Introduction: In high-altitude cities located above 2,500 m, hospitals face a concerning mortality rate of over 50% among intensive care unit (ICU) patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). This elevated mortality rate is largely due to the absence of altitude-specific medical protocols that consider the unique physiological adaptations of high-altitude residents to hypoxic conditions. This study addresses this critical gap by analyzing demographic, clinical, sex-specific, and preclinical data from ICUs in Bogotá, Colombia (2,650 m) and El Alto, Bolivia (4,150 m).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMelanoma, the deadliest skin cancer, presents significant challenges globally. This study examines survival factors among patients treated at a high-complexity oncology center in Colombia's coffee-growing region. Records from 2010 to 2021 were analyzed, capturing socio-demographics, clinical variables and survival outcomes via Kaplan-Meier and Cox regression.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground And Aims: The performance of non-invasive liver tests (NITs) is known to vary across settings and subgroups. We systematically evaluated whether the performance of three NITs in detecting advanced fibrosis in patients with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) varies with age, sex, body mass index (BMI), type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) status or liver enzymes.
Methods: Data from 586 adult LITMUS Metacohort participants with histologically characterised MASLD were included.
The dialysis membrane based on a hydrophilic polymer (Hydrolink NV) was designed to enhance the movement of adsorbed water at the blood-membrane interface, aiming to achieve antithrombogenic and antifouling effects. This study aimed to assess the performance and albumin loss of the Hydrolink NV dialyzer in hemodialysis (HD) and post-dilution hemodiafiltration (HDF) with different infusion flows (Qis) and compare it with the hydrophilic FX CorAL dialyzer in post-dilution HDF. A prospective study was carried out in 20 patients.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFImpairment of the intestinal barrier allows the systemic translocation of commensal bacteria, inducing a proinflammatory state in the host. Here, we investigated innate immune responses following increased gut permeability upon administration of dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) in mice. We found that Enterococcus faecalis translocated to the bone marrow following DSS treatment and induced trained immunity (TI) hallmarks in bone-marrow-derived mouse macrophages and human monocytes.
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