Bratisl Med J
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To analyse the effect of systemic inflammatory status in patients with primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) and primary angle-closure glaucoma (PACG) by calculating platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR). ⋯ Both the POAG and the PACG groups exhibited higher platelet and PLR levels than the control. These results indicate a potential role of systemic inflammation in the pathogenesis of POAG and PACG (Tab. 4, Fig. 1, Ref. 35).
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Bilateral finding of non-acute subdural hematomas (NASH) is less common compared to unilateral occurrence. The aim of this study was to evaluate results of surgical treatment of bilaterally treated bilateral NASH. ⋯ The laminar hematoma type and larger PHV were significant risk factors for the recurrence of bilateral NASH and worse neurological outcome. Larger PHCV and PV were significantly associated with hematoma recurrence (Tab. 7, Fig. 3, Ref. 24).
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The aim of this study was to determine the efficacy of pulse steroid therapy administered to patients critically ill with COVID-19 progressing into severe pneumonia. ⋯ Pulse steroid therapy does not shorten the duration of hospital stay, does not reduce the need for intubation and increases the risk of thrombosis by significantly increasing the level of D-dimer among patients critically and severely ill with COVID-19 (Tab. 4, Fig. 3, Ref. 20) Keywords: COVID-19, pulse steroid therapy, thrombosis, d-dimer, corticosteroid.
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The study focused on the relationship between routine clinical characteristics and anti-SARS-CoV-2 specific antibodies in a pilot sample of healthcare workers (HCWs) having suffered COVID-19. The aim was to investigate the existence of readily available predictors of antibodies against COVID-19. ⋯ The mean interval between the symptom onset and the determination of antibodies was 58 days. IgG seropositivity and IgM seropositivity were noted in 82 % and 49 % of HCWs, respectively. Symptom duration was the only statistically significant predictor of IgG seropositivity. With each day of symptom duration, the probability of IgG seropositivity increased from 1.078 to 1.092 times (p < 0.05). If symptoms lasted longer than 17 days, a majority (almost 80 %) of the subjects demonstrated seropositivity in the following months. CONCLUSION: The presence of IgG immunity may be assumed from symptom duration. Such easy recognizing of seropositive patients may be a useful tool, e.g. in vaccination strategies (Tab. 3, Fig. 1, Ref. 28).
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Metallothionein's (MT) overexpression has been demonstrated immunohistochemically in neoplastic cells of many tumour types. Its elevation above the physiological level has been confirmed in circulation of their hosts. The results of studies dealing with the topic have been summarized to verify if this marker can be applied in the current oncologic practise. ⋯ In our review, after a precise selection, we included 8 prospective randomized trials encompassing 561 blood samples taken from patients with a large histopathological spectrum of malignancies. In general, significant differences in blood MT levels between oncological patients and healthy subjects were confirmed. No particular value of the MT level has been demonstrated to be unequivocally predictive of oncologic diseaseCONCLUSION: The results of our review suggest that although the elevation of MT in blood serum in patients with solid malignancy can be regarded as a promising tumour marker, the recommendations of its applicability in clinical practice require to be derived from further research on extended cohorts of patients (Tab. 1, Fig. 1, Ref. 49).