Arch Med Sci
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High-risk obstetric patients in the immediate postpartum period are frequently admitted to the intensive care unit, but the necessity of this practice has recently been doubted. Herein we describe the efficiency of utilizing the post-anaesthesia care unit (PACU) as an intermediate intensive care facility for those patients. ⋯ The PACU can offer an intermediate intensive care facility for high-risk obstetric patients, thus reducing unnecessary admissions to the intensive care unit.
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Many physiological changes of breast elasticity depend on the age, hormonal status, menstrual cycle and many others. The aim of this study was to evaluate viscoelastic properties of normal breast tissues in a large group of women and to search for factors which play a role in its mechanical properties. ⋯ There are several parameters influencing breast viscoelasticity measured by share wave sonoelastography. Glandular tissue elasticity correlates positively with age, fatty tissue elasticity correlates positively with duration of lactation and heterogeneity of the elasticity map of glandular tissue correlates with breast pain and fat tissue with BMI.
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We hypothesized a relationship between severity of thoracic aortic atheroma (AA) and prevalence of high-risk coronary anatomy (HRCA). ⋯ AA > grade II is associated with a 7.5 times increase in HRCA and with a significant reduction in all-cause mortality.
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The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between microvascular and macrovascular disturbances in patients with type 2 diabetes, as shown by results of ophthalmological examination and by vascular and perfusion examinations of the lower limbs. ⋯ Ophthalmological assessment of the progression of diabetic retinopathy in patients with type 2 diabetes is a reliable indicator of the changes in peripheral vessel systems and perfusion defects in the lower limbs.
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Tako-tsubo cardiomyopathy is characterized by chest pain, electrocardiographic abnormalities mimicking acute myocardial infarction, akinesis or dyskinesis of apical or mid left ventricular segments, and the absence of obstructive coronary artery disease. Tako-tsubo cardiomyopathy is usually a potentially reversible form of cardiac dysfunction. A careful literature search revealed no previous report of a patient requiring mechanical circulatory support in tako-tsubo cardiomyopathy. We report a patient with tako-tsubo cardiomyopathy, ventricular fibrillation, and hemodynamic instability requiring a left ventricular assist device (TandemHeart(™)) followed by improvement of left ventricular ejection fraction to 45%.