Informatica

BACKGROUND: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a diverse disease with various clinical, pathological and molecular features that affect tumor biological behavior, treatment response and prognosis. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the correlation between metabolic 18F-FDG PET/CT parameters (SUVmax, MTV and TLG) and CEA in recurrent and metastatic CRC and to evaluate prognostic value of metabolic 18F-FDG PET/CT parameters in recurrent and metastatic CRC. METHODS: A descriptive study of 100 patients with previously detected and surgically treated CRC referred to PET/CT with a suspicion of recurrent or metastatic CRC...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

BACKGROUND: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a common disorder characterized by recurrent upper airway collapse during sleep, leading to neurological and cardiovascular adverse effects. OBJECTIVE: The present study aimed to explore seasonal compliance with Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) therapy among OSA patients in Greece. METHODS: Data from 954 OSA patients using CPAP devices were collected during summer and winter months. Factors evaluated included the Apnea-Hypopnea Index (AHI), mask type, mask leaks, and hours of CPAP device usage...

BACKGROUND: Osteoarthritis of the knee (OA) and osteoporosis are two conditions that have a significant impact on society, have a great impact on quality of life, and can lead to functional impairment. However, the relationship between knee OA and osteoporosis is unclear. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to examine if there is a link between symptomatic advanced knee osteoarthritis and low bone mineral density. METHODS: A total of 430 patients with symptomatic and advanced radiographic knee OA served as participants in this study...

BACKGROUND: The book "An Impossible Decision - the Life Interrupted by Uncertainty"has been published by Avicena Publisher in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2023 - ISBN: 978-9958-720-76-5. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this article is to analize what is the most rational and ethical way to treat people facing life-and-death decisions and how do we exactly communicate these inevitable uncertainties that all of us will sooner or later face? METHODS: Author of the book shows real-life relevance to patients often left alone to make these difficult decisions...

BACKGROUND: Prion diseases or TSE diseases are a group of neurodegenerative disorders that manifest in several forms in humans, such as Kuru disease, Creutzfeldt‒Jakob disease (CJD), Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker syndrome (GSS) and fatal familial insomnia. OBJECTIVE: In this study, we propose a multimodular hypothesis of prion diseases. According to this hypothesis, a prion disease manifests because of the interaction of two genetic modules, such as the PRNP gene module and that of the gene or genes responsible for one or more chaperones, with one or some chemical module on whose structure the products of the genes or genetic modules interact...

BACKGROUND: Coronary artery disease (CAD) is a major public health issue and a leading cause of death globally. It is one of the most common indications for surgical intervention. There are a lot of different techniques, including CABG, which consists of two approaches: sternotomy and mini-thoracotomy. Different techniques have been developed to improve surgical outcomes, including the use of machine for extracorporal circulation (on-pump) or without it (off-pump). OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to assess whether off-pump CABG offers superior short-term outcomes compared to traditional on-pump CABG in patients undergoing isolated CABG...

BACKGROUND: Osseointegration is defined as the direct structural and functional connection between neo-formed bone and dental implants. Among the parameters suggested to predominantly influencing the establishment of a successful osseointegration is the quality of the implant surface, which may enhance the strength and speed of this biomechanical process. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the ability of a novel laser-treated surface, compared to sandblasted, large-grit, acid-etched (SLA) surfaces, to enhance and accelerate implant integration in delayed implant placement...

The COVID-19 pandemic showed that epidemiological surveillance was under-resourced to respond to increases in cases and outbreaks. The high community transmissibility among the school population in the city of Barcelona at the beginning of the sixth wave strained the local COVID-19 surveillance unit. Using SCRUM methodology, Germina was developed and implemented as a software tool capable of capturing, harmonizing, integrating, storing, analysing and visualizing data from multiple information sources on a daily basis...

BACKGROUND: Acne vulgaris is one of the most common dermatological diseases, especially in adolescents and young adults. OBJECTIVE: The current study aimed to compare teledermatology versus face-to-face consultation in the follow-up of patients with mild-to-moderate acne. METHODS: In this investigator-initiated, parallel arms, open-label, randomized clinical trial, after screening, participants were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to be followed up through teledermatology or standard face-to-face consultations for a period of 6 months...

BCKGROUND: The diagnosis of chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) is confirmed by subjectively assessing a patient's complaints and objectively by a computed tomography scan (CT scan) and nasoendoscopic examination. The Lund Mackay (LM) score on paranasal sinus CT scans and the Modified Lund Kennedy (MLK) nasoendoscopic score have more advantages than other scores. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to determine the correlation between the LM score on paranasal sinus CT scans and the nasoendoscopic MLK score in patients with CRS at Dr...

BACKGROUND: This study brings innovation oriented to the development of e-health services to improve the performance of healthcare and hospital care in free-living activities. OBJECTIVE: This article seeks to propose an innovative mobile software that enables the contextualization of clinical data, while integrating the fundamental functionalities and usability criteria of a mobile health (mhealth) system. METHODS: We examine the utility of a context-sensitive mobile electrocardiogram (ECG) collection system for the detection of cardiovascular diseases for patients in free-living conditions...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

BACKGROUND: Immune-mediated inflammatory injury among systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) individuals may be involved by dendritic cells (DCs) abnormality though the underlying mechanism remains incompletely understood. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to elaborate MSCs' potential in suppressing abnormal DCs cell function on peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) among SLE patients. METHODS: MSCs were isolated from human umbilical cord blood...

BACKGROUND: Heart attack, or cardiac arrest, became a leading cause of death after the turn of the century. Defibrillation is one of the most important medical advances of the twentieth century. Defibrillation is a critical step in the treatment of cardiac arrest as it can be the only way to restore a normal heart rhythm and save the life of the individual. However, it is important to note that defibrillation is only effective if it is performed quickly and in conjunction with other life-saving measures such as cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR)...

BACKGROUND: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) can cause a wide clinical spectrum, ranging from asymptomatic to severe disease with a high mortality rate. In view of the current pandemic and the increasing influx of patients into healthcare facilities, there is a need to identify simple and reliable tools for stratifying patients. OBJECTIVE: Study aimed to analyze whether hemogram-derived ratios (HDRs) can be used to identify patients with a risk of developing a severe clinical form and admission to hospital...

BACKGROUND: All viral genomes, including the SARS-CoV-2 virus, mutate over time, and some of these mutations can affect the characteristics of the virus, such as the ease of spread, the severity of the patient's clinical picture, or the effect of vaccines, therapeutic drugs, diagnostic tools or other measures of public health and social protection. Because of all the above, it is imperative to carry out continuous sequencing of this pathogen. OBJECTIVE: The main goal of this research was to obtain the highest quality genomic sequences of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, to compare the obtained sequences with the reference Wuhan-Hu-1 sequence and to obtain a high-quality genomic alignment in order to reconstruct the appropriate phylogenetic tree...

BACKGROUND: We previously conducted bibliometric analysis of 6 North American neurosurgical journals. OBJECTIVE: To perform a bibliometric analysis of 6 European neurosurgical journals to build on our previous studies. METHODS: We searched Web of Science for articles published in Acta Neurochirurgica , British Journal of Neurosurgery , Child's Nervous System , Journal of Neurological Surgery Part A: Central European Neurosurgery , Journal of Neurosurgical Sciences , and Neurosurgical Review between 2011 and 2020...

BACKGROUND: Among various visual functions, stereoacuity, or the ability to perceive depth, is the most sophisticated binocular function. Many publications discuss the influence of retinal image formation by multifocal intraocular lenses on glare and contrast sensitivity, but only a few present results of testing binocular vision in patients with multifocal intraocular lenses. OBJECTIVE: This article is designed to review the results of testing binocular vision in patients with multifocal intraocular lenses implanted in cataract surgery...

BACKGROUND: Suicide is a global health concern. There are reproductive health-related factors that are responsible for increasing the risk of female suicide. There are a number of studies examining the association between suicide and the menstrual cycle, but still, there are no conclusive findings. AIM: We aimed to pool data from all the studies reporting data on suicides and the menstrual cycle phase to report the following outcomes: incidence of suicidal deaths in the menstrual, secretory, and proliferative phases, and to find out whether the burden of suicide in the menstrual phase in particular, was more at a young age (18-35 years) or middle age (36-50years)...