When two viruses collide: coronavirus disease after hepatitis B virus reactivation.

The COVID-19 pandemic has exploded since the first cases were reported in Wuhan in December 2019, engulfing the globe. Many infected individuals are asymptomatic or have a mild or moderate disease. A subset of people with advanced age, the immunocompromised and those with chronic diseases, are prone to serious-to-critical illness.

Platelet Distribution Width and Increased D-Dimer at Admission Predicts Subsequent Development of ARDS in COVID-19 Patients.

In the current pandemic of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), the identification of the patients admitted with severe infection-who are disposed to a high risk of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) development, is of a major significance for the determination of the appropriate therapeutic strategy. Laboratory records in admission were retrospectively reviewed from 493 cases of severe COVID-19 divided into two groups: Group 1 with ARDS and Group 2 without ARDS. The platelet distribution width (PDW) difference between Group 1 and Group 2 is significant-15.

Dextrin Nanocomposites as Matrices for Solid Dosage Forms.

Safe application of water-insoluble acaricides requires fast release from solid dosage systems into aquatic environments. Dextrin is a water-soluble form of partially hydrolyzed starch, which may be used as matrix material for these systems if retrogradation can be inhibited by the inclusion of nanofillers. Several glycerol-plasticized thermoplastic dextrin-based nanocomposites were prepared with a twin-screw extrusion-compounding process.

Booster immunity - diagnosis of chronic hepatitis B viral infection.

Introduction: Diagnosis of chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection particularly its occult form requires monitoring and repeat serological and molecular studies. The aim of the study was to investigate the possible relation between the case of a family outbreak of hepatitis A and the finding that a member of this family was diagnosed with chronic hepatitis B.

Methodology: A mother and her two sons, one previously diagnosed with chronic HBV infection, were hospitalized due to suspected acute hepatitis.

Lethality among Patients with HIV/AIDS Monitored in the Clinic of Infectious Diseases in St George University Hospital, Plovdiv, 2010-2014.

Background: The introduction of complex antiretroviral therapy has resulted in signifi cant decrease in the mortality rate of HIV positive patients, but it still remains unacceptably high, especially in some groups of patients.

Aim: To investigate the death rate in patients with HIV/AIDS, lethality and mortality in co-infection, and the most common causes and predictors of fatal outcome, focused on early diagnosis and appropriate therapy.

Materials And Methods: The study included 53 deceased patients with HIV/AIDS, monitored at the Clinic of Infectious Diseases in St George University Hospital, Plovdiv between 01.

Evaluation of lymphocyte subpopulations in cord blood of Bulgarian newborns.

Background: Umbilical cord blood (UCB) is a clinically useful source of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells for treatment of a wide variety of malignant and non-malignant disorders. An important way to completing infor- mation on the quality and composition of units for transplantation is more extensive immunophenotyping of UCB. Moreover, phenotyping of lymphocyte subpopulations is essential for the diagnosis and follow-up of children with immunodeficiencies and other immune disorders and therefore, establishment of age-matched reference values of lymphocyte subsets is a necessity for each population.

Prevalence of cytomegalovirus infection in hospitalized infants.

Unlabelled: Data on cytomegalovirus infection (CMV) prevalence and course in hospitalized infants are rather scarce, obsolete and considerably inconsistent.

Aim: to determine the prevalence, rate of clinical manifestations, risk factors and predictive capacity of clinical manifestations of CMV infection in hospitalized infants during their first year of life.

Patients And Methods: All 163 infants hospitalized in the Pediatric Ward for Nonrespiratory Pathology in a tertiary hospital were serologically screened for cytomegalovirus infection for 10 months.

Cholestatic syndrome in viral hepatitis A.

Aim: To study the cholestatic forms of viral hepatitis A that are described as unusual and very rare, but that are of great significance because of their severe course and high morbidity rate.

Material And Methods: We describe herein 17 cases of hepatitis A virus (HAV) infection with pronounced cholestasis treated in the Clinic of Infectious Diseases at St. George University Hospital between 2002 and 2006.

Relative share of asymptomatic forms of hepatitis a in Plovdiv region, Bulgaria.

Objective: To study the relative share of asymptomatic forms of Hepatitis A in family reservoirs of infection with different hygienic conditions.

Materials And Methods: Asymptomatic forms were identified by detecting anti-HAV IgM using ELISA. Two types of households: with poor hygiene and with good hygiene, were studied.

Advantages of bariatric medicine for individualized prevention and treatments: multidisciplinary approach in body culture and prevention of obesity and diabetes.

Bariatric surgery is a component of the multimodal treatment of obesity, which consists of multidisciplinary evaluation and diagnosis, conservative and surgical treatments, and lifelong follow-up care. The current guideline extends the BMI-based spectrum of indications that was previously proposed (BMI greater than 40 kg/m(2), or greater than 35 kg/m(2) with secondary diseases) by eliminating age limits, as well as most of the contraindications. A prerequisite for surgery is that a structured, conservative weight-loss program has failed or is considered to be futile.

Catalogue of the ants (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) of Bulgaria.

The present catalogue of the ants (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) of Bulgaria is made on a base of critical reconsideration of literature (covering the period from 1892 till 2009 and part of 2010) as well as on examination of the authors' and several museum's collections. A lot of data were omitted in the previous Bulgarian monograph on ants, lots of new data were recently added and many important additions and alterations were made due to taxonomic revisions of Eurasian Formicidae during the last three decades. Two new species are reported for the country [Temnothorax graecus (Forel, 1911) and Temnothorax cf.

Seroprevalence of hepatitis A viral infection in Plovdiv, Bulgaria.

Introduction: Hepatitis A occurs throughout the world, albeit with different endemicity. The level of endemicity is determined for each country from the annual incidence rate and from the age-specific seroprevalence of anti-HAVt.

Aim: To assess the anti-HAVt seroprevalence in 180 people with no hepatitis A history.