Whole blood concentrations of fingolimod and its pharmacologically active metabolite fingolimod phosphate obtained during routine health care of patients with multiple sclerosis.

Background: Fingolimod is a first-in-class, orally administered drug indicated for the treatment of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis. It acts as an immunomodulator, is classified as a "disease-modifying therapy", and its main mechanism of action is the modulation of sphingosine-1-phosphate receptors. In this prospective pilot study, whole blood concentrations of fingolimod and fingolimod phosphate obtained during routine health care were measured.

European clinical practice guideline: managing and treating laryngopharyngeal reflux disease.

Objective: To propose a European consensus for managing and treating laryngopharyngeal reflux disease (LPRD) to guide primary care and specialist physicians.

Methods: Twenty-three European experts (otolaryngologists, gastroenterologists, surgeons) participated in a modified Delphi process to revise 38 statements about the definition, clinical management, and treatment of LPRD. Three voting rounds were conducted on a 5-point scale and a consensus was defined a priori as agreement by 80% of the experts.

Respiratory Viruses in Patients With Hematological Malignancy in Boreal Autumn/Winter 2023-2024: EPICOVIDEHA-EPIFLUEHA Report.

Community-acquired respiratory viral infections (CARV) significantly impact patients with hematological malignancies (HM), leading to high morbidity and mortality. However, large-scale, real-world data on CARV in these patients is limited. This study analyzed data from the EPICOVIDEHA-EPIFLUEHA registry, focusing on patients with HM diagnosed with CARV during the 2023-2024 autumn-winter season.

Vancomycin wound penetration in open-heart surgery patients receiving negative pressure wound therapy for deep sternal wound infection.

Introduction: It is hypothesized that systemically administered antibiotics penetrate wound sites more effectively during negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT). However, there is a lack of clinical data from patients who receive NPWT for deep sternal wound infection (DSWI) after open-heart surgery. Here, we evaluated vancomycin penetration into exudate in this patient group.

One Year Duration of Immune Response Following a 3rd Booster Dose of mRNA Vaccine Against COVID-19 in 292 Patients With Hematological Malignancies in University Hospital Ostrava, Czech Republic.

Aims: To evaluate antibody response to mRNA vaccine, identify subgroups with poor response and to determine long-term antibody durability in hematological patients.

Materials And Methods: We have vaccinated 292 patients with all hematological malignancies with a third dose of mRNA COMIRNATY vaccine with a 12-month follow-up period in our center in Ostrava, Czech Republic.

Results: Antibody response for the whole cohort exceeded 74% through the whole 12-month follow-up.

Effects of two different dexamethasone dosing regimens on ventilator-free days and long-term mortality in COVID-19 patients with moderate-to-severe ARDS: the REMED randomized clinical trial.

Background: Dexamethasone 6 mg in patients with severe COVID-19 has been shown to decrease mortality and morbidity. The effects of higher doses of corticosteroid, that would further increase anti-inflammatory effects, are uncertain. The objective of our study was to assess the effect of 20 mg dexamethasone vs.

Effect of bariatric endoscopy on liver fibrosis and steatosis and the course of NAFLD - a prospective interventional study.

Introduction And Objectives: With increases in obesity and metabolic syndrome because of lifestyle-related factors, the prevalence of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) also is increasing worldwide. In a subset of patients with NAFLD, an inflammatory process arises in the steatotic liver, known as non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, that leads to liver fibrosis and liver cirrhosis. In selected patients with obesity, bariatric surgery, and bariatric endoscopy are important therapeutic options.

Impact of T cell characteristics on CAR-T cell therapy in hematological malignancies.

Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy has revolutionized the treatment paradigms for hematological malignancies. However, more than half of these patients cannot achieve sustainable tumor control, partially due to the inadequate potency of CAR-T cells in eradicating tumor cells. T cells are crucial components of the anti-tumor immune response, and multiple intrinsic T-cell features significantly influence the outcomes of CAR-T cell therapy.

Mutagenic impact and evolutionary influence of radiotherapy in hematologic malignancies.

Ionizing radiotherapy (RT) is a widely used palliative and curative treatment strategy for malignancies. In solid tumors, RT-induced double strand breaks lead to the accumulation of indels, and their repair by non-homologous end-joining has been linked to the ID8 mutational signature in resistant cells. However, the extent of RT-induced DNA damage in hematologic malignancies and its impact on their evolution and interplay with commonly used chemotherapies has not yet been explored.

Induction of supraventricular tachycardias in patients undergoing pulmonary vein isolation for paroxysmal atrial fibrillation is safe and reasonable.

Aims: Patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) may experience other supraventricular tachycardias (SVT) that can trigger AF and cause similar symptoms. The aim of this study was to assess the safety and effectivity of inducing SVT in patients undergoing catheter ablation (CA) for AF.

Methods: In 61 patients with paroxysmal AF undergoing CA between January 2022 and March 2023, an electrophysiological study was performed after pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) to induce SVT.

2D speckle tracking echocardiography and comparison with cardiac magnetic resonance in children with acute myocarditis.

Background: Cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) plays a major diagnostic role in acute myocarditis (AM) in children as biopsy is rarely performed in this age group. Contribution of standard echocardiography (ECHO) is limited in AM, but speckle tracking echocardiography (STE) quantitatively characterizes myocardial function, with good sensitivity for detecting subclinical left ventricular (LV) dysfunction and regional kinetics disorders beyond the site of inflammation. This work aimed to evaluate the diagnostic potential of STE as compared with CMR findings in pediatric patients with AM.

A liquid chromatography - Tandem mass spectrometry method for determination of ocrelizumab in serum of patients with multiple sclerosis.

Ocrelizumab is a second generation recombinant humanized IgG1 monoclonal antibody used for the treatment of multiple sclerosis that selectively target B cells expressing the CD20 antigen. This study aimed to develop and validate a UPLC-MS/MS method for quantification of ocrelizumab in human serum, which can be used in clinical applications for therapeutic drug monitoring. The analysis of ocrelizumab was performed using a bottom-up approach on a liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry detection.

Functional status in patients undergoing lung resection.

Introduction: This prospective study aimed to evaluate the functional status and risk factors in patients undergoing lung resection.

Methods: Functional status defined by the parameters of spirometry (VC, FVC, FEV, FEV/FVC) and whole-body plethysmography (TLC) examination was assessed before lung resection, at hospital discharge, 3 weeks after surgery, and 3 months after surgery.

Results: The sample comprised 24 participants who were observed from 5/2021 to 10/2022.

Cangrelor versus crushed ticagrelor in patients with acute myocardial infarction and cardiogenic shock: rationale and design of the randomised, double-blind DAPT-SHOCK-AMI trial.

Cardiogenic shock (CS) is a devastating and fatal complication of acute myocardial infarction (AMI). CS can affect the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of medications. The unique properties of cangrelor make it the optimal P2Y12 inhibitor for CS-AMI, in terms of both efficacy and safety.

Optimizing the safety and efficacy of the awake venovenous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation in patients with COVID-19-related ARDS.

Background: Maintaining the patient awake and not intubated during the venovenous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VV ECMO) reduces the risk of ventilation-induced lung injury in patients with ARDS. Currently, there is a lack of data on outcomes and complications associated with the awake ECMO approach.

Objectives: To evaluate outcomes and the occurrence of complications of awake ECMO approach guided by local safety protocol comprising ultrasound-guided cannulation, argatroban-based anticoagulation, respiratory support, and routine sedation targeted to reduce respiratory effort and keeping nurse-to-patient ratio of 1:1.

Real-World Evidence on Prognostic Value of MRD in Multiple Myeloma Using Flow Cytometry.

Minimal residual disease (MRD) is one of the most important prognostic factors in multiple myeloma (MM) and a valid surrogate for progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). Recently, MRD negativity was approved as an early clinical endpoint for accelerated drug approval in MM. Nevertheless, there is limited evidence of MRD utility in real-world setting.

A safety comparison of heparin and argatroban anticoagulation in veno-venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation with a focus on bleeding.

Background: Anticoagulation during extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) might still lead to severe bleeding complications. Heparin is the most frequently used anticoagulant, but novel drugs could be promising. Argatroban is a new alternative to heparin.

Convalescent anti-SARS-CoV-2 plasma for the treatment of patients with COVID-19: a retrospective study RESCOVID-19.

Purpose: Convalescent plasma (CP) collected from people who recovered from COVID-19 became a rapidly available treatment modality in numerous countries, including the Czech Republic. The aims of our study were to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of CP in the treatment of COVID-19.

Methods: This retrospective observational study involved six Czech hospitals.