Background: Normal blood pressure (BP) follows a circadian rhythm, with dipping of BP at night. However, knowledge is limited in how the nocturnal dipping in hypertensive patients changes with the seasons. The study aims to examine the pattern of seasonal changes of nocturnal dip in an Irish population and furthermore, to compare it to the pattern observed near the equator where such seasonal variations are minimal, by also studying a Singaporean population.
Methods: Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitor recordings were obtained from 220 patients, half were from Mercy University Hospital, Cork, Ireland and half from the National Heart Centre, Singapore during the summer period from May to June and the winter period from October to December.
Results: Irish seasonal changes resulted in an increase in nocturnal dipping in the hypertensive patients, especially for diastolic pressure (95% CI, 0.72 to 6.03, 3.37mmHg; p<0.05) and a change in the duration of dipping at night (95% CI, 0.045 to 1.01, 0.53h; p < 0.05). In Singapore, slight differences in dipping in systolic pressure were apparent despite the presence of only minor alterations in temperature (95% CI, 0.38 to 4.83, 2.61mmHg; P<0.05) or duration of daylight.
Conclusion: Seasonal changes not only affected the daily blood pressure but also the night time dipping status in hypertensive patients by mean value of 1.99mmHg and 3.38mmHg for systolic and diastolic pressure dip respectively. This has implications on how hypertensive patients should be treated during different seasons and when they are traveling to countries of different climatic environment.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ctrsc.2015.10.006 | DOI Listing |
Hematology
December 2025
Department of Blood Transfusion, First Affiliated Hospital, Third Military Medical University (Army Medical University), Chongqing, People's Republic of China.
Background: Platelet concentrates play an important role in clinical treatment such as platelet function disorders and thrombocytopenia. In the process of preparation and storage of platelets, centrifugation, leukofiltration, and agitation will cause morphological changes and impaired function of platelets, which is associated with the increase of platelet transfusion refractoriness, and named as platelet storage lesion (PSL).
Method: This paper proposes three major operations (centrifugation, agitation, and leukofiltration) that platelets experience during the preparation and storage process, to explore the effect of physical cues on PSL.
Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol
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Metabolic and Immune Diseases Department, Biomedical Research Institute Sols-Morreale (IIBM), National Research Council (CSIC), Autonoma University of Madrid, Spain (T.A.-G., S.M.-T., R.C.-M., S.U.-B., S.M.-P.).
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View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Pain Res
January 2025
Department of Anesthesiology, The Second Hospital, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan, 250033, People's Republic of China.
Background: Postoperative sore throat (POST) is a significant adverse effect after endotracheal intubation, especially with double-lumen endotracheal tubes (DLTs). Ultrasound-guided internal branch of the superior laryngeal nerve block (US-guided iSLNB) presents a potential intervention for POST. In this first randomized controlled trial to date, we aimed to investigate the effects of US-guided iSLNB, with or without perineural dexmedetomidine, on the incidence and severity of POST following DLTs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTrauma Surg Acute Care Open
January 2025
Trauma and Emergency Surgery, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital Linkou, Taoyuan, Taiwan.
Introduction: Pelvic fractures often result in life-threatening bleeding and hemodynamic instability. Resuscitative endovascular balloon occlusion of the aorta (REBOA) has emerged as a promising strategy for patients with severe pelvic fractures, facilitating subsequent hemostatic interventions. Transcatheter arterial embolization (TAE) is a well-established procedure for managing pelvic fractures accompanied by hemorrhage.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRight ventricular heart failure (RV HF) is the leading cause of death in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Relevance of the low-risk status assessment using available diagnostic tools requires a reliable confirmation. The study aimed to evaluate right ventricular perfusion and glucose metabolism using positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) with [13N]-ammonia and [18F]-fluorodeoxyglucose ([18F]-FDG) in 30 IPAH patients (33.
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