How the Tc-DMSA scintigraphy findings are reflected in the adopted treatment of primary vesicoureteral reflux: One centre experience.

Background: Renal changes may have long-term sequalae and prevention is a main goal of management of primary vesicoureteral reflux (VUR).

Aim: This study aims to reveal how much Tc-DMSA scintigraphy findings are reflected in the adopted surgical or non-surgical treatment in children with diagnosed primary VUR and to give the clinicians information regarding their final therapeutic decision.

Patients And Methods: A total 207 children with primary VUR who underwent non-acute Tc-DMSA scan were retrospectively evaluated.

Epidemiology of dengue, chikungunya and Zika virus infections in travellers: A 16-year retrospective descriptive study at a tertiary care centre in Prague, Czech Republic.

Introduction: This study aims to describe the epidemiological characteristics of imported cases of dengue (DEN), chikungunya (CHIK), and Zika virus (ZIKV) infections in Czech travellers.

Materials And Methods: This single-centre descriptive study has retrospectively analysed data of patients with laboratory confirmed DEN, CHIK, and ZIKV infections diagnosed at the Department of Infectious, Parasitic and Tropical Diseases of the University Hospital Bulovka in Prague, Czech Republic from 2004 to 2019.

Results: The study included a total of 313 patients with DEN, 30 with CHIK, and 19 with ZIKV infections.

Artemether-lumefantrine, mefloquine and atovaquone-proguanil in the treatment of uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria in travellers: A retrospective comparative study of efficacy and treatment failures.

Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate the rates of parasitaemia clearance and the prevalence of treatment failure in patients with uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria treated with artemether-lumefantrine (AL), mefloquine (MQ), and atovaquone-proguanil (AP).

Method: The retrospective descriptive study included adult patients with uncomplicated P. falciparum malaria treated at the University Hospital Bulovka in Prague from 2006 to 2019.

Trends in incidence of extrapulmonary tuberculosis in children in the Czech Republic in the past 35 years.

Objective: Extrapulmonary tuberculosis (EPTB) in children globally represents a proportion of all cases of tuberculosis, reaching 20% according to published reports. Children are at a higher risk for disseminated TB and extrapulmonary forms. The most prevalent clinical presentations of EPTB in children worldwide are peripheral lymphadenitis and osteoarticular TB.

Skin microbiota signature distinguishes IBD patients and reflects skin adverse events during anti-TNF therapy.

Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC) are two forms of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), where the role of gut but not skin dysbiosis is well recognized. Inhibitors of TNF have been successful in IBD treatment, but up to a quarter of patients suffer from unpredictable skin adverse events (SkAE). For this purpose, we analyzed temporal dynamics of skin microbiota and serum markers of inflammation and epithelial barrier integrity during anti-TNF therapy and SkAE manifestation in IBD patients.

Association between ustekinumab therapy and changes in specific anti-microbial response, serum biomarkers, and microbiota composition in patients with IBD: A pilot study.

Background: Ustekinumab, is a new therapy for patients with IBD, especially for patients suffering from Crohn's disease (CD) who did not respond to anti-TNF treatment. To shed light on the longitudinal effect of ustekinumab on the immune system, we investigated the effect on skin and gut microbiota composition, specific immune response to commensals, and various serum biomarkers.

Methodology/principal Findings: We recruited 11 patients with IBD who were monitored over 40 weeks of ustekinumab therapy and 39 healthy controls (HC).

Epidemiology and clinical features of imported malaria: a 14-year retrospective single-centre descriptive study in Prague, Czech Republic.

Background: Malaria represents one of the most important imported tropical infectious diseases in European travellers. The objective of the study was to identify changes in the epidemiological features of imported malaria and to analyse the clinical findings and outcomes of imported malaria.

Methods: This single-centre descriptive study retrospectively analysed the medical records of all imported malaria cases in travellers treated at the Department of Infectious Diseases of University Hospital Bulovka in Prague from 2006 to 2019.

Skeletal Muscle-Derived Cell Implantation for the Treatment of Fecal Incontinence: A Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Study.

Background And Aims: Fecal incontinence (FI) improvement following injection of autologous skeletal muscle-derived cells has been previously suggested. This study aimed to test the efficacy and safety of said cells through a multicenter, placebo-controlled study, to determine an appropriate cell dose, and to delineate the target patient population that can most benefit from cell therapy.

Methods: Patients experiencing FI for at least 6 months were randomized to receive a cell-free medium or low or high dose of cells.

Peripheral gene signatures reveal distinct cancer patient immunotypes with therapeutic implications for autologous DC-based vaccines.

Dendritic cells (DCs) have received considerable attention as potential targets for the development of novel cancer immunotherapies. However, the clinical efficacy of DC-based vaccines remains suboptimal, largely reflecting local and systemic immunosuppression at baseline. An autologous DC-based vaccine (DCVAC) has recently been shown to improve progression-free survival and overall survival in randomized clinical trials enrolling patients with lung cancer (SLU01, NCT02470468) or ovarian carcinoma (SOV01, NCT02107937), but not metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (SP005, NCT02111577), despite a good safety profile across all cohorts.

Prevalence of genital and oral human papillomavirus infection among psoriasis patients on biologic therapy.

Current knowledge about human papillomavirus (HPV) infection in psoriasis patients treated with biologics is limited. In this study we evaluated the prevalence of oral and genital HPV infection in psoriasis patients treated with biologics or topical therapy for at least 6 months. The presence of HPV DNA in oral rinse and genital smears was evaluated.

The Effect of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor C and Adipose-Derived Stem Cells on Lymphatic Regeneration in a Rat Vascularized Lymph Node Transfer Model.

Background:  Lymphedema is a chronic condition characterized by progressive edema with complicated treatment. Recently, new treatment strategies inducing lymphangiogenesis were proposed. The aim of our study was to examine the effect of vascular endothelial growth factor C (VEGF-C) and adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs) on lymphatic regeneration and drainage re-establishment in vascularized lymph node transfer (VLNT) model using a pedicled vascularized lymph node (VLN) groin flap.

An Autologous Dendritic Cell Vaccine Promotes Anticancer Immunity in Patients with Ovarian Cancer with Low Mutational Burden and Cold Tumors.

Purpose: The successful implementation of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) in the clinical management of various solid tumors has raised considerable expectations for patients with epithelial ovarian carcinoma (EOC). However, EOC is poorly responsive to ICIs due to immunologic features including limited tumor mutational burden (TMB) and poor lymphocytic infiltration. An autologous dendritic cell (DC)-based vaccine (DCVAC) has recently been shown to be safe and to significantly improve progression-free survival (PFS) in a randomized phase II clinical trial enrolling patients with EOC (SOV01, NCT02107937).

Potential novel markers in IBD and CRC diagnostics. Are MMP-19 and RAGE promising candidates?

Aims: Inflammatory bowel diseases and colorectal cancer are serious intestinal disorders with continuously increasing incidence. Many aspects of etiopathogenesis still remain unclear. There is an urgent need to improve early diagnostics and markers indicating the progression of the disease.

The possible role of hypoxia in the affected tissue of relapsed clubfoot.

Our aim was to study the expression of hypoxia-related proteins as a possible regulatory pathway in the contracted side tissue of relapsed clubfoot. We compared the expression of hypoxia-related proteins in the tissue of the contracted (medial) side of relapsed clubfoot, and in the tissue of the non-contracted (lateral) side of relapsed clubfoot. Tissue samples from ten patients were analyzed by immunohistochemistry and image analysis, Real-time PCR and Mass Spectrometry to evaluate the differences in protein composition and gene expression.

Longer than 2 hours to antibiotics is associated with doubling of mortality in a multinational community-acquired bacterial meningitis cohort.

To optimally define the association between time to effective antibiotic therapy and clinical outcomes in adult community-acquired bacterial meningitis. A systematic review of the literature describing the association between time to antibiotics and death or neurological impairment due to adult community-acquired bacterial meningitis was performed. A retrospective cohort, multivariable and propensity-score based analyses were performed using individual patient clinical data from Australian, Danish and United Kingdom studies.

and PCR detection in women treated for ectopic pregnancy.

The aim of this study was to determine the presence of (ChT) and (NG) in the genital tract of women with ectopic pregnancy and to compare the positive results with patients' self-reported history of PID. Overall 40 women were eligible for the study. The samples for the ChT and NG Polymerase Chain-reaction (PCR) detection were obtained from the cervix, endometrium and fallopian tube.