Acta clinica Croatica
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Acta clinica Croatica · Dec 2022
ReviewPERINATAL ASPECTS OF SARS-CoV-2 INFECTION DURING PREGNANCY: A POTENTIAL CAUSE FOR CONCERN.
Ever since the beginning of COVID-19 pandemic, uncertainty regarding clinical presentation and differences among various subpopulations exist. With more than 209,870,000 confirmed cases and more than 4,400,000 deaths worldwide, we are facing the new era of health crisis which will undoubtedly impair global health, economic and social circumstances. ⋯ Although neonates diagnosed with COVID-19 were mostly asymptomatic or presented with mild disease, the effect on early pregnancy is yet to be evident. While positive finding of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in some samples such as amniotic fluid, placental tissue, cord blood and breast milk exists, additional research should confirm its association with transplacental transmission.
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Acta clinica Croatica · Dec 2022
ReviewSKIN FEATURES IMPORTANT FOR THE OCCURRENCE OF CONTACT DERMATITIS IN HEALTHCARE WORKERS.
The occurrence of skin lesions in healthcare workers is associated with a negative impact on important skin functions, including protection from mechanical injuries, sunlight, dehydration, and penetration of chemical substances or pathogenic microorganisms. In healthcare professionals, the most common occupational skin disease is contact dermatitis (CD), either irritant (ICD) or allergic (ACD), and typically on the hands. ICD accounts for about 80% of occupational CD, making it the most frequent cause. ⋯ Important risk factors for ACD development include occupation, age, history of atopic dermatitis, genetics, female gender, and fair skin phototype. In summary, numerous skin features and other occupation-related factors contribute to CD among healthcare practitioners. Given the high level of exposure to contact irritants/allergens in the healthcare setting, implementation of preventive measures is crucial for a safer work environment.
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Acta clinica Croatica · Dec 2022
MODERATING EFFECT OF BODY HEIGHT ON THE ASSOCIATION OF BODY WEIGHT AND DISABILITY CAUSED BY NON SPECIFIC CHRONIC LOW BACK PAIN IN WOMEN AND MEN.
The aim of the study was testing the hypothesis that body height has a moderating effect on the association of weight and chronic low back pain (LBP) induced disability, and that this moderating effect is different in women and men. We performed a nested cross-sectional analysis using data collected at baseline in a prospective cohort study conducted in 2008-2009 at a special hospital for medical rehabilitation in Croatia. The outcome was the Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire (RMDQ) score. ⋯ The interaction of sex, body weight and height was a significant predictor of the RMDQ score after adjustments for all covariates (increase of R2=0.13; p=0.001; false discovery rate <5%). In both sexes, the correlation between body weight and the RMDQ score was significantly moderated by body height but in opposite ways. In conclusion, the effects of body weight on physical disability are moderated by body height, but this moderation effect differs between women and men.
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In this study, possible biochemical and functional cardiovascular markers were assessed in women with preeclampsia. Fifty-five pregnant women with manifest moderate (mild) preeclampsia (PE) and fifty healthy women as a control group were included in this prospective study. Laboratory tests including lipid panel, C-reactive protein (CRP), and homocysteine levels as biohumoral markers of atherogenesis, as well as ergometry and the main cardiovascular risk factor markers were performed in all women during pregnancy and six months after delivery. ⋯ The effect of PE as an inflammatory disease could be confirmed to a certain extent by elevated CRP levels (p<0.001). A very high percentage of negative exercise stress tests indicated a good cardiovascular response to the current PE in the otherwise healthy pregestational women. It could be concluded that the development of possible cardiovascular comorbidities in preeclamptic pregnant women is a long process, but also due to etiologic factors of coexistent metabolic disorders such as dyslipidemia, as well as elevated inflammatory markers and homocysteine, PE can be considered even an early predictor of cardiovascular disease.
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Acta clinica Croatica · Dec 2022
Case ReportsANOTHER FACE OF EPSTEIN-BARR VIRUS INFECTION: ACUTE ACALCULOUS CHOLECYSTITIS WITH CHOLESTASIS IN A PREVIOUSLY HEALTHY FIVE-YEAR-OLD GIRL WITH PRIMARY INFECTION.
Acute acalculous cholecystitis (AAC) is a rare disease, particularly in children. The clinical and laboratory presentation of AAC is variable. ⋯ Conservative treatment and careful monitoring was followed by clinical, radiological and laboratory improvement, and finally complete recovery. Our aim was to highlight the importance of recognizing AAC as a differential diagnosis in children with abdominal pain and/or acute cholestasis.