In 2021 the Department of medicine achieved an impressive increase of the research activities reaching the top position of the publications ranking list among the EOC departments and Institutes. This highlights the importance to develop a Local research unit to coordinate the research activities, support the researchers in the conception and preparation of research protocols, and least but not last provide a think tank to stimulate new research projects.
The department of medicine is a large organization that includes several divisions of medical specialties, i.e. dermatology, endocrinology, gastroenterology and hepatology, general internal medicine, geriatrics, infectious diseases, nephrology, and pneumology.
Therefore, the topics of interest are very broad and can’t be easily summarized. Under consideration of the different fields of interest, we provide some examples of ongoing research projects:
- Retrospective analysis of the data of cancer patients followed at the Istituto Oncologico della Svizzera Italiana for which a specialist dermatological evaluation for an adverse dermatological event was requested from October 1st2021 to September 15th 2022 with the aim to collect, analyse and classify data about the different types of dermatological toxicity experienced by patients under systemic anticancer therapies and the correlation with disease evolution. PI EOC: C. Mangas (dermatology).
- lOw-dose CT cOmPared to Lung UltraSonography vs standard care for the diagnosis of pneumonia in the elderly: a multicentre randomized controlled study (OCTOPLUS). The primary objective is to assess the difference in diagnostic accuracy for patients with suspected pneumonia using low-dose CT (LDCT) compared to conventional X-ray (CXR). We hypothesize that it will be higher in LDCT than in CXR arm. The main secondary objective is to evaluate whether a diagnostic strategy using lung ultrasonography (LUS) compared with CXR, and using LUS compared with LDCT leads to better diagnostic, therapeutic (antibiotic consumption at day 30), and clinical outcomes (time to clinical stability, length of hospital stay, admission to the intensive care unit, 1-month and 3-month mortality and readmission, and quality of life). Study period: 2021-2024. PI EOC: E. Bernasconi (infectious diseases).
- Fibroblast Growth Factor 23 and risk of cardiac arrhythmias in hemodialysis patients: a translational proof of concept study. Study description: Despite recent progress in the field of haemodialysis (HD), mortality remains unacceptably high, particularly due to cardiac arrhythmias. Recent epidemiological evidence suggests that fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF23) may portend a high risk of cardiac arrhythmias and sudden death. However, several aspects of the pathogenetic mechanism(s) that link FGF23 to cardiac arrhythmias as well as the effect of FGF23 dialysis clearance on the modulation of the risk need to be elucidated. This translational research project aims at expanding our understanding of the role of FGF23 in the pathogenesis of cardiac arrhythmias in patients receiving HD. Study initiation: Q1 2023; study results: Q2 2024. PI EOC: A. Bellasi (nephrology).
- Application of wearable devices in endocrine and metabolic disorders. This project includes several endpoints: 1) to evaluate the possibility of treating patients affected by severe hypoparathyroidism with PTH in insulin pumps; 2) to evaluate the efficacy of telemedicine in monitoring and treating pregnant women affected by gestational diabetes; 3) to analyze the feasibility of patient’s automonitoring in thyroid diseases. Study initiation: Q2 2023. PI EOC: P. Trimboli (endocrinology).
- Randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled and parallel group trial to investigate the effects of two doses (up-titration to a fixed dose regimen) of oral BI 685509 on portal hypertension after 24 weeks treatment in patients with clinically significant portal hypertension (CSPH) in compensated cirrhosis. BI 685509 is a nitric oxide (NO)-independent activator of soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC), which increases production of cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP). cGMP is a potent mediator of vasorelaxation, an inhibitor of platelet aggregation and inflammation, and is also crucial for proper endothelial function in the vascular bed (increased sinusoidal lumen and perfusion). In this Phase II trial, the efficacy of this new treatment in patients with CSPH will be assessed. PI EOC: A. De Gottardi (gastroenterology – hepatology).
- PANDORA Dyadic project: Hope, spiritual well-being and quality of life of dyads of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in Switzerland: a multicenter longitudinal (CHUV, HUG, EOC) mixed methods study. The primary objective is to assess the relationship between level of hope and quality of life in patients with advanced COPD and their informal carers. The main secondary objective is to explore the association between levels of hope and symptom burden in patients with advanced COPD. Study period: 2022-2024. PI EOC: Tanja Fusi-Schmidhauser (internal medicine and palliative care).