Divergent hypoglycemic and hyperglycemic responses to the components of evening meals. A general adult population study in individuals without diabetes (AEGIS study).

Background And Aim: Few real-life studies have analyzed the glycemic response to nutrients in individuals without diabetes. We investigated the glycemic response to evening meals in relation to individual characteristics, nutrient components, and preprandial and postprandial routines.

Methods: A cross-sectional study of 489 individuals without diabetes from a randomly selected general adult population (310 women, median age 46 years, range 18-84 years) was conducted using a continuous glucose monitoring device for 7 days.

Pleural effusion in acute pulmonary embolism: characteristics and relevance.

Introduction: The characteristics and clinical relevance of pleural effusion (PLEF) in acute pulmonary embolism (APE) are not fully understood.

Methods: A single-centre, retrospective study was performed of patients admitted with APE classified according to the subsequent development or not of PLEF. A model was built to predict PLEF and its impact on 30-day all-cause mortality was investigated.

The impact of COVID-19 on breastfeeding rates: An international cross-sectional study.

Background: Breastfeeding promotes children's health and is associated with positive effects to maternal physical and mental health. Uncertainties regarding SARS-CoV-2 transmission led to worries experienced by women and health professionals which impacted breastfeeding plans. We aimed to investigate the impact of self-reported and country-specific factors on breastfeeding rates during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A cross-country study on the impact of governmental responses to the COVID-19 pandemic on perinatal mental health.

This study aimed to analyse the role of governmental responses to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak, measured by the Containment and Health Index (CHI), on symptoms of anxiety and depression during pregnancy and postpartum, while considering the countries' Inequality-adjusted Human Development Index (IHDI) and individual factors such as age, gravidity, and exposure to COVID-19. A cross-sectional study using baseline data from the Riseup-PPD-COVID-19 observational prospective international study (ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT04595123) was carried out between June and October 2020 in 12 countries (Albania, Brazil, Bulgaria, Chile, Cyprus, Greece, Israel, Malta, Portugal, Spain, Turkey, and the United Kingdom).

Longitudinal relationship of liver injury with inflammation biomarkers in COVID-19 hospitalized patients using a joint modeling approach.

The mechanisms underlying liver disease in patients with COVID-19 are not entirely known. The aim is to investigate, by means of novel statistical techniques, the changes over time in the relationship between inflammation markers and liver damage markers in relation to survival in COVID-19. The study included 221 consecutive patients admitted to the hospital during the first COVID-19 wave in Spain.

Volumetric Absorptive Microsampling (VAMS) for assaying immunosuppressants from venous whole blood by LC-MS/MS using a novel atmospheric pressure ionization probe (UniSpray™).

Therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) of immunosuppressants (IMS) is crucial to prevent rejection or toxicity after solid organ transplantation. Microsampling techniques (sampling <50 μL of blood) can be a good alternative to conventional venous sampling for TDM, due to their numerous advantages, including its easy and low-invasive sampling, enabling self-collection, and cost-saving shipment and storage. Furthermore, volumetric absorptive microsampling (VAMS) enables the collection of precise and accurate blood volumes, overcoming the hematocrit (Hct) effect related to dried blood spots, while offering the same benefits.

Improvement in VO predicts readmissions for cardiovascular disease and mortality in patients undergoing cardiac rehabilitation.

Background: Improvement in exercise capacity is a main goal of cardiac rehabilitation but the effects are often lost at long-term follow-up and thus also the benefits on prognosis. We assessed whether improvement in VO during a cardiac rehabilitation programme predicts long-term prognosis.

Methods And Results: We performed a retrospective analysis of 1561 cardiac patients completing cardiac rehabilitation in 2011-2017 in Copenhagen.

Predictive models of malignant transudative pleural effusions.

Background: There are no firm recommendations when cytology should be performed in pleural transudates, since some malignant pleural effusions (MPEs) behave biochemically as transudates. The objective was to assess when would be justified to perform cytology on pleural transudates.

Methods: Consecutive patients with transudative pleural effusion (PE) were enrolled and divided in two groups: malignant and non-MPE.

Acute focal bacterial nephritis in a cohort of hospitalized adult patients with acute pyelonephritis. Assessment of risk factors and a predictive model.

Background: Acute focal bacterial nephritis (AFBN) is a complicated form of acute pyelonephritis (APN) characterized by single or multiple areas of localised infection in the kidney without liquefaction or abscess. Studies investigating AFBN in adults are scarce.

Aim: The present study was aimed at evaluating the prevalence, associated factors, and presence of atypical clinical and radiological manifestations in adult AFBN patients.