A qualitative investigation of the relevance of skin irritation and self-confidence bolt-ons and their conceptual overlap with the EQ-5D in patients with psoriasis.

Objectives: A number of bolt-ons have been proposed for the EQ-5D, including two psoriasis-specific bolt-ons, skin irritation and self-confidence. The study investigates and compares the relevance and comprehensiveness of these psoriasis-specific bolt-ons and the EQ-5D-5L and explores the potential conceptual overlaps between the existing five dimensions and the two bolt-ons.

Methods: Psoriasis patients were purposively sampled according to age and gender.

Frailty and Emergency Surgery: Results of a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Background: Frailty, a "syndrome of loss of reserves," is a decade old concept. Initially it was used mainly in geriatrics but lately its use has been extended into other specialties including surgery. Our main objective was to examine the association between frailty and mortality, between frailty and length of hospital stay (LOS) and frailty and readmission within 30 days in the emergency surgical population.

Comparing the psychometric properties of the EQ-5D-3L and EQ-5D-5L descriptive systems and utilities in atopic dermatitis.

Background: Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a common chronic inflammatory skin disorder affecting up to 10% of adults. The EQ-5D is the most commonly used generic preference-accompanied measure to generate quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) for economic evaluations.

Objectives: We aimed to compare psychometric properties of the three-level and five-level EQ-5D (EQ-5D-3L and EQ-5D-5L) in adult patients with AD.

Anaemia Is Associated with an Increased Risk of Fractures, a Systematic Review, and Meta-Analysis.

Background: Anaemia and osteoporotic fractures are both major health problems among older adults worldwide.

Objectives: Previous studies suggest that anaemia may be associated with elevated fracture risk among older adults; however, the exact relationship between them is unknown. We aimed to investigate the association between anaemia and fracture risk.

Differential Diagnostic Challenges in the COVID-19 Pandemic: Renal Abscess After SARS-CoV-2 Infection in a Young Adolescent.

BACKGROUND Prolonged fever in pediatric patients is often a diagnostic challenge. Clinicians tend to associate prolonged fever with COVID-19-related diseases in patients with a history of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Here we present a patient who was admitted with a clinical suspicion of multi-inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) and was finally diagnosed with a renal abscess.

Assessment of cognitive function in long-term Hodgkin lymphoma survivors, results based on data from a major treatment center in Hungary.

Introduction: Nowadays, more than 80% of newly diagnosed classical Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) patients can be cured and become long-term survivors due to risk and response-adapted treatment strategies. A well-known side effect is cognitive dysfunction that appears in HL patients after chemotherapy. In the present study, we aimed to measure cognitive dysfunction in our HL patients in this study and to find potential correlations between patient-related factors, the signs and symptoms of their diseases, or therapeutic factors.

Efficacy of Treatments in Nonarteritic Ischemic Optic Neuropathy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Background: Nonarteritic Anterior Ischemic Optic Neuropathy (NAION) is the second most common cause of optic nerve-related permanent visual loss in adults.

Aim: We aimed to analyze the efficacy of the noninvasive and minimally invasive therapeutic options of NAION.

Methods: We performed a systematic literature search in MEDLINE, EMBASE, and CENTRAL from inception to 10 June 2019 to identify the studies that report on the effect of different therapies on visual acuity (VA) and visual field (VF).

Association of Body Mass Index With Clinical Outcomes in Patients With Cystic Fibrosis: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Importance: The prevalence of overweight (body mass index [BMI] = 25-29.9 [calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared]) and obesity (BMI ≥30) is increasing among patients with cystic fibrosis (CF). However, it is unclear whether there is a benefit associated with increasing weight compared with the reference range (ie, normal) in CF.

Imaging of Ischemia/Reperfusion-mediated Aminopeptidase N Expression in Surgical Rat Model Using Ga-NOTA-c(NGR).

Background/aim: Previous studies have already shown that Gallium(Ga)-labeled NGR-based radiopharmaceuticals specifically bind to the neoangiogenic molecule Aminopeptidase N (APN/CD13). The aim of this study was to evaluate the applicability of Ga-NOTA-c(NGR) in the in vivo detection of the temporal changes of APN/CD13 expression in the diabetic retinopathy rat model using positron emission tomography (PET).

Materials And Methods: Ischemia/reperfusion injury was initiated by surgical ligation of the left bulbus oculi of rats.

Immune response to influenza and pneumococcal vaccines in adults with inflammatory bowel disease: A systematic review and meta-analysis of 1429 patients.

Background: Patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) have a high risk for infection. Pneumonia related to influenza and pneumococcal infection is one of the most common infection-related complications in IBD.

Aims: To evaluate the immunogenicity of pneumococcal and influenza vaccination in patients with IBD receiving different treatments.

Seroconversion after anti-SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccinations among moderate-to-severe psoriatic patients receiving systemic biologicals-Prospective observational cohort study.

It is unclear whether biological antipsoriatic therapies affect seroconversion after messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA)-based antisevere acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (anti-SARS-CoV-2) vaccinations. To assess antibody formation and the incidence of side effects after anti-SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccinations in psoriatic patients receiving different biologicals compared to healthy controls. 102 moderate-to-severe psoriatic patients (56.

Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS) indicated frailty is associated with increased in-hospital and 30-day mortality in COVID-19 patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: The concept of frailty provides an age-independent, easy-to-use tool for risk stratification. We aimed to summarize the evidence on the efficacy of frailty tools in risk assessment in COVID-19 patients.

Methods: The protocol was registered (CRD42021241544).

Left atrial volume changes during exercise stress echocardiography in heart failure and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

Objective: We aimed to assess feasibility and functional correlates of left atrial volume index (LAVI) changes during exercise stress echocardiography (ESE).

Methods: ESE on a bike or treadmill was performed in 363 patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF, n = 173), reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF, n = 59), or hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM, n = 131). The LAVI stress-rest increase ≥6.

Exosomes as prognostic biomarkers in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma-a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Extensive research is focused on the role of liquid biopsy in pancreatic cancer since reliable diagnostic and follow-up biomarkers represent an unmet need for this highly lethal malignancy. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis on the prognostic value of exosomal biomarkers in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). MEDLINE, Embase, Scopus, Web of Science, and CENTRAL were systematically searched on the 18th of January, 2021 for studies reporting on the differences in overall (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) in PDAC patients with positive vs negative exosomal biomarkers isolated from blood.

Infection Is Associated With Carotid Intima and Media Thickening: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Background () infection affects ≈4.4 billion people worldwide. Several studies suggest that this pathogen impacts the digestive system, causing diverse and severe conditions, and results in extragastrointestinal disorders like vascular diseases.

Synthesis of Ga-Labeled cNGR-Based Glycopeptides and In Vivo Evaluation by PET Imaging.

Tumor hypoxia induces angiogenesis, which is required for tumor cell survival. The aminopeptidase N receptor (APN/CD13) is an excellent marker of angiogenesis since it is overexpressed in angiogenic blood vessels and in tumor cells. Asparagine-glycine-arginine (NGR) peptide analogs bind selectively to the APN/CD13 recepto, therefore, they are important vector molecules in the development of a PET radiotracer which is capable of detecting APN-rich tumors.

Prevalence and Prognostic Significance of Hyponatremia in Patients With Lung Cancer: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

The prevalence of hyponatremia is highly variable among patients with lung cancer. However, its prevalence and prognostic significance in subgroups of patients with lung cancer have not yet been evaluated in a meta-analysis. We have registered our meta-analysis and review protocol to the PROSPERO International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews, with the following registration number: CRD42020167013.

Mesenchymal-Stromal Cell-like Melanoma-Associated Fibroblasts Increase IL-10 Production by Macrophages in a Cyclooxygenase/Indoleamine 2,3-Dioxygenase-Dependent Manner.

Melanoma-associated fibroblasts (MAFs) are integral parts of melanoma, providing a protective network for melanoma cells. The phenotypical and functional similarities between MAFs and mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) prompted us to investigate if, similarly to MSCs, MAFs are capable of modulating macrophage functions. Using immunohistochemistry, we showed that MAFs and macrophages are in intimate contact within the tumor stroma.

Alterations of Selected Hemorheological and Metabolic Parameters Induced by Physical Activity in Untrained Men and Sportsmen.

Optimal tissue oxygen supply is essential for proper athletic performance and endurance. It also depends on perfusion, so on hemorheological properties and microcirculation. Regular exercise is beneficial to the rheological status, depending on its type, intensity, and duration.

Extracorporeal Cytokine Removal in Critically Ill COVID-19 Patients: A Case Series.

Extracorporeal hemoadsorption (HA) is a potential adjunctive therapy in severe cases of COVID-19 associated pneumonia. In this retrospective study we report data from critically ill patients treated with HA during the first and second wave of the pandemic. All patients, who received HA therapy with CytoSorb within the first 96 h of intensive care unit (ICU) admission without hospital-acquired bacterial superinfection, were included.

Inflammatory Biomarkers Are Inaccurate Indicators of Bacterial Infection on Admission in Patients With Acute Exacerbation of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease-A Systematic Review and Diagnostic Accuracy Network Meta-Analysis.

The value of inflammatory biomarkers in the diagnosis of bacterial infection induced acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD) is currently unclear. Our objective was to investigate the diagnostic accuracy of on-admission inflammatory biomarkers in differentiating bacterial origin in AECOPD. Systematic literature search was performed to include cross-sectional studies on AECOPD patients with microbiological culture results as gold standard, and at least one on-admission inflammatory biomarker determined from serum: C-reactive protein (CRP), procalcitonin (PCT), neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio, eosinophil percentage, CD64index; or sputum: neutrophil elastase, tumor necrosis factor alfa, interleukin-1-beta (IL-1b), interleukin-8, sputum color, as index tests.

Prognostic role of cell-free DNA biomarkers in pancreatic adenocarcinoma: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

This systematic review and meta-analysis evaluated the prognostic role of cell-free DNA (cfDNA) in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Eligible studies reported differences in overall (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) by cfDNA status. The random effect model yielded the pooled hazard ratios (HRs) and 95 % confidence intervals (CI).

Revealing Distress and Perceived Stress among Dentists at the Outset of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Factor Analytic Study.

Dentists' perceptions about the stressfulness of clinical practice are well-documented, but literature on perceived stress and psychological distress experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic is scarce. This study aims to explore the emotions and attitudes, and the socio-demographic, dental, and COVID-related factors that are associated with the emergence of perceived stress and psychological distress that have been experienced by dentists during the COVID-19 pandemic. General demographic and dental-related data, and specific questions measuring the potential factors regarding dental professionals' concerns and opinions about their professional circumstances during the pandemic, were electronically collected from 182 dental practitioners.