Medicina clinica
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Observational Study
Left ventricular concentric remodeling in COPD patients: A cross-sectional observational study.
To investigate the association between left ventricular structure and disease severity in COPD patients. ⋯ More severe COPD patients, BODE score ≥5, may have higher RWT, featuring a possible higher concentric remodeling of LV in this group. Besides that, a greater disease severity may be related to LV chamber size reduction.
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Smoking is associated with various health risks, including cancer, cardiovascular disease, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. In this retrospective cohort study, we aimed to determine whether smoking is harmful to the whole metabolic system. ⋯ The statistically significant differences in the distribution of smokers into different metabolic clusters indicate that smoking has adverse effects on the whole metabolic system of the human body, which further increases the existing global burden of metabolic disorders.
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Human trafficking or contemporary slavery is the recruitment and transfer of people by force or deception for sexual, labour or other types of exploitation. Although the violence, abuse and deprivation that trafficking entails are a threat to the health of its victims, in Spain the clinical or forensic data available in this regard is scarce. At the Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences of Catalonia (IMLCFC), a unit specialized in the forensic assessment of these victims was created. The objective of this work was to describe a series of forensic cases of trafficking victims. ⋯ The consequences of trafficking on health, especially mental health, are notable and the forensic assessment of victims is valuable in judicial proceedings. It is necessary to deepen our knowledge of the phenomenon in our environment.
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The criteria for the use of proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 inhibitors (PCSK9i) more restrictive than those approved were established in Catalonia by the Health System (CatSalut) to improve their efficiency, with different LDL-C values from which to start treatment according to risk factors. The aim of the study is to analyse adherence to these criteria and results. ⋯ PCSK9i were used according to CatSalut criteria in three out of four cases. In this high-risk population, incidence of cardiovascular events was similar to that in clinical trials.
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The main genetic cause of iron overload is haemochromatosis (HC). In recent years, the study of non-HFE genes (HFE2, HJV, HAMP, TRF2, SLC40A1, and BMP6) has become relevant thanks to next-generation sequencing (NGS) and multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MLPA) techniques. Our objectives were to estimate the prevalence of both HFE (C282Y/HY63D variants) and non-HFE variants attending a tertiary hospital in Aragón, to predict the effect of the variants on the protein, and to establish a genotype-phenotype correlation evaluating with the clinical context. ⋯ Our prevalence results are as expected, and similar to those obtained by other studies. Although some of the genetic findings explain the clinical symptoms of some of our patients, we remain have a high number of patients without a clear molecular diagnosis.