density (BMD) and possibly due to reduced bone quality. The trabecular bone score (TBS) has been proposed as a index of bone microarchitecture. The aim of the study was to investigate TBS in AI. In 102 AI patients, SH was diagnosed in the presence of at least two of the following: (1) urinary free cortisol >70 µg/24 h (193.1 nmol/L); (2) cortisol after 1‐mg dexamethasone suppression test (1‐mg DST) >3.0 µg/dL (82.8 nmol/L); or (3) adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) <10 pg/mL (<2.2 pmol/L). In patients and in 70 matched controls, BMD was measured at lumbar spine (LS) and femur (neck [FN] and total [FT]) by dual X‐ray absorptiometry and TBS was assessed in the region of LS‐BMD; BMD and TBS data were reported as Z‐scores. In patients, vertebral deformities were assessed by radiograph. Patients with SH (n = 34) had lower LS‐BMD (?0.31 ± 1.17), FT‐BMD (?0.29 ± 0.91), and TBS (?3.18 ± 1.21) than patients without SH (n = 68, 0.31 ± 1.42, p = 0.03; 0.19 ± 0.97, p = 0.01; ?1.70 ± 1.54, p < 0.0001, respectively) and controls (0.42 ± 1.52, p = 0.02; 0.14 ± 0.76, p = 0.02; ?1.19 ± 0.99, p < 0.0001, respectively). TBS was inversely correlated with 1‐mg DST (β = ?0.26, t = ?2.79, p = 0.006) regardless of age, LS‐BMD, body mass index (BMI), and gender. The presence of fracture was associated with low TBS alone (odds ratio [OR], 4.8; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.85–12.42, p = 0.001) and with the cluster low TBS plus low LS‐BMD (OR, 4.37; 95% CI, 1.71–11.4, p = 0.002), after adjustment for age, BMI, and gender. Low TBS plus low LS‐BMD showed a good specificity (79%) for predicting fractures, whereas normal TBS (ie, > ?1.5) plus normal LS‐BMD high specificity (88.1%) for excluding fractures. Finally, TBS predicted the occurrence of a new fracture in 40 patients followed for 24 months (OR, 11.2; 95%CI, 1.71–71.41, p = 0.012) regardless of LS‐BMD, BMI, and age. In SH, bone quality, as measured by TBS, is altered. TBS is useful in detecting AI patients at risk of fractures. © 2012 American Society for Bone and Mineral Research.     

Outcome and management of isolated moderate renal pelvis dilatation detected at postnatal screening

The aim of this study was to evaluate the incidence and outcome of isolated moderate renal pelvis dilatation (RPD) [anterior–posterior diameter (APD) 10–15 mm] in an unselected population of 2-month-old infants prospectively followed for up to 12–14 months of life. Isolated moderate renal pelvis dilatation was detected in 282 of the 11,801 (2.4%), infants screened; 240 infants with normal renal ultrasound were enrolled as the control group. Resolution of RPD was considered when an APD ≤ 5 mm was found on two consecutive sonograms. Urological investigations were initiated if the RPD persisted or if urinary tract infection (UTI) occurred during follow-up, and antibiotic therapy was administered only when UTI occurred. The events of interest were resolution of the RPD, presence of uropathy and UTI. At follow-up, RPD persisted only in 18 infants; of these, four infants were diagnosed with vesicoureteral reflux (grade 1–3) and 14 with ureteropelvic junction obstruction. Of the 223 infants with RPD and 230 control infants who completed follow-up, UTI occurred in 3.6 and 2.5%, respectively. The incidence rate of UTI per 1000 person-months was 5.98 episodes in the patient group and 5.22 episodes in the control group. The rate ratio was 1.146 (95% confidence interval 0.389–3.54, p = 0.8). Our data suggest that isolated moderate RPD is essentially a self-limiting condition and that antibiotic prophylaxis for the prevention of UTI should not be performed. A non-invasive ultrasound scan performed during the follow-up is sufficient to diagnose a potentially dangerous and persistent RPD.