Moments of fear for a child from Legnanoin the province of Milan, which aroused the concern of parents following the probable ingestion of an antineoplastic drug, used for the treatment of tumors, the hypothetical risks of which are unknown, given the young age of the patient in question.
The child was promptly admitted to the local hospital, but here they did not have the appropriate instruments capable of detect if in blood and urine the drug and its metabolites were present in the young patient. Consequently, the medical staff asked for help first from the Niguarda hospital in Milan, also experiencing the same difficulties, and then from the Poison Control Center of the “Mario Negri” Institute, which indicated the University Hospital “St. John of God and Ruggi of Aragon” of Salerno as the only hospital facility in Italy to have the necessary requirements to process the drug probably ingested by the child.
The traceability of “Ruggi” was easily found since the Clinical Pharmacology Service and its Pharmacokinetics, Genetic Pharmacology and Toxicology Laboratories are included in the national Sibioc network and so it was simple for the operators of the “Mario Negri” Institute to indicate the hospital Salerno as the only one capable of carrying out the required dosage.
Once the sample arrived at the office, it was analyzed quickly and with results that showed no trace of the alleged drug in the material provided. L’uniqueness of the “Ruggi” in this specific sector is characterized by two important factors: the presence of cutting-edge instrumentation, capable of recording even the minimum quantities of active ingredient present and the high competence of the operators, all students of the professor Amelia Filippelliwho carried out the necessary examination with professionalism and timeliness.
The “Ruggi” Pharmacology Department is one of the few at national level to guarantee every type of service relating to Clinical Pharmacology, that is, capable of providing adequate and specific care in cases of complex therapies in subjects with important pathologies. Numerous activities are carried out within it, such as pharmacogenetic and pharmacokinetic analyses, including the accurate measurement of immunosuppressive and neoplastic drugs. All this contributes to prescribing a personalized therapy for each patient. Furthermore, the “Ruggi” Pharmacology Service, also extended to other companies such as ASL Salerno and ASL Napoli 3, carries out specific analyzes of the risks faced by operators exposed to environmental contamination, making them available to those who request consultancy and collaborations to promote well-being and protection.
