A unique case of double meningitis with enterovirus and reactivated varicella-zoster virus in a male teenager.

This paper presents a unique case of double meningitis with enterovirus and reactivated varicella-zoster virus without shingles in an immunocompetent male teenager, a case that offers many important medical lessons, all "gravitating" around physiopathological reasoning of any clinical case in general.

The Inflammatory Profile Correlates with COVID-19 Severity and Mortality in Cancer Patients.

Background: The correlation of the inflammatory profile with the severity of the disease in neoplastic patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection was addressed.

Methods: A database of 1537 patients hospitalized in the pneumology department was analyzed. After applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 83 patients (67% males, 33% females) were included.

The "Electronic Pediatrician (EPed®)" - A clinically tested prototype software for computer-assisted pathophysiologic diagnosis and treatment of ill children.

Background: Knowledge-based systems (KBS) are software applications based on a knowledge base and an inference engine. Various experimental KBS for computer-assisted medical diagnosis (CAMD) and treatment were started to be used since 70 s (VisualDx, GIDEON, DXPlain, CADUCEUS, Internist-I, Mycin etc).

Objectives: This article briefly presents and tests the "Electronic Pediatrician (EPed)", a prototype medical user-interface-based stand-alone KBS software created by the author (in Romanian language) that offers both a computer-assisted pathophysiologic diagnosis and treatment of ill children.

Sleep Quality Aspects in Post-COVID-19 Patients.

In this observational cohort study, sleep quality in post-COVID-19 patients was assessed using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) questionnaire. This study aimed to examine aspects of sleep quality in patients who have undergone SARS-CoV-2 infection and if there is a pattern of progression or regression over time (6 months). We also observed and analyzed the results in order to identify any possible links between the severity of COVID-19 and sleep quality as measured by the PSQI questionnaire.

Romanian clinical guideline for diagnosis and treatment of COPD.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a disease with increasing prevalence and burden for health systems worldwide. Every country collects its own epidemiological data regarding COPD prevalence, morbidity and mortality while taking steps to educate the population and medical community to improve early detection and treatment. The rising COPD prevalence creates a need for comprehensive guidelines.

Synthesis, Characterization, and Biologic Activity of New Acyl Hydrazides and 1,3,4-Oxadiazole Derivatives.

Starting from isoniazid and carboxylic acids as precursors, thirteen new hydrazides and 1,3,4-oxadiazoles of 2-(4-substituted-phenoxymethyl)-benzoic acids were synthesized and characterized by appropriate means. Their biological properties were evaluated in terms of apoptosis, cell cycle blocking, and drug metabolism gene expression on HCT-8 and HT-29 cell lines. In vitro antimicrobial tests were performed by the microplate Alamar Blue assay for the anti-mycobacterial activities and an adapted agar disk diffusion technique for other non-tubercular bacterial strains.

Evaluation of histophysiological alterations associated with ketoprofen administration in albino NMRI mice.

The aim of this study was to investigate the changes caused by the administration of ketoprofen to albino NMRI mice on some hematological, biochemical, and structural parameters. For this purpose, the mice were divided into two lots: a control batch and an experimental batch to which ketoprofen was administered subcutaneously at a dose of 10 mg/kg body weight per day for 7 days. A decrease in erythrocyte number and hemoglobin was observed altogether with the increase in white blood cells.

Concomitant lung and intestinal tuberculosis - case report.

Tuberculosis (TB) is responsible for one in five deaths for young women (between 15-44 years old). Almost 9 million persons are diagnosed with TB each year and around 2 million deaths are due to TB or TB complications. Abdominal TB has no specific clinical symptoms, no imagistic and no specific laboratory tests, all these making the diagnosis more difficult.

Diabetic foot - epidemiological and histopathological aspects.

Our study included a total of 259 patients with diabetes, who were admitted to the Department of Plastic Surgery and Reconstructive Microsurgery of the Emergency County Hospital of Piteşti, Romania, in 2016, with the diagnosis of "diabetic foot". Of the 259 patients, 55 (21.23%) were diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, and the remaining 204 (78.

Tuberculosis and its particularities in Romania and worldwide.

Tuberculosis (TB) is a global health issue, with a rising incidence since the beginning of this century. It poses a severe mortality risk and also poses a serious economic risk as it reduces the working capacity of an individual in the most productive part of life. Developing countries face widespread tuberculosis infection - up to 95% of all cases and 98% of deaths, respectively.

Multimacronodular pulmonary tuberculosis (bacteriologically negative) confirmed histologically.

Background: Pulmonary tuberculosis can be confirmed by positive bacteriology of sputum, bronchial aspirate or by biopsies (microscopy and/ or culture) or by histopathological examination highlighting specific tuberculous granulomas. When microscopy is repeatedly negative during noninvasive methods, lung biopsy by thoracoscopy is needed for confirmation and differential diagnosis.

Case Presentation: A 40-year-old female patient (nonsmoker, diabetic, with previous exposure to chemicals) was admitted to the hospital for weight loss, dry cough, loss of appetite, pallor, and fatigue.

ANEMIA IN INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASE MORE THAN AN EXTRAINTESTINAL COMPLICATION.

The most common hematologic complication of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)--ulcerative colitis and Crohn's Disease is anemia. Anemia in patients with IBD may be a result of iron, vitamin B12 or folate deficiency; anemia of chronic disease and hemolytic anemia are other causes in these patients. Factors contributing to the development of anemia include chronic gastrointestinal blood loss, vitamin B12 malabsorption secondary to terminal ileitis, folate deficiency as a result of sulfasalazine therapy.

INFLAMMATORY ABDOMINAL AORTIC ANEURYSM--A FORM OF CHRONIC PERIAORTITIS.

Chronic periaortitis represents a unique pathogenic concept for three entities: Inflammatory Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm, Idiopathic Retroperitoneal Fibrosis and Perianeurysmal Retroperitoneal Fibrosis. The fundamental meaning of an inflammatory reaction to advanced atherosclerosis has been developed on the bottom of clinical and histological features. The triad of abdominal pain, weight loss and elevated inflammatory markers: erythrocyte sedimentation rate/C-reactive protein in patients with abdominal aortic aneurysms revealed on contrast-enhanced computer tomography is highly suggestive for inflammatory aneurysm.

A rare complication of CMV infection in Crohn's disease - hemophagocytic syndrome: a case report.

We report a case of CMV (cytomegalovirus) infection in a Crohn's disease patient, resulting in severe hemophagocytic syndrome and death. A 63-year-old man with a 10-year history of ileal and colonic Crohn's disease presented with general malaise, loss of appetite and weight loss over the last month. He was in clinical remission for two years, with maintenance therapy 5-Aminosalicylic acid (5-ASA)-derived Mesalamine.

Basic thoracic ultrasound for the respiratory physician.

Thoracic ultrasound (TUS) evolved in the last ten years as the method of choice for evaluating pleural abnormalities and for guiding lung procedures. TUS can "see" almost all structures in the chest, including thoracic wall, pleura, pleural space, the heart, the great vessels and the peripheral layers of the lungs. However, there is still a great need to develop TUS services in respiratory departments in Romania.

ELECTRONIC CIGARETTE--A WAY OF SMOKING CESSATION?

Specialists have the ethical obligation to promote smoking cessation using evidence-based therapeutic strategies. In the context of the growing popularity of the electronic cigarettes (ECs), the smokers asking us about it and we must be ready to provide expert advice. With the evidence available to date we must be cautious in recommending of the smokers to use ECs for smoking cessation because these have not proven superiority over drugs used for smoking cessation approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), ECs are not FDA approved, short-term safety data shows that they cause airway reactivity and health risk of exposure to ECs in the long term is unknown.

Tuberculosis of the oral cavity.

Tuberculosis (TB) of the tongue is not a common finding diagnosis, even if consider endemic areas. Tuberculosis of the tongue sometimes can mimic lingual neoplasm. Oral tuberculosis is rarely primary as mechanism, and frequently secondary to pulmonary tuberculosis.

Smoking cessation, pulmonary rehabilitation and quality of life at smokers with COPD.

Unlabelled: Aim was to compare the quality of life (QoL) at the smokers with COPD who quit smoking and have completed a pulmonary rehabilitation program with those who received usual treatment.

Material And Methods: 437 smokers with COPD stages II and III were counseled and treated to smoking cessation and completed COPD Assessment Test (CAT) at the beginning and at the end of 12 weeks of treatment. 113 patients were enrolled in a 12 weeks supervised pulmonary rehabilitation program (PR group) and 324 smokers received usual treatment for COPD and were monitored for 12 weeks (non-PR group).

Aspects of physician-patient communication in the program of smoking cessation.

The doctor-smoker patient communication is essential for smokers to realize the harmful effects of tobacco on health and the benefits of smoking cessation. Nicotine found in cigarettes is a powerful drug and a direct dependency generator, which makes smoking cessation difficult, the withdrawal syndrome being hard to overcome for many smokers. The doctor-smoker patient communication is a complex process of data, information and knowledge transmission, subjected to some semiotic rules.

Thoracic endometriosis with a long delay in diagnosis.

This paper describes a case of thoracic endometriosis in 36-year-old woman with a long delay in diagnosis. At the admission in the hospital, the patient had a medical history of persistent dysmenorrhea since the age of 13, infertility and an episode of total right pneumothorax two months ago successfully resolved by minimum pleurotomy of the right hemitorax. She came with moderate pain on right hemithorax and dyspnea, which occurred on the first day of menstruation but she did not have any other respiratory symptoms such as hemoptysis, cough.

Progressive dyspnea--comprehensive evaluation of a common symptom.

Dyspnea is one of the most common symptoms in the clinical setting, the main causes being represented by respiratory and cardiovascular disorders but sometimes it is difficult to identify and document the underlying mechanism of breathlessness. We present the case of a 75-years-old male patient, former smoker, with progressive worsening dyspnea. He performed a complex imagistic, respiratory, and functional assessment, the results showing severe emphysema with mild obstructive syndrome, in contrast with severe impairment of diffusing capacity of the lung for carbon monoxide (DLCO) due to inhomogeneous distribution of ventilation/perfusion ratio.

Tracheomalacia in children and adults--not so rare as expected.

Tracheomalacia remains a special entity present also in children and adults. Tracheomalacia refers to a weakness of the trachea. Bronchoscopy is the "golden standard" for diagnosis.

Pulmonary rehabilitation and quality of life in lung cancer patients.

Lung cancer is one of the most common types of cancer, often diagnosed in advanced stages. Chest surgery is the main component of curative treatment, the pre-operative functional status being predictive for post-operative morbidity. The potential benefits of pulmonary rehabilitation in lung cancer management appear in pre-operative period, improving the exercise capacity and increasing the number of patients sent to surgery, in post-operative period, decreasing the number of complications, and during the medical treatment of patients with advanced disease, improving the symptoms and increasing the quality of life.