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Current Opinions for the Management of Asthma Associated with ear, Nose and Throat Comorbidities
No full textEar, nose and throat (ENT) comorbidities are common in patients with asthma and are frequently associated with poorer asthma outcomes. All these comorbidities are "treatable traits" in asthma. Identification and management of these disorders may spare medication usage and contribute to improved asthma control and quality of life, and a decrease in exacerbation rates.This review summarises recent data about the prevalence, clinical impact and treatment effects of ENT comorbidities in asthma including allergic rhinitis, chronic rhinosinusitis with and without nasal polyposis, aspirin-exacerbated respiratory disease, obstructive sleep apnoea and vocal cord dysfunction.Many of these comorbidities are possible to be managed by the pulmonologist, but the collaboration with the ENT specialist is essential for patients with chronic rhinosinusitis or vocal cord dysfunction. Further rigorous research is needed to study the efficacy of comorbidity treatment to improve asthma outcomes, in particular with the development of biotherapies in severe asthma that can also be beneficial in some ENT disease
Impedance Cardiography as tool for Continuous Hemodynamic Monitoring During Cesarean Section: Randomized, Prospective Double Blind Study
No full textBACKGROUND: Impedance Cardiography (ICG) is a non-invasive tool for continuous hemodynamic monitoring. Aims of our study were to assess the utility of ICG to evaluate the hemodynamic impact of 6 mg (GL6) vs 8 mg (GL8) levobupivacaine combined with fentanyl in healthy patients undergoing elective cesarean section; secondary, to compare the duration and quality of analgesia and anesthesia.
METHODS: Sixty-two women receiving combined spinal-epidural (CSE) for elective cesarean delivery were randomly allocated to GL6 or GL8 groups. Mean arterial pressure (MAP), cardiac index (CI), systemic vascular resistance index (SVRI), heart rate (HR), stroke volume index (SVI) were recorded from Tbaseline to 31 min after CSE by ICG. Sensory and motor blocks, patients and surgeons satisfaction, neonatal data were also recorded.
RESULTS: Fifteen of 32 patients in GL6 and 15 of 30 patients in GL8 experienced hypotension at T2 vs Tbaseline (P < .001) and SVRI reduction (P = .035 and P < .001 respectively). MAP, CI and SVRI were always slightly higher in GL6 vs GL8. HR and SVI remained stable until the end of surgery in all patients. Total ephedrine requirements was higher in GL8 (P = .010). The onset and offset time of sensory and motor block were similar in both groups, but the number of patients with motor block was lower in GL6 vs GL8 (P = .001). Patients and surgeon satisfaction scores, the number of patients needed systemic rescue doses, neonatal data were similar in both groups.
CONCLUSIONS: ICG is a useful noninvasive tool to monitor continuously hemodynamics during cesarean section. The hemodynamic stability, the satisfying sensory block and rapid mobilization provided by low levobupivacaine dose may be particularly advantageous in obstetric patient
Trefoil Factor 3 Deficiency Affects Liver Lipid Metabolism
No full textBACKGROUND/AIMS: Tff3 protein plays a well recognized role in the protection of gastrointestinal mucosa. The role of Tff3 in the metabolism is a new aspect of its function. Tff3 is one of the most affected liver genes in early diabetes and fatty liver rodent models. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of Tff3 deficiency on lipid and carbohydrate metabolism and on markers of oxidative stress that accompanies metabolic deregulation.
METHODS: Specific markers of health status were determined in sera of Tff3 deficient mice, including glucose level, functional glucose and insulin tolerance. Composition of fatty acids (FAs) was determined in liver and blood serum by using gas chromatography. Oxidative stress parameters were determined: lipid peroxidation level via determination of lipid hydroperoxide and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), antioxidative capacity (FRAP) and specific antioxidative enzyme activity. The expression of several genes and proteins related to the metabolism of lipids, carbohydrates and oxidative stress (CAT, GPx1, SOD2, PPARα, PPARγ, PPARδ, HNF4α and SIRT1) was determined.
RESULTS: Tff3 deficient mice showed better glucose utilization in the glucose and insulin test. Liver lipid metabolism is affected and increased formation of small lipid vesicles is noticed. Formation of lipid droplets is not accompanied by increased liver oxidative stress, although expression/activity of monitored enzymes is deregulated when compared with wild type mice. Tff3 deficient mice exhibit reduced expression of metabolism relevant SIRT1 and PPARγ genes.
CONCLUSION: Tff3 deficiency affects the profile and accumulation of FAs in the liver, with no obvious oxidative stress increase, although expression/activity of monitored enzymes is changed as well as the level of SIRT1 and PPARγ protein. Considering the strong downregulation of liver Tff3 in diabetic/obese mice, presence in circulation and regulation by food/insulin, Tff3 is an interesting novel candidate in metabolism relevant conditions
Treatment of Scabies and Pediculosis in Health Education Publications and folk Medicine of Eastern Croatia - Slavonija, Baranja, and Western Srijem County
No full textScabies and pediculosis are common parasitic infestations of the skin and hair, manifesting with intense pruritus and effectively treated with modern medications. Because of the attached social stigma linking it with poverty and poor hygiene, patients will often attempt alternative folk-based remedies before confiding in their physicians. We conducted a comprehensive bibliographical study of historic folk literature and interviewed 70 individuals experienced in everyday application of folk medicine in order to categorize available remedies and provide a modern, scientific comment on their effectiveness and dangers. Compositions containing sulfur, copper sulfate, petroleum, coal, tar, and highly alkaline soaps and washing solutions undoubtedly have scabicidal and pediculicidal properties, but they are used either in high concentrations with greater possibility of intoxication and irritation or lower concentrations with questionable therapeutic benefit. These remedies, extracted from historical-cultural frameworks, are poorly adapted to modern standards and can lead to side-effects and complications. Physicians today have to be aware of the reasons their patients seek alternative remedies and know the substances and procedures they may use in self-healing, so as to be able to provide the help that may be needed if those complications occur
Serum Carbohydrate Sulfotransferase 7 in lung Cancer and Non-malignant Pulmonary Inflammations
No full textBackground: Carbohydrate sulfotransferases (CHST) were shown to be involved in carcinogenesis. The aim of the study was to assess the diagnostic value of serum CHST7 concentration in differentiation between lung cancer and non-malignant pulmonary inflammations.
Methods: Clinical case-control study involving 125 participants was conducted: the control group containing cases of pneumonia and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease was compared to the lung cancer group composed of primary and metastatic cancers. Serum concentrations of CHST7 and routinely used markers including carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), cytokeratin fragment 21-1 (CYFRA 21-1) and neuron-specific enolase (NSE) were determined for each participant using immunochemical methods. Statistical association, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis and cross-validation were used for the evaluation of CHST7 either as a standalone biomarker or as a part of a biomarker panel.
Results: In comparison to the control group, serum CHST7 was elevated in lung cancer (p < 0.001), but no differences
between the overall stages of primary cancers were detected (p = 0.828). The differentiation performance in terms of ROC area under curve (AUC) was 0.848 making CHST7 superior biomarker to the NSE (p = 0.031). In comparison to CEA and CYFRA 21-1, the performance difference were not detected. CHST7 was not correlated to other biomarkers, and its addition to the routine biomarker panel significantly improved the cross-validated accuracy (85.6% vs. 75.2%) and ROC AUC (p = 0.004) of the differentiation using a machine learning approach.
Conclusions: Serum CHST7 is a promising biomarker for the differentiation between lung cancer and non-malignant
pulmonary inflammations
Smjernice za dijagnostiku i liječenje kronične limfocitne leukemije – Krohem B-CLL 2017.
No full textRecent developments in the diagnosis and treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (B-CLL) have led to change of approach in clinical practice. New treatments have been approved based on the results of randomized multicenter trials for first line and for salvage therapy, and the results of numerous ongoing clinical trials are permanently providing new answers and further refining of therapeutic strategies. This is paralleled by substantial increase in understanding the disease genetics due to major advances in the next generation sequencing (NGS) technology. We define current position of the Croatian Cooperative Group for Hematologic Disease on diagnosis and treatment of CLL in the transition from chemo-immunotherapy paradigm into a new one that is based on new diagnostic stratification and unprecedented therapeutic results of B-cell receptor inhibitors (BRI) and Bcl-2 antagonists. This is a rapidly evolving field as a great number of ongoing clinical trials constantly accumulate and provide new knowledge. We believe that novel therapy research including genomic diagnosis is likely to offer new options that will eventually lead to time limited therapies without chemotherapy and more effective clinical care for B-CLL based on individualized precision medicine.Nedavni događaji u dijagnostici i liječenju kronične limfocitne leukemije (B-KLL) doveli su do promjene pristupa u kliničkoj praksi. Nova liječenja su odobrena na temelju rezultata randomiziranih multicentričnih pokusa za prvu liniju terapije i za liječenje relapsa/refraktorne bolesti, a rezultati brojnih kliničkih pokusa u tijeku trajno doprinose daljnjem unaprjeđenju terapijskih strategija. Uz to prisutan je bitan porast razumijevanja genskih promjena bolesti zbog velikog napretka tehnologije nove generacije sekvencioniranja. Definiramo trenutni stav Hrvatske suradne skupine za hematološke bolesti o dijagnostici i liječenju B-KLL u sadašnjoj tranziciji iz kemo-imunoterapijske paradigme u novu koja se temelji na novoj dijagnostičkoj slojevitosti i izvrsnim terapijskim rezultatima inhibitora B-staničnih receptora (BRI) i Bcl-2 antagonista. To se područje brzo razvija kako velik broj kliničkih ispitivanja koja su u tijeku neprestance doprinosi i pruža nova znanja. Vjerujemo da će istraživanje novih terapija uz genomsku dijagnostiku pružiti nove mogućnosti koje će na kraju dovesti do vremenski ograničenog liječenja bez kemoterapije i do učinkovitije kliničke skrbi B-KLL na temelju individualizirane i precizne medicine
Supplementary Diagnostic Landmarks of Left Ventricular Non-Compaction on Magnetic Resonance Imaging
No full textPurpose: Diagnostic criteria for left ventricular non-compaction (LVNC) are still a matter of dispute. The aim of our present study was to test the diagnostic value of two novel diagnostic cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) parameters: proof of non-compact (NC) myocardium blood flow using T2 sequences and changes in geometry of the left ventricle.
Materials and Methods: The study included cases with LVNC and controls, from a data base formed in a period of 3.5 years (n= 1890 exams), in which CMR protocol included T2 sequences. Measurement of perpendicular maximal and minimal end diastolic dimensions in the region with NC myocardium from short axis plane was recorded, and calculated as a ratio (MaxMinEDDR), while flow through trabecula was proven by intracavital T2-weighted hyperintensity (ICT2HI). LVNC diagnosis met the following three criteria: thickening of compact (C) layer, NC:C>2.3:1 and NC>20%LV.
Results: The study included 200 patients; 71 with LVNC (35.5%; i.e., 3.76% of CMRs) and 129 (64.5%) controls. MaxMinEDDR in patients with LVNC was significantly different from that in controls (1.17±0.08 vs. 1.06±0.04, respectively; p1.10 had sensitivity of 91.6% [95% confidence intervals (CI) 82.5–96.8], specificity of 85.3% (95% CI 78.0–90.0), and area under curve (AUC) 0.919 (95% CI 0.872–0.953; p<0.001) for LVNC. Existence of ICT2HI had sensitivity of 100.0% (95% CI 94.9–100.0), specificity of 91.5% (95% CI 85.3–95.7), and AUC 0.957 (95% CI 0.919–0.981; p<0.001) for LVNC.
Conclusion: Two additional diagnostic parameters for LVNC were identified in this study. ICT2HI and geometric eccentricity of the ventricle both had relatively high sensitivity and specificity for diagnosing LVNC
Psoriasis Severity-a risk Factor of Insulin Resistance Independent of Metabolic Syndrome
No full textBACKGROUND: It is still debatable whether psoriasis increases cardiovascular risk indirectly since it is associated with metabolic syndrome or is an independent cardiovascular risk factor. The aim of this study was to evaluate psoriasis severity as an independent predictor of insulin resistance (IR) irrespective of the presence of metabolic syndrome (MetS).
METHODS: This was a case control study including 128 patients stratified into two groups: patients with psoriasis and metabolic syndrome vs. patients with psoriasis and no metabolic syndrome. MetS was diagnosed according to ATP III criteria with homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), as well as a homeostatic model assessment of beta cell function (HOMA-β) were calculated.
RESULTS: Compared to subjects without metabolic syndrome, patients with metabolic syndrome had a significantly higher Psoriasis Area Severity Index (PASI) values (p < 0.001). The strongest correlation was established for HOMA-IR and the PASI index (p < 0.001), even after adjustment for body mass index (BMI) in regression analysis model. In patients without MetS and severe forms of disease, the HOMA-IR and HOMA-β values were significantly higher compared to mild forms of disease (p < 0.001 for all) while in subjects with MetS no difference was established for HOMA-IR or HOMA-β based on disease severity.
CONCLUSIONS: Psoriasis severity is an independent risk factor of HOMA-IR, the strongest association being present in the non-MetS group, who still had preserved beta cell function suggesting direct promotion of atherosclerosis via insulin resistance depending on the disease severity, but irrespective of the presence of metabolic syndrome
Minimally Invasive Direct Coronary Bypass Surgery via Distal Mini-sternotomy : Promising Clinical Results with Anaortic, Multivessel, All-arterial Technique
No full textBACKGROUND: Minimally invasive direct coronary artery bypass grafting (MIDCAB) was developed to decrease perioperative morbidity, some of which may be related to the use of cardiopulmonary bypass and to cross-clamping of the aorta. We report our initial experience with multivessel MIDCAB via distal mini-sternotomy (DIMS). DIMS is performed to gain access to the left and right internal thoracic arteries and to reach the left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD), diagonal branches, and right coronary artery (RCA).
METHODS: Between January 2016 and January 2017, 12 patients with significant coronary artery disease of the LAD and the RCA underwent multivessel, all-arterial MIDCAB through a distal midline skin incision from the fourth intercostal space to the xyphoid process, with L‑ or T‑shaped division of the sternum. The mean age of the patients was 61.5 ± 5.2 years (range: 52-71 years).
RESULTS: We performed all-arterial revascularization using the left internal mammary artery in 12 patients, the radial artery in ten, and the right internal mammary artery in two patients. The mean number of grafts per patient was 2.08 ± 0.4 (range: 2-3). The mean length of the skin incision was 8.5 ± 1.3 cm (range: 7-11 cm). There was no perioperative ischemia, postoperative bleeding, or arrhythmia events. No postoperative cognitive dysfunction occurred. The mean hospital stay was 5.6 days. No major adverse cardiac events (MACE) occurred at the 12-month follow-up. At follow-up, all patients were in New York Heart Association class I and there were no wound complications.
CONCLUSION: Although MIDCAB-DIMS is technically more demanding than conventional procedures and our experience is limited, we conclude that this technique can be used safely in selected patients, with promising 12-month follow-up results
Stražnja ubodna ozljeda vrata: prikaz slučaja
No full textA 45-year-old male patient was admitted to the emergency unit due to posterior stab wound of the neck. The knife was directed diagonally from the left to the right side of the neck in the dorsoventral axis. The patient was fully conscious upon admission with pain and paresthesia along the upper right extremity. The patient underwent computed tomography (CT) and CT angiography scan of the neck, which revealed the knife blade piercing the left sided neck muscles and through the intervertebral ligaments of the C IV/C V in direction to the contralateral internal carotid artery, vertebral artery and the C5 nerve root. The patient underwent an urgent surgery according to the radiographs. Electromyography was performed during the early postoperative care and revealed an acute lesion of the right-sided C5 nerve root. Postoperative follow-up magnetic resonance imaging revealed intact brachial plexus bundles at the site of injury. Symptoms of reduced muscle strength and limited range of motion of the upper right extremity prevailed. Penetrating neck injuries represent a rare entity of all trauma injuries. Meticulous preoperative radiographs revealed close proximity of the knife blade tip to the right-sided vertebral artery and common carotid artery. Limited abduction at the right shoulder during postoperative period correlated to the C5 nerve root injury.Muškarac u dobi od 45 godina primljen je u Objedinjeni hitni prijam zbog stražnje ubodne rane vrata. Oštrica noža bila je dijagonalnog usmjerenja od lijeve prema desnoj strani vrata u dorzo-ventralnoj osovini. Pri prijmu je bolesnik bio prisvjestan, žalio se na bol i trnce desnog gornjeg ekstremiteta. Učinjena je kompjutorizirana tomografija (CT) i CT angiografska obrada vrata kojima se verificira položaj noža koji penetrira lijevostranu vratnu muskulaturu i intervertebralne ligamente u segmentu C IV/C V, usmjeren prema kontralateralnoj zajedničkoj karotidnoj arteriji, vertebralnoj arteriji te korijenu živca C5. Učinjen je hitan operacijski zahvat. Tijekom ranog poslijeoperacijskog razdoblja učinjena je elektroneuromiografija kojom se dokazala akutna lezija korijena C5 desno. Poslijeoperacijskim nalazom magnetske rezonancije verificiran je intaktni brahijalni pleksus na strani ozljede. Kliničkom slikom u poslijeoperacijskom tijeku dominirala je smanjena mišićna snaga i limitirani pokreti desnog gornjeg ekstremiteta. Ubodne ozljede vrata predstavljaju rijetku kliničku patologiju s obzirom na sve slučajeve traumatskih ozljeda. Pravodobna prijeoperacijska radiološka obrada pokazala je blizinu oštrice noža spram desne vertebralne i desne zajedničke karotidne arterije. Tijekom poslijeoperacijskog boravka u kliničkoj slici zaostala je limitirana abdukcija desnog ramena kao posljedica ozljede korijena živca C5