Association between undiagnosed obstructive sleep apnea and severe course of COVID-19: a prospective observational study.

Purpose: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is associated with many long-term health consequences. We hypothesized that previously unrecognized and untreated OSA may be associated with more severe respiratory failure in hospitalized patients with COVID-19.

Methods: Patients hospitalized in the Pulmonology Department with confirmed COVID-19, University Hospital in Kraków, Poland, between September 2020 and April 2021 were enrolled.

Endobronchial Ultrasound is Useful in the Assessment of Bronchial Wall Changes Related to Bronchial Thermoplasty.

Background: Bronchial thermoplasty (BT) is an interventional endoscopic treatment for severe asthma leading to the clinical improvement, but morphologic changes of bronchial wall related to the procedure and predictors of a favorable response to BT remain uncertain. The aim of the study was to validate an endobronchial ultrasound (EBUS) in assessing the effectiveness of BT treatment.

Methods: Patients with severe asthma who met the clinical criteria for BT were included.

Temporal changes of hemostatic activity in patients hospitalized for COVID-19: a prospective observational study.

Introduction: Hemostatic abnormalities play an important role in the pathogenesis of COVID‑19 and are considered determinants of the patients' outcomes. Less is known about the dynamics of these abnormalities in a short‑term observation.

Objectives: The aim of the study was to evaluate hemostatic activity markers in patients hospitalized for COVID‑19 depending on the severity of respiratory failure.

Association of discharge policy with the length of hospital stay among patients with coronavirus disease 2019: a cross-sectional study.

Aim: To assess the association between discharge policy and hospital stay length, and to evaluate the factors related to duration of viral clearance among patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

Methods: This cross-sectional study enrolled consecutive patients aged ≥18 years with SARS-CoV-2 infection confirmed by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction test who were admitted to hospital. The participants were divided into the test-based (TB) policy group or symptom-based (SB) group depending on the policy valid at their hospital discharge.

Assessment of Airway Remodeling Using Endobronchial Ultrasound in Asthma-COPD Overlap.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate the structural changes of the airways using the endobronchial ultrasound (EBUS) in ACO patients compared to severe asthma and COPD patients.

Patients And Methods: The study included 17 patients with ACO, 17 patients with COPD and 33 patients with severe asthma. Detailed clinical data were obtained from all participants.

Eicosanoids and Eosinophilic Inflammation of Airways in Stable COPD.

Purpose: Lipid mediators, particularly eicosanoids, are associated with airway inflammation, especially with the eosinophilic influx. This study aimed to measure lipid mediators and cells in induced sputum, that could possibly reflect the inflammatory process in the bronchial tree of COPD subjects.

Patients And Methods: Eighty patients diagnosed with COPD and 37 healthy controls participated in the study.

High-flow nasal oxygen therapy in the treatment of acute respiratory failure in severe COVID-19 pneumonia: a prospective observational study.

Introduction: A significant proportion of patients with COVID‑19 present with a rapidly progressing severe acute respiratory failure.

Objectives: We aimed to assess the efficacy of high‑flow nasal oxygen (HFNO) therapy in severe acute respiratory failure in the course of COVID‑19 in a noncritical care setting as well as to identify predictors of HFNO failure.

Patients And Methods: This prospective observational study was conducted between March and December 2020.

A clinical profile and factors associated with severity of the disease among Polish patients hospitalized due to COVID-19 - an observational study.

Introduction: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is one of the greatest clinical challenges of the last decades. Clinical factors associated with severity of the disease remain unclear. The aim of the study was to characterize Polish patients hospitalized due to COVID-19 and to evaluate potential prognostic factors of severe course of the disease.

Perioperative cardiovascular complications rate and activity of coagulation and fibrinolysis among patients undergoing vascular surgery for peripheral artery disease and abdominal aortic aneurysm.

Objectives: To compare preoperative coagulation and fibrinolysis activity and incidence of perioperative complications between patients undergoing vascular procedures for peripheral artery disease and abdominal aortic aneurysm.

Methods: This is a substudy of a prospective observational cohort study (VISION; NCT00512109) in which we recruited patients aged ≥45 years, undergoing surgery for peripheral artery disease and abdominal aortic aneurysm. Blood samples were obtained 24 h preoperatively to measure platelet count, concentrations of coagulation coagulation (fibrinogen, factor VIII, von Willebrand factor:Ristocetin cofactor, antithrombin III), fibrinolysis (dimer D, plasmin-antiplasmin complexes, tissue plasminogen activator) markers and level of soluble CD40 ligand.

Impact of Arterial Procedures on Coagulation and Fibrinolysis - A Pilot Study.

Objective: The main goal of our study was to assess the impact of vascular procedures on the activity of hemostatic and fibrinolytic pathways.

Methods: We enrolled 38 patients with ≥ 45 years old undergoing surgery for abdominal aortic aneurysm or peripheral artery disease under general or regional anesthesia and who were hospitalized at least one night after the procedure. Patients undergoing carotid artery surgery and those who had acute bypass graft thrombosis, cancer, renal failure defined as estimated glomerular filtration rate < 30 ml/min/1.

AFM-based nanomechanical characterization of bronchoscopic samples in asthma patients.

Asthma is not a single disease, but recently, it is considered as a syndrome characterized through various clinical presentations and different etiopathologies. Large degree of the disease heterogeneity manifests in distinct characteristics that translate into variability of properties at single cell and molecular levels. Here, we conducted measurements of mechanical properties of bronchial tissue samples collected from patients suffering from asthma.

Myocardial Injury is More Common than Deep Venous Thrombosis after Vascular Surgery and is Associated with a High One Year Mortality Risk.

Objective/background: Venous thromboembolism (VTE) has been considered the dominant major life threatening vascular complication after non-cardiac surgery, but recent studies have shifted the emphasis toward myocardial injury after non-cardiac surgery (MINS) as a common adverse event in the peri-operative setting. The aim of the present study was to compare the incidence and influence on mortality of two dominant venous and arterial events in the peri-operative period by prospectively screening a consecutive cohort of patients undergoing vascular surgery.

Methods: This was a sub-study of Vascular Events In Non-cardiac Surgery Patients Cohort Evaluation (VISION), the main objective of which was to evaluate major peri-operative complications after non-cardiac surgery.

Relationship between the thickness of bronchial wall layers, emphysema score, and markers of remodeling in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

INTRODUCTION    Airway remodeling plays an important role in the development of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Imaging methods, such as computed tomography (CT) and endobronchial ultrasound (EBUS), may be useful in the assessment of structural alterations in the lungs. OBJECTIVES    The aim of this study was to evaluate a relationship between the severity of emphysema assessed by chest CT, the thickness of bronchial wall layers measured by EBUS, and the markers of remodeling in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) in patients with COPD.

Evaluation of factors that influence anxiety and satisfaction in patients undergoing bronchofiberoscopy with analgosedation.

Introduction: Bronchofiberoscopy (BF) is a key tool used in the management of patients with respiratory diseases. Describing factors that contribute to patient anxiety surrounding BF has the potential to influence patient management and willingness to undergo the procedure again in the future if needed.

Objectives: This study sought to understand what factors influence anxiety and satisfaction experienced by patients undergoing BF under conscious sedation.

Assessment of remodeling in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease using imaging methods.

Introduction: While spirometry plays a key role in diagnosing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), imaging methods including endobronchial ultrasound (EBUS) and chest computed tomography (CT) appear to be useful for investigating structural changes in the lungs.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate remodeling in COPD patients using EBUS and chest CT.

Patients And Methods: The study included 33 patients with COPD, 15 patients with severe asthma, and 15 control subjects.

Modern methods for endoscopic treatment of obstructive pulmonary diseases.

Background: Despite modern medicine's greatest efforts, many patients suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma remain refractory to the best treatments available. Bronchoscopy is increasingly being used to explore new approaches for treating these diseases, and several new techniques have recently shown encouraging results. The purpose of this review will be to shed some light on these methods.

Histology and symplasmic tracer distribution during development of barley androgenic embryos.

The present study concerns three aspects of barley androgenesis: (1) the morphology and histology of the embryos during their development, (2) the time course of fluorescent symplasmic tracers' distribution, and (3) the correlation between symplasmic communication and cell differentiation. The results indicate that barley embryos, which are developing via an androgenic pathway, resemble their zygotic counterparts with respect to their developmental stages, morphology and histology. Analysis of the distribution of the symplasmic tracers, HPTS, and uncaged fluorescein indicates the symplasmic isolation of (1) the protodermis from the underlying cells of the late globular stage onwards, and (2) the embryonic organs at the mature stage of development.