Background Individual differences in susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 infection, symptomatology and clinical manifestation of COVID-19 have thus far been observed but little is known about the prognostic factors of young patients. Methods A retrospective observational study was conducted on 171 patients aged ≤ 65 years hospitalized in Alessandria’s Hospital from 1st March to 30th April 2020 with laboratory confirmed COVID-19. Epidemiological data, symptoms at onset, clinical manifestations, Charlson Comorbidity Index, laboratory parameters, radiological findings and complications were considered. Patients were divided into two groups on the basis of COVID-19 severity. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to establish factors associated with the development of a moderate or severe disease. Findings A total of 171 patients (89 with mild/moderate disease, 82 with severe/critical disease), of which 61% males and a mean age (± SD) of 53.6 (± 9.7) were included. The multivariable logistic model identified age (50–65 vs 18–49; OR = 3.23 CI95% 1.42–7.37), platelet count (per 100 units of increase OR = 0.61 CI95% 0.42–0.89), c-reactive protein (CPR) (per unit of increase OR = 1.12 CI95% 1.06–1.20) as risk factors for severe or critical disease. The multivariable logistic model showed a good discriminating capacity with a C-index value of 0.76. Interpretation Patients aged ≥ 50 years with low platelet count and high CRP are more likely to develop severe or critical illness. These findings might contribute to improved clinical management.

Pleural mesothelioma (PM) is an aggressive tumor with few therapeutic options. Although patients with epithelioid PM (ePM) survive longer than non-epithelioid PM (non-ePM), heterogeneity of tumor response in ePM is observed. The role of the tumor immune microenvironment (TIME) in the development and progression of PM is currently considered a promising biomarker. A few studies have used high-throughput technologies correlated with TIME evaluation and morphologic and clinical data. This study aimed to identify different morphological, immunohistochemical, and transcriptional profiles that could potentially predict the outcome. A retrospective multicenter cohort of 129 chemonaive PM patients was recruited. Tissue slides were reviewed by dedicated pathologists for histotype classification and immunophenotype of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) and lymphoid aggregates or tertiary lymphoid structures (TLS). ePM (n = 99) survivors were further classified into long (>36 months) or short (<12 months) survivors. RNAseq was performed on a subset of 69 samples. Distinct transcriptional profiling in long and short ePM survivors was found. An inflammatory background with a higher number of B lymphocytes and a prevalence of TLS formations were detected in long compared to short ePM survivors. These results suggest that B cell infiltration could be important in modulating disease aggressiveness, opening a pathway for novel immunotherapeutic approaches.

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Background: the study of vaginal microbiota is mainly performed by molecular methods. Nevertheless, they are expensive and not easily available in clinical microbiology laboratories. MALDI-TOF MS is being increasingly adopted for fast and accurate identification of pathogens from clinical samples. Aim of this study was to evaluate MALDI-TOF MS for identification of culturable bacterial species directly from plates streaked with vaginal swabs from a population of patients in childbearing age.Methods: We included women of childbearing age evaluated from October 2020 to October 2021. Identification was performed by means of Vitek® MS system.Results: A total of 381 patients were included in the study. Mean age was 33.3 years (±7.7) and 218/381 (57.2%) were pregnant. The most frequent isolates were: Lactobacillus crispatus 85/381 (22.3%), Lactobacillus acidophilus/gasseri 77/381 (20.2%) and Lactobacillus iners 64/381 (16.8%), identified with a confidence value of 99.9%. Gardnerella vaginalis was identified in 74/381 (19.4%) patients.Conclusions: In this proof-of-concept study we found that MALDI-TOF MS has the potential to be used to identify main Lactobacillus species directly from plates streaked with vaginal swabs.

In the health research system, multiple actors are confronted daily with the common goal of promoting scientific development in the clinical field. The Clinical Trial Center of the Alessandria Hospital has as its vision to become an attractive center for clinical research and for this reason has decided to design a Satisfaction Survey to be sent to the main intermediary with the bodies that promote research: the Contract Research Organizations (CRO). The Survey consists of two distinct questionnaires: one to be sent cyclically to CROs and one dedicated to monitors following a monitoring visit. REDCap was used to send the Surveys and collect and analyze the results; a web-based software already in use at the Hospital. The data collected will refer to three thematic areas: the role of the recipient within the CRO, relations with the Hospital, and the degree of general satisfaction. The process of sending and collecting data also has the purpose of retaining CROs and consolidating a communication network, as well as being a useful tool for the formulation of quality indicators.