Validation of the new Sepsis-3 definitions: proposal for improvement in early risk identification.

Objectives: Sepsis-3 definitions generated controversies regarding their general applicability. The Sepsis-3 Task Force outlined the need for validation with emphasis on the quick Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (qSOFA) score. This was done in a prospective cohort from a different healthcare setting.

Erratum to: 36th International Symposium on Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine: Brussels, Belgium. 15-18 March 2016.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1186/s13054-016-1208-6.].

Malpingian carcinoma of the urinary bladder: A case series.

Context: Malpingian carcinoma (MC) of the bladder is a rare entity. Although distant metastases are very rare it is, usually, diagnosed in the advanced stage, and most patients die.

Aims: The aim was to reveal the characteristics of this tumor and discuss reasons explaining its particular biological behavior.

Improving outcomes of severe infections by multidrug-resistant pathogens with polyclonal IgM-enriched immunoglobulins.

The emergence of infections by multidrug-resistant (MDR) Gram-negative bacteria, which is accompanied by considerable mortality due to inappropriate therapy, led to the investigation of whether adjunctive treatment with one polyclonal IgM-enriched immunoglobulin preparation (IgGAM) would improve outcomes. One hundred patients in Greece with microbiologically confirmed severe infections by MDR Gram-negative bacteria acquired after admission to the Intensive Care Unit and treated with IgGAM were retrospectively analysed from a large prospective multicentre cohort. A similar number of patient comparators well-matched for stage of sepsis, source of infection, appropriateness of antimicrobials and co-morbidities coming from the same cohort were selected.

Prevalence and Characteristics of Extra-intestinal Manifestations in a Large Cohort of Greek Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

Background And Aims: Extraintestinal manifestations [EIMs] are common in inflammatory bowel disease [IBD]. Data on epidemiology and risk factors of EIMs in IBD patients are limited. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of EIMs in a large cohort of Greek IBD patients and identify risk factors for their development.

Effects of the 34C>T Variant of the AMPD1 Gene on Immune Function, Multi-Organ Dysfunction, and Mortality in Sepsis Patients.

Introduction: Adenosine exerts anti-inflammatory and tissue-protective effects during systemic inflammation. While the tissue-protective effects might limit organ damage, its anti-inflammatory properties may induce immunoparalysis and impede bacterial clearance. The common 34C>T loss-of-function variant of AMPD1 (rs17602729) is associated with increased adenosine formation, but effects on immune function and outcome in sepsis patients are unknown.

Systemic lupus erythematosus in Crohn's disease: drug-induced or idiopathic?

Coexistence of Crohn's disease (CD) and idiopathic systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is very rare. On the other hand, drug-induced lupus erythematosus (DILE) due to anti-tumor necrosis factor (TNF) agents is a relatively more common entity. DILE due to anti-TNF agents and idiopathic SLE share common serologic and epidemiologic characteristics making the differentiation between those two entities difficult.

Necrotizing soft tissue infection of the right anterolateral abdominal wall caused by a ruptured gangrenous appendix in an elderly diabetic patient.

Necrotizing soft tissue infections (NSTIs) of the abdominal wall usually occur when either a common superficial soft tissue infection progresses down to, or an injury (e.g. knife stab) penetrates, the investing muscle fascia, or an intra-abdominal infection spreads directly to the muscle layers of the abdominal wall.

Aggressive angiomyxoma of the vulva: a bizarre perineal lesion.

Introduction. Aggressive angiomyxoma is a rare, slowly growing, and benign tumour of mesenchymal origin, which affects women of reproductive age and is associated with a high risk of local recurrence. Case Presentation.

Treatment Modifications and Treatment-Limiting Toxicities or Side Effects: Risk Factors and Temporal Trends.

Combined antiretroviral treatment (cART) modifications are often required due to treatment failure or side effects. We investigate cART regimens' durability, frequency of treatment-limiting adverse events, and potential risk factors and temporal trends. Data were derived from the Athens Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study (AMACS).

Sessile serrated adenomas versus conventional adenomas. Different polyps in different populations?

Purpose: The aim of this study was to determine risk factors for the development of sessile serrated adenomas (SSA/Ps) as well as to study differences between groups with SSA/Ps and conventional adenomas (tubular, tubulovillus and villus) in the general population.

Methods: One hundred patients with normal colonoscopies, 27 patients with 53 SSA/Ps and 69 patients with 156 conventional adenomas were studied, epidemiological data were collected and calculations of body mass index and waist-to-hip ratio were performed prior to endoscopy. A univariate and a multivariate logistic regression analysis were performed using Stata 9.

Renal failure caused by malakoplakia lesions of the urinary bladder.

Μalakoplakia is a rare inflammatory condition of the urogenital tract. The most frequently affected organ is urinary bladder. This condition has features of a granulomatous inflammation, the pathogenesis of which is not well understood.

Effects of octreotide and insulin on colon cancer cellular proliferation and correlation with hTERT activity.

Peptide hormone somatostatin and its receptors have a wide range of physiological functions and play a role in the treatment of numerous human diseases, including colorectal cancer. Octreotide, a synthetic somatostatin-analog peptide, inhibits growth of colonic cancer cells primarily by binding to G-protein coupled receptors and elicits cellular responses through second-messenger systems. Insulin also initiates mitogenic signals in certain cell types.

Synchronous gastric gastrointestinal stromal tumor and colon adenocarcinoma: a case report.

Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) represent the majority of primary mesenchymal tumors of the gastrointestinal tract. They are generally considered to be solitary tumors and therefore the synchronous occurrence with other primary malignancies of gastrointestinal track is considered a rare event. Here we present the case of a 75-year-old man admitted to our hospital with a 10-day history of gastrointestinal bleeding.

Primary hepatic lymphoma: a challenging diagnosis.

Introduction. Primary hepatic lymphoma is an unusual malignancy and is very difficult to diagnose promptly. An intrigue case presenting with cholestatic jaundice is reviewed and main disease characteristics are further discussed.

Pseudosarcomatous myofibroblastic proliferation of the urinary bladder: a rare entity.

Pseudosarcomatous myofibroblastic proliferations are very unusual entities of unknown etiology. Despite its benign nature, this entity can easily be misdiagnosed (both clinically and histologically) as a malignant neoplasm. Hereby, we report a case of a 15-year-old woman who presented to our hospital with a broad-based polypoid mass located in the left posterior wall of the urinary bladder.

Acute steatohepatitis, due to extreme metabolic dysregulation, as the first presentation of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a slowly progressive chronic disease, with a high prevalence among obese, dyslipidemic or diabetic people, commonly presented as an asymptomatic mild elevation of serum aminotransferases. We report a patient who experienced an acute form of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, as the first manifestation of NAFLD, due to exacerbation of pre-existing metabolic disorders by an extremely unhealthy lifestyle. A 50-year old, obese, diabetic man presented with a one-week history of jaundice and malaise.

Vacuum-assisted therapy accelerates wound healing in necrotizing soft tissue infections: our experience in two intravenous drug abuse patients.

Negative pressure wound therapy using vacuum-assisted closure (VAC) devices is currently a well established technique for managing complicated wounds. Such wounds occur after aggressive surgical debridement for necrotizing soft tissue infections (NSTI). In this report we present our experience in two intravenous drug abusers managed with VAC for NSTIs.

Polymicrobial bloodstream infections: Epidemiology and impact on mortality.

The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of polymicrobial bloodstream infections (pBSIs) on the outcome of sepsis in an area where antimicrobial resistance is of concern. This was a retrospective analysis of data collected prospectively from patients developing BSI outside of an intensive care unit (non-ICU patients) or after ICU admission. Demographics and clinical characteristics were compared for patients with pBSI versus monomicrobial BSI (mBSI) and following stratification by ICU or non-ICU and severity of sepsis status.

"Enteroatmospheric fistulae"--gastrointestinal openings in the open abdomen: a review and recent proposal of a surgical technique.

The occurrence of an enteric fistula in the middle of an open abdomen is called an enteroatmospheric fistula, which is the most challenging and feared complication for a surgeon to deal with. It is in fact not a true fistula because it neither has a fistula tract nor is covered by a well-vascularized tissue. The mortality of enteroatmospheric fistulae was as high as 70% in past decades but is currently approximately 40% due to advanced modern intensive care and improved surgical techniques.

Human herpes virus-6 as a cause of recurrent posterior uveitis in a HIV-positive patient.

Purpose: To report a case of bilateral recurrent posterior uveitis caused by human herpes virus-6 (HHV-6) in a human immunodeficiency virus-positive individual.

Methods: Comprehensive ophthalmic examination, including imaging with optical coherence tomography, fluorescein and indocyanine green angiography, and adequate laboratory tests were performed. A human immunodeficiency virus-positive patient without any AIDS defining condition, with a history of recurrent bilateral posterior uveitis referred to us with the diagnosis of retinal detachment.

Serrated polyps of right colon: guilty or innocent?

In recent years a lot of interest has been focused on a specific category of polyps, the so-called serrated polyps which until recently were categorized with the hyperplastic or mixed polyps and were thought to have no risk of malignant transformation. Recently though, the serrated pathway of carcinogenesis was discovered and destroyed this myth. It is believed that up to one third of all colorectal cancers arise through the serrated pathway; these cancers occur more often in the proximal colon and have specific molecular characteristics.

Clinicopathological Characteristics of Four Cases of Adrenal Myelolipomas: A Rare Surgical Entity.

Myelolipomas are unusual benign tumors or tumor-like lesions, composed of hematopoietic cells and mature adipose tissue. They usually are asymptomatic and behave as non-functioning, unilateral, small adrenal tumors often found incidentally on imaging studies. We report the clinicopathological characteristics of four cases of adrenal myelolipomas treated in our hospital, worth to mention because of their rarity and their significant size.