Ongoing measles outbreak in Romania: Clinical investigation and molecular epidemiology performed on whole genome sequences.

Aim: Romania is currently facing a prolonged measles outbreak. The aim of the study was to analyse the circulating human measles virus (HMV) strains by combining whole genome sequencing (WGS) with phylogenetic analysis, with a focus on the haemagglutinin gene.

Methods: We conducted an observational study in the first five months of 2024, in which 168 patients diagnosed with measles were randomly included.

Para-aminopropiophenone toxicity in domestic dogs: a description of non-target toxicosis in Victoria, Australia: 13 dogs (2016-2023).

Background: PAPP is widely used in Australia as a potent vertebrate bait, with potential for off-target ingestion and poisoning in domestic dogs. Whilst toxicosis and resulting methaemoglobinaemia is anecdotally known to occur, this is the first description in the literature. This study reports thirteen clinical cases of suspected Para-aminopropiophenone (PAPP) toxicity in dogs, with the aim of describing clinical presentation and current management of toxicosis in this species.

Antigenic Divergence from the Seasonal Vaccine of the Influenza Virus Strains Circulating in Romania During Three Successive Seasons (2021-2024).

Influenza viruses continue to be an important public health threat. Vaccination is the most effective measure to control the influenza virus circulation. However, these viruses are continuously evolving through antigenic drift/shift, and thus the vaccine efficiency is affected.

Clinical, epidemiological and molecular aspects of patients with mpox in Romania.

Introduction: To better understand the factors which influence the spread of monkeypox (mpox) infection, the patients that tested positive for mpox virus by real-time PCR in one of the main infectious diseases centers in Bucharest were analyzed in this study, amounting to one third of the confirmed cases in Romania.

Methods: Clinical data and laboratory tests were used to build the patient profiles. In the case of positive mpox results, next-generation sequencing of the viral genome was also performed to better comprehend the epidemiology of the infections and the evolutionary path of this virus.

Under-Prescription of Drugs in the Elderly Population of Western Romania: An Analysis Based on STOPP/START Version 2 Criteria.

: Numerous European countries, including Romania, are facing the concern of rapid ageing of their populations. Moreover, Romania's life expectancy ranks among the lowest in the European Union. In light of this, it is imperative that the assessment of medication-related harm be given national priority in order to secure and enhance pharmacotherapy and the medical act.

Importance of H-FABP in Early Diagnosis of Acute Myocardial Infarction.

Background: Over the years, troponins have aced the para-clinical tests for confirming the diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction. However, the rise in their levels is entirely time-dependent, which can cause a delay in the initiation of treatment protocols. Heart fatty acid binding protein (H-FABP) can serve comparatively as a better biological marker for overcoming this flaw of troponins, as it is quickly released into the bloodstream once the myocardial injury occurs due to decreased blood supply.

Evaluating Thrombolysis Rates and Emergency Department Time Targets in Acute Ischemic Stroke: Need for Personalized Medicine.

Background And Objectives: In the era of personalized medicine, standard protocols regarding the management of acute ischemic stroke (AIS) focus on time targets alone without tailoring the protocol to the specific patient and hospital characteristics to increase IV thrombolysis rates and improve outcomes for these patients by considering organizational differences and patient-related factors that influence adherence to target times at the emergency department level. With this in mind, we evaluate the effect of achieving ED time targets from standard protocol and patient-related risk factors on the intravenous (IV) thrombolysis rate in patients with AIS in the therapeutic window.

Materials And Methods: For our research, we enrolled people who arrived at the ED with signs of recent AIS with an onset of less than 4.

Code Stroke Alert: Focus on Emergency Department Time Targets and Impact on Door-to-Needle Time across Day and Night Shifts.

Background And Objectives: To minimize stroke-related deaths and maximize the likelihood of cerebral reperfusion, medical professionals developed the "code stroke" emergency protocol, which allows for the prompt evaluation of patients with acute ischemic stroke symptoms in pre-hospital care and the emergency department (ED). This research will outline our experience in implementing the stroke code protocol for acute ischemic stroke patients and its impact on door-to-needle time (DTN) in the ED.

Methods: Our study included patients with a "code stroke alert" upon arrival at the emergency department.

GEN-RWD Sandbox: bridging the gap between hospital data privacy and external research insights with distributed analytics.

Background: Artificial intelligence (AI) has become a pivotal tool in advancing contemporary personalised medicine, with the goal of tailoring treatments to individual patient conditions. This has heightened the demand for access to diverse data from clinical practice and daily life for research, posing challenges due to the sensitive nature of medical information, including genetics and health conditions. Regulations like the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) in the U.

Navigating the Maze: Exploring Non-Oncological Complexities in Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer.

Pulmonary oncological pathologies are an important public health problem and the association with other pulmonary lesions may pose difficulties in diagnosis and staging or require different treatment options. To address this complexity, we conducted a retrospective observational study at the Marius Nasta Institute of Pneumophthisiology, Bucharest, Romania. Our study focused on patients admitted in 2019 with non-small-cell lung carcinoma and associated pulmonary lesions identified through surgical resection specimens.

Outbreak in a Multidisciplinary Hospital in Romania during the Post-Pandemic Era: Potential Solutions and Challenges in Surveillance and Epidemiological Control.

is a newly emerging yeast, which is raising public health concerns due to its outbreak potential, lack of protocols for decontamination and isolation of patients or contacts, increased resistance to common antifungals, and associated high mortality. This research aimed to describe the challenges related to identifying the outbreak, limiting further contamination, and treating affected individuals. We retrospectively analyzed all cases of detected between October 2022 and August 2023, but our investigation focused on a three-month-long outbreak in the department of cardio-vascular surgery and the related intensive care unit.

Conventional Dental Impressions vs. Impressions Reinforced with Rigid Mouthguards.

The impression materials utilized today in dental medicine offer a good reproducibility and are easily accepted by patients. However, because they are polymer-based, they have issues regarding their dimensional stability. In this respect, the present work proposes a new type of dental impression, which is reinforced with rigid mouthguards.

Mechanical Thrombectomy via Transbrachial Approach in the Emergency Management of Acute Ischemic Stroke Patients with Aortic Pathologies: Our Experience and Literature Review.

Study Design: Mechanical thrombectomy (MT) via the transbrachial approach (TBA) is a very rare option used in cases of patients with aortic pathologies and acute ischemic stroke (AIS) due to the insufficient evidence in the literature, the difficulty from a technical point of view and the result of this technique influenced by the complications that frequently accompany it.

Background: Only a few cases of patients with aortic pathologies and acute ischemic stroke where MT via TBA were reported in the literature, and its application in the emergency management of AIS has still not been dealt with in detail.

Objectives: Out of a need to clarify and clearly emphasize the effectiveness of this approach in emergency MT via TBA in patients with AIS and aortic pathologies, this literature review and case report has the following objectives: the first one is the presentation of an emergency MT via transbrachial approach performed in a 44-year-old patient with AIS and diagnosed aortic coarctation during transfemural approach (TFA), with successful reperfusion in our department and the second one is to review the cases reports of patients with different aortic pathologies and AIS reperfusion therapy performed by MT via TBA from the literature.

Emergency Department Time Targets for Interhospital Transfer of Patients with Acute Ischemic Stroke.

Although the intravenous tissue plasminogen activator (rt-PA) has been shown to be effective in the treatment of acute ischemic stroke (AIS), only a small proportion of stroke patients receive this drug. The low administration rate is mainly due to the delayed presentation of patients to the emergency department (ED) or the lack of a stroke team/unit in most of the hospitals. Thus, the aim of this study is to analyze ED time targets and the rate of rt-PA intravenous administration after the initial admission of patients with AIS in an ED from a traditional healthcare center (without a neurologist or stroke team/unit).

Ground-Based Mobile Measurements to Track Urban Methane Emissions from Natural Gas in 12 Cities across Eight Countries.

To mitigate methane emission from urban natural gas distribution systems, it is crucial to understand local leak rates and occurrence rates. To explore urban methane emissions in cities outside the U.S.

Atypical Histopathological Aspects of Common Types of Lung Cancer-Our Experience and Literature Review.

Lung cancer is among the most common oncological diseases regarding incidence and mortality, with most of these having epithelial origins. Pathological reporting of these tumors is conducted according to the 5th edition of the World Health Organisation (WHO) classification of thoracic tumours. This study aims to draw the pathologist's attention to four rare, atypical microscopic aspects that some of the most common types of lung malignancies reveal upon standard evaluation (hematoxylin-eosin stain) that make histopathological diagnosis challenging: acantholytic, pseudoangiosarcomatous, signet ring cell, and clear cell features.

The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Depressive Disorder with Postpartum Onset: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Background: COVID-19 has led to a global health crisis that is defining for our times and one of the greatest challenges to emerge since World War II. The potential impact of the pandemic on mental health should not be overlooked, especially among vulnerable populations such as women who gave birth during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Materials And Methods: The study is a cross-sectional survey conducted from 1 March 2020 to 1 March 2023, during the period of the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic, based on a retrospective evaluation of 860 postpartum women.

Intraplacental Villous Artery Doppler can Improve the Ability to Predict Placenta-Mediated Disease.

Objective: Evaluation of Intraplacental Villous Artery Doppler (IPVA) as a predictive factor compared to umbilical artery (UA) Doppler in placenta-mediated disease (PMD).

Methods: This prospective study included a group of 106 pregnant women, of which 76 patients constituted the PMD group: preeclampsia (PE) and small for gestational age (SGA), and 30 pregnant women constituted the control group. IPVA and UA Doppler evaluation was performed in 2 pregnancy periods: 20.

The Role of Uterine Artery Doppler in the Second and Third Trimesters for Prediction of Preeclampsia and Fetal Growth Restriction Developed as a Consequence of Placental-Mediated Diseases.

Unlabelled: Placenta-mediated pregnancy disorders represent a disease that includes preeclampsia (PE) and the birth of small for gestational age (SGA) children, these conditions increase the risk of mortality and morbidity both maternal and fetal/neonatal, in the short and long-term.

Methods: The prospective study included 106 patients in whom ultrasound Doppler scans of uterine artery (UtA) were performed in the 2nd trimester between 20.0-23.

Randomized, controlled clinical trial of the DIALIVE liver dialysis device versus standard of care in patients with acute-on- chronic liver failure.

Background & Aims: Acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF) is characterized by severe systemic inflammation, multi-organ failure and high mortality rates. Its treatment is an urgent unmet need. DIALIVE is a novel liver dialysis device that aims to exchange dysfunctional albumin and remove damage- and pathogen-associated molecular patterns.

A Quick and Comprehensive Guide to Differential Diagnosis of Neck and Back Pain: a Narrative Review.

The list of diagnostic options when approaching a patient with axial pain is impressively complex. Many offer limited diagnostic workups, but we could not find a truly comprehensive diagnostic guide to assist in the diagnostic evaluation. In this short paper, we briefly described a long list of medical conditions, each of which can manifest as back or neck pain, and whose prevalence ranges from common to very rare.

Ventricular-arterial coupling assessed by PWV/GLS ratio in hypertensive patients.

Objective: The physiological interaction between the left ventricle (LV) and the arterial system, defined as ventricular-arterial coupling (VAC), facilitates the optimal volume of cardiac work and cardiovascular performance. The aim of this study was to evaluate the benefit of PWV/GLS ratio associated with other vascular and cardiac performance parameters in hypertensive patients compared to age-matched healthy controls.

Patients And Methods: We calculated the ratio of pulse wave velocity (PWV), as a marker of arterial stiffness, to global longitudinal strain (GLS), as a marker of left ventricular function in 135 patients divided in 3 groups, as follows: group 1 (HT + CAD) enrolled 54 hypertensive patients with coronary artery disease, group 2 (HT) enrolled 43 hypertensive patients and group 3 (CON) represented the control group consisting of 38 age-matched healthy subjects.