Medical patients' treatment decision making capacity: a report from a general hospital in Greece.

This study aimed to assess the decision-making capacity for treatment of patients hospitalized in an internal medicine ward of a General Hospital in Greece, and to examine the views of treating physicians regarding patients' capacity. All consecutive admissions to an internal medicine ward within a month were evaluated. A total of 134 patients were approached and 78 patients were interviewed with the MacArthur Competence Assessment Tool for Treatment (MacCAT-T) and the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) questionnaire.

Effect of breast cancer adjuvant therapies on potential biomarkers of pulmonary inflammation.

Background: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of breast cancer adjuvant therapies on the levels of circulating surfactant protein-D (SP-D), C-Reactive protein (CRP) and soluble receptor for advanced glycation end-products (sRAGE), as potential biomarkers of subclinical pulmonary inflammation.

Materials And Methods: The soluble molecules were serially determined in 38 patients, prior to the initiation of radiation therapy (RT) and during adjuvant treatment, using immunoassays.

Results: Significantly higher levels of all three biomarkers were observed in patients prior to the initiation of RT compared to healthy controls (CRP: p<0.

Determinants of pulmonary hypertension in patients with Beta-thalassemia major and normal ventricular function.

Background/aims: We sought to define the incidence and predictive factors of pulmonary hypertension in β-thalassemia major.

Methods: We studied 27 consecutive patients (19 male, 38 ± 9 years of age) with β-thalassemia major. All the patients had normal (left and right) ventricular (systolic and diastolic) function and underwent echocardiographic assessment of pulmonary artery systolic pressure.