Spotlight on Digital Eye Strain.

Digital Eye Strain (DES) is a clinical syndrome manifested with visual disturbances and/or ophthalmic dysfunction related to the usage of screen-enabled digital equipment. This term is gradually replacing the older term computer vision syndrome (CVS) that focused on the same symptoms found on personal computer users. DES is encountered more frequently during the past years due to the explosive increase in the usage of digital devices and subsequent increase in time in front of any screens.

A Case of Mucoepidermoid Carcinoma of the Larynx.

Mucoepidermoid carcinoma is a common malignant neoplasm of the salivary glands. While quite common in the oral cavity, it is rare in the larynx. A middle-aged male patient presented to the otolaryngology clinic of our institution with the chief complaint of hoarseness.

Hutch diverticulum: from embryology to clinical practice.

Hutch Diverticulum (HD) is defined as the protrusion of the mucosal and submucosal layer through the muscle bundles of the underlying detrusor muscle. HD is located at the vesicoureteral junction with a backward direction from the homolateral ureteral orifice. As far as its etiology is concerned, HD is caused either by a congenital muscle wall defect at the level where the Waldeyer's fascia occupies the clefts between the vesical part of the homolateral ureter and the detrusor, or is associated with abortive ureteral duplication or defective incorporation of mesonephric duct into the bladder at the site of ureteral hiatus or finally is associated with the development of transient urethral obstruction.

Risk of Subclinical Atherosclerosis in Patients with Antiphospholipid Syndrome and Subjects With Antiphospholipid Antibody Positivity: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Currently, the guidelines for the prevention of atherosclerosis in patients with antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) do not differ substantially from those in the general population. We aimed to assess the risk of subclinical atherosclerosis in patients with APS and subjects with antiphospholipid antibody (aPL) positivity. Systematic literature search was conducted through Medline and Scopus until January 2023.

T cell receptor gene repertoire profiles in subgroups of patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia bearing distinct genomic aberrations.

Background: Microenvironmental interactions of the malignant clone with T cells are critical throughout the natural history of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Indeed, clonal expansions of T cells and shared clonotypes exist between different CLL patients, strongly implying clonal selection by antigens. Moreover, immunogenic neoepitopes have been isolated from the clonotypic B cell receptor immunoglobulin sequences, offering a rationale for immunotherapeutic approaches.

New insights about prognosis of Spermatic Cord Torsion.

Spermatic Cord Torsion (SCT) is a serious surgical emergency. Prospective studies regarding the prognosis of the torsed testis lack in the global literature. Prompt diagnosis and treatment are crucial to increase the risk of saving the torsed testis.

A Remarkably Rare Position of a Cutaneous Ciliated Cyst in a 16 Month-old Female: A Case Report.

Objective: The aim of the work was to show a Cutaneous Ciliated Cyst (CCC) in an unusual location in a 16-month-old girl.

Case Report: We present the case of a 16-month otherwise healthy girl presented to our hospital, with a report of a palpable mass in the left suprascapular region. Physical examination revealed a soft-textured, fluctuating, mobile and painless entity, with no further indications of local inflammation.

Quality metrics in the management of acute stroke in Greece during the first 5 years of Registry of Stroke Care Quality (RES-Q) implementation.

Introduction: Establishment of a prospective stroke registry may promote the documentation and improvement of acute stroke care. We present the status of stroke management in Greece using the Registry of Stroke Care Quality (RES-Q) dataset.

Methods: Consecutive patients with acute stroke were prospectively registered in RES-Q registry by contributing sites in Greece during the years 2017-2021.

Mediterranean Diet and Physical Activity Nudges versus Usual Care in Women with Rheumatoid Arthritis: Results from the MADEIRA Randomized Controlled Trial.

In rheumatoid arthritis (RA), diet quality and nutritional status have been shown to impact the disease activity and adherence to the Mediterranean diet (MD) has been suggested as an anti-inflammatory regime to improve disease status and reduce cardiovascular risk. The Mediterranean DiEt In Rheumatoid Arthritis (MADEIRA) was a single-blind (statistician), two-arm randomized clinical trial, investigating the effects of a 12-week lifestyle intervention, including a personalized isocaloric MD plan with the promotion of physical activity (PA), supported through a clinical decision support systems (CDSS) platform, versus usual care in women with RA. Forty adult women with RA on remission were randomly allocated (1:1 ratio) to either the intervention or the control arm.

Satisfactory outcomes of patellar tendon reconstruction using achilles' tendon allograft with bone block after infected total knee arthroplasty.

Purpose: Extensor mechanism disruption is an uncommon and devastating complication after total knee arthroplasty. It negatively affects patients' quality of life and leads to significant functional limitations and the inability to stand and walk. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the outcomes of the extensor mechanism reconstruction using Achilles' tendon allograft after infected total knee arthroplasty.

Advances in Heart Failure with Preserved Ejection Fraction Management - The Role of Sacubitril-Valsartan, Pirfenidone, Spironolactone and Empagliflozin: Is Success a Series of Small Victories?

Background: Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) is a syndrome characterized by marked heterogeneity in comorbidities and etiopathology substrates, leading to a diverse range of clinical manifestations and courses. Treatment options have been extremely limited and up to this day, there are virtually no pharmaceutical agents proven to reduce mortality in these patients.

Objective: The primary objective of this narrative review is to critically summarize existing evidence regarding the use of Angiotensin Receptor-Neprilysin Inhibitor (ARNI), spironolactone, pirfenidone and empagliflozin in HFpEF.

COVID-19-Associated Pulmonary Aspergillosis (CAPA) in Northern Greece during 2020-2022: A Comparative Study According to the Main Consensus Criteria and Definitions.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)-associated pulmonary aspergillosis (CAPA) has emerged as an important complication among patients with acute respiratory failure due to SARS-CoV-2 infection. Almost 2.5 years since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, it continues to raise concerns as an extra factor that contributes to increased mortality, which is mostly because its diagnosis and management remain challenging.

Efficacy and safety of early soluble urokinase plasminogen receptor plasma-guided anakinra treatment of COVID-19 pneumonia: A subgroup analysis of the SAVE-MORE randomised trial.

Background: The SAVE-MORE trial demonstrated that anakinra treatment in COVID-19 pneumonia with plasma soluble urokinase plasminogen activator (suPAR) levels of 6 ng/mL or more was associated with 0.36 odds for a worse outcome compared to placebo when expressed by the WHO-Clinical Progression Scale (CPS) at day 28. Herein, we report the results of subgroup analyses and long-term outcomes.

Interferon gamma-induced protein 10 (IP-10) for the early prognosis of the risk for severe respiratory failure and death in COVID-19 pneumonia.

Objectives: Elevated concentrations of soluble urokinase plasminogen activator receptor (suPAR) predict progression to severe respiratory failure (SRF) or death among patients with COVID-19 pneumonia and guide early anakinra treatment. As suPAR testing may not be routinely available in every health-care setting, alternative biomarkers are needed. We investigated the performance of C-reactive protein (CRP), interferon gamma-induced protein-10 (IP-10) and TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) for predicting SRF or death in COVID-19.

An Approach to Identify HLA Class II Immunogenic Epitopes in the Greek Population through Machine Learning Algorithms.

Current pre-transplantation routine matching involves serum anti-HLA antibodies quantification but cannot always preclude unfavorable graft outcomes. Epitope-based matching is proposed as a more precise approach, but to date no epitope-matching algorithm provides a satisfactory predictive tool for transplantation outcomes. In this study, anti-HLA-II loci responses from 1748 patients were analyzed with unsupervised machine learning algorithms, namely principal component analysis (PCA) and antigenic distances, projected as dendrograms.

Can bronchial secretion cultures identify the etiologic agent of COVID-19-associated pulmonary aspergillosis in ICU patients? Comparison with a species-specific Aspergillus PCR in serum.

Aspergillus spp. isolated from non-BAL cultures of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)-associated pulmonary aspergillosis (CAPA) patients may reflect colonization rather than infection. Sera (n = 181) from 49 adult ICU CAPA patients (24 probable and 25 possible CAPA) with bronchial secretions (BS) culture positive for Aspergillus spp.

Toward personalized immunotherapy in sepsis: The PROVIDE randomized clinical trial.

The state of immune activation may guide targeted immunotherapy in sepsis. In a double-blind, double-dummy randomized clinical study, 240 patients with sepsis due to lung infection, bacteremia, or acute cholangitis were subjected to measurements of serum ferritin and HLA-DR/CD14. Patients with macrophage activation-like syndrome (MALS) or immunoparalysis were randomized to treatment with anakinra or recombinant interferon-gamma or placebo.