Usefulness of the FOUR scale to assess the state of consciousness of the patients treated in the Intensive Care Unit.

Unlabelled: The Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) is a widely adopted clinical scale which fails to assess a verbal component in intensive care units (ICUs) patients who are ventilated mechanically.

Aim: The aim of the study was to evaluate the validity of the FOUR scale (Full Outline of UnResponsivness) when applied by staff of an ICU.

Materials And Methods: This prospective cohort study included 65 consecutive intubated patients treated in the ICU with brain damage.

Atherosclerotic factors in PR3 pulmonary vasculitis.

Autoimmune disease such as systemic lupus erythematosus or rheumatoid arthritis are connected with higher risk of atherosclerosis and cardiovascular complications and mortality. This results from inflammatory damage to the vessel wall by vasculitis. The aim of the present study was to evaluate whether patients with Wegener's granulomatosis (WG) and pulmonary involvement have an increased prevalence of atherosclerotic disease as characterized traditional risk factors.

Subglottic and tracheal stenosis due to Wegener's granulomatosis.

Wegener's granulomatosis (WG) is characterized histologically by necrotizing granulomatous angitis that most commonly involves the upper, lower respiratory tract and kidneys, but may affect any organ system. Otolaryngological manifestations are frequent and diverse but subglottic stenosis and tracheal stenosis are less common. The aim of the study was to assess the clinical features and the response to treatment in WG patients with subglottic or tracheal stenosis.