Medicina
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Background and Objectives: The objective of this study is to examine the effect of the BNT162b2 vaccine on systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), mean arterial pressure (MAP), and pulse pressure (PP) before and 15 min after two doses that were given 21 days apart. Materials and Methods: This active surveillance study of vaccine safety was conducted on 15 and 16 March (for the first dose) and 5 and 6 April (for the second dose) 2021 in an academic hospital. For both doses, SBP, DBP, MAP, and PP levels were measured before and 15 min after both doses were given to healthcare workers over the age of 18. ⋯ After the first dose, 5.2% and 4.9% of the individuals experienced an increase or decrease in SBP, respectively, of more than 20 mmHg. After the second dose, the SBP of 11% (n = 32) decreased by at least 20 mmHg. Conclusions: Improved understanding of vaccine effects on BP may help address vaccine hesitancy in healthcare workers.
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Background and Objectives: Encouraging data have been reported from referral centers following gastrointestinal cancer surgery. Our goal was to retrospectively review patient outcomes following gastrectomy for gastric or gastroesophageal junction (GEJ) cancer at a high-volume unit of the University of Athens. Methods: The enrollment period was from June 2003 to September 2018. ⋯ All-cause mortality was 57.2% and the median time of death was 40.9 months. On multivariate regression, staging (HR: 1.35; 95% CI: 1.11-1.65) and recurrence (HR: 2.87; 95% CI: 1.32-6.22) predicted inferior prognosis. Conclusions: Gastrectomy at the University of Athens has yielded favorable outcomes for patients with GEJ cancer.
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Background and Objectives: The aim was to evaluate the association of inflammatory biomarkers with resectability and overall survival in hilar cholangiocarcinoma. Materials and Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study over 72 consecutive surgical cases of Klatskin tumor over an 11-year period. The sample was divided into two groups: 42 surgical resection cases and 30 unresectable tumors. ⋯ Tumor excision conferred an important advantage in survival. Elevated NLR, PLR, and SII values at admission significantly increased the hazard ratio. LMR had no influence on survival.
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Background: Cervical dystonia is a highly disabling hyperkinetic movement disorder with a lot of nonmotor symptoms. One symptom with a high prevalence is depression, which may negatively affect dystonia patients. The aim of the study was to investigate the impact of depression on disease severity and cognitive functions in cervical dystonia patients. ⋯ Although not statistically significant, a slightly higher MoCA scale score was registered in cervical dystonia patients with clinically insignificant depressive signs. There was a tendency for worse results in the abstraction category in patients with clinically significant depression (p = 0.056). Conclusions: Patients with clinically significant depression have a more negative self-assessment of the disease and perform worse in abstraction tasks.
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Observational Study
30 Days Mortality Prognostic Value of POCT Bio-Adrenomedullin and Proenkephalin in Patients with Sepsis in the Emergency Department.
Background and Objective: Sepsis is a worldwide severe disease with a high incidence and mortality rate. Sepsis is a frequent cause of admission to the emergency department (ED). Although prognostic scores (Sequential Organ Failure Assessment, SOFA; New Early Warning Score, NEWS; Rapid Emergency Medicine Score, REMS) are commonly used for risk stratification in septic patients, many of these scores are of poor utility in the ED. ⋯ Moreover, PenKid resulted in being linked with the worsening of kidney function. Conclusions: In patients presenting with sepsis in the ED, Bio-ADM and PenKid, evaluated with a POCT device, predicted 30-day mortality. These two biomarkers seem even more useful when integrated with clinical risk scores at ED admission.