Increased inflammatory response in patients with the first myocardial infarction and nonsignificant stenosis of infarct-related artery.

Introduction/aim: Atherosclerosis presents a serial of highly specific cellular and molecular responses, and could be described as inflammatory diseases. Accordingly, for development of acute myocardial infarction (AMI), structure and vulnerability of atherosclerotic plaque are more important than the extent of stenosis of infarct-related artery. Consequently, inflammation and atherosclerosis and its complications are in good correlation.

Epidemiology of nosocomial colonization/infection caused by Acinetobacter spp. in patients of six surgical clinics in war and peacetime.

Background/aim: Acinetobacter spp. has emerged as nosocomial pathogen during the past few decades in hospitals all over the world, but it has increasingly been implicated as a serious nosocomial pathogen in military hospitals. The aim of this study was to analyse and compare the surveillance data on Acinetobacter nosocomial colonization/infection (NCI) collected during the wartime with the data collected in peacetime.

Combination of narrow band imaging (NBI) and autofluorescence imaging (AFI) videobronchoscopy in endoscopic assessment of lung cancer extension.

Both narrow band imaging (NBI) and autofluorescence imaging (AFI) are new techniques for the assessment of lung cancer. The major aim of this study was to investigate whether the combination of these two techniques improve sensitivity and specificity in the assessment of lung cancer extension. The study prospectively evaluated 118 patients with suspected lung cancer.

Therapeutic hypothermia and neurological outcome after cardiac arrest.

Introduction/aim: The most important clinically relevant cause of global cerebral ischemia is cardiac arrest. Clinical studies showed a marked neuroprotective effect of mild hypothermia in resuscitation. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of mild hypothermia on neurological outcome and survival of the patients in coma, after cardiac arrest and return of spontaneous circulation.

[Low arterial pressure on admission as a predictor of mortality in operated patients with type A aortic dissection].

Background/aim: Hypertension is a known predictor of proximal aortic dissection, but it is not commonly present in these patients on presentation. The associations between ascending aorta with left ventricular hypertrophy, cardiovascular risk factors and coronary atherosclerosis, and outcome of these patients are not fully elucidated.

Methods: This retrospective study included 55 consecutive patients with acute type A aortic dissection treated surgically in our institution during the last 2 years.