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Implementation of Elastography Score and Strain Ratio in Combination with B-mode Ultrasound Avoids Unnecessary Biopsies of Breast Lesions
No full textThe aim of this study was to evaluate whether the combination of B-mode ultrasound, elastography score (ES) and strain ratio (SR) improves diagnostic performance with respect to breast lesions. One hundred thirty lesions were prospectively evaluated by B-mode ultrasound and strain elastography, followed by fine-needle aspiration cytology/biopsy in 117 woman who were scheduled for regular breast BUS. The median ES (4.5 vs. 2.9, p , 0.001) and SR (4.9 vs. 2.3, p , 0.001) were significantly higher for malignant than for benign lesions. A sensitivity of 90.5% and specificity of 93.2% for the ES (cutoff point53.8) and a sensitivity of 87.5% and specificity of 87.6% for the SR (cutoff point53.5) were obtained. Elastography combined with B-mode ultrasound improved the specificity, accuracy and positive predictive value. Receiver operating characteristic curves yielded a higher value for the combined technique for diagnosis of breast lesions. Routine use of such a diagnostic algorithm could reduce the number of unnecessary biopsies
Interleukin 17A and Toll-like Receptor 4 in Patients with Arterial Hypertension
No full textBACKGROUND/AIMS: Immune responses are involved in arterial hypertension. An observational cross-sectional case control study was conducted to estimate the association between Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) expression and interleukin (IL)-17A serum levels in patients with controlled and non-controlled hypertension.
METHODS: We have enrolled 105 non-complicated otherwise healthy hypertensive patients: 53 with well-controlled blood pressure and 52 non-controlled. TLR4 peripheral monocytes expression and serum IL-17A levels were determined by flow cytometry and ELISA, respectively.
RESULTS: Non-controlled patients exhibited higher TLR4 expression than well-controlled (25.60 vs. 21.99, P=0.011). TLR4 expression was lower in well-controlled patients who were prescribed beta blockers (18.9 vs. 22.6, P=0.005) and IL-17A concentration was higher in patients using diuretics in either group (1.41 vs. 2.01 pg/ml, P<0.001; well-controlled 1.3 vs. 1.8 pg/ml, P= 0.023; non-controlled 1.6 vs. 2.3 pg/ml, P=0.001). Correlation between IL-17A concentration and hypertension duration was observed in non-controlled patients (Spearman correlation coefficient . ρ=0.566, P<0.001) whereas in well-controlled patients a correlation was found between hypertension duration and TLR4 expression (ρ=0.322, P=0.020).
CONCLUSIONS: Arterial hypertension stimulates the immune response regardless of blood pressure regulation status. Prolonged hypertension influences peripheral monocyte TLR4 expression and IL-17A serum levels. Anti-hypertensive drugs have different immunomodulatory effects: diuretics are associated with higher IL-17A concentration and beta-blockers with lower TLR4 expression
Epidemiology, Practice of Ventilation and Outcome for Patients at Increased risk of Postoperative Pulmonary Complications: Las Vegas - an Observational Study in 29 Countries
No full textBACKGROUND: Limited information exists about the epidemiology and outcome of surgical patients at increased risk of postoperative pulmonary complications (PPCs), and how intraoperative ventilation was managed in these patients.
OBJECTIVES: To determine the incidence of surgical patients at increased risk of PPCs, and to compare the intraoperative ventilation management and postoperative outcomes with patients at low risk of PPCs.
DESIGN: This was a prospective international 1-week observational study using the 'Assess Respiratory Risk in Surgical Patients in Catalonia risk score' (ARISCAT score) for PPC for risk stratification.
PATIENTS AND SETTING: Adult patients requiring intraoperative ventilation during general anaesthesia for surgery in 146 hospitals across 29 countries.
MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary outcome was the incidence of patients at increased risk of PPCs based on the ARISCAT score. Secondary outcomes included intraoperative ventilatory management and clinical outcomes.
RESULTS: A total of 9864 patients fulfilled the inclusion criteria. The incidence of patients at increased risk was 28.4%. The most frequently chosen tidal volume (VT) size was 500 ml, or 7 to 9 ml kg predicted body weight, slightly lower in patients at increased risk of PPCs. Levels of positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) were slightly higher in patients at increased risk of PPCs, with 14.3% receiving more than 5 cmH2O PEEP compared with 7.6% in patients at low risk of PPCs (P < 0.001). Patients with a predicted preoperative increased risk of PPCs developed PPCs more frequently: 19 versus 7%, relative risk (RR) 3.16 (95% confidence interval 2.76 to 3.61), P < 0.001) and had longer hospital stays. The only ventilatory factor associated with the occurrence of PPCs was the peak pressure.
CONCLUSION: The incidence of patients with a predicted increased risk of PPCs is high. A large proportion of patients receive high VT and low PEEP levels. PPCs occur frequently in patients at increased risk, with worse clinical outcome
Early Detection of COPD Patients in GOLD 0 Population: an Observational Non-interventional Cohort Study - MARKO Study
No full textBACKGROUND: Main risk factor for the development of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is smoking, although only less than 1/3 of smokers develop clinically manifest COPD. COPD's progressive nature with high disability and mortality makes it plausible to detect it as early as possible thus allowing for an early intervention. The only tool for an early diagnosis that could be used on the global scale is spirometry, even though symptoms and deprivation of health related quality of life (HRQoL) precede relevant spirometric changes. Existing HRQoL questionnaires are too complicated or not developed for an early detection of COPD. The aim of our study was to develop a new simple HRQoL tool that will allow (alone or in combination with other markers) early detection of patients with COPD.
METHODS: A multicenter prospective cohort study recruiting 500 subjects at risk for COPD (smokers/ex-smokers ≥20 pack-years, 40-65 years, both sexes, with no prior diagnosis of COPD) will be carried out in two phases: (1) cross-sectional - development and validation of a new questionnaire; and (2) prospective - follow-up of a cohort of patients at risk for COPD. Subjects were recruited by 25 GPs and assessed for COPD by dedicated pulmonologists in 7 hospital centers using a predefined protocol: HRQoL, history, physical, blood sampling, exhaled breath temperature (EBT), lung function, 6-min walk test (6MWT). Patients without COPD and those in GOLD stage 1 at initial assessment will be reassessed for disease progression by the same pulmonologist after 2 and 5 years.
DISCUSSION: This is one of the first cohort studies attempting to establish the incidence of COPD in the pre-symptomatic stage before significant end organ damage. We intend to assess the validity, predictability and discriminative power ('healthy' smokers vs. pre-symptomatic phase in newly developed COPD) of newly developed HRQoL tool alone or in combination with other markers; EBT, lung function, 6MWT, genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics). We expect that the results of this study can improve our understanding of the development of COPD, identify some new underlying pathophysiological pathways, and offer to sensitive smokers/ex-smokers new preventive and early intervention measures thus improving the management of COPD
Guidelines for the Diagnostics and Treatment of Hidradenitis Suppurativa
No full textHrvatsko dermatovenerološko društvo i Hrvatsko društvo za plastičnu, rekonstrukcijsku i estetsku kirurgiju Hrvatskoga liječničkog zbora ustrojili su radnu skupinu liječnika s kliničkim iskustvom u dijagnostici i liječenju gnojnog hidradenitisa (hidradenitis suppurativa). Skupina je kritički proučila mjerodavnu znanstvenu literaturu te je donijela smjernice za dijagnostiku i liječenje.Croatian dermatovenerologic society and Croatian society for plastic, reconstructive and esthetic surgery of the Croatian Medical Association formed the working group which consists of physicians with experience in diagnostics and treatment of hidradentitis suppurativa. After a critical analysis of relevant scientifi c papers, the working group has developed practice guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment
Prognostic Nutritional Index as a Predictor of Prognosis in Patients with Diffuse Large B cell Lymphoma
No full textBACKGROUND: The prognostic nutritional index (PNI), an indicator of nutritional status and systemic inflammation, is associated with short-term and long-term outcomes of various malignancies. The prognostic value of PNI in diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL) remains unknown. The aim of the present study was to determine the prognostic value of baseline PNI in DLBCL patients.
METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed data from 103 DLBCL patients treated with R‑CHOP or R‑CHOP-like regimens. We evaluated the significance of PNI as a predictor of response to treatment, overall survival (OS) and event-free survival (EFS).
RESULTS: Patients with a PNI ≤ 44.55, where the cut-off was calculated by receiver operating characteristics (Youden index) and the same was obtained for response to treatment with 76.2 % sensitivity and a specificity of 85.4 %, for OS with 72.4 % sensitivity and a specificity of 90.5 % and for EFS with 65.6 % sensitivity and a specificity of 90.1 %, had significantly worse 5‑year OS (18.3 % vs 86.4 %, P < 0.001, log rank test) and 5‑year EFS (15.1 % vs 82.3 %, P < 0.001, log rank test). Regression analysis showed that PNI ≤ 44.55 was an independent prognostic factor for response to treatment with an odds ratio (OR) of 4.88 for treatment failure, 95 % confidence interval (CI) 1.077-22.105, OS hazard ratio (HR) 4.24, 95 % CI 1.451-12.392 and EFS HR 4.007, 95 % CI 1.48-10.852. Lower PNI levels were found in patients with advanced Ann Arbor clinical stage (46.6 ± 7.77 vs. 52.7 ± 5.43) and in those with poor response to therapy (40.58 ± 7.26 vs. 50.67 ± 6.26).
CONCLUSIONS: The PNI is a simple and useful marker to predict long-term survival outcome in DLBCL patients. Low PNI predicted poor outcome. A limitation of the study is its retrospective design in which the prognostic value was tested in the derivation cohort only. Notwithstanding, this is the first study suggesting that PNI is an important prognostic factor in DLBCL
The Temperament and Character Traits in Patients with Major Depressive Disorder and Bipolar Affective Disorder with and Without Suicide Attempt
No full textBackground: Suicide and mood disorders (especially major depressive disorder (MDD) and bipolar affective disorder (BD)) represent a significant global health burden. Major depressive disorder and bipolar affective disorder have been associated with increased risk for suicide. Some specific suicide risk factors might be found in underlying individual personality traits. Specific: personality features may predispose an individual to mood disorders (MDD or BD) hence increased suicide risk. The specificity of this research is in the assessment of personality features during the acute phase of illness immediately after suicide attempt which resulted in psychiatric inpatient treatment.
Subjects and methods: The study included 119 unrelated Caucasian participants with MDD-severe depressive episode without psychotic symptoms (MDD) and BD-severe depressive episode without psychotic symptoms (BD-sDE). Both groups of patients with MDD and BD-sDE were divided into the suicide attempters and non-suicidal group. The diagnoses of the severe depressive episode without psychotic symptoms in major depressive disorder (MDD; F32.2) and bipolar disorder (BD-sDE; F31.4) were made according to ICD-10 (WHO 1992) diagnostic criteria. Methods of suicide attempts were also assessed according to ICD-10 and a self-report questionnaire, the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI) was applied.
Results: The participants who exhibited suicide attempt had significantly higher scores on harm-avoidance (HA) (p<0.001), significantly lower score on persistence (PS) (p=0.037) and lower score, however not statistically significant, on novelty- seeking (NS) (p=0.319) regarding temperament dimensions. In character dimensions, the patients with suicidal attempt had significantly lower scores on self-directedness (SD) (p<0.001) and significantly lower scores on cooperativeness (CO) (p=0.001).
Conclusion: Patients who had suicide attempt may have some significantly different personality traits than non-suicidal patients with mood disorders. The combination of high harm-avoidance (HA) and low self-directedness (SD) may be specific for depressive episode while the combination of high HA, novelty-seeking (NS), and self-transcendence (ST) with low SD may be related to suicide attempts during the depressive episode in bipolar disorder. The novelty-seeking (NS), self-transcendence (ST) and self-directedness (SD) may be specific for suicidal group of bipolar patients
Iskra guidelines on diagnostic and treatment of prostatitis - Croatian national guidelines
No full textSmjernice se odnose na klasifikaciju, dijagnostiku i liječenje sindroma prostatitisa. Njihov su cilj standardizacija, izjednačavanje i optimalizacija dijagnostike, liječenja i praćenja bolesnika s prostatitisom koji će dovesti do poboljšanja kvalitete zdravstvene zaštite ovih bolesnika te promovirati racionalnu potrošnju antibiotika. Namijenjene su ponajprije liječnicima opće prakse i specijalistima koji rade u primarnoj zdravstvenoj zaštiti i bolnicama. Ministarstvo zdravstva Republike Hrvatske (RH) imenovalo je članove Radne grupe za izradu smjernica namijenjenih dijagnostici i liječenju prostatitisa. Smjernice se temelje na dokazima iz sistematski pregledane literature, na lokalnim podacima o osjetljivosti bakterija na antibiotike, na postojećim kliničkim protokolima za dijagnostiku i liječenje prostatitisa, kao i prijedlozima i komentarima kolega liječnika. One su putem tečajeva trajne edukacije široko predstavljene liječnicima obiteljske medicine te specijalistima koji rade u primarnoj zdravstvenoj zaštiti i bolnicama – urolozima, infektolozima, mikrobiolozima i nefrolozima. Završnu verziju smjernica pregledali su i prihvatili članovi Interdisciplinarne sekcije za kontrolu rezistencije na antibiotike. U smjernicama su predstavljene kliničke upute radi standardizacije postupaka i kriterija za postavljanje dijagnoze i liječenje bolesnika s prostatitisom u RH.These guidelines refer to classification, diagnostics and treatment of prostatitis syndrome. The aim of these guidelines is the standardization, harmonization and optimization of diagnostics, treatment and monitoring of patients with prostatitis that would lead to improved quality of health care for these patients and promote rational use of antibiotics. The guidelines are primarily intended for general practitioners and specialists working in primary health care and hospitals. The members of the Working Group (WG) for the development of guidelines on diagnostics and treatment of prostatitis were appointed by the Croatian Ministry of Health. The evidence for these guidelines was identified by systematic review of the literature, local antibiotic resistance data, existing clinical protocols for diagnostics and treatment of prostatitis, as well as suggestions and comments from colleagues physicians. Through continuing medical education courses, the guidelines were widely presented to family medicine physicians and specialists working in primary health care and hospitals – urologists, infectious disease specialists, microbiologists and nephrologists. The final version of the guidelines was reviewed and approved by members of the Intersectoral Coordination Mechanism for the Control of Antimicrobial Resistance (ISKRA). These guidelines also present clinical instructions aimed at standardizing the procedures and criteria for diagnosis and treatment of patients with prostatitis in Croatia
False Positive Immunoassay for Heparin-induced Thrombocytopenia in the Presence of Monoclonal Gammopathy: a Case Report
No full textHeparin induced thrombocytopenia (HIT) is a life-threatening disorder which diagnosis depends on laboratory evaluation. The objective of this report is to present the impact of different laboratory methods for HIT detection on the diagnostic evaluation process. In this case, a 78-year old female patient previously diagnosed with monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS) was administered with heparin for pulmonary embolism treatment. Patient's initial diagnostic work-up (determination of platelet count and prothrombin time measurement for monitoring of pharmacotherapy) was followed by the clinical estimation of HIT likelihood by "4Ts" score, two immunoassays (ID-PaGIA Heparin/PF4 Antibody Test and ELISA PF4 IgG assay) and one functional test called high-performance liquid chromatography serotonin release assay (HPLC-SRA). The result of "4Ts" score indicated a low likelihood of HIT but persistent thrombocytopenia that appeared days after discontinuation of heparin therapy suggested delayed-onset HIT. Both immunoassays were positive for presence of HIT-autoantibodies, while the functional HPLC-SRA was negative. Since different methods gave opposing results, their interpretation required great attention. In comparison to the HPLC-SRA, immunoassays are prone to the analytical interferences associated with the presence of non-specific antibodies, which may lead to false positive results. In this case, where the patient is known to produce antibodies of undetermined significance, HIT was ruled out as the possible cause of persistent thrombocytopenia primarily due to the negative result of HPLC-SRA, which is not prone to this type of interferences, but also due to the low "4Ts" clinical score
Vrijednost mjerljivih i nemjerljivih značajka ultrazvučnog prikaza limfnih čvorova u otkrivanju zloćudnog zauzeća
No full textThe aim of the study was to assess diagnostic value and utility of selected morphological features in predicting lymph node (LN) malignancy using B-mode, Doppler ultrasonography and multivariate settings in a tertiary radiological referral center. The study included 123 patients having undergone ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration and cytologic analysis (FNAC) of cervical, axillary and inguinal LNs. Each LN was characterized by long/L and short/T-axis, shape, margins, echogenicity, cortical thickness, vascularization, and examiner’s subjective impression. Within the limitations of FNAC, altered shape and vascularization had relatively high specificity and positive predictive value (>80%), whereas subjective impression had high sensitivity and negative predictive value (100%) for malignancy. The cut-off levels for different features of LN by ROC analysis were as follows: long-axis 23 mm, short-axis 11 mm, L/T ratio 2.19, and maximal cortical thickness 5.1 mm. On multivariate analysis (adaptive regression splines, n=108), the addition of long-axis, L/T ratio, age and sex considerably improved diagnostic accuracy (88%), sensitivity (margins + vascularization) and specificity (subjective impression) of the diagnostic model. The combination of morphological and demographic features could improve diagnostic accuracy, usually with a trade-off between the sensitivity and specificity of the predictive model. The performance may depend on the level of expertise and institutional settings.Cilj istraživanja bio je odrediti dijagnostičku vrijednost i korisnost odabranih morfoloških značajka u predviđanju malignosti limfnog čvora (LČ) upotrebom B-moda, Dopplerova ultrazvuka i multivarijatnih postavka u tercijarnom radiološkom referentnom centru. U 123 bolesnika je učinjena ultrazvučno vođena aspiracijska punkcija i citološka analiza LČ vrata, pazuha i prepona. Svaki LČ je opisan uzdužnim/L i poprečnim/T promjerom, oblikom, rubom, ehogenošću, debljinom kore, vaskularizacijom i subjektivnim dojmom pregledavatelja. Unutar ograničenja citološke analize, izmijenjen oblik i vaskularizacija su imali visoku specifičnost i pozitivnu prediktivnu vrijednost (>80%), dok je subjektivni dojam imao visoku osjetljivost i negativnu prediktivnu vrijednost (100%) za malignost. Optimalne granične vrijednosti za različite značajke LČ dobivene analizom ROC su bile 23 mm za uzdužni promjer, 11 mm za poprečni promjer, 2,19 za omjer L/T i 5,1 mm za maksimalnu debljinu korteksa. U multivarijatnoj analizi (adaptive regression splines, n=108) dodatak uzdužnog promjera, omjera L/T, dobi i spola semikvalitativnim obilježjima LČ značajno je povećao dijagnostičku točnost (88%), osjetljivost (rubovi + vaskularizacija, 87%) i specifičnost (subjektivni dojam, 83%) konačnog dijagnostičkog modela. U zaključku, kombinacija morfoloških i demografskih značajka može poboljšati dijagnostičku točnost, obično uz kompromis između osjetljivosti i specifičnosti prediktivnog modela. Učinkovitost može ovisiti o razini stručnosti i institucionalnim postavkama