Importance of the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio as a marker for microbiological specimens in critically ill patients after liver or lung transplantation.

Purpose: The correct and early diagnosis of an infection is pivotal for patients, especially if the patients are immunocompromised. Various infection markers are used in clinics with different advantages and disadvantages. The neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) is a cost effective parameter easily obtained without further investments.

Early extubation after elective surgical aortic valve replacement during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Background: Surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR) is an established therapy for severe calcific aortic stenosis. Enhanced recovery after cardiac surgery (ERACS) protocols have been shown to improve outcomes for elective cardiac procedures. The COVID-19 pandemic prompted early extubation post-elective surgeries to preserve critical care resources.

The Ventilatory Ratio as a Predictor of Successful Weaning from a Veno-Venous Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenator.

Veno-venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VV-ECMO) is a critical intervention for patients with severe lung failure, especially acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). The weaning process from ECMO relies largely on expert opinion due to a lack of evidence-based guidelines. The ventilatory ratio (VR), which correlates with dead space and mortality in ARDS, is calculated as [minute ventilation (mL/min) x arterial pCO (mmHg)]/[predicted body weight × 100 × 37.

Hyperbaric phototherapy augments blood carbon monoxide removal.

Background And Objectives: Carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning is responsible for nearly 50,000 emergency department visits and 1200 deaths per year. Compared to oxygen, CO has a 250-fold higher affinity for hemoglobin (Hb), resulting in the displacement of oxygen from Hb and impaired oxygen delivery to tissues. Optimal treatment of CO-poisoned patients involves the administration of hyperbaric 100% oxygen to remove CO from Hb and to restore oxygen delivery.

Distinct Mechanisms Account for In Vitro Activation and Sensitization of TRPV1 by the Porphyrin Hemin.

TRPV1 mediates pain occurring during sickling episodes in sickle cell disease (SCD). We examined if hemin, a porphyrin released during intravascular hemolysis modulates TRPV1. Calcium imaging and patch clamp were employed to examine effects of hemin on mouse dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons and HEK293t cells expressing TRPV1 and TRPA1.

Relationships between Body Condition Score (BCS), FAMACHA©-Score and Haematological Parameters in Alpacas and Llamas Presented at the Veterinary Clinic.

South American camelids (SAC) are being more and more presented at the veterinary Clinics in Germany. A bad nutritional condition, which can be easily categorized using a body condition score (BCS) of the animals, is often not noticed by the owners. Further anaemia is also often only detected in an advanced stage in SAC.

Inhaled high dose nitric oxide is a safe and effective respiratory treatment in spontaneous breathing hospitalized patients with COVID-19 pneumonia.

Background: Inhaled nitric oxide (NO) is a selective pulmonary vasodilator. In-vitro studies report that NO donors can inhibit replication of SARS-CoV-2. This multicenter study evaluated the feasibility and effects of high-dose inhaled NO in non-intubated spontaneously breathing patients with Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19).

Veno-venous extracorporeal blood phototherapy increases the rate of carbon monoxide (CO) elimination in CO-poisoned pigs.

Background And Objectives: Carbon monoxide (CO) inhalation is the leading cause of poison-related deaths in the United States. CO binds to hemoglobin (Hb), displaces oxygen, and reduces oxygen delivery to tissues. The optimal treatment for CO poisoning in patients with normal lung function is the administration of hyperbaric oxygen (HBO).

UBA6 and NDFIP1 regulate the degradation of ferroportin.

Hepcidin regulates iron homeostasis by controlling the level of ferroportin, the only membrane channel that facilitates export of iron from within cells. Binding of hepcidin to ferroportin induces the ubiquitination of ferroportin at multiple lysine residues and subsequently causes the internalization and degradation of the ligand-channel complex within lysosomes. The objective of this study was to identify components of the ubiquitin system that are involved in ferroportin degradation.

Antimicrobial effects of nitric oxide in murine models of Klebsiella pneumonia.

Rationale: Inhalation of nitric oxide (NO) exerts selective pulmonary vasodilation. Nitric oxide also has an antimicrobial effect on a broad spectrum of pathogenic viruses, bacteria and fungi.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of inhaled NO on bacterial burden and disease outcome in a murine model of Klebsiella pneumonia.

Rescue Treatment With High-Dose Gaseous Nitric Oxide in Spontaneously Breathing Patients With Severe Coronavirus Disease 2019.

Unlabelled: Treatment options are limited for patients with respiratory failure due to coronavirus disease 2019. Conventional oxygen therapy and awake proning are options, but the use of high-flow nasal cannula and continuous positive airway pressure are controversial. There is an urgent need for effective rescue therapies.

High Concentrations of Nitric Oxide Inhalation Therapy in Pregnant Patients With Severe Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19).

Background: Rescue therapies to treat or prevent progression of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) hypoxic respiratory failure in pregnant patients are lacking.

Method: To treat pregnant patients meeting criteria for severe or critical COVID-19 with high-dose (160-200 ppm) nitric oxide by mask twice daily and report on their clinical response.

Experience: Six pregnant patients were admitted with severe or critical COVID-19 at Massachusetts General Hospital from April to June 2020 and received inhalational nitric oxide therapy.

Intratracheal injection of nitric oxide, generated from air by pulsed electrical discharge, for the treatment of pulmonary hypertension in awake ambulatory lambs.

Objectives: To test the feasibility, safety, and efficacy of intratracheal delivery of nitric oxide (NO) generated from air by pulsed electrical discharge via a Scoop catheter.

Study Design: We studied healthy 3- to 4-month-old lambs weighing 34 ± 4 kg (mean ± SD, n = 6). A transtracheal Scoop catheter was inserted through a cuffed tracheostomy tube.

Quantitation of large, middle and small hepatitis B surface proteins in HBeAg-positive patients treated with peginterferon alfa-2a.

Background & Aims: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) contains three viral surface proteins, large, middle and small hepatitis B surface protein (LHBs, MHBs, SHBs). Proportions of LHBs and MHBs are lower in patients with inactive vs active chronic infection. Interferon alfa may convert hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)-positive chronic hepatitis B (CHB) to an inactive carrier state, but prediction of sustained response is unsatisfactory.

Soluble immune markers in the different phases of chronic hepatitis B virus infection.

Chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection may follow four different consecutive phases, which are defined by virology as well as biochemical markers and differ in terms of prognosis and need for antiviral treatment. Currently, host responses reflected by immune markers are not considered in this definition. We aimed to study soluble immune markers and their distribution in different phases of chronic HBV infection.

The Use of Ostrich Eggs for In Ovo Research: Making Preclinical Imaging Research Affordable and Available.

In ovo studies are a valuable option in preclinical research, but imaging studies are severely limited by the costs of dedicated equipment needed for small-sized eggs. We sought to verify the feasibility of using larger, ostrich, eggs () for imaging on the PET/CT scanners used for routine clinical investigations. Ostrich eggs were incubated until shortly before hatching, prepared for intravitelline venous injection of contrast medium or radiotracer, and imaged using native CT, contrast-enhanced CT, and PET/CT.

Viral and Host Responses After Stopping Long-term Nucleos(t)ide Analogue Therapy in HBeAg-Negative Chronic Hepatitis B.

This prospective study investigated viral and host markers after stopping long-term therapy with nucleos(t)ide analogues in noncirrhotic patients with hepatitis B e antigen-negative chronic hepatitis B. After stopping therapy, 13 of 15 patients experienced a virological relapse. Rebound of hepatitis B virus DNA and hepatitis B core-related antigen was associated with induction of plasma tumor necrosis factor, interleukin (IL) 10 , IL-12p70, CXCL10 and subsequent decline in hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), with 20% HBsAg loss after long-term follow-up.

Performance and Value of IFN-Lambda3 and IFN-Lambda4 Genotyping in Patients with Chronic Hepatitis C (CHC) Genotype 2/3 in a Real World Setting.

Background: SNPs near the interferon lambda (IFNL) 3 gene are predictors for sustained virological response (SVR) in patients with chronic hepatitis C genotype (GT) 1. In addition, a dinucleotide frame shift in ss469415590 was described, which generates IFNL4. In this study, we compared the role of IFNL4 variants with IFNL3-(rs12979860) and IFNL3-(rs8099917) on response to pegylated (PEG)-IFN and Ribavirin (RBV) in patients with chronic hepatitis C GT2/3.

Treatment of naïve patients with chronic hepatitis C genotypes 2 and 3 with pegylated interferon alpha and ribavirin in a real world setting: relevance for the new era of DAA.

Evidence based clinical guidelines are implemented to treat patients efficiently that include efficacy, tolerability but also health economic considerations. This is of particular relevance to the new direct acting antiviral agents that have revolutionized treatment of chronic hepatitis C. For hepatitis C genotypes 2/3 interferon free treatment is already available with sofosbuvir plus ribavirin.

Multimodal evaluation of 2-D and 3-D ultrasound, computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging in measurements of the thyroid volume using universally applicable cross-sectional imaging software: a phantom study.

A precise estimate of thyroid volume is necessary for making adequate therapeutic decisions and planning, as well as for monitoring therapy response. The goal of this study was to compare the precision of different volumetry methods. Thyroid-shaped phantoms were subjected to volumetry via 2-D and 3-D ultrasonography (US), computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Increased HEV seroprevalence in patients with autoimmune hepatitis.

Background: Hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection takes a clinically silent, self-limited course in the far majority of cases. Chronic hepatitis E has been reported in some cohorts of immunocompromised individuals. The role of HEV infections in patients with autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) is unknown.