Acta clinica Croatica
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Acta clinica Croatica · Aug 2023
SALIVARY MELATONIN VALUES SIGNIFICANTLY CORRELATE WITH REDUCED QUALITY OF LIFE IN CHRONIC SPONTANEOUS URTICARIA PATIENTS: A PILOT STUDY.
Chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) is a dermatological disorder accompanied by itching that greatly affects the quality of life and quality of sleep. Therefore, it is assumed that CSU patients consequently experience reduced melatonin secretion and lower values of serum or salivary melatonin. This pilot study included 20 patients with CSU (chronic urticaria of unknown etiology that lasts for more than 6 weeks) and 10 healthy controls. ⋯ Salivary melatonin levels were determined by ELISA and all subjects completed a standardized Dermatology Life Quality Index questionnaire and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index on the same day they gave a saliva sample for analysis. According to our results, 86% of CSU patients had decreased values of salivary melatonin, and lower salivary melatonin values significantly correlated with a reduced quality of life in CSU patients. This study was the first to analyze melatonin in CSU patients, also suggesting a possible new therapeutic option for the treatment of CSU.
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Acta clinica Croatica · Aug 2023
THE EFFECT OF PALPEBRAL FISSURE HEIGHT IN PRIMARY GAZE POSITION ON TEAR FILM STABILITY.
This study aimed to investigate the effect of palpebral fissure height in primary gaze position in healthy individuals on tear film stability. In this cross-sectional study, 120 subjects (60 male and female each) were enrolled and divided according to age into two groups, i.e., group 1 (aged 18-50 years) and group 2 (aged 51 and older). Palpebral fissure height on both eyes was measured in primary gaze position with a clear plastic ruler held in a central vertical position between the upper and lower lid margin, and the standard tear break-up time (TBUT) test was performed to evaluate tear film stability. ⋯ In all subjects included in the study, palpebral fissure height was not related to TBUT (p=0.589). However, analyzing the two age groups separately, a significant negative correlation was found between the palpebral fissure height and TBUT in both groups of younger (p<0.001) and older (p=0.009) subjects. In conclusion, an enlarged exposed ocular surface due to higher palpebral fissure height in healthy individual's primary gaze position negatively affects tear film stability expressed by TBUT.
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The aim of this study was to establish the impact of air transport on blood samples packaged with and without cooling elements and effect of outdoor temperature on sample quality. Venous samples from 38 blood donors in winter and 36 in summer were tested for hemolysis and complete blood count. One tube per subject was kept in controlled conditions at +4 °C. ⋯ These differences were more pronounced in the samples transported during the summer. Transport conditions without cooling elements had additional negative impact on the sample quality. Transport of samples using cooling elements and controlled warehousing conditions at airports are sometimes not sufficient to maintain laboratory storage conditions.
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Acta clinica Croatica · Aug 2023
Case ReportsINTRANASAL PLEOMORPHIC ADENOMA ARISING FROM THE LATERAL NASAL WALL.
Pleomorphic adenoma is very rare in the sinonasal region, with the most common localization on the nasal septum, followed by lateral nasal wall. In the case presented, a 72-year-old woman was complaining of the right sided nasal obstruction without any other symptoms. The symptom started a year before and increased progressively. ⋯ Histology diagnosis was pleomorphic adenoma of minor salivary glands. The patient was followed up on regular basis and had no tumor recurrence in the 6th postoperative year. Intranasal pleomorphic adenoma arising from the lateral nasal wall in front of the inferior turbinate is extremely rare, so the presented case is probably the first ever published.
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Acta clinica Croatica · Aug 2023
SERUM URIC ACID TO HDL CHOLESTEROL RATIO IS ASSOCIATED WITH DIABETIC CONTROL IN NEW ONSET TYPE 2 DIABETIC POPULATION.
Since uric acid to HDL cholesterol ratio (UHR) is proposed as a novel predictor of metabolic and inflammatory disorders, we aimed to study UHR levels in patients with new onset type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and compare them to those in healthy controls. Patients with new onset T2DM were enrolled and control subjects were volunteers to participate without any established diseases. ⋯ Moreover, UHR was significantly and positively correlated with HbA1c (r=0.75, p<0.001), FBG (r=0.64, p<0.001), waist circumference (r=0.35, p<0.001), body mass index (r=0.20, p=0.002) and inversely correlated with glomerular filtration rate (r=-0.24, p<0.001). High levels of UHR might be associated with increased mean blood glucose levels for a long time, since UHR was correlated with both FBG and HbA1c in patients with new onset T2DM.