Hippokratia
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The Scoliosis Research Society-22r Questionnaire (SRS-22r) is a questionnaire assessing the health related quality of life of patients with scoliosis. Aim of this study was to evaluate the validity and reliability of the Greek Version of the SRS-22r in patients suffering from scoliosis who were treated conservatively. ⋯ This Greek Version of the SRS-22r outcome instrument is a validated questionnaire which can be used to evaluate Greek-speaking patients suffering from Idiopathic Scoliosis who are being treated conservatively.
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Thromboembolic disease (TED) represents one of the main reasons of morbitity and mortality in Western World. Venous and arterial thrombotic disorders have long been viewed as separate pathophysiological entities. However, in recent times the separate nature of arterial and venous thrombotic events has been challenged. Although inherited thrombophilia's predominant clinical manifestation is venous thrombosis, its contribution to arterial thrombosis remains controversial. Purpose of the study was to evaluate the prevalence of the most common thrombophilic mutations, FV Leiden G1691A-FVL and FII G20210A-PTM and to assess the differences between venous, arterial and mixed thrombotic events. Testing for polymorphism MTHFR C677T and antithrombin, protein C and protein S was also performed. Correlations with dyslipidemia, smoking, obesity, homocysteine and antiphospholipid antibodies were made. ⋯ Correlation of PTM with venous thrombosis was established. Analysis showed no difference in prevalence of FVL between venous and arterial thrombosis, indicating that FVL might be a predisposing factor for arterial disease. A significant increase in MTHFR C677T prevalence in arterial disease was found. In conclusion, young patients with unprovoked arterial disease should undergo evaluation for thrombophilic genes. Identification of these mutations is important in the overall assessment and management of patients at high risk. Findings will influence the decisions of stratified approaches for antithrombotic therapy either primary or secondary thromboprophylaxis, the duration of therapy, the potential for avoiding clinical thrombosis by risk factor modification and the genetic counselling of family members. However, further studies are needed to clarify the nature of the association regarding venous and arterial thrombotic events.
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Demand and costs of laboratory testing are increasing worldwide. It seems that a considerable proportion of the tests requested do not follow the published guidelines. Tests comprising the lipid profile are advised for the entire population, as determinants of cardiovascular risk. Published guidelines exist for different groups of the population. This study is an attempt to assess the volume and the cost of the excessive demand for laboratory measurements of lipids concerning inpatients of a tertiary teaching hospital in Athens, Greece. ⋯ Physicians' behavior is an important factor, as is derived by certain profiles of the wards studied. Guidelines are not followed when ordering lipid tests. Curtailing of these excessive laboratory tests has been shown to be feasible using cheap strategies and will yield considerable benefits for patients and hospitals alike.
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This study was performed to investigate nutritional parameters of hemodialysis patients by using anthropometric and biochemical measurements. ⋯ In conclusion, age seem to be negatively associated with iPTH and albumin. As dialysis vintage increases, muscle mass seems to decrease.
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The purpose of this study was to evaluate the attitudes and behavior of surgeons regarding preoperative smoking cessation. ⋯ The surgeons who participated in the questionnaire were aware that smoking cessation improves outcome, but most of them did not appreciate that providing brief advice, referring to cessation services, or prescribing nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) may be of benefit in helping patients to quit. It is necessary to educate surgeons about the scale of the benefit and the efficacy of smoking cessation interventions or to set up systematic frameworks to offer smoking cessation advice to preoperative patients who smoke.