PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

G Cuttitta

Publications and source records attributed to G Cuttitta.

22 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Validation of morning dip of peak expiratory flow as an indicator of the severity of nocturnal asthma.

Overnight falls in peak expiratory flow (PEF) (with the morning dip of the index) may be considered the hallmark of nocturnal asthma. To validate the morning dip a quantitative marker of the degree of nocturnal bronchoconstriction, the dip was measured in 11 subjects (six with a history consistent with nocturnal asthma) undergoing all-night monitoring of lower respiratory resistance by a double-catheter method. In six subjects, marked and recurrent increases in resistance were recorded, along with morning dips higher than 20 percent; however, on the following morning, only two of them reported having suffered significant breathlessness and wheeze. Peak and average values for resistance, as well as the duration for which resistance was increased, were closely correlated with the magnitude of morning dips. Therefore, unlike the subjective report, PEF may be considered a reliable quantitative indicator of nocturnal bronchoconstriction.

Adult↗

[Variability of managerial and clinical decisions in mental health services of the Lombardy Region: the vignette method].

UNLABELLED: This paper concerns one of the four research projects developed during a training course in clinical epidemiology managed by the Lombardy training centers IREF. OBJECTIVES: To compare the recommendations for treatment concerning 9 vignettes derived from the Australian Quality Assurance Project. SETTING: Six Mental Health Services of Regione Lombardia. DESIGN AND PARTICIPANTS: For each vignette, all psychiatrists working in the 6 Mental Health Services were asked to fill in a questionnaire about treatment location, psychopharmacology, psychotherapy, priority between psychotherapy and psychopharmacology and degree of difficulty in answering. RESULTS: 44 out of 52 target psychiatrists took part to the study. Remarkable variability for treatment location and psychotherapies; moderate variation for psychodrugs prescriptions and a good agreement for diagnoses were observed. In drugs prescription an access of association was observed. The most prevalent model of psychotherapy was the psychodynamic, followed by the cognitive-behavioural and the family-systemic. There was a tendency toward a flexible approach, as suggested by recommendations of different psychotherapeutic models according to the nature of the disorder. No case were judged very difficult; only in 3 cases a judgement of "somewhat difficult" was expressed by more than 20% (but less than 30%) of the psychiatrists. CONCLUSIONS: Studies of this type are very easy to carry out and give useful information for continuous training programs and Continuous Quality Improvement projects.

Adult↗