Medicine
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The objective of this feasibility study was to assess computed tomography (CT) texture analysis (CTTA) of pulmonary lesions as a predictor of overall survival in patients with suspected lung cancer on contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CECT). In a retrospective pilot study, 94 patients (52 men and 42 women; mean age, 67.2 ± 10.8 yrs) from 1 center with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) underwent CTTA on the primary lesion by 2 individual readers. Both simple and multivariate Cox regression analyses correlating textural parameters with overall survival were performed. ⋯ The optimal cutoff values for both parameters were 0.8602 and 0.1554, respectively. Normalized uniformity, clinical stage, and skewness were found to be prognostic factors for overall survival in multivariate analysis. Tumor heterogeneity, assessed by normalized uniformity and skewness on CECT may be a prognostic factor for overall survival.
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Multiple extramedullary plasmacytoma (EMP) of the head and neck is rare and a definitive first-line treatment has not been established. EMP successively as a benign mass occurring in multiple areas of the head and neck is rare. This report describes an atypical case with EMP occurring in multiple areas of the head and neck. ⋯ Increasing the awareness of EMP of head and neck is warranted. Our case confirmed that surgical excision is beneficial in the treatment of small, localized EMP.
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Thrombocytopenia, anasarca, fever, reticulin fibrosis, renal dysfunction, and organomegaly (TAFRO) syndrome are nonmalignant but life-threatening systemic inflammatory disorders. However, many patients are refractory to treatment, resulting in significant morbidity and mortality. Additionally, established treatment options are unavailable. Therefore, we present 2 cases of adults with the iMCD-TAFRO syndrome refractory to initial treatment but responded to Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitors with ruxolitinib. The report reveals that these rare adult cases of the refractory and treatment-resistant iMCD-TAFRO syndrome can be treated using JAK inhibitors. ⋯ These cases showed that ruxolitinib was effective for treatment-resistant/ refractory TAFRO syndrome. Further prospective studies are needed on using ruxolitinib with a small number of cases.
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Many researchers emphasize the importance of studying sleep quality among patients with heart failure (HF). Because of the importance of this topic, many studies have been conducted to address the different aspects of sleep-in various populations of patients with HF. The purposes of our study were: to assess the types of disturbances in sleep within the different classes of HF, and to assess whether there were differences in the levels of sleep quality and types of disturbances in sleep within the different classes in non-hospitalized Jordan patients with HF. ⋯ However, waking up due to feeling cold or hot were rarely reported in all classes of patients with HF. Poor sleep quality negatively affects the quality of life in patients with HF by decreasing physical cognitive and psychosocial performance in those patients. This is the first study in literature study sleep quality in the different New York Heart Association functional classes.
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End-stage renal disease (ESRD) is a significant public health issue with an estimated increasing burden over the next 10 years. Early prediction of patients with a high risk of ESRD progression is crucial to monitor and initiate appropriate interventions, of which HLA alleles have been proposed as promising biomarkers. This cross-sectional study described HLA profiles of a Vietnamese cohort and investigated the association between HLA alleles and ESRD. ⋯ HLA typing was performed using Luminex-based PCR-SSO technology. We found HLA-A*02, A*11, A*24, B*15, B*07, DRB1*12, DRB1*09, DQA1*01, DQA1*06, DQB1*03 and DQB1*05 as the most common alleles, which is similar to the general Vietnamese population and other countries in East and South-east Asia. HLA-B*07 (P = .040), DQA1*06 (P = .031), and DQB1*03 (P = .036) were susceptible to ESRD, while HLA-B*27 (P = .024) and DQB1*02 (P = .006) were associated with a decreased risk of ESRD.