Outcomes of COVID-19 re-infections: a single-center cohort of 167 patients with systemic rheumatic diseases.

Data on COVID-19 re-infections in patients with systemic rheumatic diseases (SRDs) are lacking. We aimed to describe the course and outcomes of COVID-19 re-infections in these patients versus controls. In this single-center retrospective study, we included 167 consecutive SRD patients with at least one COVID-19 re-infection (mean age 47.

Protection of vaccination versus hybrid immunity against infection with COVID-19 Omicron variants among Health-Care Workers.

Background Aim: The Omicron COVID-19 variants BA.1* and BA.2* evade immune system leading to increased transmissibility and breakthrough infections.

Physicians' responsibility toward environmental degradation and climate change: A position paper of the European Federation of Internal Medicine.

The current data on climate change and environmental degradation are dramatic. The consequences of these changes are already having a significant impact on people's health. Physicians - as advocates of the patients, but also as citizens - have an ethical obligation to be involved in efforts to stop these changes.

Vaccination Hesitancy among Health-Care-Workers in Academic Hospitals Is Associated with a 12-Fold Increase in the Risk of COVID-19 Infection: A Nine-Month Greek Cohort Study.

Health-Care-Workers (HCWs) are considered at high risk for SARS-CoV-2 infection. We sought to compare rates and severity of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) among vaccinated and unvaccinated HCWs conducting a retrospective cohort study in two tertiary Academic Hospitals, namely Laiko and Attikon, in Athens, Greece. Vaccinated by BNT162b2 Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 mRNA vaccine and unvaccinated HCWs were included and data were collected between 1 January 2021 and 15 September 2021.

Alterations in cortisol and interleukin-6 secretion in patients with COVID-19 suggestive of neuroendocrine-immune adaptations.

Purpose: The beneficial effect of glucocorticoids in coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is established, but whether adrenal cortisol secretion is impaired in COVID-19 is not fully elucidated. In this case-control study, we investigated the diurnal free bioavailable salivary cortisol secretion in COVID-19 patients.

Methods: Fifty-two consecutive COVID-19 patients-before dexamethasone treatment in cases required-recruited between April 15 to June 15, 2021, (NCT04988269) at Laikon Athens University-Hospital, and 33 healthy age- and sex-matched controls were included.

Nocebo-Prone Behavior Associated with SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine Hesitancy in Healthcare Workers.

Among healthcare workers (HCWs), SARS-CoV-2 vaccine hesitancy may be linked to a higher susceptibility to nocebo effects, i.e., adverse events (AEs) experienced after medical treatments due to negative expectations.

Severe iatrogenic hypoglycaemia requiring medical assistance is associated with concurrent prolongation of the QTc interval.

Aims: Hypoglycaemia has been shown to exert arrhythmogenic effects. Herein, we explore the association between severe hypoglycaemia requiring medical assistance and the length of the QT interval in patients with diabetes.

Methods: Data from a prospective study, conducted in eight tertiary hospitals, which recorded cases of hypoglycaemia from patients with diabetes seeking treatment at emergency departments (ED) were analyzed.

Characterization of Endothelial Cells Associated with Hematopoietic Niche Formation in Humans Identifies IL-33 As an Anabolic Factor.

Bone marrow formation requires an orchestrated interplay between osteogenesis, angiogenesis, and hematopoiesis that is thought to be mediated by endothelial cells. The nature of the endothelial cells and the molecular mechanisms underlying these events remain unclear in humans. Here, we identify a subset of endoglin-expressing endothelial cells enriched in human bone marrow during fetal ontogeny and upon regeneration after chemotherapeutic injury.

Mesenchymal Inflammation Drives Genotoxic Stress in Hematopoietic Stem Cells and Predicts Disease Evolution in Human Pre-leukemia.

Mesenchymal niche cells may drive tissue failure and malignant transformation in the hematopoietic system, but the underlying molecular mechanisms and relevance to human disease remain poorly defined. Here, we show that perturbation of mesenchymal cells in a mouse model of the pre-leukemic disorder Shwachman-Diamond syndrome (SDS) induces mitochondrial dysfunction, oxidative stress, and activation of DNA damage responses in hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells. Massive parallel RNA sequencing of highly purified mesenchymal cells in the SDS mouse model and a range of human pre-leukemic syndromes identified p53-S100A8/9-TLR inflammatory signaling as a common driving mechanism of genotoxic stress.

Sex-specific age association with primary DNA transfer.

Practicing forensic scientists who are called to provide expert witness testimony are often asked to explain both the presence and the absence of DNA on objects that have been handled by perpetrators with bare hands. Unwashed hands, depending on what they have come in contact with previously, may become the vehicle of both primary and secondary transfer of DNA. In this study, we investigated the propensity of primary and secondary transfer of DNA from unwashed bare hands of 128 individuals onto plastic tubes.

Hypoglycaemia requiring medical assistance in patients with diabetes: a prospective multicentre survey in tertiary hospitals.

Aim: Hypoglycaemia is considered a factor contributing to morbidity and mortality in patients with diabetes. The aim of the present study was to examine the frequency, clinical characteristics, predisposing factors and outcomes of iatrogenic hypoglycaemia requiring medical assistance.

Methods: Eight hospitals participated in this prospective survey of documented iatrogenic hypoglycaemia at their emergency departments.

Clinical queries addressed in patients with systemic autoimmune diseases. Can cardiovascular magnetic resonance give the final solution?

Objectives: To evaluate the potential of cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) to answer queries, addressed in systemic autoimmune diseases (SAD).

Methods: Thirty-six patients aged 52±6 years, (range 27-71) with SAD and suspected cardiac disease underwent CMR by a 1.5 T, after routine evaluation, including clinical, ECG and echocardiographic examination.

A Churg-Strauss syndrome patient with myopericardial involvement.

Churg-Strauss syndrome is a necrotizing vasculitis of small vessels characterized by upper and lower airway disease followed by peripheral eosinophilia and multiple organ involvement. Herein we present the case of a 45-year-old female patient with Churg-Strauss syndrome and myopericardial disease who improved upon cyclophosphamide treatment. Apart from discussing the characteristics of myopericardial disease in eosinophilic syndromes, we highlight the crucial role of cardiac imaging in the prompt recognition and management of such patients.

Flexible fiberoptic bronchoscopy in Greek children.

Background And Aim: Flexible fiberoptic bronchoscopy (FFB) is one of the most important procedures in paediatric pulmonology. To the best of our knowledge there is no review - audit summarising the experience with FFB in children in Greece. We therefore analysed retrospectively all FFBs performed by the paediatric pulmonology team in our hospital in order to analyse indications for bronchoscopy in our population, explore diagnostic yield for each indication and highlight potential complications.

Comparison of DXA, QCT and trabecular structure in beta-thalassaemia.

Osteopathy, as a major feature of homozygous beta-thalassaemia, is a multifactorial disorder, not fully understood. We studied the lumbar vertebrae of 48 patients using Dual-Energy X-ray Absorptiometry (DXA) and Quantitative Computed Tomography (QCT), and we focused on structural properties, assessed by High Resolution Computed Tomography (HRCT). Bone Mineral Density (BMD) values were expressed as Z-scores and the results were correlated.

An asymptomatic pulmonary hilar mass: a case report.

Pulmonary vein varix is a rare benign abnormality, either congenital or acquired, usually presented without symptoms. It is most frequently discovered by chance on a chest radiograph, whereas computed tomography defines the special characteristics of the lesion. Angiography is considered the method of choice for final diagnosis.

Asthmatic bronchitis for 2 years. A case report.

Longstanding asthmatic bronchitis, without evidence of underlying disease, occurring in middle-aged patients, is usually attributed to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and is treated appropriately. We report a case of 2-year asthmatic bronchitis with recurrent attacks of wheezing, in a 60-year-old patient. He had three repeated hospitalizations, in different institutions, where he was treated for exacerbations of chronic bronchitis complicated by lower respiratory tract infections.

Accidental epidural injection of vecuronium.

We report a case of accidental epidural injection of vecuronium in a female patient who underwent hemorrhoidectomy using epidural anesthesia. Because epidural injection of muscle relaxants may have serious side effects, immediate establishment of airway protection, monitoring of muscle relaxation, and follow-up for clinical signs of neurotoxicity are recommended.