Effect of Osimertinib on CTCs and ctDNA in EGFR Mutant Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Patients: The Prognostic Relevance of Liquid Biopsy.

Introduction: Liquid biopsy is a useful tool for monitoring treatment outcome in solid tumors, including lung cancer. The relevance of monitoring CTCs and plasma ctDNA as predictors of clinical outcome was assessed in EGFR-mutant NSCLC patients treated with osimertinib.

Methods: Forty-seven EGFR-mutant NSCLC patients who had progressed on prior first- or second-generation EGFR inhibitors were enrolled in the study and treated with osimertinib, irrespective of the presence of the T790M mutation in the primary tumor or the plasma.

Healthcare-associated infections in adult intensive care unit patients: Changes in epidemiology, diagnosis, prevention and contributions of new technologies.

Patients in intensive care units (ICUs) are at high risk for healthcare-acquired infections (HAI) due to the high prevalence of invasive procedures and devices, induced immunosuppression, comorbidity, frailty and increased age. Over the past decade we have seen a successful reduction in the incidence of HAI related to invasive procedures and devices. However, the rate of ICU-acquired infections remains high.

Association of the advanced lung cancer inflammation index (ALI) with immune checkpoint inhibitor efficacy in patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer.

Background: The advanced lung cancer inflammation index [ALI: body mass index × serum albumin/neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR)] reflects systemic host inflammation, and is easily reproducible. We hypothesized that ALI could assist guidance of non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) treatment with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs).

Patients And Methods: This retrospective study included 672 stage IV NSCLC patients treated with programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) inhibitors alone or in combination with chemotherapy in 25 centers in Greece and Germany, and a control cohort of 444 stage IV NSCLC patients treated with platinum-based chemotherapy without subsequent targeted or immunotherapy drugs.

Update in COVID-19 in the intensive care unit from the 2020 HELLENIC Athens International symposium.

The 2020 International Web Scientific Event in COVID-19 pandemic in critically ill patients aimed at updating the information and knowledge on the COVID-19 pandemic in the intensive care unit. Experts reviewed the latest literature relating to the COVID-19 pandemic in critically ill patients, such as epidemiology, pathophysiology, phenotypes of infection, COVID-19 as a systematic infection, molecular diagnosis, mechanical ventilation, thromboprophylaxis, COVID-19 associated co-infections, immunotherapy, plasma treatment, catheter-related bloodstream infections, artificial intelligence for COVID-19, and vaccination. Antiviral therapy and co-infections are out of the scope of this review.

Predictors of Adverse Outcomes in Patients With Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Cardiomyopathy: A Meta-Analysis of Observational Studies.

Arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy (AC) is a hereditary disorder characterized by degeneration of cardiac myocytes and their subsequent replacement by fat and fibrous tissue primarily in the right ventricle. Our study aimed to systematically evaluate the impact of significant demographic, clinical, electrocardiographic, and echocardiographic factors in arrhythmic events in AC patients. MEDLINE and Cochrane library databases were manually searched without year or language restriction or any other limits until July 31, 2017.

Diagnostic and therapeutic approach to infectious diseases in solid organ transplant recipients.

Purpose: Prognosis of solid organ transplant (SOT) recipients has improved, mainly because of better prevention of rejection by immunosuppressive therapies. However, SOT recipients are highly susceptible to conventional and opportunistic infections, which represent a major cause of morbidity, graft dysfunction and mortality.

Methods: Narrative review.

Enteritis-associated Acute Febrile Neutrophilic Dermatosis with Acute Monoarthritis.

Febrile neutrofilic dermatosis is an uncommon entity with complex pathophysiology, usually secondary to an infection, a malignancy or an autoimmune disease. Extracutaneous manifestations of the disease are very rare as well. We report a patient with histologically confirmed acute febrile neutrophilic dermatosis caused by viral enteritis that was presented with painful rash along with acute monoarthritis and treated with oral corticosteroids.

[Reliability and validity of the Greek version of the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT)].

Problems associated with alcohol abuse are recognised by the World Health Organization as a major health issue. Because of the size and severity of the problem, early detection is very important.This requires easy to use and specific tools.

Percutaneous radiofrequency thermal ablation in the management of lung tumors: presentation of clinical experience on a series of 35 patients.

Purpose: To present our results in a series of 35 patients with malignant pulmonary lesions, who underwent radiofrequency thermal ablation (RFA) during a period of 18 months.

Materials And Methods: In our institution, 55 RFA sessions under computed tomography (CT) guidance were performed on 48 pulmonary malignant lesions (23 inoperable primary and 25 metastatic) in 35 patients.

Results: Total necrosis was noted in 19 primary (82.

Spondylodiscitis due to Stenotrophomonas maltophilia.

Stenotrophomonas maltophilia is an increasingly recognized cause of severe nosocomial infections, especially in immunocompromised patients. Community-acquired infections have also been reported. Spondylodiscitis due to S.

Sarcoidosis in untreated chronic hepatitis C virus infection.

Chronic hepatitis C has been implicated in the pathogenesis of sarcoidosis in several cases of patients treated with interferon-alpha. On the other hand, only in a few cases previously has a possible link between sarcoidosis and untreated chronic hepatitis C virus infection been demonstrated. We report on a patient with chronic hepatitis C who developed cutaneous sarcoidosis without prior interferon-alpha treatment.