Short-term Psychodynamic Psychotherapy in Addition to Standard Medical Therapy Increases Clinical Remission in Adolescents and Young Adults with Inflammatory Bowel Disease: a Randomised Controlled Trial

BACKGROUND

Inflammatory bowel diseases [IBD] are chronic and pervasive conditions of the gastrointestinal tract with a rising incidence in paediatric and young adult populations. Evidence suggests that psychological disorders might be associated with relapse of disease activity. This study aims to evaluate the efficacy of short-term psychodynamic psychotherapy [STPP] in addition to standard medical therapy [SMT] in maintaining clinical remission in adolescents and young adults [AYA] with quiescent IBD, compared with SMT alone.

METHODS

A two-arm, single-centre, randomised, controlled trial was conducted in 60 IBD AYA in clinical remission. Patients were randomised to receive an 8-week STPP + SMT [n = 30] or SMT alone [n = 30]. The primary outcome was the steroid-free remission rate at 52 weeks after treatment. Secondary outcomes included the overall hospitalisation rate within 52 weeks after treatment, and medication adherence obtained from patient's electronic medical records.

RESULTS

Intention-to-treat analysis showed significant improvement in maintaining disease remission rates in the 8-week STPP + SMT group compared with the control one. The proportion of patients maintaining steroid-free remission at 52 weeks was higher in patients in STTP group [93.1%] compared with patients randomised to control group [64.3%; p = 0.01]. There were no significant differences in secondary outcomes, except for depression reduction in STPP + SMT group.

CONCLUSIONS

An 8-week STPP intervention in addition to SMT effectively increases the steroid-free remission rates in AYA with quiescent IBD. Results do not support effects for other secondary outcomes, except for depression reduction.

Prevalence and Molecular Typing of Carbapenemase-Producing Enterobacterales among Newborn Patients in Italy

The spread of carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales (CPE), especially Klebsiella pneumoniae (K. pneumoniae) and Escherichia coli (E. coli), is a serious public health threat in pediatric hospitals. The associated risk in newborns is due to their underdeveloped immune system and limited treatment options. The aim was to estimate the prevalence and circulation of CPE among the neonatal intensive units of a major pediatric hospital in Italy and to investigate their molecular features. A total of 124 CPE were isolated from rectal swabs of 99 newborn patients at Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital between July 2016 and December 2019. All strains were characterized by antimicrobial susceptibility testing, detection of resistance genes, and PCR-based replicon typing (PBRT). One strain for each PBRT profile of K. pneumoniae or E. coli was characterized by multilocus-sequence typing (MLST). Interestingly, the majority of strains were multidrug-resistant and carried the blaNDM gene. A large part was characterized by a multireplicon status, and FII, A/C, FIA (15%) was the predominant. Despite the limited size of collection, MLST analysis revealed a high number of Sequence Types (STs): 14 STs among 28 K. pneumoniae and 8 STs among 11 E. coli, with the prevalence of the well-known clones ST307 and ST131, respectively. This issue indicated that some strains shared the same circulating clone. We identified a novel, so far never described, ST named ST10555, found in one E. coli strain. Our investigation showed a high heterogeneity of CPE circulating among neonatal units, confirming the need to monitor their dissemination in the hospital also through molecular methods.

Impact and Sustainability of Antibiotic Stewardship in Pediatric Emergency Departments: Why Persistence Is the Key to Success

Antibiotic stewardship programs proved to be effective in improving prescribing appropriateness. This multicenter quasi-experimental study, aimed to assesses the stewardship impact on antibiotics prescribing in different semesters from 2014 to 2019 in three pediatric emergency departments (Center A, B, and C) in Italy. All consecutive patients diagnosed with acute otitis media or pharyngitis were evaluated for inclusion. Two different stewardship were adopted: for Center A and B, clinical pathways were implemented and disseminated, and yearly lectures were held, for Center C, only pathways were implemented. Broad-spectrum prescription rates decreased significantly by 80% for pharyngitis and 29.5 to 55.2% for otitis after the implementation. In Center C, rates gradually increased from the year after the implementation. Amoxicillin dosage adjusted to pharyngitis recommendations in Center C (53.7 vs. 51.6 mg/kg/die; p = 0.011) and otitis recommendations in Center A increasing from 50.0 to 75.0 mg/kg/die (p < 0.001). Days of therapy in children < 24 months with otitis increased from 8.0 to 10.0 in Center A, while in older children decreased in Center A (8.0 vs. 7.0; p < 0.001) and Center B (10.0 vs. 8.0; p < 0.001). Clinical pathways combined with educational lectures is a feasible and sustainable program in reducing broad-spectrum antibiotic prescribing with stable rates over time.

From myocardium to the atherosclerotic plaque: new perspectives in cardiologic imaging

Molecular imaging is an innovative and promising approach in cardiology for functional characterization of atherosclerosis. Nuclear, ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging have been used for assessment of atherosclerosis of large and small arteries in several clinical and experimental studies. Positron Emission Tomography with fluorodeoxyglucose can measure metabolic activity and vulnerability of atherosclerotic plaques, identifying individuals at risk of future cardiovascular events. Magnetic resonance imaging can quantify carotid artery inflammation using iron oxide nanoparticles as contrast agent. In addition, macrophage accumulation of iron particles in atherosclerotic plaques may allow monitoring of inflammation during drug therapy, whereas contrast-enhanced ultrasound imaging may detect plaque neovascularization. Currently, technical factors, including cardiac and diaphragmatic motion and small size of coronary vessels, limit routine application of these techniques for coronary imaging. Purpose of this review is to describe state of the art and potential areas of clinical applications of molecular imaging of atherosclerosis.