A new clinic dedicated to perinatal infections has opened at the Duilio Casula Polyclinic. The service, part of the Neonatal Pathology and Nursery Department of the University Hospital of Cagliari and supported by the Fondazione di Sardegna, was created to provide a dedicated diagnostic and therapeutic pathway for newborns exposed to or affected by infections, ensuring continuity of care even after thirty days of life.
Maternal-fetal infections are a public health problem affecting the health of pregnant women, fetuses, and newborns. In recent years, the need for organizational models for early diagnosis, correct clinical management, and careful follow-up of exposed children has become increasingly evident.
This need led to the creation of the Perinatal Infectious Diseases Clinic, which also aims to strengthen the integration between hospital and community, ensuring continuity in care and follow-up. The clinic will be a point of reference for maternity wards, pediatric departments, and private pediatricians in central and southern Sardinia, with the goal of promoting shared pathways and greater coordination among the various professionals involved in the birth process.
The new service for young patients will be discussed at the conference "Perinatal Infectious Diseases. Implementation of a Dedicated Outpatient Clinic," which will be held on Friday, October 16, from 8:30 a.m. in the conference room (red room) at the Cittadella Università di Monserrato. The conference will be chaired by Dr. Giovanni Ottonello, Director of Neonatal Pathology and Nursery at the Duilio Casula Polyclinic, and Dr. Maria Elisabetta Trudu, coordinator of the facility's newly established outpatient clinic.
The conference will focus on an update on the main perinatal infections, presented by several specialists from the Neonatal Pathology and Nursery Department of the University Hospital of Cagliari: Dr. Maria Elisabetta Trudu, who will explore congenital cytomegalovirus infection, from diagnostic assessment to follow-up; Dr. Elisabetta Longobardi, who will address toxoplasmosis in pregnancy and newborns, from diagnosis to clinical management, also focusing on the follow-up of children exposed to or affected by congenital infections; and Dr. Maria Francesca Faa, who will discuss the prevention and management of vertical transmission of HIV infection.
