Publications by authors named "Vajauskas Donatas"

Herein, we review the critical role of a multi-disciplinary team approach in managing the intricate complications of ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) complicated by cardiogenic shock (CS). Mechanical circulatory support (MCS) implantation represents a potentially life-saving intervention, often serving as a bridge to heart transplantation (HTx). However, complications from prior interventions, in patients receiving MCS due to STEMI-CS, may present additional challenges to successful HTx candidacy.

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Cryotherapy is used for local tissue destruction through rapid freeze-thaw cycles. It induces cancer cell necrosis followed by inflammation in the treated tumor microenvironment, and it stimulates systemic adaptive immunity. Combining cryotherapy with immunotherapy may provide a sustained immune response by preventing T cell exhaustion.

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Complications, particularly pneumothorax, are common following lung interventions and occasionally necessitate further examinations, extend hospital stays, increase treatment costs, and result in long-term health impairment or even death. A few lung intervention tract sealants have been explored to reduce procedure-related complications. The primary objective of this prospective non-randomized study was to assess the complication rates and risk factors for computed tomography-guided lung microwave ablation (MWA) with autologous blood clot as a tract sealant.

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: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) has significant systemic manifestations, including cardiovascular morbidity. The main aim of our study was to evaluate the effect of short-term COPD treatment with tiotropium/olodaterol (TIO/OLO) 5/5 μg on cardiac function and autonomic integrity. : Twenty-nine patients with newly diagnosed moderate-to-severe COPD were enrolled.

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Background: The efficacy of continuous antibiotic prophylaxis in preventing urinary tract infection (UTI) in infants with grade III, IV, or V vesicoureteral reflux is controversial.

Methods: In this investigator-initiated, randomized, open-label trial performed in 39 European centers, we randomly assigned infants 1 to 5 months of age with grade III, IV, or V vesicoureteral reflux and no previous UTIs to receive continuous antibiotic prophylaxis (prophylaxis group) or no treatment (untreated group) for 24 months. The primary outcome was the occurrence of the first UTI during the trial period.

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Many quantitative imaging modalities are available that quantify chronic liver disease, although only a few of them are included in clinical guidelines. Many more imaging options are still competing to find their place in the area of diagnosing chronic liver disease. We report our first prospective single-center study evaluating different imaging modalities that stratify viral hepatitis-associated liver fibrosis in a treatment-naïve patient group.

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: Cardiac amyloidosis is an infiltrative, progressive, and restrictive cardiomyopathy that leads to heart failure, reduces life quality, and causes death. This is a multisystem disorder caused by mutations of the transthyretin protein and is associated not only with cardiac diseases or carpal tunnel syndrome but also with nerve, liver, lung, gastrointestinal tract, kidney, or eye pathologies. Carpal tunnel syndrome is an early red-flag symptom of transthyretin (TTR) cardiac amyloidosis; therefore, screening for unsuspected cardiac amyloidosis can be performed through histological testing of flexor retinaculum specimens gathered during carpal tunnel release surgery.

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-Chronic viral hepatitis B and C infections are one of the leading causes of chronic liver impairment, resulting in liver fibrosis and liver cirrhosis. An early diagnosis with accurate liver fibrosis staging leads to a proper diagnosis, thus tailoring correct treatment. Both invasive and noninvasive techniques are used in the diagnosis and staging of chronic liver impairment.

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Objectives: To find the imaging mortality predictors in patients with previous myocardial infarction (MI), symptomatic heart failure (HF), and reduced left ventricle (LV) ejection fraction (EF).

Methods: for the study 39 patients were selected prospectively with prior MI, symptomatic HF, and LVEF ≤40%. All patients underwent transthoracic echocardiography (TTE), single-photon emission computed tomography myocardial perfusion imaging (SPECT MPI), 18F-FDG positron emission tomography (FDG PET).

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Background and Objectives: To compare the accuracy of multimodality imaging (myocardial perfusion imaging with single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT MPI), 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (18F-FDG PET), and cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) in the evaluation of left ventricle (LV) myocardial viability for the patients with the myocardial infarction (MI) and symptomatic heart failure (HF). Materials and Methods: 31 consecutive patients were included in the study prospectively, with a history of previous myocardial infarction, symptomatic HF (NYHA) functional class II or above, reduced ejection fraction (EF) ≤ 40%. All patients had confirmed atherosclerotic coronary artery disease (CAD), but conflicting opinions regarding the need for percutaneous intervention due to the suspected myocardial scar tissue.

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Article Synopsis
  • Transbronchial cryobiopsy (TBCB) is being investigated for diagnosing peripheral lung cancer, with a study conducted in Lithuania involving 48 patients who also underwent transbronchial forceps biopsy (TBFB).
  • The results showed that TBCB had higher sensitivity (85.1% vs 72.9%) and accuracy (93% vs 88%) compared to TBFB, especially when combined with radial mini probe endobronchial ultrasound (RP-EBUS).
  • TBCB produced larger tissue samples (34.62 mm² vs 4.4 mm²) without severe complications, making it a promising and safe option for more effective diagnosis of peripheral lung lesions.
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Radiation-induced sarcoma (RIS) has been reported as a late secondary malignancy following radiotherapy for various types of cancer with a median latency of 10 years. We describe an early RIS that developed in an adolescent within three years of treatment (including PD-L1 check-point inhibitor Nivolumab) of a relapsed classic Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) and was diagnosed post-mortem. The patient died of the progressive RIS that was misleadingly assumed to be a resistant HL based on the positive PET/CT scan.

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  • The study evaluated the effectiveness of whole-body bone scintigraphy using 99mTc-MDP in diagnosing muscle damage due to arterial obstruction in 50 patients who had poor responses to prior treatments.
  • Forty-five patients showed significant muscle necrosis through scintigraphy results, confirmed by surgical outcomes or biopsies.
  • The scintigraphy demonstrated high sensitivity (97.3%) but lower specificity (30.77%), indicating it is a reliable diagnostic tool that aids in determining treatment plans for muscle necrosis.
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  • Abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs) may grow unpredictably after endovascular repair (EVAR), possibly due to ongoing degradation of the aortic wall related to low oxygen levels.
  • A study of 78 patients assessed the relationship between aortic wall density measured by computed tomography angiography (CTA) and the growth of aneurysm sacs post-EVAR.
  • Results indicated that lower aortic wall density was linked to AAA growth, with a significant difference in density between growing and stable or shrinking aneurysms.
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Background: Recent triple-blind sham procedure-controlled study revealed neutral effects of the cardiac shock wave therapy (CSWT) on exercise tolerance and symptoms in patients with stable angina. Current data about the effects of CSWT on global and regional myocardial contractility and perfusion is limited. Hereby we report the results of an imaging sub-study that evaluated the capacity of CSWT to ameliorate myocardial ischemia induced during dobutamine stress echocardiography (DSE) and cardiac single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT).

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Introduction: Renal artery denervation (RDN) is a new widely discussed method in treatment of hypertension. Most of the RDN studies assessed BP and arterial changes 3 and 6 months after the procedure, but there is a lack of trials that investigated early changes after RDN.

Aim: To investigate aortic stiffness 24-48 hours after the procedure and thus to examine whether RDN might have an early additive value for a cardiovascular risk decline beyond the lowering of blood pressure.

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Aims: The objective of the present study was to investigate an effect of renal artery sympathetic denervation (RASD) on patients with resistant hypertension and RASD effect on cardiac sympathetic nerve activity. It is known that an abnormally activated sympathetic tone is associated with progression of heart failure (HF).

Methods And Results: We investigated 16 patients with resistant arterial hypertension (mean age 54.

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Tumour-induced osteomalacia (TIO) is a rare paraneoplastic syndrome characterised by severe hypophosphataemia and osteomalacia, with renal phosphate wasting that occurs in association with tumour. The epidemiology likewise aetiology is not known. The clinical presentation of TIO includes bone fractures, bone and muscular pains, and sometimes height and weight loss.

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Extracranial congenital arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) are rare clinical entities that can be progressive in nature. The influence of pregnancy on lesion progression has been discussed in the past. This report presents an unusual case of 23-year-old primigravida woman who presented at 36 weeks' gestation with complicated necrotic ulceration and hemorrhage of the right gluteal region.

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Objective: Arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) are an uncommon vascular pathology that remains challenging to accurately diagnose and successfully treat. This study introduces a novel way to evaluate AVM treatment outcomes using transarterial lung perfusion scintigraphy (TLPS) and reports our treatment results.

Material And Methods: The patients treated for extracranial AVMs were studied retrospectively.

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