Background: To date, evidence about sleep disturbances among post-COVID-19 patients is limited. This study aimed to evaluate sleep quality after hospitalization due to SARS-CoV-2 infection. Methods: In-person follow-up was conducted in patients with prior hospitalization due to COVID-19 1(Τ1), 3(Τ2), and 6 (Τ3) months after hospital discharge.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPulm Circ
April 2022
Whereas younger female patients were diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension (IPAH) in 1980s, it is now frequently encountered in elderly patients with cardiovascular comorbidities (CVCs) associated with increased risk for left heart disease. We present data until November 2019 regarding specific features and clinical outcomes of IPAH population from the Hellenic Pulmonary Hypertension Registry (HOPE). Patients were divided into two groups based on the presence of ≥ or <3 CVCs, arterial hypertension, diabetes mellitus, obesity, presence of coronary artery disease, or atrial fibrillation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Clin Med
September 2021
Chronic Thromboembolic Pulmonary Hypertension (CTEPH) is a rare disease with poor prognosis if left untreated, characterized by pulmonary vascular bed obstruction due to unresolving thromboembolic material. The Hellenic pulmonary hypertension registry (HOPE) was launched in Greece in early 2015 and enrolls patients from all pulmonary hypertension subgroups in Greece. In total, 98 patients with CTEPH were enrolled from January 2015 until November 2019.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDiagnosis of pulmonary hypertension requires a laborious investigation that must be performed in accordance with international guidelines. Right-heart catheterization is the gold standard examination to assess the degree of hemodynamic impairment of post- or precapillary origin, guiding management. The presence of comorbidities is becoming rather frequent in real-life pulmonary hypertension cases, thus creating diagnostic and therapeutic complexity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRespir Physiol Neurobiol
August 2021
Background: The integrative physiological effects of O treatment on patients with pulmonary hypertension (PH) during exercise, have not been fully investigated. We simultaneously evaluated, for the first time, the effect of oxygen supplementation on hemodynamic responses, autonomic modulation, tissue oxygenation, and exercise performance in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH)/Chronic Thromboembolic PH(CTEPH).
Material-methods: In this randomized, cross-over, placebo-controlled trial, stable outpatients with PAH/CTEPH underwent maximal cardiopulmonary exercise testing, followed by two submaximal trials, during which they received supplementary oxygen (O) or medical-air.
Expert Opin Pharmacother
January 2021
Introduction: Selexipag is a first-in-class, oral, long-acting, selective, non-prostanoid agonist of the prostacyclin receptor (IP receptor), indicated for the treatment of symptomatic adult pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). It was designed with the objective to surpass the inconveniences associated with standard prostanoid therapy, presenting fewer adverse effects and comparable hemodynamic benefits.
Areas Covered: This review describes the pharmacologic properties of selexipag and presents the clinical trials that have been completed or are currently ongoing regarding its clinical efficacy, safety, and tolerability.
Sarcoidosis is a systemic disease of unknown origin. We describe a case of sputum smear-and culture-negative tuberculosis that was diagnosed with histological examination of a surgical lung biopsy, as other entities such as sarcoidosis could not be excluded after extended investigation. Even a typical lambda sign on gallium scintigraphy proved to be misleading.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a heterogenous clinical entity with poor prognosis, despite recent major pharmacological advances. To increase awareness about the pathophysiology, epidemiology, and management of the disease, large national registries are required. The Hellenic pulmOnary hyPertension rEgistry (HOPE) was launched in early 2015 and enrolls patients from all pulmonary hypertension subgroups in Greece.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBreathe (Sheff)
September 2018
http://ow.ly/HEcH30lSO6a.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: Chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) is a rare, distinct pulmonary vascular disease, and therefore, there is a lack of data regarding its clinical presentation, diagnosis, and management at a national basis. We aimed to describe the demographics and management of patients with CTEPH in Northern Greece.
Methods: We conducted a retrospective, observational study by a joint collaboration between two pulmonary hypertension expert centers in Greece, and the study included patients diagnosed with CTEPH.
Severe leptospirosis can be a rare cause of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and multiorgan failure. A patient who made an impact on how I practice was a case of severe leptospirosis (Weil's disease) that presented as ARDS in the ICU. Leptospirosis is an under-reported infectious disease worldwide and should be considered as a cause of ARDS especially in patients with exposure history complicated with diffuse alveolar bleeding (DAH), icteric hepatitis and renal deterioration.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe present article reports three clinical cases in order to elucidate the diversity of the pathophysiological mechanisms that underlie rheumatoid arthritis associated pulmonary hypertension. The condition's three major causes are: interstitial lung disease, vasculitis, and chronic thromboembolic disease, but it should be noted that the multiple pulmonary manifestations of rheumatoid arthritis, can all contribute to chronic lung disease or hypoxia. The first patient in this report suffered from moderate restriction due to fibrosis and was diagnosed with pulmonary hypertension during an episode of life threatening hypoxia.
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