The impact of religion on changes in end-of-life practices in European intensive care units: a comparative analysis over 16 years.

Purpose: Religious beliefs affect end-of-life practices in intensive care units (ICUs). Changes over time in end-of-life practices were not investigated regarding religions.

Methods: Twenty-two European ICUs (3 regions: Northern, Central, and Southern Europe) participated in both Ethicus-1 (years 1999-2000) and Ethicus-2 studies (years 2015-2016).

Procedural and long-term outcome among patients undergoing expedited trans-catheter aortic valve replacement.

Objective: Patients with rapidly deteriorating clinical status due to severe aortic stenosis are often referred for expedited transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). Data regarding the outcome of such interventions is limited. We aimed to evaluate the outcome of patients undergoing expedited TAVR.

Global Comparison of Communication of End-of-Life Decisions in the ICU.

Background: Prolonging life in the ICU increasingly is possible, so decisions to limit life-sustaining therapies frequently are made and communicated to patients and families or surrogates. Little is known about worldwide communication practices and influencing factors.

Research Question: Are there regional differences in end-of-life communication practices in ICUs worldwide?

Study Design And Methods: This analysis of data from a prospective, international study specifically addressed end-of-life communications in consecutive patients who died or had limitation of life-sustaining therapy over 6 months in 199 ICUs in 36 countries, grouped regionally.

Caring babies: Concern for others in distress during infancy.

Concern for distressed others is a highly valued human capacity, but little is known about its early ontogeny. Theoretical accounts of empathy development have emphasized stages, but this has been called into question. This study sheds new light on four key issues: onset, consistency, development, and predictive power of early manifestations of concern for others.

Validation of cardiac damage classification and addition of albumin in a large cohort of patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve replacement.

Aims: We aimed to validate a new scoring system based on extent of cardiac damage for risk stratification in patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) in a real-world cohort and to examine the addition of baseline albumin in risk assessment.

Methods And Results: We investigated 2608 patients undergoing TAVR. Subjects were divided into five groups based on their echocardiography findings.

Dumping syndrome following nissen fundoplication in an adult patient diagnosed by continuous online 13C/12C monitoring of ¹³C-Octanoic acid breath test "a case report".

Background: Nissen Fundoplication is a common surgical procedure performed in treating gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). Complications include dysphagia, gastric hypersensitivity, abnormal gastric motility, gas bloat syndrome and GERD relapse. Dumping syndrome may occur when a large volume of gastric content is delivered to the duodenum or jejunum, resulting in both gastrointestinal and vasomotor symptoms.

[Fallopian tube torsion--a rare complication in the reproductive age].

Isolated fallopian tube torsion (ITT) is a rare condition defined as a total or partial rotation of the fallopian tube around its vascular axis. The torsion initiaLLy interferes with the venous and lymphatic circulation. If unrelieved in time, rapid progression occurs, occluding the arterial circulation and Leading to gangrene and hemorrhagic necrosis.

[Chronic pelvic pain and Allen-Masters syndrome].

Allen-Masters syndrome, first described at 1955, is considered an uncommon etiology for chronic pelvic pain. The syndrome associates traumatic delivery to lacerations found on the posterior leaf of the broad Ligament. The authors report the clinical and laparoscopic findings of a female patient who was admitted to their department for evaluation due to chronic pelvic pain.

[Benign recurrent intrahepatic cholestasis type-II--a rare cause of direct hyperbilirubinemia exacerbations with hepatic fibrosis].

Direct hyperbilirubinemia, may result from a variety of pathologies, including structural obstructions with biliary tract occlusions (as in cholelithiasis), infections (e.g. hepatitis) and genetic disorders (Rotor's and Dubin-Johnson's syndrome).

Addition of biphasic insulin aspart 30 to rosiglitazone in type 2 diabetes mellitus that is poorly controlled with glibenclamide monotherapy.

Background: The incidence of type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) is rapidly increasing worldwide. Results from large-scale studies show that tight blood glucose (BG) control improves the outcome of patients with type 2 DM.

Objective: This trial assessed the short-term efficacy and tolerability of adding a thiazolidinedione (rosiglitazone [ROS]) to existing sulfonylurea (SU) therapy (glibenclamide) compared with switching to combination treatment with a premixed insulin (biphasic insulin aspart 30 [BIAsp 30], a rapid-acting insulin analog) and the thiazolidinedione in a select group of patients with type 2 DM whose metabolic control was inadequate with SU monotherapy.

[Hyperemesis gravidarum: an updated review].

Hyperemesis gravidarum is a common entity characterized by severe and protracted vomiting during pregnancy not attributed to any organic or metabolic condition other than pregnancy itself. It may lead to fluid and electrolyte imbalances as well as ketosis, and its diagnosis is made per exclusion. While the accurate etiology and pathophysiology of hyperemesis gravidarum remain largely unknown, numerous theories have been proposed in attempts to explain this peculiar phenomenon.

Correlation between fasting glucose in the first trimester and glucose challenge test in the second.

Objective: To determine if there is a statistically significant correlation between the plasma glucose level obtained following a glucose challenge test at 24-28 weeks' gestation and the fasting plasma glucose level in the first trimester.

Methods: The study population included 621 healthy women with singleton pregnancies followed in the antenatal clinic of the Hadassah Medical Center, with a fasting plasma glucose level performed during the first trimester. Nine women had fasting blood glucose levels above 105 mg/dL and were excluded from the study.

Early treatment of gestational diabetes reduces the rate of fetal macrosomia.

This study tested the hypothesis that to reduce the rate of macrosomic infants in gestational diabetes cases, good glycemic control should be initiated before 34 completed gestational weeks. The study population included 84 women with gestational diabetes, ascertained by universal screening of all women attending the antenatal clinic of the Hadassah Medical Center, over a 2-year period. The 60 women (71%), who initiated treatment before 34 completed weeks, composed the "early" group.

Ethical and legal aspects of assisted reproduction practice in Asia.

This report describes the ethical and legal aspects of assisted reproduction technology (ART) that have been instituted in Asian countries. The data were collected by a questionnaire circulated to ART units in Asia. These are Taiwan, Singapore, Korea, Indonesia, Thailand, Japan, Iran, India, Jordan, Malaysia, China, Israel, Hong Kong, Pakistan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and Persian Gulf countries.

Ovarian cysts in premenopausal and postmenopausal tamoxifen-treated women with breast cancer.

Objective: Our purpose was to investigate the frequency of ovarian cysts in tamoxifen-treated breast cancer patients.

Study Design: The study population included 95 consecutive tamoxifen-treated premenopausal and postmenopausal women with breast cancer who were followed up by the outpatient clinic at the Hadassah University Hospital between September 1990 and June 1992. Tamoxifen was administered orally (20 mg/day).

Human menopausal gonadotropin and the risk of epithelial ovarian cancer.

Objective: To determine whether women with epithelial ovarian cancer are more likely to have been exposed to fertility drugs, and in particular hMG, than healthy population controls.

Design: A nationwide case-control study.

Patients: Two hundred living women 36 to 64 years of age, with a histologically confirmed diagnosis of primary invasive or borderline epithelial ovarian cancer that was first diagnosed and reported to the Israel Cancer Registry between January 1, 1990 and September 1, 1993 were enrolled.

The use of vaginal tablets as a vehicle for steroid replacement in a donor oocyte program.

Nine women enrolled in the donor egg program received in a preparatory cycle 6 mg of E2 by vaginal tablets two times per day for the first 14 days, followed by a combined preparation of 6 mg of E2 and 50 mg of P as vaginal tablets, two times per day for another 14 days. Adequate serum levels of E2 and P and favorable sonographic endometrial thickness were achieved throughout the cycle in all patients. Eight endometrial biopsies taken on days 25 to 26 were independently assessed as being representative of day 25 +/- 2.