Biasucci LM, Colizzi C, Rizzello V, Vitrella G, Crea F, Liuzzo G. Role of inflammation in the pathogenesis of unstable coronary artery diseases. Scand J Clin Lab Invest 1999;59 (Suppl230):12-22.Inflammation has been shown to play a pivotal role in ischemic heart disease, in particular unstable angina. The instability that characterizes this syndrome is related to the waxing and waning of ischemic stimuli, especially thrombotic ones. Angiographically and autoptically the severity of the atherosclerotic background in unstable angina does not differ from that in chronic stable angina, but in the former mural thrombi are often found and coronary atherosclerotic plaques are characterized by an inflammatory infiltrate, mostly consisting of activated lymphocytes, macrophages and mast-cells. In addition to these local findings, systemic evidence also suggests the importance of the role of inflammation in unstable angina as platelets, neutrophils and monocytes are activated, and elevated levels of serum markers of inflammation, e.g. C-Reactive Protein, have been consistently found. CRF' has been demonstrated to be a reliable marker of prognosis in coronary heart disease. The consequenses of inflammation are a disruption in the dynamic balance between antithrombotic and prothrombotic activities, an altered extracellular matrix metabolism, hyper-reactivity of cells such as monocytes and smooth muscle cells, all important features of unstable angina. These findings have important prognostic implications, since markers of inflammation are associated to a worse prognosis, and may also have therapeutic implications in the near future LM Biusucci, Istituto di Cardiologia, Universita ' Cattolica, Roma, ITALY Scand J Clin Lab Invest Downloaded from informahealthcare.com by CDL-UC Riverside on 11/02/14 For personal use only. Scand J Clin Lab Invest Downloaded from informahealthcare.com by CDL-UC Riverside on 11/02/14 For personal use only. Scand J Clin Lab Invest Downloaded from informahealthcare.com by CDL-UC Riverside on 11/02/14 For personal use only. Scand J Clin Lab Invest Downloaded from informahealthcare.com by CDL-UC Riverside on 11/02/14 For personal use only.

Objective Clinical benefits of minimally invasive cardiac valve surgery (MIVS) have been reported. Improved postoperative mental status was never analyzed with dedicated psychological tests. In the present study we intend to investigate potential benefits of MIVS for patient psychological well-being, with special attention to the relevance of the patient perception of the chest surgical scar, of the self body image and cosmetic aspects. Methods Between 2016 and 2017, 87 eligible patients, age 66.5 ± 14.5 years, operated on for heart valve surgery, underwent either conventional full sternotomy (CS; n = 48) or MIVS by V-shape hemi-sternotomy approach ( n = 39). Before selection of the surgical approach, patients had undergone preoperative evaluation of their psychological status using Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II), State-Trait Anxiety Inventory Form Y (STAI-Y), and EuroQol-5D (EQ-5D) psychological tests. Six months postoperatively, patients filled in dedicated questionnaires to assess their psychological status, quality of life, and subjective perception, thus repeating the above-mentioned tests and adding the Body Image Questionnaire (BIQ) and Patient and Observer Scar Assessment Scale (POSAS) v2.0 tests for scar-healing process evaluation. Results No patient died during the study.The 4 post-test scales of psychological well-being (BDI-II P = 0.04, STAI-Y P = 0.04, 2 indices of EQ-5D P = 0.03, P = 0.01) showed significant differences between the MIVS group and CS group, with MIVS-small incision patients having lower level of depression and anxiety symptoms and better quality of life. Mean score differences of scar perception (BIQ and POSAS v2.0) were significant, with MIVS patients having evaluated the scar quality significantly better than CS patients. Conclusions MIVS appears associated with significant esthetical and related psychological benefits, as documented by technical tests. These findings should be considered when selecting the most appropriate technique for heart valve surgery.

Understanding and managing hospital Organizational Readiness to Change is a key topic with strong practical implications on society worldwide. This study provides, through a scoping literature review, a framework aimed at creating a road map for hospital managers who are implementing strategic processes of change. Ideally, the framework should act as a check-list to proactively detect those items that are likely to impede successful change. 146 items were identified and clustered into 9 domains. Finally, although built for the hospital setting, similar research approaches could be highly effective also in other large, public organizations.