Bratisl Med J
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Patients in intensive care unit (ICU) require close follow up and clinical attention due to variability in the course of their underlying morbidities. The estimation of prognosis in these subjects has an utmost importance. Recent studies showed that C-reactive protein-to-serum albumin ratio (CAR) could be a reliable marker of inflammation in certain conditions. We aimed to compare CAR levels of deceased patients to those in survived subjects treated in ICU. ⋯ We suggest that CAR levels of the subjects in ICU should be evaluated during medical care. Increased CAR levels should alert physicians for a worse outcome in those subjects (Tab. 1, Fig. 1, Ref. 21). Text in PDF www.elis.sk Keywords: C-reactive protein-to-serum albumin ratio, intensive care, mortality.
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Diabetes mellitus (DM) and altered glucose metabolism have been associated with carcinogenesis, but also with prognosis and tolerance to treatment in different types of cancer. Head and neck cancers (HNC), the sixth most common malignancy worldwide, require a multimodal approach, especially in advanced stages and cancer specific treatment is often associated with therapeutic failure and severe toxicities even if it is delivered according to current standards. The aim of the study was to evaluate the clinical, biological and outcomes implications of DM in patients with HNC. ⋯ A large percent of sinonasal cancers compared to the data reported in the literature could be also related to DM. Both this possible association and the benefit of Metformin and 5-Flurouracil must be reevaluated in studies in larger groups of patients (Ref. 25). Keywords: diabetes, head and neck cancers, metformin, toxicity, outcomes, chemotherapy.
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Sepsis is the second most common cause of death in patients with non-cardiovascular diseases admitted to the ICU. It is one of the top ten reasons for death among all hospitalized patients. This study aimed to compare the value of some blood parameters in diagnosing sepsis and investigate their relationship to select a more practical diagnostic method. ⋯ Clinically, accurate detection of sepsis and predicting the patients at risk of developing sepsis is useful for improving treatment. Given the significant differences between HR, O2Sat, and SBP between normal and sepsis patients in this study, it may be possible to use these tests as simple tests instead of the complement protein 3 (C3) and Procalcitonin (PCT) tests to diagnose sepsis in the ICU (Tab. 8, Fig. 10, Ref. 39). Text in PDF www.elis.sk Keywords: sepsis, physiological parameters, detection; feature extraction, statistical analysis.
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To investigate interfractional motion of the mesorectum and bladder and to assess dosimetric changes using cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) during neoadjuvant radiotherapy for locally advanced rectal cancer patients. ⋯ During radiotherapy planning, the mesorectal movement should not be forgotten and PTV margins should be determined accordingly (Tab. 6, Ref. 22). Text in PDF www.elis.sk Keywords: cone-beam computed tomography, rectal cancer, mesorectum, interfractional organ motion, neoadjuvant radiotherapy.
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The aim was to investigate the prognostic accuracy of admission ECG and its usefulness in determining the population at the highest risk of worse outcomes. ⋯ The presence of ischemic changes in ECG in chest pain population with AMI suspicion increases the risk of MACE. The group at highest risk of MACE can by identified by the additional stratification with the admission single hs-TnT measurement (Tab. 2, Fig. 4, Ref. 40). Text in PDF www.elis.sk Keywords: acute coronary syndromes, cardiac troponin, electrocardiogram, emergency department, chest pain.