Rationale and Design of the HERZCHECK trial: Detection of Early Heart Failure Using Telemedicine and CMR in Structurally Weak Regions (NCT05122793).

Background And Aims: Heart failure (HF) is an imminent global health problem. Yet established screening algorithms for asymptomatic pre-HF, allowing for early and effective preventive interventions, are largely lacking. The HERZCHECK trial, conducted in structurally underserved rural regions of North-Eastern Germany, aims to close this gap by evaluating the feasibility, diagnostic efficacy, and cost-effectiveness of a fully mobile, telemedically-supervised screening approach, combining cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) and laboratory testing as central elements.

Impairment of Left Ventricular Function in Hyperthyroidism Caused by Graves' Disease: An Echocardiographic Study.

The thyroid gland has an important influence on the heart. Long-term exposure to high levels of thyroid hormones may lead to cardiac hypertrophy and dysfunction. The aim of the study was to evaluate the morphological and functional changes in the left ventricle in patients with hyperthyroidism caused by Graves' disease (GD) in comparison with healthy individuals, as well as to investigate potential differences in these parameters in GD patients in relation to the presence of orbitopathy.

Differences in sex and age response to single pill combination based antihypertensive therapy reflecting in blood pressure and arterial stiffness.

Objective: There are noticeable sex differences in the treatment response to antihypertensives, with limited data on the response to single pill combinations. The aim of the PRECIOUS trial was to assess the treatment response to perindopril/amlodipine and perindopril/amlodipine/indapamide dual and triple single-pill combination in men and women.

Methods: Four hundred and forty adults with essential hypertension were assessed in the 16-week interventional, open-label, prospective, international, multicentre trial.

Postoperative Pain Management in children: guidance from the Pain Committee of the European Society for Paediatric Anaesthesiology (ESPA Pain Management Ladder Initiative) Part II.

The ESPA Pain Management Ladder Initiative is a clinical practice advisory based upon expert consensus supported by the current literature to help ensure a basic standard of perioperative pain management for all children. In 2018 the perioperative pain management of six common pediatric surgical procedures was summarised. The current Pain Management Ladder recommendations focus on five more complex pediatric surgical procedures and suggest basic, intermediate, and advanced pain management methods.

Proposal of a Modified Classification of Hypertensive Crises: Urgency, Impending Emergency, and Emergency.

Systemic arterial hypertension (HTN) is the main cause of morbidity and mortality, and HTN crises contribute significantly to an unfavourable clinical course. For decades, HTN crises have been dichotomized into hypertensive emergency (HTN-E) and hypertensive urgency (HTN-U). The main difference between the two is the presence of acute hypertension-mediated organ damage (HMOD) - if HMOD is present, HTN crisis is HTN-E; if not, it is HTN-U.

Difficult Airway Prediction in Infants with Apparently Normal Face and Neck Features.

: Prediction of a difficult airway during pre-anesthetic evaluation is of great importance because it enables an adequate anesthetic approach and airway management. As there is a scarcity of prospective studies evaluating the role of anthropometric measures of the face and neck in predicting difficult airways in infants with an apparently normal airway, we aimed to identify the aforementioned predictors of difficult facemask ventilation and intubation in infants. : A prospective, observational study that included 97 infants requiring general endotracheal anesthesia was conducted.

One-Year Pilot Study Results of Newborn Screening for Spinal Muscular Atrophy in the Republic of Croatia.

Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a neuromuscular and neurodegenerative disease caused by the homozygous deletion of exon 7 in 95% of cases. The prognosis for SMA patients has improved with the development of disease-modifying therapies, all of which are available in Croatia. The best treatment outcomes occur when therapy is applied before symptoms appear, making newborn screening (NBS) for SMA a crucial factor.

Long-Term Prognostic Impact of Stress Hyperglycemia in Non-Diabetic Patients Treated with Successful Primary Percutaneous Coronary Intervention.

Background: stress hyperglicemia (SH) is common in patients with ST-elevation myocardial infraction (STEMI). The aims of this study were to analyze the impact of SH on the incidence of all-cause mortality and major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE-cardiovascular death, nonfatal reinfarction, target vessel revascularization, and stroke) in STEMI patients without diabetes mellitus (DM) who have been treated successfully with primary PCI (pPCI).

Method: we analyzed 2362 STEMI patients treated with successful pPCI (post-procedural flow TIMI = 3) and without DM and cardiogenic shock at admission.

Health economic evaluation of blended collaborative care for older multimorbid heart failure patients: study protocol.

Background: Integrated care, in particular the 'Blended Collaborative Care (BCC)' strategy, may have the potential to improve health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in multimorbid patients with heart failure (HF) and psychosocial burden at no or low additional cost. The ESCAPE trial is a randomised controlled trial for the evaluation of a BCC approach in five European countries. For the economic evaluation of alongside this trial, the four main objectives were: (i) to document the costs of delivering the intervention, (ii) to assess the running costs across study sites, (iii) to evaluate short-term cost-effectiveness and cost-utility compared to providers' usual care, and (iv) to examine the budgetary implications.

How Do Mixed Cover Crops (White Mustard + Oats) Contribute to Labile Carbon Pools in an Organic Cropping System in Serbia?

Sustainable farming is one of the priority goals of the "4 per 1000" concept with regard to the preservation of soil fertility and carbon sequestration. This paper presents a study on the use of a mixture of cover crops of self-grown oats ( L.) and sown white mustard ( L.

Long-Term Prognosis after ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction in Patients with Premature Coronary Artery Disease.

Background: A significant percentage of younger patients with myocardial infarction have premature coronary artery disease (CAD). The aims of this study were to analyze all-cause mortality and major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs cardiovascular death, non-fatal reinfarction, stroke, target vessel revascularization) during eight-year follow-up in patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) and premature CAD.

Method: We analyzed 2560 STEMI patients without previous CAD and without cardiogenic shock at admission who were treated with primary PCI.

Personalized, interdisciplinary patient pathway for cross-sector care of multimorbid patients (eliPfad trial): study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Multimorbid and frail elderly patients often carry a high burden of treatment. Hospitalization due to the onset of an acute illness can disrupt the fragile balance, resulting in further readmissions after hospital discharge. Current models of care in Germany do not meet the needs of this patient group.

Prognostic Implications of the Timing of ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction Development in Relation to COVID-19 Infection.

Patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) and COVID-19 infection have a worse clinical course and prognosis. The prognostic significance of the timing of STEMI in relation to COVID-19 infection was not investigated. To assess whether the time of STEMI development in relation to COVID-19 infection (concurrent or following the infection) influenced the short-term prognosis.

Clinical Review of Hypertensive Acute Heart Failure.

Although acute heart failure (AHF) is a common disease associated with significant symptoms, morbidity and mortality, the diagnosis, risk stratification and treatment of patients with hypertensive acute heart failure (H-AHF) still remain a challenge in modern medicine. Despite great progress in diagnostic and therapeutic modalities, this disease is still accompanied by a high rate of both in-hospital (from 3.8% to 11%) and one-year (from 20% to 36%) mortality.

Clinical and immunopathological characteristics of autoimmune blistering skin diseases.

Autoimmune blistering skin diseases (AIBDs) encompass several heterogeneous conditions clinically characterized by blisters and erosions on the skin and mucous membranes and are immunopathologically characterized by autoantibodies against structural proteins of the skin. Those proteins are responsible for the intercellular contact between epidermal keratinocytes and adhesion of the basal keratinocytes to the dermis. Therefore, AIBDs are divided into two main groups: intraepidermal (the pemphigus group) and subepidermal (the pemphigoid) groups.

Expanded nursing roles to promote person-centred care for people with cognitive impairment in acute care (ENROLE-acute): study protocol for a controlled clinical trial, process and economic evaluation.

Background: For people with cognitive impairment, hospitalisation is challenging and associated with adverse events as well as negative outcomes resulting in a prolonged hospital stay. Person-centred care can improve the quality of care and the experience of people with cognitive impairment during hospitalisation. However, current care processes in German hospitals are rarely person-centred.

Beta-blockers in Hypertensive Left Ventricular Hypertrophy and Atrial Fibrillation Prevention.

Background: Hypertensive left ventricular hypertrophy (HTN LVH) is a key risk factor for atrial fibrillation (AF).

Objective: To evaluate the possible role of beta-blockers (BBs) in addition to a renin-angiotensinaldosterone system (RAAS) blocker in AF prevention in patients with HTN LVH.

Methods: We performed a PubMed, Elsevier, SAGE, Oxford, and Google Scholar search with the search items 'beta blocker hypertension left ventricular hypertrophy patient' from 2013-2023.

Supplementary orthopaedic screening for children and adolescents to prevent permanent skeletal deformities - protocol for the "OrthoKids" study.

Background: Skeletal deformities (SD) in children and adolescents can lead to arthritic conditions, impairment of quality of life, and high treatment costs in the long term. However, comprehensive data on the prevalence of SDs in children and adolescents are limited and it remains therefore unclear whether there is a healthcare gap. "OrthoKids" is a project that addresses this evidence gap by implementing an orthopaedic screening for children and adolescents that supplements existing detection examinations within statutory standard care in Germany.

Effectiveness of evidence-based decision aids for women with pathogenic BRCA1 or BRCA2 variants in the german health care context: results from a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Women with pathogenic BRCA1 or BRCA2 variants are at high risk for breast and ovarian cancer. Preventive options include risk-reducing breast and ovarian surgeries and intensified breast surveillance. However, individual decision-making is often associated with decisional conflicts.

Genetic Variability in Carotenoid Contents in a Panel of Genebank Accessions of Temperate Maize from Southeast Europe.

Carotenoids are an abundant group of lipid-soluble antioxidants in maize kernels. Maize is a key target crop for carotenoid biofortification focused on using conventional plant breeding in native germplasm of temperate areas traced back partially to traditional cultivars (landraces). In this study, the objectives were to determine the variability of lutein (LUT), zeaxanthin (ZEA), α-cryptoxanthin (αCX), β-cryptoxanthin (βCX), α-carotene (αC), and β-carotene (βC) contents in the grain of 88 accessions of temperate maize from the Croatian genebank, and to evaluate the relationships among the contents of different carotenoids as well as the relationships between kernel color and hardness and carotenoid content.