ABSTRACT
Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the left [LV] and right [RV] ventricular function in euthyroid Hashimoto's thyroiditis [eHT] patients
Subjects and Methods:Forty-five patients diagnosed with eHT and 45 age- and gendermatched control subjects were enrolled in this study. Echocardiographic parameters reflecting RV and LV functions such as chamber dimensions, ejection fraction, fractional shortening, conventional and tissue Doppler-derived early and late filling velocities [E, A, E', A'], isovolumic relaxation [IVRT] and contraction [IVCT] times, ejection time [ET], deceleration time [DT], Tei index, pulmonary acceleration time [PAcT] and tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion [TAPSE] of patients with eHT were compared to those of control subjects using the paired-samples t test or Wilcoxon signedrank test
Results:Regarding the LV function, compared to the controls patients with eHT had a higher LV-Tei index [0.6 +/- 0.2 vs. 0.4 +/- 0.1, p < 0.001], higher DT [p < 0.001] and IVRT [p < 0.001] values, and higher E/E' ratios [p = 0.04]. In contrast, the peak E wave velocity [p = 0.02], E/A ratio [p = 0.01] and ET [p = 0.02] were significantly lower in the eHT group than amongst the controls. The RV, Tei index [0.40 +/- 0.11 vs. 0.28 +/- 0.07, p < 0.001], TAPSE [2.0 +/- 0.3 vs. 2.2 +/- 0.2 mm, p < 0.001], PAcT [124.3 +/- 22.6 vs. 149.4 +/- 18.3 ms, p < 0.001], A' [p = 0.007] and IVCT [p = 0.001] were significantly higher in patients with eHT than the controls. However, the tricuspid E/A ratio [p = 0.01], E' [p = 0.03] and E'/A' ratio [p = 0.001] were significantly lower in the eHT patients than the control group
Conclusions:This study demonstrated that both RV and LV functions were impaired in patients with eHT
ABSTRACT
Objective: To evaluate the relationship between anthropometric measurements and Nursing Home-Acquired Pneumonia [NHAP] risk
Methods: Consecutive patients of 65 years or elderly who were living in the Balikli Rum Hospital Nursing Homes were included in this prospective study. At the beginning of this study, the patients' anthropometrics values were measured. The patients were followed for one year, and any incidences of pneumonia attacks were recorded. The relationship between the anthropometric measurements and pneumonia occurrences was analyzed
Results: There were 133 inmates at the initial assessments. Of 108 patients who were eligible for the study, 77 [72.2%] were female and 37 [27.8%] were male. The mean age of the group was 79.8 +/- 10.5. Patients were assigned to a group according to the presence of pneumonia during the one -year follow-up. There were 74 [55.6%] patients who had suffered from at least one attack of pneumonia during the follow-up period. The mean triceps skinfold was significantly thinner in the pneumonia group, and the mean handgrip measurements in both the dominant and non-dominant hands were significantly weaker in the pneumonia group. Furthermore, the frequency of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Diseases [COPD] was significantly higher in this group [p < 0.001]
Conclusions: The risk of pneumonia was high in the elderly population who live in nursing homes. Simple anthropometric values may be predictive of the potential for Nursing Home-Acquired Pneumonia