Medicine
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Retrospective study. The purpose of this study was to investigate the clinical symptomatology of discopathies before and 7 days after treatment with one of the following: intravenous dexamethasone, selective nerve root block (SNRB), and systemic treatment with different nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). Radiculopathy is a clinical condition in which dysfunction of one or more nerves occurs due to mechanical compression and/or chemical irritation of the nerve roots. ⋯ Motor deficits improved significantly after dexamethasone treatment alone. Dexamethasone and SNRB are useful and safe treatment options for treating patients with acute radicular pain. Randomized, double-blinded, control studies are warranted.
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Post COVID-19 syndrome (PC-19S) appears to be independent of acute illness severity and humoral response. The involvement of the autonomic nervous system (ANS), expressed by dysautonomia, has been hypothesized as a contributor. Several studies have associated the therapeutic effects of local anesthetics (LA) to their action on the ANS. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of therapeutic injections with LA linked to clinical improvement in a patient with PC-19S. ⋯ Subanesthetic doses of LA injected in clinically relevant points led to rapid and complete symptom resolution in this patient with PC-19S. Targeted LA injections may have therapeutic benefits in PC-19S and in other chronic diseases linked to stress and inflammation.
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Observational Study
The effect of metabolic risk factors on urinary stone composition: An observational study.
To investigate how the risk factors of metabolic diseases affect urinary stone composition, particularly uric acid (UA) stones. Overall, 583 patients with data on urinary stone composition were retrospectively analyzed and classified into UA and nonUA stone formers according to the presence of the UA component. Various factors were compared between both groups. ⋯ In the multivariate logistic regression analysis, the UA group showed a significantly higher age (P < .001), DM frequency (P = .049), and HbA1c level (P = .032), but significantly lower eGFR than the nonUA group (P < .001). Age and DM were independent risk factors for UA urolithiasis, implying a relationship between urinary stone composition and metabolic diseases. Additionally, renal function and HbA1c level were risk factors for UA stones.
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Observational Study
Plasma presepsin level predicts acute kidney injury in patients with sepsis in the emergency department.
Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a common complication in patients with sepsis. We evaluated the potential prognostic value of plasma presepsin to predict AKI in patients with sepsis in the emergency department. A total of 193 patients diagnosed with sepsis based on the Third International Consensus Definitions for Sepsis and Septic Shock (Sepsis-3) were included in this observational study. ⋯ The area under the curve of presepsin for predicting AKI was 0.793 (95% confidence interval: 0.729-0.848). The optimal presepsin cutoff value for predicting AKI was >572 pg/mL, with a sensitivity of 77.0% and specificity of 81.7%. Plasma presepsin level is a valuable biomarker for the prediction of AKI in patients with sepsis in the emergency department.
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ATP binding Cassette gene member 1 (ABCB1) polymorphism has been incriminated in susceptibility to many malignant, infectious and autoimmune diseases. Recently, it was reported that ABCB1 polymorphisms might have a link to disease progression as well as response to therapy. We aimed to study the association between ABCB1 gene polymorphism and glucocorticoid response in children with newly diagnosed immune thrombocytopenia (ITP). ⋯ There was highly significant relationship between ABCB1 genotypes and response to steroids where 55 % of responders had CC (wild) genotype while 40 % of nonresponders had TT (mutant) genotype. We concluded that ABCB1 gene polymorphism may contribute to the response to steroids in Egyptian children with ITP where patients with homozygous CC genotype responded better to steroids than patients with homozygous TT genotype. These results may help us choose the appropriate initial treatment in these children.