High serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentration in patients with a recent diagnosis of non-melanoma skin cancer: a case-control study.

BACKGROUND: Sun exposure is critical for vitamin D synthesis and is a major risk factor for the development of non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC). NMSC is the most common type of cancer in Brazil and coexists with a very high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency. OBJECTIVES: The present study aimed to assess serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH]D) concentration in patients with a recent diagnosis of NMSC. MATERIALS & METHODS: The serum 25(OH)D concentration of patients with a histological diagnosis of NMSC, made between September 2016 and September 2017, was measured by chemiluminescence up to 60 days after diagnosis and compared to healthy individuals without NMSC matched by age, sex, BMI, and skin phototype. RESULTS: Forty-one patients with NMSC and 200 healthy controls were evaluated. Most of the patients were men (56.1%) and most had basal cell carcinoma (90.2%). Patients were 67 years old on average (21-87 years) with skin Phototype 2 or 3 (80.6%). Mean serum 25(OH)D concentration in NMSC patients was significantly higher than in healthy controls (p < 0.001). Most of the patients with NMSC (65.9%) had vitamin D deficiency (25[OH]D <30 ng/mL). No association was identified between histological type, time from diagnosis, or a previous history of skin neoplasm and 25(OH)D measurements. CONCLUSION: Patients with recently diagnosed NMSC had significantly higher serum levels of 25(OH)D when compared to healthy controls. On the other hand, most of the NMSC patients were still considered to have vitamin D insufficiency.

Non-invasive assessment of right ventricular function in the late follow-up of the Senning procedure.

Deteriorating ventricular function is a major concern after the Senning operation. A Doppler-derived non-geometric measurement, the so-called myocardial performance index, has been described for use in adults and children. We aimed to assess the utility of this index as a method for quantification of right ventricular function in patients in the late follow-up of the Senning procedure, and to correlate the right ventricular ejection fraction and the first derivative of right ventricular pressure as derived using echocardiography with the ejection fraction determined using magnetic resonance imaging. We studied 44 patients within a mean postoperative period of 15.3 years. We calculated the right ventricular myocardial performance index by pulsed wave Doppler interrogation of tricuspid inflow and aortic outflow, the ejection fraction by Simpson's rule, and the first derivative of right ventricular pressure by continuous wave Doppler from tricuspid regurgitation. Mean values of right ventricular myocardial performance index, ejection fraction, and the first derivative of right ventricular pressure were 0.50, 39 percent and 1,398 millimetres of mercury per second, respectively. A cut-off value of 0.47 for the right ventricle myocardial performance index was determined, with a sensitivity of 75 percent and a specificity of 62.5 percent. We found no correlation between ejection fraction and the first derivative of right ventricular pressure as estimated by echocardiography and the ejection fraction as shown by magnetic resonance imaging (r2 equal to 0.29 and 0.04 respectively). We concluded, first, that patients with preserved right ventricular function had values for the right ventricular myocardial performance index lower than 0.47, and second, that ejection fraction and the first derivative of right ventricular pressure as determined echocardiographically did not correlate with values derived using magnetic resonance imaging.

Doppler flow evaluation can anticipate abnormal left lung perfusion after transcatheter closure of patent ductus arteriosus.

AIMS: Coil protrusion into the left pulmonary artery (LPA) has been described after transcatheter closure of the patent ductus arteriosus (PDA). The possible impact of such a finding in lung perfusion has not been completely clarified. We evaluated Doppler flow velocities and lung perfusion in patients submitted to that procedure. METHODS: After transcatheter closure of PDA with coils, 70 patients (mean age 8.6+/-3.4 years) were followed for a period of 3.6+/-0.9 years (range 2.1-5.9) and compared to 22 controls. Peak flow velocities and coil protrusion were assessed by Doppler echocardiography. A Doppler velocity index (DVI) was calculated by the difference between the LPA and right pulmonary artery (RPA) peak flow velocities relative to the pulmonary trunk (PT) expressed in percentage, as follows: DVI=(LPA velocity - RPA velocity)/PT velocity x 100. Lung scintigraphy was performed using (99m)Tc-labelled macro-aggregated albumin. RESULTS: Device protrusion was observed in 94% of the patients, 10% of whom presented abnormal left lung perfusion. Peak LPA velocity and DVI were significantly greater in patients (p=0.001) and correlated negatively with left lung perfusion values (R(2)=0.21 and R(2)=0.65, respectively). A cut-off value of 50% for the DVI showed high sensitivity and specificity for reduced lung perfusion. CONCLUSION: Impaired left lung perfusion may appear following transcatheter closure of PDA with coils and the determination of DVI may anticipate such alteration.