rs2076295 variants influence nintedanib and pirfenidone outcomes in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis: a pilot study.

Background: The antifibrotic drugs nintedanib and pirfenidone are used for the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). We analysed the association of common profibrotic polymorphisms in (mucin 5B, rs35705950) and (desmoplakin, rs2076295) on antifibrotic treatment outcomes in IPF.

Methods: rs35705950 and rs2076295 were assessed in IPF patients ( = 210, 139 men/71 women) from the Czech EMPIRE registry and age- or sex-matched healthy individuals ( = 205, 125 men/80 women).

Comparison of structural variants detected by optical mapping with long-read next-generation sequencing.

Motivation: Recent studies have shown the potential of using long-read whole-genome sequencing (WGS) approaches and optical mapping (OM) for the detection of clinically relevant structural variants (SVs) in cancer research. Three main long-read WGS platforms are currently in use: Pacific Biosciences (PacBio), Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT) and 10x Genomics. Recently, whole-genome OM technology (Bionano Genomics) has been introduced into human diagnostics.

[Hospital-acquired pneumonia in the light of current recommendations - is there a space for improving patient care?].

Hospital-acquired pneumonia (HAP) is an infection of the lung parenchyma. It is the second most frequent nosocomial infection and the leading cause of death from infection in critically ill patients. Hospital-acquired and, particularly, ventilator-associated pneumonia prolong the hospital stay and increase treatment costs.

Vacuum-assisted vaginal delivery and levator ani avulsion in primiparous women.

Objective: We compared the incidence and type of levator ani avulsion diagnosed by translabial ultrasound evaluation in primiparous women six months after vacuum-assisted or spontaneous vaginal delivery.

Material And Methods: This retrospective observational study was performed between January 2011 and December 2013. Primiparous women six months after vacuum-assisted vaginal delivery and after spontaneous vaginal delivery underwent translabial ultrasound evaluation.

Pulsed radiofrequency therapy versus greater occipital nerve block in the management of refractory cervicogenic headache - a pilot study.

The aim of this pilot study was to compare the efficacy of pulsed radiofrequency to the greater occipital nerve versus a greater occipital nerve block with a mixture of local anaesthetic and steroid in the management of refractory cervicogenic headache. We enrolled 30 patients suffering from refractory cervicogenic headache. Patients were randomly allocated into two groups of fifteen.