Polskie Archiwum Medycyny Wewnętrznej
-
Asthma is usually associated with pulmonary and extrapulmonary comorbidities that are more common in patients with severe asthma than in those with mild‑to‑moderate illness or in the general population. These comorbidities may affect the clinical intensity and severity of asthma and, as a result, increase health care costs related to its therapy. On the other hand, their recognition and appropriate treatment appear to improve asthma outcomes while optimizing therapy by preventing overtreatment. ⋯ The role of systemic inflammation in asthma, on the other hand, remains unknown. Understanding the mechanism(s) that link(s) asthma and its concomitant disorders is critical for developing an effective treatment strategy. This review examines the epidemiology, pathophysiology, treatment suggestions, and significant knowledge gaps of these comorbidities.
-
Pol. Arch. Med. Wewn. · Apr 2022
Observational StudyImpact of therapeutic thoracentesis and pleural pressure changes on breathing pattern, dyspnea, lung function and arterial blood gases.
Therapeutic thoracentesis is highly effective in providing symptomatic improvement in patients with large volume pleural effusion (PE). However, some physiological effects of pleural fluid (PF) withdrawal are still not fully elucidated. ⋯ Therapeutic thoracentesis results in a modest improvement in pulmonary function, tran-sient increase in PaO2 and increase in Ppl_ampl. The improvement in pulmonary function and ABG is closely related to the volume of PF drained and pleural elastance. The increase in Ppl_ampl probably represents a more efficient work of the respiratory muscles.
-
Pol. Arch. Med. Wewn. · Apr 2022
The role of endoscopic and demographic features in the diagnosis of gastric precancerous conditions.
The diagnosis of atrophic gastritis (AG) and intestinal metaplasia (IM) is a crucial screening and surveillance strategy for gastric adenocarcinoma. ⋯ The application of the age threshold with or without an endoscopic diagnosis of gastritis could reduce the number of mapping biopsies to detect advanced stages of atrophic gastritis or dysplasia with high sensitivity.
-
Pol. Arch. Med. Wewn. · Apr 2022
Prevalence of self-reported heart failure in the adult Polish population: results of the NATPOL 2011 study.
Chronic heart failure (CHF) is a growing medical and economic problem, especially in Central and Eastern Europe. However, only a few studies analyzed the prevalence of CHF in this region. ⋯ The results of our study indicated that the proportion of inhabitants of Poland aged 18 to 79 years with heart failure was somewhere between 2.4% and 4.3%. This corresponds to 720 000 to 1 200 000 of diagnosed CHF cases in Poland.
-
Pol. Arch. Med. Wewn. · Apr 2022
Adjuvant combined therapy with trastuzumab in patients with HER2-positive breast cancer and cardiac alterations: implications for optimal cardio-oncology care.
Recently, the prognosis of patients with HER2‑positive breast cancer (BC) has improved significantly owing to the use of combined treatment modalities. However, systemic treatment is as-sociated with increased risk of cardiotoxicity. ⋯ Asymptomatic subclinical cardiac alterations during TT may predict late cardiac complica-tions; however, longer follow‑up is necessary to confirm this hypothesis. Patients with HER2‑positive BC should be closely monitored for possible cardiac alterations during and after therapy to ensure optimal care and guide therapeutic decision‑making.