Primary PCI and Mental Health: A 12-Month Follow-Up Study.

The research article highlights the significance of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and its impact on depression and anxiety among patients' post-primary percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI). The study aims to determine the frequency of depression and anxiety occurrence in patients with acute myocardial infarction after primary PCI. The objective of this study is to investigate the frequency of depression and anxiety in patients with acute myocardial infarction after primary PCI. The method used in the study involved the collection of data from 88 patients with acute myocardial infarction who underwent primary PCI treatment. The patients were tested before PCI and then at intervals of 1 month, 6 months, and 12 months post-PCI using the Hamilton Depression Scale (HAM-D17) and the Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAM-A) to identify depression and anxiety symptoms, respectively. The study performed a comprehensive analysis of the collected data to determine the frequency of depression and anxiety occurrence in post-PCI patients. The study found evidence that primary PCI reduces depression and anxiety in patients who have experienced a myocardial infarction. However, mental health issues continue to be a significant psychological concern for patients post-PCI, impacting their lifestyle, self-care, and treatment adherence. The study suggests that healthcare providers should actively screen and manage psychiatric disorders in patients who have suffered from AMI as they are at an increased risk of mental disorders. In conclusion, the study indicates that depression and anxiety are common issues in acute myocardial infarction survivors, and interventions addressing these conditions should be a routine part of care. The study highlights the need for healthcare providers to be aware of the increased risk of mental disorders in individuals who have suffered from AMI. Understanding the impact of anxiety and depression on post-PCI patients is essential for the development of effective interventions that support patients' recovery.

How Dexamethasone Used in Anti-COVID-19 Therapy Influenced Antihypertensive Treatment in Patients with SARS-CoV-2.

BACKGROUND: During the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic period, in the treatment approved by the WHO, along with antivirals, antibiotics, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and anticoagulants, dexamethasone was always used. This study started from the professional concern related to the vasopressor effect of cortisone on blood pressure (BP). METHODS: The study group was achieved by selecting, from a total of 356 patients hospitalized in the clinic, the patients with known hypertensive status at admission for SARS-CoV-2. Dexamethasone was part of the anti-COVID-19 treatment, with an administration of 4-6-8 mg/day, depending on bodyweight, for 10 days. All patients with hypertension received antihypertensive treatment in adjusted doses according to the recorded BP values. RESULTS: Monitoring of BP in hospitalized patients was performed daily, in the morning and evening. If on the 2nd day of treatment, 84% of the patients partially responded to the treatment with a moderate decrease in BP, on the 3rd therapy day, the situation clearly improved: more than 75% of the patients had values of BP that can be classified as high-normal (38.23%) and normal (40.03%). CONCLUSIONS: Dexamethasone for treatment of SARS-CoV-2 infection did not have a notable influence on increasing BP, because the doses were low-moderate and prescribed for a short time.

The Interplay between Conventional Cardiovascular Risk Factors and Health-Related Quality of Life in a Cohort of Working Young and Middle-Aged Adults: A Prospective Study.

Psychosocial and work stress, socioeconomic status, and environmental health directly impact the onset and progression of cardiovascular diseases, irrespective of sex or conventional cardiovascular risk factors (cCRFs). On the other hand, the impact of cCRFs on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is not well known, and the psychological socioeconomic environmental somatic health interaction is often neglected. Accordingly, we aimed to: (i) compare the self-reported HRQoL using the WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire between healthy subjects and those with cCRFs; and (ii) evaluate the interplay between HRQoL, cCRFs, and cardiovascular treatment adherence. We prospectively included 90 working adults (46 healthy and 44 with cCRFs age- and sex-matched adults) evaluated by clinical examination, 12-leads electrocardiography, and transthoracic echocardiography as part of a cardiovascular diseases screening program, that also filled in the WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire. Subjects with CRFs were less satisfied with their own individual health. The presence and the number of CRFs, as well as the need for cardiovascular treatment and the number of drugs taken correlated with reduced scores at the majority of HRQoL domains. The results in the social relationships domain were the best predictor of cardiovascular treatment adherence. Finally, the results of all HRQoL domains were strongly correlated to each other demonstrating the psychological socioeconomic environmental somatic health interaction.

A Study of Biomarkers Associated with Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Fatty Liver Disease in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes.

Metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) is a new term that no longer excludes patients that consume alcohol or present other liver diseases, unlike nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of different biomarkers as predictors of MAFLD in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). In this regard, a cross-sectional, non-interventional study was conducted over a period of 8 months in patients with T2DM. Liver steatosis displayed by abdominal ultrasound certified the MAFLD diagnosis. A percentage of 49.5% of the studied patients presented MAFLD. Through logistic regression adjusted for gender, age, T2DM duration, lipid-lowering therapy, smoking status, nutritional status, we demonstrated that elevated triglycerides (TG) levels, high non-high-density-lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol-to-HDL-cholesterol (non-HDL/HDL) ratio, high atherogenic index of plasma (AIP), and increased Homeostatic Model Assessment for Insulin Resistance (HOMA-IR) had predictive value for MAFLD in patients with T2DM. Furthermore, we calculated the optimal cut-off values for these biomarkers (184 mg/dL for TG, 0.615 for AIP, 3.9 for the non-HDL/HDL ratio, and 2.01 for HOMA-IR) which can predict the presence of MAFLD in patients with T2DM. To our knowledge, this is the first study to assess the predictive value of the non-HDL/HDL ratio for MAFLD in patients with T2DM.

Profile of Patients with Cardiovascular Diseases during the Pandemic in a Cardiology Clinic of a COVID-19 Support Hospital.

BACKGROUND: During the pandemic, our hospital became a COVID support hospital and consequently the cardiology clinic had restricted activity; thus, it received only suspect and/or patients confirmed positive with the various COVID-19 strains that were associated with a chronic/flaring cardiovascular pathology. METHODS: Two batches of patients admitted during a one-year period were compared in the cardiology clinic over two different periods of time: BATCH I (1 April 2019 to 31 March 2020), in a non-COVID context (BATCH I N-COV) and BATCH II (1 July 2020 to 30 June 2021) comprising patients that presented with respiratory infection of SARS-CoV-2 (BATCH II COV-2), associated with chronic and/or acute cardiovascular condition. To determine the profile of the patients admitted in our clinic, we observed the following parameters: age, type of cardiac condition, and admission mode (for the N-COV group). RESULTS: The data obtained as absolute numbers and as percentages in relation to the total number of admissions were presented in separate tables and graphs for both of the studied groups. CONCLUSIONS: The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, in its almost two years of evolution, has divided the medical world in two main categories: COVID and non-COVID. Admission of the patients with chronic, but non-COVID cardiac conditions, in our case, dropped to almost one-quarter when we compared the two absolute admission numbers: 1382 in the year prior to pandemic compared with only 356 in the pandemic year. We believe that the number of deaths due to SARS-CoV-2 infection was infinitely higher than the reported ones and uncountable, in as much as COVID-19 did not kill only the infected patients, but it has also yielded a very large number of collateral victims among chronic patients who had no contact with the disease, but were unable to be admitted and treated for chronic heart disease.

Liver Function Tests and FIB-4 Score as Predictors of Severity in COVID-19 Patients from the South-West of Romania.

BACKGROUND: The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic (COVID-19) is the most important global health crisis to date. In this study, we performed an analysis to find the association between liver damage, FIB-4 score and the severity of COVID-19 disease. METHODS: We included a total of 580 patients that tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 infection and were hospitalized. No patient included had any known history of liver disease. Liver function tests were performed, and FIB-4 score was calculated in order to assess their involvement in the disease progression. RESULTS: More than half of the patients had elevated liver function tests. Age, high body mass index, associated heart disease and diabetes were associated with poor outcome. Corticosteroids, antibiotics, and anticoagulants strongly correlated with liver injuries. Liver impairment and injury, as well as a FIB-4 score higher than 3.5, also correlated with higher degrees of disease severity. CONCLUSION: Liver injury and elevated FIB-4 score were associated with poor clinical outcome and disease severity, as well as being a valuable tool to predict COVID-19-related mortality.

Maternal and Fetal Metabolites in Gestational Diabetes Mellitus: A Narrative Review.

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is a major public health issue of our century due to its increasing prevalence, affecting 5% to 20% of all pregnancies. The pathogenesis of GDM has not been completely elucidated to date. Increasing evidence suggests the association of environmental factors with genetic and epigenetic factors in the development of GDM. So far, several metabolomics studies have investigated metabolic disruptions associated with GDM. The aim of this review is to highlight the usefulness of maternal metabolites as diagnosis markers of GDM as well as the importance of both maternal and fetal metabolites as prognosis biomarkers for GDM and GDM's transition to type 2 diabetes mellitus T2DM.

Difficulty in positive diagnosis of ascites and in differential diagnosis of a pulmonary tumor.

Ascites is the most frequent complication of cirrhosis and occurs only when the portal hypertension has already installed but ascites is caused by neoplasms, heart failure, tuberculosis, pancreatic illnesses, as well as other kind of affections. We describe the case of a 67-year-old patient, a retired person, without significant personal or familial history, nonsmoker, infrequent alcohol and coffee consumer with following chief complaints at onset: loss of appetite, weight loss, serious physical asthenia, delayed intestinal transit, diffuse abdominal pain and increase of abdominal circumference. Initially was misdiagnosed with liver cirrhosis. After discharged from our Clinic, suspicion of diagnosis was mesothelioma as well as after first thoracoscopy and pleural biopsy performed in a Clinic of Thoracic Surgery. Several pleural fragments collected by biopsy were sampled for the histopathological exam. The stainings used were Hematoxylin-Eosin (HE) and Periodic Acid-Schiff (PAS) for the mucopolysaccharides. For the immunohistochemistry was used the labeled Streptavidin-Biotin (LSAB)-Horseradish peroxidase (HRP) method, as well as the antibodies: cytokeratin (CK) cocktail (AE1÷AE3), vimentin, calretinin, CK7, CK5÷6, CK20, epithelial specific antigen/epithelial cell adhesion molecule (Ep-CAM) (BerEP4), thyroid transcription factor-1 (TTF-1), E-cadherin, CDX2, carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and the Hector Battifora mesothelial antigen-1 (HBME-1). The aspect at immunohistochemistry establishes a positive diagnostic of poorly differentiated mucinous pulmonary adenocarcinoma, with "signet ring" cells. The rapid and accurate determination of the diagnostics will allow not only for a decrease in the expenses for inefficient treatments, but also for the guidance of the patients towards clinics or centers able to provide and supervise these treatments.

The association between chronic pancreatitis and the iNOS-2087A>G polymorphism.

INTRODUCTION: Chronic pancreatitis is morphologically characterized by ductal dysplasia, breeding grounds for the proliferation of the ductal cells, the degenerative changes in pancreatic acinar cells and fibrosis, and it is defined on the basis of the clinical, morphological and functional criteria. AIM: The aim of our study is to examine the existence of a possible correlation between the iNOS-2087A>G polymorphism and chronic pancreatitis by means of the genetic analysis. MATERIAL AND METHOD: We have conducted the study at the Gastroenterology Clinic and the Research Center of Gastroenterology and Hepatology of the University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Craiova, between March 2015 - September 2016. The study had a prospective character. Both for the 58 patients diagnosed with chronic pancreatitis and for the 132 patients in the witness group, the biological material was represented by blood, (around 2.5 - 5 milliliters of venous blood) let on EDTA and kept at 4°C up to the separation of the DNA molecule. All the patients were genotyped for the iNOS - 2087A>G polymorphism, by means of the Real Time PCR technique with TaqMan probes. RESULTS: Analysing the prevalence of the iNOS genotypes within the study group and witness group, we have noticed that, statistically speaking, there are no significant differences between the two groups. CONCLUSION: As a conclusion, in the study lot we can sustain that the risk of developing chronic pancreatitis is not increased by the presence of the iNOS-2087A>G polymorphism.