Isr Med Assoc J
-
Comparative Study
Accelerated Versus Standard Corneal Collagen Crosslinking in the Treatment of Keratoconus: One-Year Results.
Keratoconus is a non-inflammatory disease characterized by progressive corneal steepening, which leads to decreased visual acuity secondary to high irregular astigmatism. ⋯ Accelerated and standard CXL are both safe and effective techniques. Accelerated CXL confers the added benefit of being a faster procedure to both patients and surgeons.
-
Patients with high-risk prostate cancer are at higher risk of treatment failure, development of metastatic disease, and mortality. There is no consensus on the treatment of choice for these patients, and either radical prostatectomy (RP) or external beam radiation therapy (EBRT) is recommended. Surgery is less common as the initial treatment for high-risk patients, possibly reflecting the concerns regarding morbidity as well as oncological and functional outcomes. Another high-risk group includes patients with failure of previous EBRT or focal treatment. For these patients, salvage radical prostatectomy (SRP) can be offered. ⋯ Radical prostatectomy and SRP are safe options for patients presenting with high-risk prostate cancer, with good functional and oncological outcomes.
-
New direct acting antiviral agent (DAA) therapies are associated with a high sustained virological response rate (SVR) in hepatitis C virus (HCV) patients. The understanding of the impact of SVR on fibrosis stage is limited. ⋯ Following successful DAA treatment, the majority of our HCV patients with advanced fibrosis demonstrated significant improvement, as assessed by non-invasive methods. Advanced fibrosis stage was a negative predictor of fibrosis regression. Longer follow-up periods are required to further establish the impact of DAAs treatment in HCV patients with advanced fibrosis.
-
Tricuspid regurgitation (TR) is associated with adverse prognosis in various patient populations, but currently no data is available about the prevalence and prognostic implication of TR in ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients. ⋯ Among STEMI patients after primary PCI, the presence of moderate-severe TR was independently associated with adverse outcomes and significantly lower survival rate.
-
Fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) is a chronic disorder characterized by widespread musculoskeletal pain accompanied by various additional symptoms. The prevalence of FMS ranges between 2-8% of the population. The exact pathophysiology of the disease remains unknown, and under certain circumstances it is difficult for the physician to diagnose. Previous studies have shown a correlation between inflammatory biomarkers such as C-reactive protein (CRP) and FMS activity, suggesting that an inflammatory component may play a role in this disease pathogenesis. ⋯ FMS has certain inflammatory components that may be useful in disease diagnosis.