Camilla Mattiuzzi

Rovereto Hospital - Provincial Healthcare Trust (APSS) of Trento

The results of our analysis suggest that the age-adjusted death rate for aortic rupture or dissection did not change significantly during the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic in the US. Thus, neither direct biological injury or indirect damage due to by delayed diagnosis and treatment appear to have influenced the outcome of aortic pathologies.

Background and Objective: Obtaining reliable and up-to-date information on mortality causes is essential for the planning and implementation of effective preventive interventions. We present here an analysis of the leading causes of death in the US in 2022. Material and Methods: We conducted an electronic search of the US Centers for Control and Pr...

The results of our analysis in Scopus show that articles on COVID-19 (or SARS-CoV-2) have not been retracted more frequently than those involving other common pathologies such as cancer, sepsis, trauma, Alzheimer’s disease and even diabetes. Nonetheless, the trend of article retractions on COVID-19 and/or SARS-CoV-2 has gradually increased between...

We conducted an electronic search using the CDC WONDER (Wide-Ranging, Online Data for Epidemiologic Research) online database. The age-adjusted death rate (×100 000) for acute appendicitis in the United States was 0.060 (95%CI, 0.055-0.065) in the pre-COVID-19 period (2018-2019) but increased to 0.081 (95%CI, 0.074-0.087) in the COVID-19 peak perio...

Objectives. Benign fasciculation syndrome (BFS) is a challenging clinical condition that causes great concern to patients, as the sudden onset of fasciculations often raises suspicion of the presence or future development of motor neuron diseases. This article hence aims to provide a systematic literature review of clinical studies that investigate...

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) negatively impacts the progression of Alzheimer’s disease. The aim of this study was to determine whether mortality from Alzheimer’s disease has changed during the COVID-19 pandemic. We searched the WONDER database, to obtain cumulative and sex-specific age-adjusted death rates of Alzheimer’s disease between the...

We conducted an electronic search on the WONDER website using the combined ICD-10 code for pancreatic cancers throughout 2003-2022. The cumulative, age-adjusted mortality rate for pancreatic cancer (with 95% confidence interval; 95%CI) has increased steadily over the last 20 years, from 10.54 per 100,000 in 2003 to 11.24 per 100,000 in 2022. A clea...

Background and Objective: Obtaining reliable and up-to-date information on mortality causes is essential for planning and implementation of effective preventive interventions. We present here an analysis of the leading causes of death in the US in 2022. Material and Methods: We conducted an electronic search of the US Centers for Control and Preven...

Thyroid cancer is relatively rare in the general population compared to other malig-nancies, but its incidence appears to have increased in recent decades. In a recent article, Lee at al. conducted a search of the US National Cancer Database to investigate whether major disruptions in cancer diagnosis during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)...

We performed an electronic search in CDC WONDER online database (years 2018-2022) to explore whether the higher risk of dying during the weekends may be related to complications of medical and surgical care. One-way ANOVA and Tukey's HSD multiple comparison test revealed no significant variation in mean number of deaths during the seven days of the...

It is not true to conclude that there was no logical reason to die of diabetes during the COVID-19 pandemic, as there are many SARS-CoV-2-realted factors that may have worsened the health of this particular population, including weakened immune response to the pathogen, pro-inflammatory state (up to the so-called “cytokine storm”), higher risk of d...

We accessed five of the most widely used, freely available generative artificial intelligence tools available on the Web on July 29, 2024, formulating the specific question: ‘Which are the leading risk factors for venous thrombosis?’ (the term ‘venous thrombosis’ was preferred to ‘venous thromboembolism’ as it is likely more familiar to patients)....

The age-adjusted mortality rate (×100,000) for of digestive organs cancers decreased from 45.33 (95%CI, 45.09-45.98) in 2003 to 38.90 (95%CI, 38-72-39.10) in 2022 (-14.2%), with a notable break in 2021, corresponding to the second “wave” of COVID-19. The stomach cancer age-adjusted mortality also showed a significant and continuous decline over the...

Nella prospettiva certamente indesiderabile che mpox si possa trasformare in una grossa epidemia, o addirittura in una pandemia, diviene imperativo non farsi prendere dal panico, ma essere preparati al peggio, perché “errare humanum est, perseverare autem diabolicum” (10). La prima misura da adottare è la tutela del personale sanitario, soprattutto...

Laboratory medicine has undergone a deep and multifaceted revolution in the course of human history, in both organizational and technical terms. Over the past century, there has been a growing recognition of the need to centralize numerous diagnostic activities, often similar or identical but located in different clinical departments, into a common...

The results of our US nationwide analysis of mortality for acute pancreatitis before and during the COVID-19 pandemic show a concerning increase. Specifically, compared to the last pre-pandemic year (2019), the age-adjusted death rate for acute pancreatitis increased by 16.5% and 21.1% in 2020 and 2021, respectively.

Several lines of evidence suggest that breast cancer screening and treatment may have been compromised during the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. Using data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) WONDER database, we estimated the age-adjusted mortality rates for female breast cancer between 2018 and 2023. We found that t...

To better describe the current diagnostic alternatives for diagnosing mpox, a search was conducted on the FIND initiative website, the global alliance for diagnostics. As of September 1, 2024, the FIND website lists 131 mpox diagnostic tests. The majority of 98 (74.8%) tests are based on DNA detection using NAATs, while 18 (13.7%) tests detect mpox...

The age-adjusted mortality for melanoma in the US was 2.087 × 100 000 in 2018, 2.006 × 100 000 in 2019, 1.996 × 100 000 in 2020, and 2.035 × 100 000 in 2021, respectively. Neither the cumulative variation between the prepandemic and postpandemic period (analysis of variance: f = 0.84; P = 0.359) nor the comparison between the different years achiev...

We performed an electronic search in CDC-WONDER online database (years 2018–2022) (2), using “year” as the first variable (from 2018 to 2022) and the specific ICD-10 code for malignant prostate cancer as the second variable (C61: malignant neoplasm of prostate). The age-adjusted death rate ×100,000 for malignant prostate cancer decreased from 2018...

We performed an electronic search on the website of the Italian National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT), under the menu item “Number of pathologies for initial cause of death”. The search focused on COVID-19 and on the two leading causes of death in Italy and the rest of the world (i.e., cardiovascular disease and cancer) during the first two year...

Official statistics on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on diabetes mortality in the US were obtained from the Wonder (Wide-Ranging, Online Data for Epidemiologic Research) database, a repository maintained by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that allows specific queries to analyze the unique causes of death of the entire...

It is not clear if disruption of diagnostic and care pathways for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) may have translated into a higher mortality for this type of cancer in the United States during the first period of the pandemic. To this end, we have planned this epidemiological analysis on the CDC WONDER online database to address this important dile...

We accessed the US CDC online database Wonder, which provides nationwide statistics on causes of death between the years 2018-2022. The crude mortality rate for sudden cardiac death (SCD) increased in parallel with age in both sexes, reaching the highest value in subjects aged 85 years or older. In all age groups, the crude death rate was always si...

We planned a real-world analysis using official data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to investigate whether the mortality for pulmonary embolism (PE) has changed significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic. The age-adjusted mortality for PE was 2.30 (2.25–2.35) × 100,000 in 2018, decreased slightly to 2.20 (2.16–2.25) ×...

It can be assumed that a reduction in patient access to colorectal cancer screening and early management during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic could have generated a negative impact on subsequent diagnoses and survival probabilities. We report here the recent statistics on colorectal cancer-related deaths in the US. We searched th...

Since it is still undetermined as to whether all these aspects may have influenced the death rate for lip and oral cavity cancers during the COVID-19 pandemic, we performed an electronic search using the latest version of the online CDC Wonder database, which reports the underlying causes of death between the years 2018 and 2022 in the US (Centers...

There are now several lines of evidence that millions of people around the world use bicycles as a routine means of transportation. In the US alone, for example, the website Statista estimates that 55 million people use bicycles as primary or complementary mode of transportation, with a trend that has been steadily increasing over the past decade....

Objectives Medical errors and complications pose a major threat to the safety of healthcare systems worldwide. This article was hence aimed at determining the current burden of complications of medical and surgical care in the US. Methods We searched the latest version of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) WONDER online databa...

(1) Background: The interplay between coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and laryngeal cancer represents a substantial challenge for both patients and healthcare. To garner information on recent mortality data for laryngeal cancer, including during the COVID-19 pandemic, we analyzed real-world data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Preve...

(1) Background: The interplay between coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and laryngeal cancer represents a substantial challenge for both patients and healthcare. To garner information on recent mortality data for laryngeal cancer, including during the COVID-19 pandemic, we analyzed real-world data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Preve...

Despite the small sample size of these studies and the lack of randomized clinical trials specifically addressing the risk of developing VTE in the prone versus supine position during mechanical ventilation, preliminary results suggest that prone positioning may contribute to increase an already elevated risk of developing venous thrombosis in COVI...

Background and aim. Because melatonin exerts a number of otoprotective effects, we planned a systematic literature review and meta-analysis to determine the potential effect of melatonin supplemen-tation in reducing the severity of tinnitus disability. Methods: An electronic search of Scopus and Med-line (PubMed interface) was performed using the k...

The Spanish flu affected a total Italian population of 36.280 million people and caused 390 000 deaths (crude death rate: 10.7 × 1000 inhabitants), while COVID-19 affected an Italian population of 59.236 million people and caused 77 165 deaths during the first year (crude death rate: 1.3 × 1000 inhabitants). Thus, the risk of dying from Spanish flu...

No definitive prognostic biomarkers for carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning have been proposed. The aim of this study is to investigate, through a systematic literature review and pooled analysis, whether red blood cell distribution width (RDW) can predict disease severity in CO-poisoned patients. We performed an electronic search in Scopus and PubMed u...

The risk of developing medium- and long-term sequelae after recovery from COVID-19 is validated. Long-COVID burden represents a major health care issue, thus paving the way to effective prevention and/or treatment measures. Physical activity prevents many human pathologies, including COVID-19. Being physically active before and immediately after a...

The organization of a biomedical laboratory is complex, multifaceted, and represents the result of a series of reforms that over the years have determined its structure and functioning. The aim of this chapter is to provide the basic elements and legislative references to understand the organizational context of a biomedical laboratory, the role of...

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is frequently associated with thrombo inflammation, which can predispose to developing of life-threatening conditions in children such as the multisystem inflammatory syndrome (MIS-C) and Kawasaki disease. Because of the consistent overlap in pathogenesis and symptoms, identifying laboratory tests that may aid in...

Diseases of the aorta, such as aortic aneurysm, dissection, and rupture, account for a large proportion of acute clinical emergencies. The red blood cell distribution width (RDW), which directly reflects anisocytosis (i.e., the heterogeneity of erythrocyte volumes), has emerged as a promising biomarker for many cardiovascular pathologies. Thus, we...

We searched the official data of the Italian Extraordinary Commissioner for the COVID-19 Emergency (last update on November 20, 2023), to obtain information on the percentage of subjects aged 60 years or older who received multiple doses of the COVID-19 vaccine during the pandemic in Italy. Although the percentage of elderly people who had received...

We conducted an electronic search of the CDC WONDER Online Database with the most recent updates (Underlying Cause of Death, 2018–2021),4 which reports national mortality and population data stratified by ICD-10 codes. Information is based on death certificates for US residents, and mortality data are calculated from official death certificates, ex...

Overall, previous evidence that public health policies based on 25OH-D supplementation (including food fortification) have uncertain effects on reducing the risk of adverse outcomes of acute or chronic diseases in the general population. It seems more appropriate to assert that the beneficial effects of 25OH-D supplementation may be limited to indi...

A quattro anni dalla diagnosi del primo di caso di infezione da SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, allora denominato “2019-nCoV”) registrato nella metropoli cinese di Wuhan all’inizio di Dicembre 2019, molte cose sono cambiate nella genetica del virus, nel suo comportamento biologico, nella dinamica dell’infezione, nell’im...

According to the evidence emerged from our analysis of recent US data, we found that mortality for PE seems to peak in the cooler months (particularly December and January), followed by a considerable decline between February and September. April and June were found to be the months with lower PE-related deaths.

Background: We have planned this analysis to provide current statistics on mortality directly caused by Influenza viruses in recent years in the US. Methods: We performed an electronic search in the online database CDC WONDER to obtain current statistics on direct mortality caused by Influenza viruses in the US. Mortality data are derived from info...

Background and Objective: Although coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is no longer considered a global health emergency, it remains an important threat because of the persistently high number of infections, hospitalizations, and fatalities caused by repeated waves of new variants. Identifying factors that can aid in clinical decision making and pu...

Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an infectious respiratory illness caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The disease, first identified in the Chinese city of Wuhan in November 2019, has since spread worldwide, is the latest human pandemic and has officially infected over 800 million people and has caused near...

While COVID-19 is undoubtedly no longer the “monster” it was at the beginning of this pandemic, there are several important aspects that argue for not abandoning testing for SARS-CoV-2,and which primarily include limiting the epidemiologic burden of COVID-19 and long-COVID, minimizing the public health burden of hospitalizations associated with COV...

Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an infectious respiratory illness caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The disease, first identified in the Chinese city of Wuhan in November 2019 and has since spread worldwide, is the latest human pandemic, and has officially infected over 800 million people and has caused...

The use of artificial intelligence (AI) has become widespread in many areas of science and medicine, including laboratory medicine. Although it seems obvious that the analytical and post-analytical phases could be the most important fields of application in laboratory medicine, a kaleidoscope of new opportunities has emerged to extend the benefits...

Background This systematic literature review and meta-analysis investigated whether the red blood cell distribution (RDW) may predict survival outcomes in laryngeal cancer patients undergoing curative treatment. Methods We conducted an electronic search in Medline and Scopus using the keywords "red blood cell distribution width" OR "RDW" AND "lary...

We must all clearly acknowledge that the pandemic is not over. Although the severity of acute infection has gradually declined over time due to virus attenuation, natural immunity, widespread vaccination and improved therapeutic management, it would be extremely dangerous to relegate SARS-CoV-2 to an endemic, benign disease. Therefore, scientific r...

The evidence emerged from our infodemiological analysis suggests that the general interest for both running and cycling (i.e., the two most common types of outdoor recreational sports) has slightly but significantly increased (by 3.5% and 13.1%, respectively) in the US during the COVID-19 pandemic, thus probably reflecting a major need of counterac...

We accessed the online, freely available database of the Italian Ministry of Health, retrieving the most import data on the status of COVID-19 vaccination in the country as for April 12, 2023. An analogous search was conducted in the website of the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). vaccine coverage of the total Italian and...

We conducted a digital search accessing Google Trends with the keyword “suicide”, within the definition of “search term”, setting the geographical location to “United States”, and restricting the analysis to the past 6 years (i.e., from January 2018 to January 2023). The weekly Google Trends score for suicide, thus reflecting its Web popularity and...

Background: Tinnitus is a highly prevalent and frequently disabling condition, such that the identification of possible causal mechanisms would yield significant clinical and social benefits. Since vitamin D (Vit D) is involved in the pathogenesis of several ear disturbances, we review here the current scientific literature addressing the relation...

Objective: Since the opportunity of widespread administration of the fourth mRNA-based coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine dose remains controversial, this article provides a pooled analysis of the efficacy of the second COVID-19 mRNA-based homologous vaccine booster in eliciting anti-SARS-CoV-2 serum antibody response in general immunocomp...

We carried out in this work a cost-effective analysis of some potential diagnostic protocols inclusive of SARS-CoV-2 antigen tests. The study population consisted in a series of 294 patients. All patients underwent rapid diagnostic testing (RDT-Ag, ~30 min turnaround time; Fujirebio Espline SARS-CoV-2; Fujirebio Inc., Tokyo, Japan) for enabling fas...

Background and aim: This study was planned to estimate the contribution of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) related mortality on excess deaths recorded in Italy since the beginning of the pandemic. Methods: Official data on weekly number of COVID-19 related deaths in Italy were retrieved from the website of the Italian Ministry of Health, whi...

Background: Preliminary evidence suggests that the rate of cracked teeth managed in endodontists’ practices has considerably increased during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic compared to the period before. Methods: We conducted an electronic search in Google Trends, using the search term “Cracked Teeth”, with the geographical area s...

Background: We analyzed coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine efficacy in older persons who received the second booster compared to unvaccinated people and those receiving only a single COVID-19 vaccine booster. Methods: We collected information on vaccine efficacy from the ongoing Italian nationwide COVID-19 vaccination campaign in subjec...

We investigated Google Trends with using the keywords “pulmonary embolism” (PE) within the definition of “condition,” setting the geographical location to “United States,” and limiting our analysis to the past 5 years (i.e., from August 2017 to August 2022). The results of this infodemiological analysis show that the median weekly Google Trends sco...

We have planned an infodemiological analysis to establish whether the consumption of some representative NSAIDs has increased all around the world after the spread of COVID-19. We accessed Google Trends using the key words “paracetamol” (or acetaminophen) and “ibuprofen,” setting the geographical location to “worldwide,” and limiting our search to...

Background: No definitive epidemiological evidence is available on SARS-CoV-2 lethality during the surge of different variants of concern (VoCs) and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination in relation to common flu fatality. Methods: We collected and longitudinally analyzed official data about new COVID-19 cases and COVID-9 related deaths t...

Background: This infodemiological analysis is aimed to define whether the worldwide burden of tinnitus may have increased during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Methods. We performed an electronic search in Google Trends with the term tinnitus as “medical topic”, setting the geographical area to “worldwide”, within a search period...

To provide a reliable picture of the clinical impact of COVID-19 in the entire Italian population over time, we accessed the official data of the Italian Institute of Health, and containing updated statistics on the total number of COVID-19 cases, home isolations, COVID-19 hospitalizations with symptoms, COVID-19 hospitalizations in intensive care...

Background: We analysed data garnered during the ongoing Italian nationwide coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination campaign for comparing early COVID-19 monovalent vaccine efficacy in older persons who received the primary vaccination cycle, the first vaccine booster, and the second vaccine booster. Methods: We conducted a retrospective an...

The “official” number of SARS-CoV-2 cases and COVID-19 related deaths at the end of November 2022 has now exceeded 635 and 6.6 million, respectively. Owing to the bias generated by the unmeasured confounders (undertesting; underdiagnosis; and underreporting of positive cases) and their most likely causes (lack of economic, technical and/or human re...

We accessed Google Trends (Google Inc. Mountain View, CA, US) using the keywords "cannabis," "cocaine," and "heroin" under the specification "drug" (and thereby overcoming potential language differences), setting the geographical location to either "United States" (US) or "worldwide", within the past 5 years (i.e., from July 2017 to July 2022). Dur...

Purpose: We analyzed coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine efficacy in older persons who received the second booster compared to unvaccinated people and those receiving only a single COVID-19 vaccine booster. Methods: We collected information on vaccine efficacy from the ongoing Italian nationwide COVID-19 vaccination campaign in subjects age...

Background: Tinnitus is a highly prevalent and frequently disabling condition, such that the identification of possible causal mechanisms would yield significant clinical and social benefits. Since vitamin D (Vit D) is involved in the pathogenesis of several ear disturbances, we review here the current scientific literature addressing the relations...

Airborne pathogens, including SARS-CoV-2, are mainly contracted within the airway pathways, especially in the nasal epithelia, where inhaled air is mostly filtered in resting conditions. Mucosal immunity developing after SARS-CoV-2 infection or vaccination in this part of the body represents one of the most efficient deterrents for preventing viral...

We planned this study to define the worldwide burden of health loss attributed to hearing impairment occurred during the past 10 years according to the 2019 Global Health Data Exchange (GHDx) database. The current worldwide burden of health loss due to all forms of hearing impairment is estimated at 43.4 million Years Lived with Disability (YLDs),...

Background: No definitive epidemiological evidence is available on SARS-CoV-2 lethality during the surge of different variants of concern (VoCs) and Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination in relation to Influenza virus fatality. Methods: We collected and longitudinally analyzed official data about new COVID-19 cases and COVID-9 related dea...

Preliminary results emerged from some clinical studies testify that the bivalent mRNA vaccines containing sequences of BA.4/5 sublineages and approved for clinical use in Italy display neutralizing capacity of omicron variants (including the more recent and insidious sublineages BA.2.75.2, BQ.1.1 and XXB.1.1) higher than that of the original monova...

Background: Preliminary evidence suggests that the burden of stress and anxiety may have considerably increased during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Since these two mental health-related factors are important causes of teeth grinding, we carried out an infodemiological analysis to define whether the burden of teeth grinding may...

We provide here updated analysis of the impact of physical inactivity on risk of developing ischemic heart disease (IHD)-related disability along with the latest 10-year progression. We collected data through an electronic search in the 2019 Global Health Data Exchange (GHDx) database using the keywords “low physical activity”, complemented with th...

Predicting the humoral, cellular and clinical response to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination remains a central aspect for efficiently tackling the ongoing severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic. Several current studies have focused on predicting the clinical response to COVID-19 vaccination by testing bot...

The results of this infodemiological analysis seemingly support the conclusion that erectile dysfunction may be another less predictable but certainly unwarranted consequence of COVID-19, which may also justify the decreased sexual health-seeking behaviours. This is not really surprising considering that erectile dysfunction and COVID-19 share some...

Background: Since SARS-CoV-2 has undergone a considerable genetic evolution over time, we investigated its infectivity in the province of Verona (Italy), during the month of July of the first three pandemic years (i.e., 2020, 2021 and 2022). Methods: The daily number of new COVID-19 diagnoses in the province of Verona between July 1-27 of the years...

We carried out an infodemiological analysis to further define the burden of these adverse functional consequences presumably caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in two representative countries. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the volume of Google searches for “fatigue” significantly increased by 9.2% in the US (83 [IQR, 77-88]) vs. 76 [IQR, 72-79]; p<0.0...

Background: This infodemiological analysis is aimed to define whether the worldwide burden of tinnitus may have increased during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Methods. We performed an electronic search in Google Trends with the term tinnitus as “medical topic”, setting the geographical area to “worldwide”, within a search period...

We planned an infodemiological analysis to estimate the global impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on threat appraisals. We accessed Google Trends using the search terms “Anxiety”, “Distress”, “Fear”, “Rumination”, “Stress” and “Worry” within the “topic” domain, setting the geographical location to “worldwide”, between July 2017 and July...

We aim to provide here an update with infodemiological data reflecting the global volume of Web searches for anticoagulant medications during the past 10 years, which is now known to reliably mirror their real-world usage. The results of our infodemiological analysis suggest that apixaban seems to be the most searched anticoagulant drugs all around...

The association between mean air temperature and new SARS-CoV-2 case numbers throughout the ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic was investigated to identify whether diverse SARS-CoV-2 lineages may exhibit diverse environmental behaviors. The number of new COVID-19 daily cases in the province of Verona was obtained from the Veneto R...

Objectives SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2) structure and host tropism have changed over time, and so has the involvement of throat structures. This infodemiological analysis is hence aimed at investigating the evolution of throat symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic in the US. Methods We searched Google Trends using t...

Background: Since SARS-CoV-2 has undergone a considerable genetic evolution over time, we investigated its infectivity in the province of Verona (Italy), during the month of July of the first three pandemic years (i.e., 2020, 2021 and 2022). Methods: The daily number of new COVID-19 diagnoses in the province of Verona between July 1-27 of the years...

Background: Preliminary evidence suggests that the rate of cracked teeth managed in endodontists’ practices has considerably increased during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic compared to the period before. Methods: We conducted an electronic search in Google Trends, using the search term “Cracked Teeth”, with the geographical area s...

Among the various conditions that may strongly influence the immunogenicity of COVID-19 vaccines, immunosuppression plays a key role. Several lines of evidence now attest that patients taking a kaleidoscope of immunosuppressant agents display considerably lower vaccine immunogenicity, as reflected by a blunted generation of anti-SARS-CoV-2 neutrali...

The median value of weekly Google Trends score recorded for each of the four benzodiazepines “Alprazolam,” “Bromazepam,” “Clonazepam,” and “Lorazepam" was significantly higher after the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy (i.e., after March 1, 2020) compared to the period before (all comparisons, p < 0.001). The Google searches increased by...

We investigated Google Trends (Google Inc. Mountain View, CA, US) with the search terms “anosmia” and “ageusia”, setting geographical location to “worldwide” and within a period comprising the past 5 years (i.e., between July 2017 and July 2022). The weekly Google Trends score for both terms “anosmia” and “ageusia”, thus mirroring their worldwide W...

We would like to raise some concerns about the assumption that excess mortality directly translates into COVID-19–related deaths. The first important aspect to be considered is that many countries have established strict restrictive measures to limit virus spread that have limited personal freedom (i.e., prohibition of mass gatherings or public eve...

Although the efficacy of the second COVID-19 vaccine booster for preventing mild Omicron infections remains uncertain in the general healthy population, we cannot feasibly continue to boost antibody responses forever. Several studies reveal that it is now challenging to identify threshold values of anti-SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibodies (measured...

Background: There is emerging evidence that headache may be a frequent common symptom in patients diagnosed with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), thus paving the way to further epidemiological studies to better evaluate this potential association. Methods: We conducted an electronic search in Google Trends with the keyword “headache” (i.e., “m...

We analyzed here the clinical efficacy of mRNA-based coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines among Italian children aged 5-11 years using data published by the National Institute of Health. Vaccination status was associated with a reduced risk of COVID-19 related hospitalizations and ICU admissions, which were 41% (odds ratio, 0.59; 95%CI, 0.4...

In keeping with recent data attesting that the volume of exhaled viral particles is magnified in patients infected by the Omicron lineage, it seems advisable not only to reinforce a mask-wearing advice, but also to suggest that more efficient respirators (like N95 or similar) would be preferable to grant major protection against highly infective SA...

We retrieved information on progression of COVID-19 vaccination and newly diagnosed cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection from the weekly report of the Italian National Institute of Health (Istituto Superiore di Sanità, ISS; Last available update, January 1, 2022). The rate of SARS-CoV-2 infections in non-vaccinated, vaccinated with primary cycle <120 days...

We retrieved data from the online database of the Italian Ministry of Health concerning the previous and ongoingwaves of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) epidemic in Italy. We analyzed theprevalence of variants, the number of SARS-CoV-2 diagnoses, hospitalization, and intensive care unit (ICU) ad-missions for patients wi...

Due to huge pressure on healthcare, several countries have adopted strict policies that have variably limited personal freedom, from prohibition of mass gatherings, partial closures of schools and other public facilities, up to severe lockdowns and curfews. On one hand, the lower people circulation has had a substantial impact in reducing the risk...

In this study we performed a systematic literature review and meta-analysis of the lateral flow-based FebriDx immunoassay for triaging patients with suspected coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) upon healthcare facilities admission. We conducted an electronic search in Scopus and Medline with the keywords “FebriDx” AND “COVID-19” OR “SARS-CoV-2”, w...