Medicine
-
Heart failure is an increasing public health issue with substantial morbidity and mortality rates. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy, safety, and long-term outcomes of angiotensin receptor neprilysin inhibitor (ARNi) in the treatment of heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) 5 years after treatment initiation. This retrospective study analyzed a cohort of 75 patients diagnosed with HFrEF over a period of 5 years after the initiation of ARNi therapy. ⋯ Additionally, ARNi usage has been associated with improved nutritional status, decreased reliance on diuretics, and reduced frequency of annual hospitalizations. These effects were associated with a lack of significant increase in adverse effects. These results may contribute to a better understanding of ARNi's long-term effects on patient outcomes.
-
There has been an increase in positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) imaging procedures, and medical workers involved in PET/CT are at increased risk of occupational exposure. Data on extremity dose exposure are limited globally. The current study aimed to evaluate the occupational radiation dose for extremities for medical workers (nurses, radiographers/radiologic technologists, and nuclear medicine physicians) working in PET/CT scanners at 5 large hospitals in Turkey. ⋯ Nurses received the highest average annual effective dose (15.2 ± 19.46) (0.32-65.58), followed by radiography technologists (14.7 ± 18.03) (0.4-157.2), and nuclear medicine physicians demonstrated the least dose (8.6 ± 10.5) (1.2-24.4). The results show that the extremity dose is well below the annual dose limit of 500 mSv. However, there is a wide variation in dose among the workers, underlining a need for careful assessment of working conditions to ensure safe practices for all workers.
-
To clarify the epidemiology, treatment, and prognosis of sarcomas occurring in the bones and joints. The surveillance, epidemiology, and end results (SEER) 18 registries, comprising sarcoma diagnoses made between 2008 and 2014, were queried for sarcomas arising in bones or joints. Kaplan-Meier analysis, multivariate logistic regression analysis, Cox proportional hazards model, and nomograms were used to identify prognostic factors. 2794 patients aged from 1 to 99 (55.8% male) with microscopically confirmed diagnosed as sarcomas (including osteosarcoma, chondrosarcoma, Ewing sarcoma, and soft tissue sarcomas) which primary site limited to bone and joint were identified. ⋯ This study presents population-based estimates of prognosis for patients with bone sarcomas and demonstrates the impact of age, race, sex, tumor site, histology, pathology grade, tumor size, tumor extent, surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and the TNOMT on OS. Moreover, the nomogram resulted in a more accurate prognostic prediction. However, in our study, radiotherapy showed no survival benefit, perhaps because detailed data on treatment factors were unavailable and which may have influenced the results.
-
In this study, we investigated the molecular phenotype-cancer relationship that may favor the main metastatic tendencies of cancer by comparing the association of receptor subtypes with the presence of metastasis, serosal metastasis, and/or visceral metastases in patients diagnosed with breast cancer. In this study, we retrospectively evaluated 853 patients who were diagnosed with breast cancer and followed up at our hospital between 2017 and 2022. The probability of metastasis in the most common tumor group, the non-special type of invasive carcinoma was significantly higher than that in other tumor groups. ⋯ When the entire breast cancer cohort was considered, the association of serosal metastasis was statistically significantly higher in the ER and/or PR (+) and, HER2 (-) receptor subgroup than in all other receptor groups (P < .006), and the association of visceral metastasis/visceral + serosal metastasis with the ER and/or PR (+) and, HER2 (-) receptor subgroup was significantly higher than that in all other receptor groups (P < .001) (Table 2). In this study, we aimed to investigate the possible relationship between molecular markers of the primary tumor and the preference for serosal and visceral metastases over distant metastases in a large cohort of patients to contribute to the improvement of the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer, a heterogeneous disease group. To the best of our knowledge, our study is the first to statistically investigate the association between receptor subgroups and visceral, serosal, and serosal + visceral metastases as a group and to reach some conclusions.
-
Chronic musculoskeletal pain (CMP) is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). This study aimed to determine the factors associated with the intensity of CMP in patients with underlying CVD and to evaluate the efficacy of Ice Power Magnesium In Strong Cream in patients with muscle cramps. We investigated 396 patients with or without CMP who visited an outpatient cardiology clinic and analyzed the features of CMP and factors associated with pain intensity and specific types of CVD in study 1. ⋯ In study 2, the mean pain scores at baseline, week 2 and week 4 after treatment were 5.99 ± 2.12, 2.92 ± 2.63, and 1.90 ± 2.41, respectively, and the reductions were significant at both week 2 and week 4 after treatment (P < .05). Older age, female sex, hypertension, and use of calcium supplements were associated with an increased intensity of CMP. Ice Power Magnesium In Strong Cream was effective in reducing the pain intensity of muscle cramps in the lower extremities.