Assessing the correlation between the degree of tricuspid regurgitation and pulmonary hypertension: A comprehensive study.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the relationship between severity of tricuspid regurgitation (TR) and pulmonary hypertension. METHODS: Cross-sectional study of 118 patients with pulmonary hypertension was carried out at a single center in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, between 2018-2021. Patients who had pulmonary or tricuspid valves organic diseases, previously undergone tricuspid or pulmonary valve surgeries, had permanent pacemakers or critically ill were excluded. RESULTS: A high proportion of patients were women (n=100, 85%) and obese (n=57, 48%). Patients with more than mild TR had higher systolic pulmonary artery pressure (sPAP) than those with trivial or mild regurgitation (p<0.001). There was a significant association between severity of TR (p<0.001) and right chambers size (p=0.001). Furthermore, pulmonary artery pressure (PAP) was significantly higher in patients with mild right ventricular impairment (p=0.001). CONCLUSION: Increase in degree of TR and right atrial size were predictors of elevated sPAP. Our findings highlight the interplay among TR, right heart size, ventricular function, and PAP. Understanding these associations can aid in risk stratification, monitoring disease progression, and potentially guiding treatment in those patients.

Unraveling the effect of Cu doping on the structural and morphological properties and photocatalytic activity of ZrO2.

Pristine ZrO2 and doped with different concentrations of Copper (0-7 %) were synthesized using a sol-gel combustion route. Several advanced techniques like XRD, EDX, TEM, XPS, P.L., and UV-vis spectrophotometer have characterized the compositions. The XRD proved that all peaks matched with a tetragonal phase of ZrO2 without any impurities of other phases. An average crystallite size rises from 20 to 55 nm by increasing the concentrations of Copper. The elemental analysis was examined by EDX and confirmed the presence of Cooper, Zirconium, and Oxygen. The red shift was observed due to a decrease in the bandgap (5.5-4.01 eV) with increasing the Cu concentrations. From the analysis of photocatalysis of pure ZrO2 and different concentrations of Cu-doped ZrO2 for M.B., RHB, and mix of them. The increase in doping of Cu led to enhancing the performance of the removing MB from 35 to 80 %, however, the RHB degradation was from 42 to 81 % while the mix of M.B. and RHB reached 85 % with 7 % Cu-doping ZrO2.

Gender differences in patients presenting with non-ST segment elevation myocardial infarction in the STAR registry.

BACKGROUND: In most acute coronary artery (ACS) related literature, the female gender constitutes a smaller proportion. This study is based on gender-specific data in the Saudi Acute Myocardial Infarction Registry Program (STARS-1 Program). A prospective multicenter study, conducted with patients diagnosed with ACS in 50 participating hospitals. RESULTS: In total, 762 (34.12%) patients were diagnosed with non-ST segment elevation myocardial infarction. Of this group, only 164 (21.52%) were women. The mean age (64.52 ± 12.56 years) was older and the mean body mass index (BMI) was higher (30.58 ± 6.23). A significantly proportion was diabetic or hypertensive; however, a smaller proportion was smoking. Hyperlipidemia was present in 48%. The history of angina/MI/stroke and revascularization was similar, except for renal impairment. The presentation was atypical as only 70% presented with chest pain, and the rest with shortness of breath or epigastric pain. At presentation, the female group were more tachycardiac, had higher blood pressure, and a higher incidence of being in class 11-111 Killip heart failure. Only 32% had a normal systolic function, and the majority had either mild or moderate systolic dysfunction. In particular, the rate of percutaneous coronary intervention was similar. The in-hospital mortality was similar (5%), with more women diagnosed with atrial fibrillation and heart failure at follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: Women had a higher prevalence of risk factors affecting the presentation and morbidity but not mortality. Improving these risk factors and the lifestyle is a priority to improve the outcome and decrease morbidity.

Mean platelet volume and serum uric acid in neonatal sepsis: A case-control study.

BACKGROUND: Mean platelet volume (MPV) is a measure of platelet volume. It reveals the presence of inflammatory burden and disease activity in many diseases. Serum uric acid (SUA) is one of the most important antioxidants in human biological fluids and is responsible for neutralizing > 50% of the free radicals in the human blood. For this reason, it was thought that the antioxidant effects of SUA could increase the life expectancy and/or reduce the incidence of malignancy. OBJECTIVES: To determine the role of mean platelet volume (MPV) and serum uric acid (SUA) level in the diagnosis of neonatal sepsis (NS). METHODS: This case-control study was done on 80 newborns divided into 3 groups: group A (n = 22): clinical NS, group B (n = 18): Proven NS and Group C (n = 40): apparently healthy control. All patients in the study were subjected to adequate assessment of history, full clinical examination, complete blood count including MPV, C - reactive protein (CRP), blood culture in CRP positive cases, and SUA level at the time of diagnosis of sepsis. RESULTS: Septic neonates showed statistically higher values of MPV and statistically lower levels of SUA than the control group. The diagnostic cut-off values of MPV and SUA for NS were 10.2 fL, and 3.70 mg/dL, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: MPV could be assessed in the early diagnosis of neonatal sepsis while SUA level has lower sensitivity in neonatal sepsis.