Background/Objectives: Long COVID is a multisystemic condition persisting beyond the acute phase of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Data on young, community-dwelling adults in Italy remain limited. To describe the sociodemographic, clinical, and symptom profiles of Long-COVID patients in an Italian cohort. Methods: Cross-sectional survey (February–April 2025) on 250 adults with prior COVID-19. A validated 24-item questionnaire was administered. Descriptive statistics, 95% confidence intervals (CIs), Hedges’ g effect sizes, and exploratory subgroup analyses (sex, age ≤ 30 vs. >30) were performed. Results: Participants were 63.6% female, 56% ≤ 30 years, 4.4% with comorbidities. Acute symptoms included muscle/joint pain (2.79 ± 1.31), weakness (2.77 ± 1.28), and tiredness (2.76 ± 1.31). Persistent symptoms were excessive tiredness (2.36 ± 1.27), weakness (2.25 ± 1.29), and muscle/joint pain (2.25 ± 1.25). Acute → persistent changes were significant (p < 0.01, paired t-test) with effect sizes g = 0.31–0.42. Women reported higher persistent fatigue (mean diff = 0.40, 95% CI 0.01–0.78, p = 0.04). Conclusions: Even among young adults without comorbidities, Long COVID imposes a relevant burden. Findings highlight the need for multidisciplinary pathways, nursing-led follow-up, and targeted self-management education.

Background/Objectives: Hospital environmental contamination represents a significant source of healthcare-associated infections, yet standardized monitoring approaches are still inconsistent globally. This scoping review aimed to find and assess various tools and strategies used to monitor hospital environmental cleaning and disinfection practices, mapping current evidence and finding research gaps to inform evidence-based recommendations for healthcare facilities. Methods: Following PRISMA Scoping Review guidelines, we conducted comprehensive searches on PubMed and Scopus databases from 2010–2025 using terms related to environmental monitoring, surface sampling, air sampling, and infection control in hospital settings. Eighteen studies met inclusion criteria; data were extracted using standardized forms and synthesized narratively, organizing findings by monitoring approach categories. Results: These studies revealed diverse monitoring approaches including fluorescent markers (22.2%), ATP bioluminescence assays (33.3%), microbiological methods (44.4%), and direct observation techniques (27.8%). MRSA was the most frequently targeted pathogen (55.6%), with limited attention to Gram-negative multidrug-resistant organisms and fungi. Studies showed significant variability in pass/fail thresholds (ATP: 50–500 RLU) and lack of standardized benchmarks. Recent research (50% post-2021) increasingly incorporates molecular techniques and digital technologies, though implementation remains resource intensive. Conclusions: A multimodal approach combining visual inspection, ATP assays, and microbiological methods appears most effective for comprehensive environmental monitoring. Critical gaps include lack of standardized thresholds, limited pathogen diversity focus, and insufficient integration of emerging digital technologies. Future research should focus on setting universal standards, expanding pathogen coverage, and assessing cost-effective monitoring strategies, all while ensuring legal compliance with hygiene regulations to enhance patient safety.

Background/Objective: Health is a multidimensional construct shaped not only by clinical conditions but also by psychological, social, environmental and cultural factors. In low- and middle-income countries undergoing rapid epidemiological transition, understanding health requires integrated and culturally informed approaches. However, quality of life, perceived health status and lifestyle behaviors are often investigated separately, limiting the interpretation of well-being in specific local contexts. This study aimed to provide an integrated assessment of quality of life, perceived health status and lifestyle behaviours among adults attending a peri-urban public hospital in Kenya, using internationally validated instruments applied within a specific local cultural context. Methods: A cross-sectional observational study was conducted at Tigoni Level 4 Hospital, Kiambu County, Kenya. Adult outpatients (N = 40) were consecutively recruited. Quality of life was assessed using the WHOQOL-BREF, perceived health status using the EQ-5D-5L and EQ-VAS, and lifestyle behaviours using selected modules of the WHO STEPS instrument. Descriptive statistics were performed, and exploratory associations were examined using Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient. Results: Participants had a mean age of 35.9 ± 11.4 years, with a balanced gender distribution. Lifestyle risk factors were prevalent, including insufficient physical activity (40%) and overweight or obesity (>50%). WHOQOL-BREF scores revealed a heterogeneous profile, with relatively preserved social relationships and lower scores in the psychological and environmental domains. Pain/discomfort and anxiety/depression were the most frequently reported EQ-5D-5L problems. The mean EQ-VAS score was 68.2 ± 15.7. Perceived health was positively associated with physical and psychological quality of life, while higher body mass index was associated with lower physical quality of life. Mental health emerged as a cross-cutting factor across instruments. Conclusions: The findings highlight the multidimensional nature of health in a peri-urban Kenyan context and suggest the importance of considering local social and cultural influences when interpreting standardized health measures. Mental health and environmental conditions play a central role in shaping quality of life and perceived health, while lifestyle risk factors are already prevalent in a relatively young outpatient population. Integrating standardized health measures within a cross-cultural framework may support more holistic and person-centred approaches in primary care and public health in similar settings.

The COVID-19 lockdown had significant consequences on the mental health of millions of people, leading to the increasing prescription and use of psychotropic drugs. Due to the lack of data in the current literature, this study aims to estimate the trends in the consumption of anxiolytics, antipsychotics, and antidepressants before and during the pandemic on people in the South Italian region. We conducted a retrospective observational study, retrieving prescriptions of anxiolytics, antipsychotics, and antidepressants dispensed in pharmacies of the Basilicata region (South Italy) for the period 2019–2021. We presented the data, expressed in Daily Defined Doses (DDDs) for 1000 persons/day (DHD), on a total resident population of 95,021, dividing the age groups into categories 70 years. We conducted a linear regression model to examinate consumption trends across years. Software XLSTAT was used for statistical analysis. During the study period, more than 85,000 boxes of psychotropic medications were dispensed. The research showed an increase in the sales of all three categories of drugs examined, with a greater rise in benzodiazepines (88.5%) and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (81.9%) in 2021 compared to 2019, especially among women under 30 years. The COVID-19 pandemic had led to an increase in the consumption of psychotropic drugs, confirming the significant impact on the population’s mental health.

Background: Environmental contamination of hospital surfaces, especially in high-risk clinical areas, partly sustains healthcare-associated infections. The detection of microbiological contamination in hospital settings using culture-based methods remains fundamental, even though these methods are not rapid, show moderate sensitivity in areas with low microbial loads, and are unsuitable for some microbial species. This multicentre study evaluated the performance of loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) for the rapid detection of major nosocomial pathogens on hospital surfaces. Methods: A multicentre observational method–comparison study was conducted in three Italian hospital centres. Overall, 298 environmental surface samples were collected from clinical areas included in local infection-prevention monitoring plans. For each sampling point, LAMP swab sampling was paired with an adjacent contact plate culture. LAMP assays targeted Staphylococcus aureus, Acinetobacter baumannii, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Manual and automated nucleic acid extraction workflows were analysed separately. Diagnostic performance, agreement metrics, and discordant paired results were assessed using a contact plate culture as the microbiological comparator. Results: No LAMP-negative/RODAC-positive pairs were observed. Positive percent agreement (PPA) relative to contact plate culture was therefore 100% in the subgroups evaluated. Relative specificity ranged from 90.9% to 98.6%, while overall accuracy ranged from 93.8% to 98.6%. Discordant results were exclusively LAMP-positive/contact plate-negative and were more frequent for S. aureus and P. aeruginosa. Selective culture verification supported several LAMP-positive findings not recovered by routine contact plates. Conclusions: LAMP showed high negative agreement, high specificity, and rapid target-specific detection of selected nosocomial pathogens on hospital surfaces. It may complement conventional cultures in environmental surveillance, particularly when timely feedback is needed to guide infection-prevention and sanitation-monitoring strategies.

Background/Objectives: Intravitreal injections (IVIs) are increasingly performed in outpatient settings, raising concerns regarding how to guarantee operating-theatre-level environmental safety. Mobile laminar airflow (LAF) units may create an ultraclean instrument field, but microbiological evidence from real-world IVI clinics is limited. Methods: We performed environmental monitoring during three IVI sessions, each including approximately 20 injections per session, in an outpatient procedure room equipped with a mobile LAF device (Operio Toul Mobile). Airborne microbial contamination was measured with a SAS Super 100 impactor (1 m³ per sample) at two locations, the procedure-room air and the LAF field, across seven predefined time points (T₋₁to T₅). Surface contamination of the instrument-covering drape was assessed at mid- and end-session using 24 cm² contact plates on four culture media. Colonies were expressed as CFU/m³ or CFU/24 cm² and analysed using a two-way repeated-measures ANOVA (location × time), with Holm-adjusted within-session paired post hoc comparisons at each time point. Results: During LAF operation (T₀–T₄), mean airborne load was 89.8 ± 10.8 CFU/m³ in room air versus 10.9 ± 4.6 CFU/m³ under LAF, corresponding to an 87.9% mean reduction (Holm-adjusted p < 0.01). At T₋₁ and T₅ (LAF off), counts were not significantly different between locations. Airborne microbial species consisted mainly of skin/oral commensals; no obligate pathogens were detected. All 24 drape samples showed 0 CFU. Conclusions: In this high-throughput outpatient IVI clinic, the mobile LAF device maintained a stable ultraclean microenvironment at the instrument field despite moderate background room contamination, supporting its use as an adjunct to standard aseptic measures, without the need to change the covering drape during the session.