Manjak kompleksa piruvat dehidrogenaze (engl. Pyruvate Dehydrogenase Complex Deficiency, PDCD) rijedak je genetski neurometabolički poremećaj. Pripada u skupinu mitohondrijskih bolesti. Kliničke ...manifestacije se kreću od često smrtonosne, teške, novorođenačke laktacidoze do ozbiljnih neuroloških poremećaja kasnije tijekom života. Većina bolesnika ne doživi odraslu dob i rijetko je ova problematika nazočna u jedinicama intenzivnog
liječenja odraslih bolesnika. Jedan od važnijih terapijskih postupaka kod ovih bolesnika je ketogena prehrana s visokim udjelom masti kojom se proizvode ketoni kao alternativno gorivo za tijelo i mozak. Ponekad može biti potrebna parenteralna ketogena prehrana koja još uvijek nije precizno definirana u postojećim smjernicama za prehranu bolesnika u jedinicama intenzivnog liječenja. Prikazano je provođenje parenteralne ketogene prehrane,
te laboratorijski i klinički nadzor u 18-godišnje bolesnice s mitohondrijskom bolesti (PCDC) i to nakon abdominalnoga zahvata povezanog s upalnim komplikacijama, kada enteralna prehrana nije bila moguća. Prehrana je zahtijevala detaljni izračun osnovnih sastojaka kako bi se osigurala adekvatna opskrba energijom, volumenom i mikronutirijentima, a da bi se pri tome proizvela ketoza. Zajedno s ostalim metodama intenzivnoga liječenja, ovakav način prehrane pomogao je rješavanju komplikacija i ishodu liječenja ove epizode. U zaključku, pravilno propisana parenteralna ketogena prehrana kod bolesnika s PCDC smanjuje laktacidozu i učestalost neuroloških komplikacija. Treba je provoditi isključivo u jedinicama intenzivnoga liječenja, poglavito zbog nužnosti trajnog laboratorijskog i kliničkog nadzora. Kad god je moguće, treba ponovo što prije prijeći na enteralnu prehranu. Poželjno bi bilo imati
i točno definirane smjernice za parenteralnu ketogenu prehranu.
Cilj ovoga preglednog članka je objasniti anesteziološki pristup bolesnicima s opstrukcijskom apnejom tijekom spavanja (engl. Obstructive Sleep Apnea, OSA), prikazati rezultate najnovijih ...istraživanja i osvrnuti se na nedavno objavljene smjernice i preporuke. OSA je najčešći poremećaj disanja vezan uz spavanje. Smatra se da je OSA sustavna bolest s više raznih fenotipova i patofi zioloških mehanizama. Dokazano je da bolesnici s OSA-om imaju znakovito povećanu incidenciju perioperacijskih komplikacija, a osobito onih vezanih za održavanje dišnoga puta. Bolesnici s OSA-om osjetljivi su na konvencionalne anestetike i sedative, osobito na opioide. Stoga, u ovih bolesnika kad god je moguće treba primijeniti lokoregionalne tehnike. Među kirurškim bolesnicima izrazito je visoka prevalencija OSA-e, a veliki broj bolesnika je prijeoperacijski nedijagnosticiran. Defi nitivna dijagnoza OSA-e moguća je jedino polisomnografi jom, koja nije uvijek dostupna. Stoga se danas sve više preporuča uporaba raznih validiranih prijeoperacijskih testova i upitnika (STOP, STOP-BANG, Berlin, ASA, P-SAP) koji zadovoljavajuće koreliraju s poslijeoperacijskim ishodima i pomažu u prijeoperacijskoj stratifi kaciji rizika. Veliki napredak su i smjernice Američkog udruženja anesteziologa iz 2014. godine, te preporuke Američkog udruženja za anesteziju i medicinu spavanja iz 2016. godine. Novije smjernice doimaju se praktične, jer svrstavaju bolesnike u tri skupine: 1) bolesnici s dijagnosticiranom OSA-om, koji se pridržavaju liječenja pozitivnim tlakom (engl. Continuous Positive Airways Pressure, CPAP), 2) bolesnici s dijagnosticiranom OSA-om, koji odbijaju ili se slabo pridržavaju liječenja CPAP-om, te 3) bolesnici pod sumnjom na OSA-u. Te smjernice po prvi puta navode i defi niraju termin nekontrolirane sustavne bolesti. Nadalje, taj novi strukturirani pristup daje jasne preporuke uz već nazočne smjernice ASA iz 2014. godine.
The effect of routine inhalation therapy on ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) in mechanically ventilated patients with the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has not been well-defined. This ...randomized controlled trial included 175 eligible adult patients with COVID-19 who were treated with mechanical ventilation at the University Hospital of Split between October 2020 and June 2021. Patients were randomized and allocated to a control group (no routine inhalation) or one of the treatment arms (inhalation of N-acetylcysteine; 5% saline solution; or 8.4% sodium bicarbonate). The primary outcome was the incidence of VAP, while secondary outcomes included all-cause mortality. Routine inhalation therapy had no effect on the incidence of bacterial or fungal VAP nor on all-cause mortality (p > 0.05). Secondary analyses revealed a significant reduction of Gram-positive and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) VAP in the treatment groups. Specifically, the bicarbonate group had a statistically significantly lower incidence of Gram-positive bacterial VAP (4.8%), followed by the N-acetylcysteine group (10.3%), 5% saline group (19.0%), and control group (34.6%; p = 0.001). This difference was driven by a lower incidence of MRSA VAP in the bicarbonate group (2.4%), followed by the N-acetylcysteine group (7.7%), 5% saline group (14.3%), and control group (34.6%; p < 0.001). Longer duration of ventilator therapy was the only significant, independent predictor of any bacterial or fungal VAP in the multivariate analysis (aOR 1.14, 95% CI 1.01−1.29, p = 0.038 and aOR 1.05, 95% CI 1.01−1.10, p = 0.028, respectively). In conclusion, inhalation therapy had no effect on the overall VAP incidence or all-cause mortality. Further studies should explore the secondary findings of this study such as the reduction of Gram-positive or MRSA-caused VAP in treated patients.
COVID-19 presentations range from cold-like symptoms to severe symptoms with the development of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). We report on a severe COVID-19 patient who was mechanically ...ventilated and who developed ARDS and bacterial infection. Because of rapid clinical deterioration and the exhaustion of other treatment options, the family and attending physicians requested a compassionate use of adult allogeneic bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) in addition to commonly used immunosuppressive, antiviral, and supportive therapy. The clinical course is discussed thoroughly, with a special emphasis on the safety and effect of MSC therapy. Compassionate MSC treatment, given in three rounds, affected ARDS regression. The patient was discharged from the intensive care unit after 31 days and from hospital after 49 days in a good general condition. MSC treatment was not associated with any side effects and was well tolerated in a three-week period; therefore, it should be studied in larger trials and considered for compassionate use.
The coccyx, the last segment of the spine, joins the sacrum at the base. It has three to five vertebrae, which are typically fused. In front of the sacrococcygeal junction is the ganglion impar, the ...only unpaired autonomic ganglion. The two sympathetic chains come to a close there. The impar ganglion is traversed by sympathetic nerves carrying pain fibers from the perineum, distal sections of the rectum, the vagina and the urethra. The painful disorder known as coccygodynia, which affects the tail end of the spine, is frequently brought on by birth trauma or is caused by an unidentified factor. Even though the pain may go away on its own or with therapy, it may also linger and worsen over time. Due to increased stress from the female pelvis on the coccyx, it affects women five times more frequently than it does men. Conservative, invasive or surgical treatment options are available for coccygodynia (partial or total coccygectomy). Rest, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medicines (NSAIDs) or COX-2 inhibitors, acupuncture, coccyx cushions, physical therapy, manual therapy and invasive therapy, which involves ganglion impar block with injections of local anesthetic and corticosteroid under fluoroscopy, followed by radiofrequency ablation, spinal cord stimulation (SCS) or peripheral nerve stimulation, are examples of conservative treatments. Coccygectomy is recommended in refractory situations.
Recent reports suggest T peak to T end (Tpe) interval and Tpe/QT ratio as valuable indicators of increased arrhythmogenic risk in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). We aimed to examine the ...exercise-induced changes in these indexes in patients with stable CAD, before and after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Forty patients were consecutively included in the interventional group (n = 20), with significant lesions (≥75% luminal narrowing) suitable for PCI and in the control group (n = 20), with no significant coronary artery lesions (<50% luminal narrowing). One day before and 30 days after the coronarography, all patients performed treadmill exercise stress testing, and the electrocardiographic (ECG) indexes of repolarization were assessed during baseline and at peak exercise intensity. In the control group, the QT interval, QTc (QT-corrected) interval, Tpe interval, and Tpe/QT ratio measured at peak exercise significantly decreased from baseline values (p = 0.001, p = 0.004, p <0.001, and p = 0.017, respectively). Conversely, in interventional patients before the PCI, an increase in the Tpe interval and the Tpe/QT ratio was observed at exercise (p = 0.009, and p <0.001, respectively), with only the QT interval exhibiting a significant decrease from baseline (p <0.001). Thirty days after the PCI, all the ECG arrhythmogenic indexes measured at peak exercise significantly decreased from baseline values, thus assuming the same trend as detected in controls. In conclusion, restoration of blood supply normalized exercise-induced repolarization changes, suggesting that revascularization of previously ischemic myocardium lowers the cardiac arrhythmogenic potential in patients with stable CAD.
After the outbreak in China in the year 2019, severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) quickly spread around the world causing a protracted pandemic. Approximately one-third of ...infections appear to be asymptomatic. Symptomatic disease is characterized primarily by symptoms of respiratory tract infection of varying severity. But Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is much more than an acute respiratory disease because SARS-CoV-2 affects many organs inducing a vast number of symptoms such as cardiovascular, neurological, gastrointestinal, dermatological, with numerous complications. Short and long-term effects of infection, severe ones, and especially mild forms of the disease which affect a huge number of patients need to be further investigated. Laboratory medicine has a crucial role in early diagnosis of the disease, recognition of the patients who need hospital care, and close monitoring of hospitalized patients to timely identify associated clinical complications as well as follow-up of patients with long-term COVID-19.
Catestatin is a pleiotropic peptide with a wide range of immunomodulatory effects. Considering that patients with a severe COVID-19 infection have a major immunological dysregulation, the aim of this ...study was to evaluate catestatin levels in patients with COVID-19 treated in the intensive care unit (ICU) and to compare them between the fatal and non-fatal outcomes. The study included 152 patients with severe COVID-19, out of which 105 had a non-fatal outcome and 47 had a fatal outcome. Serum catestatin levels were estimated by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in a commercially available diagnostic kit. The results show that catestatin levels were significantly lower in the fatal group compared to the non-fatal group (16.6 ± 7.8 vs. 23.2 ± 9.2 ng/mL; p < 0.001). Furthermore, there was a significant positive correlation between serum catestatin levels and vitamin D levels (r = 0.338; p < 0.001) while there was also a significant positive correlation between serum catestatin levels and growth differentiation factor-15 (GDF-15) levels (r = −0.345; p < 0.001). Furthermore, multivariate logistic regression showed that catestatin, GDF-15 and leukocyte count were significant predictors for COVID-19 survival. These findings imply that catestatin could be playing a major immunomodulatory role in the complex pathophysiology of the COVID-19 infection and that serum catestatin could also be a predictor of a poor COVID-19 outcome.
Although the number of cases and mortality of COVID-19 are seemingly declining, clinicians endeavor to establish indicators and predictors of such responses in order to optimize treatment regimens ...for future outbreaks of SARS-CoV-2 or similar viruses. Considering the importance of aberrant immune response in severe COVID-19, in the present study, we aimed to explore the dynamic of serum TNF-like weak inducer of apoptosis (TWEAK) levels in critically-ill COVID-19 patients and establish whether these levels may predict in-hospital mortality and if TWEAK is associated with impairment of testosterone levels observed in this population. The present single-center cohort study involved 66 men between the ages of 18 and 65 who were suffering from a severe type of COVID-19. Serum TWEAK was rising during the first week after admission to intensive care unit (ICU), whereas decline to baseline values was observed in the second week post-ICU admission (p = 0.032) but not in patients who died in hospital. Receiver-operator characteristics analysis demonstrated that serum TWEAK at admission to ICU is a significant predictor of in-hospital mortality (AUC = 0.689, p = 0.019). Finally, a negative correlation was found between serum TWEAK at admission and testosterone levels (r = −0.310, p = 0.036). In summary, serum TWEAK predicts in-hospital mortality in severe COVID-19. In addition, inflammatory pathways including TWEAK seem to be implicated in pathophysiology of reproductive hormone axis disturbance in severe form of COVID-19.
COVID-19 symptoms vary from asymptomatic cases to moderate and severe illness with patients needing hospitalization and intensive care treatment. Vitamin D is associated with severity of viral ...infections and has an immune-modulatory effect in immune response. Observational studies showed a negative association of low vitamin D levels and COVID-19 severity and mortality outcomes. In this study, we aimed to determine whether daily supplementation of vitamin D during intensive care unit (ICU) stay in COVID-19 patients with severe illness affects clinically relevant outcomes. Patients with COVID-19 disease in need of respiratory support admitted to the ICU were eligible for inclusion. Patients with low vitamin D levels were randomized into one of two groups: the intervention group received daily supplementation of vitamin D and the control group did not receive vitamin D supplementation. In total, 155 patients were randomized: 78 into the intervention group and 77 into the control group. There was no statistically significant difference in number of days spent on respiratory support, although the trial was underpowered for the main outcome. There was no difference in any of the secondary outcomes analyzed between two groups. Our study suggests no benefit in vitamin D supplementation to patients with severe COVID-19 disease admitted to the ICU and in need of respiratory support in any of the analyzed outcomes.
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