[Gout From the Corpus Hippocraticum to the Renaissance: The Role of Galen].

Gout is a common, complex, systemic and well-studied form of chronic inflammatory arthritis due to deposition of sodium monourate crystals in peripheral joints and periarticular tissues driven by hyperuricemia. Gout is the oldest recorded inflammatory arthritis to affect humankind, with roots stretching back to 2640 BCE. To establish the timeline of gout from the Corpus Hippocraticum to the Renaissance, this study focuses on Galen (129-c.

Incidence and risk factors of acute kidney injury in redo cardiac surgery: a single center analysis.

The incidence, risk factors and prognostic implications of acute kidney injury (AKI) in patients undergoing redo cardiac surgery are still poorly defined. We prospectively collected data on 394 consecutive redo patients between January 2011 and October 2020. Patients were divided into groups according to the occurrence of different degrees of postoperative AKI (No AKI vs.

High Prevalence of Kidney Stone Disease of Gouty Origin in Roman Pontiffs Reigning in the Years 537-2005.

Objectives: Many Roman pontiffs are known to have had kidney stone disease. However, no specific report has explored the prevalence of the various stones in popes, which is the purpose of this study.

Materials And Methods: We extensively studied the histories of all popes (n = 264) from Saint Peter to John Paul II (34-2005).

Acute Kidney Injury as a Leading Cause of Papal Deaths in the Years 1277 to 2005: A Review of 21 Cases.

Objectives: This study was devised to investigate papal deaths due to acute kidney injury, a topic for which scarce data exist.

Materials And Methods: We studied all popes between John XXI, who died in 1277 of crush syndrome, and John Paul II, who died of anuria and urinary sepsis in 2005.

Results: Between pontification years from 1277 to 2005, 21 of 78 popes (26.

Malaria as a Papal Disease.

Objectives: In this study, we aimed to investigate the effects of malaria on the lives of Roman pontiffs.

Materials And Methods: The histories of all 264 popes from Saint Peter to John Paul II were extensively studied.

Results: Malaria affected the lives of Roman pontiffs.

Prognostic Implication of Preoperative Anemia in Redo Cardiac Surgery: A Single-Center Propensity-Matched Analysis.

Preoperative anemia has been associated with increased morbidity and mortality after cardiac surgery, but little is known about its prognostic value in the setting of redo procedure. A retrospective, observational cohort study of prospectively collected data was undertaken on 409 consecutive patients referred for redo cardiac procedures between January 2011 and December 2020. The EuroSCORE II calculated an average mortality risk of 25.

The Dropsy of Popes (1555-1978): A Bad Prognostic Sign Foreboding of Death.

The purpose of this study is to explore the historical background of edema as a prognostic sign in popes, a special category of medical subjects whose health status was closely monitored and chronicled because of their unique important status in the events of their times. Nine out of 51 popes, who reigned in the years 1555-1978, died edematous at a mean age of 75.5 years of age.

Cardiac surgery practice during the COVID-19 outbreak: a multicentre national survey.

Objectives: Healthcare systems worldwide have been overburdened by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak. Accordingly, hospitals had to implement strategies to profoundly reshape both non-COVID-19 medical care and surgical activities. Knowledge about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cardiac surgery practice is pivotal.

Cardiac surgery practice during the COVID-19 outbreak: a regionwide survey.

Background: Health systems worldwide have been overburdened by the "COVID-19 surge". Consequently, strategies to remodulate non-COVID medical and surgical care had to be developed. Knowledge of the impact of COVID surge on cardiac surgery practice is mainstem.

Refeeding syndrome as described in 1507 by Antonio Benivieni in Florence.

In 1981, Weinsier and Krumdieck described death resulting from overzealous total parenteral nutrition in two chronically malnourished, but stable, patients given aggressive total parenteral nutrition. This was the birth of what is now called the refeeding syndrome, a nutrition-related disorder associated with severe electrolyte disturbances. The purpose of this work is to demonstrate that refeeding syndrome was first described medically in Florence by Antonio Benivieni in 1507 in his book On Some Hidden and Remarkable Causes of Diseases and Cures.

John XXI, the Pope Philosopher and Physician-Scientist of Portuguese Origins Died of Crush Syndrome in 1277.

The aim of this work is to refer on the death due to crush syndrome in 1277 of Pope John XXI, philosopher, logician, anatomist, physician scientist, university professor of medicine at the university of Siena and author of books adopted for nearly 4 centuries in universities in the Middle Ages. The Pope died crushed by the ceiling of his office which had been built in rush to meet his need for a quiet and warm place, his need of light and nature. There he attended to his duties of governing the church, studied fine theological questions, inspected the stars, made experiments and discussed with the renowned ophthalmologists who in those days made Viterbo the center of the study on vision.

Legislative proposal in Italy to facilitate contacts between deceased organ donor families and transplant recipients.

Contacts between organ donors and recipients might be possible in the near future in Italy. As suggested by The Italian Committee of Bioethics "anonymity is requested by the Italian National Transplant Centre" before transplantation anonymity shall be strict in order to grant privacy, gratuity, justice, solidarity and benefits and avoids organ trafficking. Following a period that is ethically correct and justifiable, organ donor families and recipients can meet after signing a valid declaration of consent, expressed on a template valid for the whole country.

Safety of low intensity oral anticoagulant therapy in patients with bileaflet mechanical aortic valve prosthesis: A propensity weighted study.

Background: Scarce data are available on the long-term outcomes of different regimens of oral anticoagulation in an all comer population of patients undergoing aortic valve replacement with a bileaflet mechanical heart valve.

Methods: Outcomes of 88 patients discharged with a target INR of 2.0 (LOW-INR) were compared to 147 contemporary patients who have been recommended a target INR of 2.

Topical rifampicin for prevention of deep sternal wound infections in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting.

Deep sternal wound infections (DSWI), although an infrequent complication, significantly impair postoperative outcomes after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) surgery. Among several preventive strategies, topical antibiotic therapy immediately before sternal closure has been strongly advocated. In this retrospective analysis, the incidence of DSWI in 517 patients undergoing isolated CABG and receiving rifampicin irrigation of mediastinum, sternum and suprasternal tissues was compared to an historical consecutive cohort of 448 patients.

Noninvasive ventilation: education and training. A narrative analysis and an international consensus document.

Noninvasive ventilation (NIV) is an increasingly used method of respiratory support. The use of NIV is expanding over the time and if properly applied, it can save patients' lives and improve long-term prognosis. However, both knowledge and skills of its proper use as life support are paramount.

[Narrative Medicine can reduce opposition to organ removal for transplantation].

In Italy in 2017 out of 2738 assessments of death, there was a 28.7% of oppositions of family members to the removal of organs post-mortem. This opposition is a serious limitation to the development of transplantation programs.

[Laws regulating transplantation should express the contemporaneity. Questions to the constitutionalist Francesco Paolo Casavola and to the philosophers Remo Bodei and Aldo Masullo about the possibility deciding the destiny of one's own organs at the time one decides on how to die and on contacts between donor families and recipients.].

Transplantation represents modernity thus the laws regulating the procedure should be continuously renovated and remodeled in order to take full advantage of progress. The debate is about Law no. 219, December 22, 2017 and on Law no.

Implications of obesity in cardiac surgery: pattern of referral, physiopathology, complications, prognosis.

A U-shaped relationship between body mass index (BMI) and outcomes emerged after cardiac surgery. This review analyses the physio pathologic basis of obesity related complications and evaluates prognostic implications. Both leaner and morbid obese should be considered pre-operatively rather than reactively and, when referred for elective surgery, should undergo a focused metabolic status management, and a thorough evaluation of health status.