Longitudinal Nutritional Intakes in Italian Pregnant Women in Comparison with National Nutritional Guidelines

Background: Nutritional quality during pregnancy is crucial for mother and child health and their short/long-term outcomes. The aim of this study is to evaluate the adherence to nutritional recommendations in Italy during the three pregnancy trimesters in Normal Weight (NW) and Over Weight (OW) women. Methods: Data from a multicenter randomized controlled trial included 176 women (NW = 133; OW = 43) with healthy singleton pregnancies enrolled within 13 + 6 weeks of gestation. Dietary intake was assessed every trimester by a Food Frequency Questionnaire. Results: OW and NW had similar gestational weight gain. However, as Institute of Medicine (IOM) recommend lower gestational weight gain (GWG) for OW, they exceeded the suggested range. In both groups, caloric intake during the three trimesters never met recommendations. Protein intake in first and second trimester was higher than recommendations, as was sugars percentage. Dietary fiber intake was lower in OW. Polyunsaturated fatty acids, calcium, iron and folic acid requirements were never satisfied, while sodium intake exceeded recommendations. Conclusions: NW and OW women in Italy do not adhere to nutritional recommendations during pregnancy, with lower caloric intake, protein and sugars excess and inadequacies in micronutrients intake. Pregnant women in Italy should be provided with an adequate counseling and educational intervention as well as supplementation when indicated.     

A pocket computer program for common calculations in clinical pediatrics

This paper describes the use of a short computer program designed for use in a pediatric hospital ward. The program performs metric conversions, obviates the need for nomograms for body surface area and base excess determinations, and rapidly and accurately computes parenteral fluid mixtures, medication dosages, creatinine clearance, erythrocyte sedimentation rate corrections, and serum osmolality.     

Angiographic signs of type III placoid epitheliopathy, Harada's disease and uveal effusion

Placoid pigment epitheliopathy, Harada's disease, uveal effusion present angiographics signs in common. From fifteen cases, we have chose three of them, which were the most characteristic.     

Isolated plasmacytoma of the orbit

A case is described of a 62 years-old man who developed solitary plasmocytoma of the lacrimal sack. Treatment was by excision.     

Analysis of results in the treatment of peripheral retinoschisis in sex-linked congenital retinoschisis

Curative and prophylactic treatment of peripheral retinoschisis has been studied over a period of 20 years in 60 cases of sex-linked congenital retinoschisis. Peripheral retinoschisis occurred in 36 of 120 eyes. In all, 12 severely affected eyes in children under 10 years of age underwent surgery (8 improvements and 4 aggravations) and 21 cases were photocoagulated (18 stabilisations and 3 aggravations that were subsequently treated by surgery); 6 cases were not treated. Aggravations after surgery or photocoagulation were consistently observed in the early post-operative follow-up period. An epidemiological study of these 60 patients demonstrated that bullous-phase peripheral retinoschisis occurs only in patients under 10 years of age, with a tendency to regress with age (no cases were reported in patients over 50 years of age). This study closely corroborates the findings of authors who think that this type of retinoschisis tends to improve spontaneously and that indications for prophylactic or curative treatment should be very carefully considered.Presented at the XVIth Meeting of the Club Jules Gonin, Bruges, 4–8 September 1988     

Is chronic renal failure a risk factor for the development of erosive osteoarthritis?

Erosive osteoarthritis of the hands of unusually early onset and severity was seen in two patients treated for chronic renal failure by long term haemodialysis and renal homograft respectively. The significance of this observation is discussed in the light of previous studies of erosive arthropathy in patients with chronic renal failure. Factors associated with chronic renal failure may predispose to the development of erosive osteoarthritis.     

Hypercoagulability in arterial disease

Isolated human monocytes generate tissue factor when stimulated with endotoxin. Tissue factor generation provides a marker for activation of the monocyte and of the clotting system. Determination of the recalcification time of blood after incubation with endotoxin detects minute changes in coagulability. This clotting assay was utilized to assess the presence of a hypercoagulable state in patients with peripheral arterial occlusive disease when compared with healthy volunteers. Citrated blood was incubated with endotoxin for two hours, CaCl2 was added, and the recalcification time determined. Hypercoagulability was indicated by shortened recalcification time. The recalcification time +/- standard deviation for saline (control) and endotoxin-activated samples from 19 healthy volunteers was 6.55 +/- 0.8 and 5.69 +/- 0.7 minutes, respectively, whereas it was 4.93 +/- 1.2 and 4.55 +/- 0.9 minutes for 31 patients with peripheral arterial occlusive disease (p less than .001 for each). This hypercoagulable state can accentuate the arterial occlusive process in patients with peripheral vascular disease and may prove to be of diagnostic, therapeutic, and prognostic significance.     

Danazol in the Treatment of Menorrhagia: The Effect of a 1 Month Induction Dose (200 mg) and 2 Month''s Maintenance Therapy (200 mg, 100 mg, 50 mg or placebo)

This paper highlights the difficulties of recruiting subjects to objective menstrual blood loss (MBL) studies. Such difficulties may explain the relative paucity of such studies in the literature. Eleven women with objectively assessed evidence of menorrhagia were treated for 1 month with an induction dose of 200 mg of danazol (Danocrine). Subsequently the women were randomly assigned to receive 50, 100 or 200 mg of danazol or placebo for 2 months of maintenance dosing. Follow-up with objective assessment of MBL was continued for 3 months after cessation of maintenance dosing. Danazol 200 mg as an induction dose significantly reduced MBL. The maintenance dose of 200 mg during the following 2 months produced a further decrease in MBL and in some cases amenorrhoea. The lower maintenance dosages of 50 mg and 100 mg were associated with a variable response. The study was unable to determine whether any beneficial effect of the maintenance dosages of danazol could be maintained following cessation of therapy since the study numbers had become too small. It appears, however, that there is unlikely to be any persisting benefit once therapy has ceased.