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J Infect Public Health 2021 Mar 5;14(5):561-569. Epub 2021 Mar 5.

Department of Pathology, College of Medicine, Qassim University, Buraidah, Qassim, Saudi Arabia.

BACKGROUNDː: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), within few months of being declared as a global pandemic by WHO, the number of confirmed cases has been over 75 million and over 1.6 million deaths since the start of the Pandemic and still counting, there is no consensus on factors that predict COVID-19 case progression despite the diversity of studies that reported sporadic laboratory predictive values predicting severe progression. We review different biomarkers to systematically analyzed these values to evaluate whether are they are correlated with the severity of COVID-19 disease and so their ability to be a predictor for progression. Read More

J Alzheimers Dis 2021 Apr 8. Epub 2021 Apr 8.

Clinical Research Center for Brain Sciences, Herzog Medical Center, Hebrew University Jerusalem, Israel.

There is an urgent need in advanced dementia for evidence-based clinical prognostic predictors that could positively influence ethical decisions allowing health provider and family preparation for early mortality. Accordingly, the authors review and discuss the prognostic utility of clinical assessments and objective measures of pathological brain states in advanced dementia patients associated with accelerated mortality. Overall, due to the paucity of brain-activity and clinical-comorbidity predictors of survival in advanced dementia, authors outline the potential prognostic value of brain-state electroencephalography (EEG) measures and reliable clinical indicators for forecasting early mortality in advanced dementia patients. Read More

Wiad Lek 2021 ;74(3 cz 2):697-701

BUKOVINIAN STATE MEDICAL UNIVERSITY, CHERNIVTSI, UKRAINE.

Objective: The aim: Of the study was to investigate the effect of melatonin on the serum levels of ghrelin in patients with hypertension combined with osteoarthritis in order to identify them as informative and reliable markers of early diagnosis of progression of these comorbid diseases.

Patients And Methods: Material and methods: To achieve the goals and objectives of this study, 60 patients with hypertension combined with osteoarthritis were involved and examined, in particular, serum ghrelin and melatonin levels were determined twice and divided into two groups.

Results: Results: It was found that in patients of group I on the background of the four-week main course of treatment with the addition of melatonin (3 mg 1 time per day before bedtime), the average value of ghrelin increased by an average of ± 2. Read More

EClinicalMedicine 2021 Apr 6;34:100814. Epub 2021 Apr 6.

Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Detroit Medical Center, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI, United States.

Background: the incidence of novel coronavirus disease (COVID19) is elevated in areas with heightened socioeconomic vulnerability. Early reports from US hospitals also implicated social disadvantage and chronic disease history as COVID19 mortality risk factors. However, the relationship between race and COVID19 mortality remains unclear. Read More

Ann Transl Med 2021 Mar;9(5):368

Department of Emergency, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.

Background: The prediction of severe acute pancreatitis (SAP) is the key to providing timely and targeted intensive care for acute pancreatitis (AP). The heart is one of multiple organs involved in the early stage of SAP, but the predictive ability of cardiac dysfunction for SAP remains elusive. We sought to determine if the serum levels of three cardiac indicators (CI) including N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP), cardiac troponin I (cTNI), and creatine kinase myocardial band (CK-MB) at admission could predict the occurrence of SAP and the development of related organ failure (OF). Read More

Eur Urol 2021 Apr 7. Epub 2021 Apr 7.

Department of Urology, Onze-Lieve-Vrouwziekenhuis, Aalst, Belgium; ORSI Academy, Melle, Belgium.

Background: Radiation therapy (RT) for prostate cancer (PCa) treatment is burdened by high rates of late urinary adverse events (UAEs). The feasibility of robot-assisted cystectomy (RAC) with intracorporeal urinary diversion (ICUD) for treatment of high-grade UAEs has never been assessed.

Objective: To report perioperative outcomes, early (≤90 d) and late (>90 d) complications among patients undergoing RAC for UAEs after RT. Read More

Pediatr Allergy Immunol 2021 Apr 9. Epub 2021 Apr 9.

University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Beatrix Children's Hospital, Department of Pediatric Pulmonology and Pediatric Allergology.

Background: It is unclear in which periods of life lung function deficits develop, and if these are affected by risk factors such as asthma, bronchial hyperresponsiveness (BHR) and allergic comorbidity. The goal of this systematic review is to identify temporal associations of asthma, BHR and allergic comorbidity with large and small lung function development from birth until peak function in early adulthood.

Methods: We searched Medline, EMBASE, Web of Science and CINHAHL for papers published before 01. Read More

J Prim Care Community Health 2021 Jan-Dec;12:21501327211008050

Sechenov University, Moscow, Russia.

Background And Objective: Epidemiological data obtained during the ongoing SARS-CoV-2 pandemic suggests that COVID-19 mortality has specific age and gender associations. However, limited epidemiological studies explored specific populational risk factors, including comorbidities, and patient clinical characteristics. The main aim of our retrospective cohort study was to analyze associations between age, gender, and comorbidities in deceased COVID-19 patients. Read More

BMJ Open 2021 04 7;11(4):e042042. Epub 2021 Apr 7.

Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine, Rochester, Michigan, USA.

Objective: To report the clinical characteristics of patients hospitalised with COVID-19 in Southeast Michigan.

Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Setting: Eight hospitals in Southeast Michigan. Read More

BMC Ophthalmol 2021 Apr 7;21(1):164. Epub 2021 Apr 7.

Department of Ophthalmology, Keio University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.

Background: Chronic ocular graft-versus-host disease (oGVHD) is an ocular comorbidity of graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) that usually occurs concurrently with systemic manifestations. Failure to detect and treat oGVHD in its early stages may lead to progression of ocular signs and symptoms leading to oGVHD that is refractory to conventional treatment.

Case Presentation: We report the clinical course of a 19-year-old male and a 59-year-old female with severe and progressive chronic oGVHD without concurrent systemic signs of chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD). Read More

Transl Gastroenterol Hepatol 2021 5;6:27. Epub 2021 Apr 5.

Department of Surgery, Oncology and Gastroenterology, Hepatobiliary Surgery and Liver Transplantation Unit, Padova University Hospital, Padova, Italy.

Liver transplantation (LT) is currently considered the gold standard treatment for end-stage liver failure. Compared to the first decades of its use, LT is associated with lower comorbidity and mortality, with a 5-year survival over 70%. Worldwide, liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma represent the major indications to LT. Read More

Cureus 2021 Mar 1;13(3):e13646. Epub 2021 Mar 1.

Cardiothoracic Surgery, Rehman Medical Institute, Peshawar, PAK.

Introduction Mitral valve abnormalities in rheumatic heart disease commonly lead to functional tricuspid regurgitation. Tricuspid annuloplasty (TA) is often performed in these cases along with mitral valve replacement (MVR). Our aim was to compare the perioperative morbidity and mortality among those patients that underwent mitral valve replacement with tricuspid annuloplasty versus those that underwent isolated mitral valve replacement. Read More

J Neurosurg Spine 2021 Apr 6:1-7. Epub 2021 Apr 6.

2Department of Neurosurgery, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland; and.

Objective: In a healthcare landscape in which costs increasingly matter, the authors sought to distinguish among the clinical and nonclinical drivers of patient length of stay (LOS) in the hospital following elective lumbar laminectomy-a common spinal surgery that may be reimbursed using bundled payments-and to understand their relationships with patient outcomes and costs.

Methods: Patients ≥ 18 years of age undergoing laminectomy surgery for degenerative lumbar spinal stenosis within the Cleveland Clinic health system between March 1, 2016, and February 1, 2019, were included in this analysis. Generalized linear modeling was used to assess the relationships between the day of surgery, patient discharge disposition, and hospital LOS, while adjusting for underlying patient health risks and other nonclinical factors, including the hospital surgery site and health insurance. Read More

Turk J Med Sci 2021 Apr 6. Epub 2021 Apr 6.

Background/aim: Chitotriosidase (ChT) is an enzyme secreted by activated macrophages and neutrophils in response to proinflammatory signals. There is growing evidence indicating that ChT activity reflects the systemic inflammatory status. This study aimed to investigate whether serum ChT activity increased in patients with psoriasis and related comorbidities. Read More

PLoS One 2021 5;16(4):e0249668. Epub 2021 Apr 5.

Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, The Third Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Hunan, China.

Objective: To understand the clinical characteristics of COVID-19 patients with clinically diagnosed bacterial co-infection (CDBC), and therefore contributing to their early identification and prognosis estimation.

Method: 905 COVID-19 patients from 7 different centers were enrolled. The demography data, clinical manifestations, laboratory results, and treatments were collected accordingly for further analyses. Read More

Breast Cancer Res Treat 2021 Apr 5. Epub 2021 Apr 5.

Breast Unit, Department of Medicine, The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, Downs Road, Sutton, SM2 5PT, Surrey, UK.

Purpose: Trastuzumab improves survival in patients with HER2+ early breast cancer. However, cardiotoxicity remains a concern, particularly in the curative setting, and there are limited data on its incidence outside of clinical trials. We retrospectively evaluated the cardiotoxicity rates [left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) decline, congestive heart failure (CHF), cardiac death or trastuzumab discontinuation] and assessed the performance of a proposed model to predict cardiotoxicity in routine clinical practice. Read More

JAMA Pediatr 2021 Apr 5:e205807. Epub 2021 Apr 5.

Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois.

Importance: Previous studies have found that one-half to three-quarters of youths detained in juvenile justice facilities have 1 or more psychiatric disorders. Little is known about the course of their disorders as they age.

Objective: To examine the prevalence, comorbidity, and continuity of 13 psychiatric disorders among youths detained in a juvenile justice facility during the 15 years after detention up to a median age of 31 years, with a focus on sex and racial/ethnic differences. Read More

Australas Psychiatry 2021 Apr 5:10398562211005445. Epub 2021 Apr 5.

Building Early Attachment and Resilience Research Group, Department of Psychiatry, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.

Objective: This paper highlights the significant mental health vulnerabilities of people who have sought asylum in Australia and their additional adversities as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Conclusions: Australia's policies in relation to asylum seekers result in multiple human rights violations and add significantly to mental health vulnerabilities. Despite a majority being identified as refugees, people spend years in personal and administrative limbo and are denied resettlement in Australia. Read More

Clin Kidney J 2021 Mar 26;14(Suppl 1):i21-i29. Epub 2021 Mar 26.

Department of Nephrology, Hospital Universitari Vall d'Hebron, Barcelona, Spain.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVD-19) emerged as a pandemic in December 2019. Infection has spread quickly and renal transplant recipients receiving chronic immunosuppression have been considered a population at high risk of infection, complications and infection-related death. During this year a large amount of information from nationwide registries, multicentre and single-centre studies have been reported. Read More

Hand Surg Rehabil 2021 Mar 31. Epub 2021 Mar 31.

Department of Orthopedic and Trauma Surgery, Ibn Tofail Hospital, Mohammed VI University Hospital Center, Abdelouahab Derraq Street, PB 40000, Marrakesh, Morocco.

Necrotizing fasciitis (NF) is both a limb-and life-threatening disease that affects skin, hypodermis as well as superficial fascia and deep fascia by rapidly progressive necrosis. Although this serious infection frequently occurs in the extremities, upper limb NF is a rare clinical presentation. The present study attempted to evaluate the clinical profiles, paraclinical findings, treatment modalities, outcomes and predictors of morbidity and mortality in patients with NF of the upper extremity. Read More

Int J Bipolar Disord 2021 Apr 2;9(1):13. Epub 2021 Apr 2.

Department of Psychiatry, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands.

Background: The Stanley Foundation Bipolar Treatment Outcome Network (SFBN) recruited more than 900 outpatients from 1995 to 2002 from 4 sites in the United States (US) and 3 in the Netherlands and Germany (abbreviated as Europe). When funding was discontinued, the international group of investigators continued to work together as the Bipolar Collaborative Network (BCN), publishing so far 87 peer-reviewed manuscripts. On the 25th year anniversary of its founding, publication of a brief summary of some of the major findings appeared appropriate. Read More

Int J Environ Res Public Health 2021 Mar 12;18(6). Epub 2021 Mar 12.

Department of Medicine, Addiction Medicine Unit, Verona University Hospital, 37134 Verona, Italy.

Young adults exhibit greater sensitivity than adults to nicotine reinforcement, and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) increases the risk for early-onset smoking. We investigated the correlation between ADHD Self-Report Scale (ASRS) scores and smoking, evaluated the prevalence of ADHD symptomatology (not diagnoses) in smokers and non-smokers and its comorbidity with benzodiazepine and gambling addictions. A total of 389 young adults from 14 schools in Northern Italy fill out a survey and the Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale (ASRS). Read More

Molecules 2021 Mar 12;26(6). Epub 2021 Mar 12.

V.M. Bekhterev National Research Medical Center for Psychiatry and Neurology, 199034 Saint-Petersburg, Russia.

Patients with tension-type headache (TTH) have an increased risk of developing arterial hypertension (AH), while hypertensive subjects do seem to have an increased risk of TTH. We searched for full-text English publications in databases using keywords and combined word searches over the past 15 years. In addition, earlier publications of historical interest were included in the review. Read More

Int J Mol Sci 2021 Mar 5;22(5). Epub 2021 Mar 5.

CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.

Neuropathic pain is difficult to cure and is often accompanied by emotional and psychological changes. Exploring the mechanisms underlying neuropathic pain will help to identify a better treatment for this condition. The insular cortex is an important information integration center. Read More

Viruses 2021 03 23;13(3). Epub 2021 Mar 23.

Clinical Laboratory, Department of Clinical Diagnostics and Services, and Center for Clinical Studies, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 260, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland.

Since the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic was first identified in early 2020, rare cases of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection in pet cats have been reported worldwide. Some reports of cats with SARS-CoV-2 showed self-limiting respiratory or gastrointestinal disease after suspected human-to-feline transmission via close contact with humans with SARS-CoV-2. In the present study, we investigated a cat with SARS-CoV-2 that was presented to a private animal clinic in Northern Italy in May 2020 in a weak clinical condition due to an underlying intestinal B-cell lymphoma. Read More

Brain Sci 2021 Mar 29;11(4). Epub 2021 Mar 29.

Department of Neuroscience, Section of Psychiatry, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, 00100 Rome, Italy.

early onset is frequent in Bipolar Disorders (BDs), and it is characterised by the occurrence of mixed states (or mixed features). In this systematic review, we aimed to confirm and extend these observations by providing the prevalence rates of mixed states/features and data on associated clinical, pharmacological and psychopathological features. following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, we searched from inception to 9 February 2021 for all studies investigating mixed states/mixed features in paediatric BD. Read More

Medicina (Kaunas) 2021 Mar 2;57(3). Epub 2021 Mar 2.

3rd Department Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, "Lucian Blaga" University Sibiu, 550169 Sibiu, Romania.

This study investigates the impact of age upon the safety and outcomes of laparoscopic cholecystectomy performed for acute cholecystitis, by a multivariate approach. A 2-year retrospective study was performed on 333 patients admitted for acute cholecystitis who underwent emergency cholecystectomy. The patients included in the study group were divided into four age subgroups: A ≤49 years; B: 50-64 years; C: 65-79 years; D ≥80 years. Read More

Brain Sci 2021 Mar 8;11(3). Epub 2021 Mar 8.

Child and Adolescent Neuropsychiatry-Department of Public Health and Pediatric Sciences, Universita' degli Studi di Torino, 10126 Turin, Italy.

Aim: Early onset of psychopathology is often an index of a more severe clinical course and worse prognosis. This review examined the course of bipolar disorder (BD) with onset in childhood and adolescence, with a focus on persistence of symptoms, severity of illness, comorbidity, and functional impairment.

Methods: The databases of PubMed, Embase, and PsycInfo were systematically searched for publications since 1990 reporting on long-term (12 months or longer) assessments of patients with early onset BD. Read More

Life (Basel) 2021 Mar 8;11(3). Epub 2021 Mar 8.

Nephrology Department, Centro Hospitalar Universitário São João, 4200-319 Porto, Portugal.

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is an independent risk factor for adverse cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events (MACCEs), and mortality since the earlier stages. Therefore, it is critical to identify the link between CKD and cardiovascular risk (CVR) through early and reliable biomarkers. Acknowledging that CKD and CKD progression are associated with increased sympathetic tone, which is implicated in CVR, and that renalase metabolizes catecholamines, we aimed to evaluate the relationship between renalase serum levels (RNLS) and cardiovascular and renal outcomes. Read More

Alzheimers Res Ther 2021 Apr 2;13(1):73. Epub 2021 Apr 2.

Neurobiology of Behaviour Research Group (GReNeC-NeuroBio), Department of Experimental and Health Science, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Carrer Dr Aiguader 88, 08003, Barcelona, Spain.

Background: Major depression (MD) is the most prevalent psychiatric disease in the population and is considered a prodromal stage of the Alzheimer's disease (AD). Despite both diseases having a robust genetic component, the common transcriptomic signature remains unknown.

Methods: We investigated the cognitive and emotional behavioural responses in 3- and 6-month-old APP/PSEN1-Tg mice, before β-amyloid plaques were detected. Read More