Serum Pentosidine in Relation to Obesity in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes and Healthy Controls.

Pentosidine (PEN), a surrogate marker of advanced glycation end-product formation, reflects increased non-enzymatic cross-linking in bone collagen, which is thought to be an important determinant of bone fragility in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). We aimed to investigate serum concentrations of PEN in patients with T2DM and controls without T2DM and to examine its relationship with bone parameters and metabolic state such as glycaemic control, insulin resistance and body weight. In a cross-sectional study-design, data from postmenopausal women and men with T2DM (n = 110) and controls without T2DM (n = 111) were evaluated.

Single and multiple breath nitrogen washout compared with the methacholine test in patients with suspected asthma and normal spirometry.

Background: Methods used to assess ventilation heterogeneity through inert gas washout have been standardised and showed high sensitivity in diagnosing many respiratory diseases. We hypothesised that nitrogen single or multiple breath washout tests, respectively nitrogen single breath washout (NSBW) and nitrogen multiple breath washout (NMBW), may be pathological in patients with clinical suspicion of asthma but normal spirometry. Our aim was to assess whether NSBW and NMBW are associated with methacholine challenge test (MCT) results in this population.

Staphylococcus aureus enterotoxin A- and B-specific IgE in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Sensitization to Staphylococcus aureus enterotoxins A (SEA) and B (SEB) has been associated with asthma severity, exacerbations, and disease control. Our study aimed to investigate if there are differences in serum SEA-IgE and SEB-IgE levels between patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma, and controls, and to assess the association between SE sensitization and COPD clinical parameters and Th2 inflammation biomarkers in two well-defined COPD cohorts. Our findings suggest that COPD patients do not exhibit higher SEA and SEB sensitization compared to asthma patients and controls.

Impact of bronchoalveolar lavage on the management of immunocompromised hosts.

Background: Respiratory infections are an important cause of morbidity and mortality in immunocompromised individuals. Fiberoptic bronchoscopy with bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) is an important tool to detect infectious agents in immunocompromised patients with low respiratory tract infections (LRTI).

Research Question: BAL changes the management of immunocompromised patients with suspected LRTI.

Peripheral arterial tonometry versus polysomnography in suspected obstructive sleep apnoea.

Background: Polysomnography (PSG) is the gold standard for the diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA). Home sleep apnoea testing with peripheral arterial tonometry (PAT) is a recommended diagnostic alternative for patients with an increased risk for OSA. In a large clinical cohort, we investigated concordance and predictors for discordance in diagnosing OSA using PAT and PSG, and three-year cardiovascular risk in patients with discordant OSA diagnosis.

Ηeparan sulphate in infectious and non-infectious exacerbations of COPD.

Background And Objective: Acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD) are associated with worsening health outcomes and effective treatment of each episode is essential. In this study, we aimed to investigate if plasma levels of heparan sulphate (HS) are associated with the aetiology of AECOPD.

Methods: COPD patients (N = 1189), GOLD grade II-IV, from a discovery cohort (N = 638) and from a validation cohort (N = 551), were included in the study.

Variability of fractional exhaled nitric oxide is associated with the risk and aetiology of COPD exacerbations.

Background And Objective: Acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD) are heterogeneous in aetiology and accelerate disease progression. Here, we aimed to investigate the association of fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) and its variability with AECOPD of different aetiology.

Methods: FeNO was determined in 2157 visits (1697 stable, 133 AECOPD and 327 follow-up) of 421 COPD patients from the PREVENT study, an investigator-initiated, longitudinal and interventional study, who were on daily treatment with inhaled corticosteroids/long-acting β2-agonists.

Determinants of Low Bone Turnover in Type 2 Diabetes-the Role of PTH.

Determinants of low bone turnover in type 2 diabetes (T2DM) are poorly understood. To investigate the relationship between markers of bone turnover, glycaemic control, disease duration and calciotropic hormones in T2DM we assessed baseline biochemical data from the DiabOS Study, a prospective multicenter observational cohort study. In a cross-sectional study-design data from 110 postmenopausal women and men aged 50-75 years diagnosed with T2DM for at least 3 years and 92 non-diabetic controls were evaluated.

Fast multiplex bacterial PCR of bronchoalveolar lavage for antibiotic stewardship in hospitalised patients with pneumonia at risk of Gram-negative bacterial infection (Flagship II): a multicentre, randomised controlled trial.

Background: PCR-based testing has transformed the management of suspected respiratory viral infections. We aimed to determine whether multiplex bacterial PCR of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid aids antibiotic stewardship in patients with pneumonia.

Methods: This investigator-initiated, multicentre, randomised controlled trial was conducted at two tertiary care centres in Switzerland (University Hospital of Basel and Kantonsspital St Gallen).

Is sleep disordered breathing a risk factor for COVID-19 or ?

https://bit.ly/37v5Gyz.

Bronchial thermoplasty in asthma: an exploratory histopathological evaluation in distinct asthma endotypes/phenotypes.

Background: Bronchial thermoplasty regulates structural abnormalities involved in airway narrowing in asthma. In the present study we aimed to investigate the effect of bronchial thermoplasty on histopathological bronchial structures in distinct asthma endotypes/phenotypes.

Methods: Endobronchial biopsies (n = 450) were collected from 30 patients with severe uncontrolled asthma before bronchial thermoplasty and after 3 sequential bronchial thermoplasties.

Copeptin, pro-atrial natriuretic peptide and pro-adrenomedullin as markers of hypoxic stress in patients with obstructive sleep apnea-a prospective intervention study.

Study Objectives: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) might lead to oxidative stress, inflammation and elevated circulating copeptin, proANP and proADM levels. We aimed to evaluate whether the levels of these prohormones are higher in patients with OSA and whether they might change under continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy, serving as potential proxies for the diagnosis and therapy-response in OSA.

Methods: A total of 310 patients with suspicion of OSA were recruited.

Sleeping hearts: 12 years after a follow up study on cardiac findings due to sleeping sickness.

Both American Trypanosomiasis (Chagas disease) and Human African Trypanosomiasis (HAT) are diseases caused by single-celled flagellate protozoan parasites. While cardiac complications such as conduction problems and heart failure are very common in Chagas disease there is little known about the long-term effects of Human African Trypanosomiasis (HAT) on cardiac sequelae in Sub-Saharan Africa, where heart failure has become an increasing problem and growing burden. In the context of clinical trials conducted between 2004 and 2005 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the prevalence of HAT related signs and symptoms and an ECG were evaluated prior to the initiation of treatment.

Dental and periodontal health in a Swiss population-based sample of older adults: a cross-sectional study.

In this cross-sectional study, the prevalences of tooth loss, prosthetic dental restorations, and probing pocket depths (PPD) ≥4 mm, and their relationship to sociodemographic factors, were investigated in older Swiss adults. There were up to 1,673 participants aged ≥55 yr in the fourth survey of the Swiss Cohort Study on Air Pollution And Lung And Heart Disease In Adults (SAPALDIA4). Missing teeth, prosthetic dental restorations, and PPD ≥4 mm were recorded in clinical examinations conducted by field workers and compared with self-reported information from questionnaires.

Gambiense Human African Trypanosomiasis Sequelae after Treatment: A Follow-Up Study 12 Years after Treatment.

The clinical presentation of Human African Trypanosomiasis (HAT) due to is well known, but knowledge on long-term sequelae is limited. In the frame of studies conducted between 2004 and 2005 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the prevalence of HAT related signs and symptoms were evaluated before the start of treatment and at the end of treatment. To explore possible long-term sequelae, the same clinical parameters were assessed in 2017 in 51 first stage and 18 second stage HAT patients.

Marginal bone loss 1 year after implantation: a systematic review for fixed and removable restorations.

This systematic review analyses the difference of the mean marginal bone loss (MBL) 1 year after implantation depending on the fixation of the restoration. 889 publications on controlled clinical trials were identified, and based on inclusion and exclusion criteria, 22 studies were selected. Related to fixed restorations, the lowest MBL was 0.

Time-course of upper respiratory tract viral infection and COPD exacerbation.

Viral respiratory tract infections have been implicated as the predominant risk factor for acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD). We aimed to evaluate, longitudinally, the association between upper respiratory tract infections (URTI) caused by viruses and AECOPD.Detection of 18 viruses was performed in naso- and orοpharyngeal swabs from 450 COPD patients (Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease stages 2-4) who were followed for a mean of 27 months.

Marginal bone loss one year after implantation: a systematic review of different loading protocols.

The aim of this study was to analyse the influence of different loading protocols on marginal bone loss (MBL). The outcomes of different implant loading protocols were assessed at 1year after implantation, with focus on MBL; protocols included immediate, immediate non-occlusal, early, and conventional loading. The search strategy resulted in 889 studies.

Peripheral neuropathy in patients with human immunodeficiency viral infection at a tertiary hospital in Ghana.

Peripheral neuropathy (PN) is the most frequent neurological complication in people living with HIV/AIDS. Neurological damage was identified to not only be caused by the viral infection itself but also through neurotoxic antiretroviral therapy (ART). PN is associated with a variety of risk factors; however, detailed knowledge is scarce for sub-Saharan African populations, bearing among the highest HIV/AIDS infection burden.

Metal hypersensitivity in patients with orthopaedic implant complications-A retrospective clinical study.

Background: Hypersensitivity to metals as a cause of implant-related complications has been a subject of controversy. Projections indicate an increase in the frequency of joint replacements of between 300% and 600% by the year 2030; therefore, this issue is of considerable interest.

Objective: To evaluate sensitization to implant materials in patients with implant-related complications, to identify allergens, and to clarify whether hypersensitivity is a relevant cause.

Associations between Dietary Patterns and Post-Bronchodilation Lung Function in the SAPALDIA Cohort.

Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is not restricted to smokers. Dietary habits may contribute to the disease occurrence. Epidemiological studies point to a protective effect of fruit and vegetable intake against COPD.

Are overweight and obesity in children risk factors for anemia in early childhood? Results from a national nutrition survey in Tajikistan.

Objectives: To assess the association between overweight/obesity and anemia in early childhood in Tajikistan.

Methods: Using a two-stage-cluster sampling, a representative sample of 1342 children (48.7% girls) aged 25-60 months was included in a nationwide survey in Tajikistan in 2009.