Verena Barbieri - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Verena Barbieri

Vaccines, Nov 5, 2022

This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative... more This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY

Healthcare

Background: Changes in public attitudes toward “authorities” in general, as well as shifts in med... more Background: Changes in public attitudes toward “authorities” in general, as well as shifts in medical practice toward participative models of diagnosis and treatment, imply fundamental transformations in the patient–doctor relationship. However, consistency in reciprocal role expectations cannot be assumed, and this study reveals significant discrepancies in attitudes and behaviors in primary health consultations. Methods: We conducted a study in the tri-lingual northeastern Italian region of South Tyrol to determine whether perceptions of the patient’s role were congruent or differed. In a mixed method approach, the quantitative research part consisted of a survey with 34 identical questions for general practitioners (n = 109) and adult primary care patients (n = 506) on verbal communication, self-initiative and health literacy, interpersonal and social qualities of the patient–physician relationship, and formal aspects of the consultation. Patients were interviewed via telephone, ...

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

Background: Methodological heterogeneity of studies and geographical variation limit conclusions ... more Background: Methodological heterogeneity of studies and geographical variation limit conclusions about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of youth. This study aimed to explore the health-related quality of life and mental health of children and adolescents in the second year of the pandemic in South Tyrol, Italy. Methods: An online survey representative for the age and gender of the children and adolescents in South Tyrol was conducted among 5159 families with children and adolescents aged 7–19 years, between 28 May and 16 June 2021. The survey collecting parental ratings and self-rated questionnaires from children and adolescents aged 11–19 years included instruments to measure health-related quality of life (KIDSCREEN-10), mental health problems (SDQ), anxiety (SCARED), and depression (CES-DC). The results were compared with data from corresponding studies conducted in Germany. Results: Decreased health-related quality of life and increased conduct problems, ...

Family Practice

Background General practitioners (GPs) have been among the frontline workers since the outbreak o... more Background General practitioners (GPs) have been among the frontline workers since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. Reflecting and analyzing the ongoing pandemic response of general practice provides essential information and serves as a precondition for outlining future health policy strategies. Objective To investigate the effects of the pandemic on GPs’ daily work and well-being and to describe needs for improvement in primary care highlighted by the pandemic. Methods A 2-time cross-sectional online survey involving GPs in a northern Italian region was conducted in September 2020 and March/April 2021. Results Eighty-four GPs (29.6% of invited GPs) participated in the first survey, and 41 GPs (14.4%) in the second survey. Most GPs experienced a notable workload increase which was tendentially higher during the advanced stages of the pandemic. A notable increase between the first and the second survey was noted regarding the frequency of Covid-related patient contacts and pho...

Geriatrics, 2022

Nursing homes (NHs) have been among the care settings most affected by both the virus itself and ... more Nursing homes (NHs) have been among the care settings most affected by both the virus itself and collateral damage through infection protection and control measures (IPC). However, there is a paucity of research regarding disaster response and preparedness of these institutions. The present study aimed to analyze disaster response and management and to develop prospective strategies for disaster management in NHs. A qualitative survey including (i) residents, (ii) nursing staff, (iii) relatives of residents, and (iv) NHs’ medical leads was performed. Data were collected by 45 in-depth interviews. Our results indicate that the shift from resident-centered care towards collective-protective approaches led through the suspending of established care principles to an emergency vacuum: implementable strategies were lacking and the subsequent development of temporary, immediate, and mostly suboptimal solutions by unprepared staff led to manifold organizational, medical, and ethical conflic...

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2021

European Journal of Ophthalmology, 2007

Purpose This study aims to explain spatial variability or cataract and cataract surgery in Austri... more Purpose This study aims to explain spatial variability or cataract and cataract surgery in Austria. The effect of the availability of health care services on spatial variation is investigated. Methods A retrospective study, using routine hospital data from all Austrian public and private hospitals. Calculation of age- and gender-standardized hospitalization ratios (SHR) for all 121 Austrian districts. Poisson regression for age-specific relative risks was performed. Results The authors found high regional variability between districts and significant differences in the hospitalization rates of cataract disease and extraction between men and women. There was a significant correlation between standardized hospitalization ratios for districts and the availability of hospitals with departments of ophthalmology. There was a significant difference in length of stay for patients with cataract surgery between public and private hospitals. Conclusions Use of routine hospital data in geograph...

European journal of nutrition, Jan 7, 2018

Developed countries have a high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency. In previous studies, 25(OH)D ... more Developed countries have a high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency. In previous studies, 25(OH)D was predominantly measured by immunoassays. The present study assessed serum 25(OH)D in a very large Southern European outpatient cohort by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). 74,235 serum 25(OH)D results generated under routine conditions between 2015 and 2016 were extracted from the laboratory information system of the Department of Clinical Pathology at Bolzano Hospital (Italy). In 3801 cases, parathyroid hormone (PTH) was requested in parallel. Serum 25(OH)D was measured by a NIST-972 aligned commercial LC-MS/MS method. The distribution of serum 25(OH)D concentrations in males and females of different age groups, the prevalence of 25(OH)D and seasonal variability were studied. The average 25(OH)D concentration in the entire cohort was 68.6 nmol/L (7.5-1880 nmol/L). Females had a 7 nmol/L higher average 25(OH)D concentration than males, which increased significa...

Vascular medicine (London, England), 2006

The aim of this pilot study was to test the prognostic value of serial measurements of peripheral... more The aim of this pilot study was to test the prognostic value of serial measurements of peripheral endothelial function, assessed by brachial artery flow-mediated dilation (FMD), in patients with angiographically proven coronary artery disease. In 68 patients, FMD was measured on the day after coronary angiography and again after a mean of 14 +/- 12 months. Patients were divided into two groups: absolute improvement in FMD > or = 3% (FMD-improver = FMD-i) and < 3% (FMD-non-improver = FMD-ni). After a mean follow-up of 44 +/- 12 months, cardiovascular events were recorded. Baseline characteristics were similar between groups, except the number of risk factors which was smaller in FMD-i (1.6 +/- 0.7 vs 2.1 +/- 0.9, p < 0.02). Cardiovascular events were more frequent in FMD-ni (9 vs 1 event; p < 0.05). In Kaplan-Meier analysis, a trend towards a better outcome in patients with improved FMD was found using the log-rank test (p = 0.08). The single baseline FMD showed no relati...

Oral Oncology, 2007

This retrospective study was designed to investigate the prognostic significance of EGFR overexpr... more This retrospective study was designed to investigate the prognostic significance of EGFR overexpression in human oral squamous cell carcinoma on a long-term follow-up. EGFR expression was examined immunohistochemically on a tissue microarray (TMA) of paraffin embedded tissue specimens from 109 patients who underwent surgical treatment for squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity and oropharynx in the period between 1980 and 1997. High EGFR expression was found in 80 (73.42%) of the tumour samples. Kaplan-Meier curves showed that EGFR overexpression was significantly related to decreased overall survival (p=0.05). Multivariate analysis showed that EGFR overexpression is an independent prognostic marker in these patients (p=0.02, RR 3.6). These results confirm that EGFR overexpression is an independent prognostic marker in patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity and oropharynx. The EGFR antigen represents an attractive target for targeted therapies with monoclonal antibodies or specific tyrosine-kinase inhibitors in these patients.

Journal of the American Society of Echocardiography, 2008

We sought to evaluate intracardiac echocardiography (ICE) in comparison with transesophageal echo... more We sought to evaluate intracardiac echocardiography (ICE) in comparison with transesophageal echocardiography and fluoroscopy for sizing of atrial septal defects (ASDs). In 43 patients (mean age 40 +/- 15 years) with ASD, the native defect size was measured by transesophageal echocardiography and ICE. On subsequent balloon sizing, the stretched balloon diameter was measured by both fluoroscopy in two perpendicular planes and by ICE in just a single standard cut plane. All ASDs were successfully closed with Amplatzer occluders (AGA Medical Corp., Plymouth, Minn). Conventional fluoroscopy-based balloon sizing revealed diameters of 17.5 +/- 5.4 mm, transesophageal echocardiography diameters of 11.8 +/- 3.3 mm (P &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt; .001), and ICE measurement of native ASD diameters of 13.5 +/- 4.1 mm (P &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt; .001). Single-plane ICE balloon sizing revealed diameters of 16.9 +/- 5.2 mm and corresponded well with fluoroscopy: R = 0.98, P &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt; .001. As a sizing tool, ICE is an accurate alternative to fluoroscopy and helps to decrease radiation exposure.

Journal of Clinical Pathology, 2007

Pancreatic adenocarcinoma is an aggressive gastrointestinal malignancy with only a few long-term ... more Pancreatic adenocarcinoma is an aggressive gastrointestinal malignancy with only a few long-term survivors even after radical surgery. Patients with ampullary cancer have a better prognosis but adjuvant therapy needs further improvement. Epithelial cell adhesion molecule (Ep-CAM) is strongly expressed in a variety of epithelial cancers and represents a promising target for immunological tumour therapy. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate Ep-CAM expression and its potential prognostic impact in pancreatic and ampullary carcinomas. Ep-CAM expression was investigated retrospectively by immunohistochemistry in paraffin-embedded primary tumour tissue samples from a series of consecutive patients with pancreatic (n = 153) and ampullary cancer (n = 34). Ep-CAM overexpression was observed in 85 of 153 pancreatic cancer specimens (56%) and in 29 of 34 ampullary cancer samples (85%). Overall, Ep-CAM failed to be an independent prognostic marker. However, subgroup analyses showed that Ep-CAM overexpression correlated with shorter overall survival among patients with ampullary cancer and advanced stage pancreatic cancer. In the latter subgroup, survival gradually worsened with increasing Ep-CAM scores. Furthermore, in ampullary cancer, Ep-CAM overexpression was found to correlate with tumour stage. Ep-CAM overexpression was detectable in the majority of cases with pancreatic and ampullary cancer. Therefore, Ep-CAM represents an attractive target for immune-based therapeutic interventions in these tumour entities. However, the prognostic value of Ep-CAM overexpression remains undetermined.

European Journal of Pediatrics, 2005

Invasive meningococcal disease (IMD) is an important cause of morbidity and mortality in children... more Invasive meningococcal disease (IMD) is an important cause of morbidity and mortality in children and adults. This study was conducted to determine a possible increase in IMD in recent years with special interest focused on serogroup C disease. From January 1st 1993 to December 31st 2002, IMD was studied in one million residents of Austria. We used active, population-based surveillance data from the Office of Public Health. A total of 126 patients with positive blood and/or cerebrospinal fluid culture or positive swabs for Neisseria meningitidis were studied. The median age of all patients was 9.5 years (range 1 month to 63 years). The average incidence of all IMD subgroups was 1.05 cases per 100,000 person years and was highest in children 0-4 years old (7.08 cases per 100,000 person years) followed by young adults aged 15 to 19 years (4.35 cases per 100,000 person years). Serogroup C IMD occurred in 1.30 cases/100,000 person years in patients aged 0 to 4 years and in 1.92 cases/100,000 person years in patients aged 15 to 19 years. Overall mortality was 11.1%. There was a significant increase (P =0.001) in IMD due to serogroup B disease within the last 10 years. In contrast, serogroup C disease did not increase during the last decade. Currently, we do not recommend mass vaccination against serogroup C disease in Austria, but young adults aged 15 to 19 years display a high incidence of meningococcal C disease. In this age group, vaccination against serogroup C disease should be considered.

Clinical Cancer Research, 2008

Purpose: The receptor tyrosine kinase Axl has recently been identified as a critical element in t... more Purpose: The receptor tyrosine kinase Axl has recently been identified as a critical element in the invasive properties of glioma cell lines. However, the effect of Axl and its ligand growth arrest–specific gene 6 (Gas6) in human gliomas is still unknown. Experimental Design: Axl and Gas6 expression was studied in 42 fresh-frozen and 79 paraffin-embedded glioma specimens by means of reverse transcription-PCR and immunohistochemistry. The prognostic value of Axl and Gas6 expression was evaluated using a population-based tissue microarray derived from a cohort of 55 glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) patients. Results: Axl and Gas6 were detectable in gliomas of malignancy grades WHO 2 to 4. Moderate to high Axl mRNA expression was found in 61%, Axl protein in 55%, Gas6 mRNA in 81%, and Gas6 protein in 74% of GBM samples, respectively. GBM patients with high Axl expression and Axl/Gas6 coexpression showed a significantly shorter time to tumor progression and an association with poorer overa...