Bratisl Med J
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The purpose of the study was to follow up the cortisol levels in relation to the postoperative pain intensity, its levels after treatment with opiate and non-opiate analgesics, and to monitor the relationship between the blood glucose and cortisol levels. Another goal was to optimize the postoperative analgesia of geriatric patients with the known combinations of analgesics. ⋯ The cortisol levels have not corresponded so much with the assessment of acute postoperative pain as with the stress that was evoked in the patient due to hospitalization and fear of surgery. It is crucial to eliminate as much as possible all the stressors that can affect the cortisol levels and thus the blood glucose levels (Fig. 6, Ref. 25).
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Enterococcus species account for most of the human enterococcal HAI and multidrug-resistant infections and have become a major threat to modern public health. We examine the rise in the number of vancomycin resistant E. faecium blood stream and urinary tract infections in a COVID-19 department during an epidemiologic outbreak investigation to detect and eliminate nosocomial clusters of the bacteria. ⋯ This study provides the first description of an outbreak caused by vanB-ST117 and vanA-ST17 E. faecium strains among COVID-19 patients in Slovakia. This study can help to raise the awareness about the need for strict adherence to infection control measures and the implementation of rational antimicrobial stewardship as a routine part of COVID-19 management (Tab. 3, Fig. 3, Ref. 27). Text in PDF www.elis.sk Keywords: vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium, antibiotic resistant, COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, bacterial outbreak, healthcare-associated infection.
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Case Reports
Aborted sudden cardiac death in patient with concealed Brugada syndrome early after skin tattoo.
We report a case of 40‑year-old healthy patient presented with aborted sudden cardiac death. Echocardiography and coronarography were normal. ECG showed minimal non-specific changes in right precordial leads. ⋯ The fever is well described as a provoking factor for malignant arrhythmias in Brugada patients. Thus, a simple and safe procedure like skin tattoo can potentially lead to death in concealed Brugada syndrome population (Fig. 7, Ref. 9). Keywords: adical gastrectomy, D2 lymph node dissection, neoadjuvant therapy.
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This study aimed to evaluate the accuracy and effectiveness of different strategies for the diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in the elderly in real-life clinical practice. ⋯ T-MACS decision aid had the best performance for rule-out and rule-in diagnostics of AMI. Risk stratification of patients with suspected acute coronary syndrome based on decision aid rules can be used in real-life practice, even in the population of the elderly (Tab. 6, Fig. 1, Ref. 17).
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Most brain cells studies come from cultured rodent brain tissue, so basic questions about the behaviour of cultured adult human glial cells may remain unanswered. ⋯ This report demonstrates considerable morphological and cytoskelatal dedifferentiation of cultured brain cells. Cytokeratins, specific markers for epithelial cell differentiation, were absent in the brain tissue. However, they were expressed in "glia-like" cells. This finding could be considered glial dedifferentiation given the ectodermal origin of the brain tissue. We suggest that "glia-like" cells come from currently unknown glial progenitor cells scattered through the brain tissue (Tab. 1, Fig. 4, Ref. 19).