Telomere length as a predictive biomarker in osteoporosis (Review).

Telomeres are the ends of chromosomes that protect them from DNA damage. There is evidence to suggest that telomere shortening appears with advanced age. Since aging is a significant risk factor for developing age-related complications, it is plausible that telomere shortening may be involved in the development of osteoporosis.

Quality of life measurement in teledermatology. Position statement of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology Task Forces on Quality of Life and Patient Oriented Outcomes and Teledermatology.

Many events, including the COVID-19 pandemic, have accelerated the implementation of teledermatology pathways within dermatology departments and across healthcare organizations. Quality of Life (QoL) assessment in dermatology is also a rapidly developing field with a gradual shift from theory to practice. The purpose of this paper organized jointly by the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology (EADV) Task Force (TF) on QoL and patient-oriented outcomes and the EADV TF on teledermatology is to present current knowledge about QoL assessment during the use of teledermatology approaches, including data on health-related (HR) QoL instruments used in teledermatology, comparison of influence of different treatment methods on HRQoL after face-to-face and teledermatology consultations and to make practical recommendations concerning the assessment of QoL in teledermatology.

Analysis of Clinical Trial Screen Failures in Inflammatory Bowel Diseases [IBD]: Real World Results from the International Organization for the study of IBD.

Background: Recruitment for randomized controlled trials [RCTs] in inflammatory bowel diseases [IBD] has substantially dropped over time. This study aimed to assess reasons why IBD patients are not included in sponsored multicentre phase IIb-III RCTs.

Methods: All IOIBD members [n = 58] were invited to participate.

A narrative review of management of wounds in palliative care setting.

Background And Objective: A chronic wound is one that is physiologically compromised as a result of a disturbance of the wound-healing cycle brought on by, among other parameters, poor angiogenesis, innervation, or cellular migration. Given the high frequency and incidence rates of different wound categories in clinical practice in the setting of chronically ill patients, wound management is becoming an increasingly important component and pillar of the overall care of patients with terminal illnesses. The purpose of this narrative review is to provide an overview and evaluation of the assessment methods and management of chronic wounds in the clinical practice of palliative care.

Successful closure of transcatheter aortic valve replacement-induced Gerbode defect with valve-in-valve technique: A case report.

We present the first documented case of a successful closure of a transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR)-induced Gerbode defect using a valve-in-valve approach. A 90-year-old female with severe aortic stenosis underwent TAVR. Following post-dilatation, the patient experienced hemodynamic deterioration and collapse due to tamponade and sub-annular rupture leading to hemodynamic deterioration and the development of a Gerbode defect with communication between the left ventricle and right atrium.

Age estimation based on the metamorphosis of the clavicle end: A test of Falys and Prangle method in two contemporary samples.

Upon finding skeletal unidentified remains, four are the questions that must be answered: age, sex, ancestry, and stature. Regarding age estimation, clavicle has received special attention because medial epiphysis is the last epiphysis, among long bones that ossifies. Falys and Prangle proposed a method of age estimation based on three degenerative characteristics-surface topography (TOP), Porosity (POR) and Osteophyte formation (OST)-evaluated on the sternal end of the clavicle according to the descriptions and the illustrations provided in the original article producing satisfactory results.

Dialysis Patients Respond Adequately to Influenza Vaccination Irrespective of Dialysis Modality and Chronic Inflammation.

(1) Background: Chronic inflammation and suboptimal immune responses to vaccinations are considered to be aspects of immune dysregulation in patients that are undergoing dialysis. The present study aimed to evaluate immune responses in hemodialysis (HD) and online hemodiafiltration (OL-HDF) patients to a seasonal inactivated quadrivalent influenza vaccine (IQIV). (2) Methods: We enrolled 172 chronic dialysis patients (87 on HD and 85 on OL-HDF) and 18 control subjects without chronic kidney disease in a prospective, cross-sectional cohort study.

EULAR recommendations for the management of systemic lupus erythematosus: 2023 update.

Objectives: To update the EULAR recommendations for the management of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) based on emerging new evidence.

Methods: An international Task Force formed the questions for the systematic literature reviews (January 2018-December 2022), followed by formulation and finalisation of the statements after a series of meetings. A predefined voting process was applied to each overarching principle and recommendation.

High-Flow Nasal Oxygen for Severe COVID-19 Pneumonia in Greek Patients: A Prospective Observational Study.

Introduction: High-flow nasal oxygen (HFNO) and prone positioning may improve outcomes of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients treated in the intensive care unit (ICU). The aim of this study was to describe outcomes following the timely application of HFNO and prone positioning in COVID-19 patients treated in a ward setting.

Methods: The study included 89 prospectively recruited subjects at the COVID-19 ward unit of the University Hospital of Heraklion, Greece, between March and December 2020.

Large language models in radiology: fundamentals, applications, ethical considerations, risks, and future directions.

With the advent of large language models (LLMs), the artificial intelligence revolution in medicine and radiology is now more tangible than ever. Every day, an increasingly large number of articles are published that utilize LLMs in radiology. To adopt and safely implement this new technology in the field, radiologists should be familiar with its key concepts, understand at least the technical basics, and be aware of the potential risks and ethical considerations that come with it.

Detecting Minor Symptoms of Parkinson's Disease in the Wild Using Bi-LSTM with Attention Mechanism.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by motor and nonmotor impairment with various implications on patients' quality of life. Since currently available therapies are only symptomatic, identifying individuals with prodromal, preclinical, or early-stage PD is crucial, as they would be ideal candidates for future disease-modifying therapies. Our analysis aims to develop a robust model for accurate PD detection using accelerometer data collected from PD and non-PD individuals with mild or no tremor during phone conversations.

Comparative Effectiveness of Intracranial Pressure Monitoring on 6-Month Outcomes of Critically Ill Patients With Traumatic Brain Injury.

Importance: While the relationship between persistent elevations in intracranial pressure (ICP) and poorer outcomes is well established for patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI), there is no consensus on how ICP measurements should drive treatment choices, and the effectiveness of ICP monitoring remains unknown.

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of ICP monitoring on short- and mid-term outcomes of patients with TBI.

Design, Setting, And Participants: CREACTIVE was a prospective cohort study that started in March 2014 and lasted 5 years.

Reproducibility of radiomics quality score: an intra- and inter-rater reliability study.

Objectives: To investigate the intra- and inter-rater reliability of the total radiomics quality score (RQS) and the reproducibility of individual RQS items' score in a large multireader study.

Methods: Nine raters with different backgrounds were randomly assigned to three groups based on their proficiency with RQS utilization: Groups 1 and 2 represented the inter-rater reliability groups with or without prior training in RQS, respectively; group 3 represented the intra-rater reliability group. Thirty-three original research papers on radiomics were evaluated by raters of groups 1 and 2.

Responsiveness and Minimal Clinically Important Difference of the Infants and Toddlers Dermatology Quality of Life Questionnaire.

Background: The Infants and Toddlers Dermatology Quality of Life (InToDermQoL) is the dermatology-specific proxy health-related quality of life (HRQoL) instrument for children from birth to 4 years. The aim of the present study was to confirm the responsiveness and establish minimal clinically important difference (MCID) for the InToDermQoL.

Methods: Parents of children with skin diseases were asked to fill in the InToDermQoL at the initial visit (T1) and subsequent consultation (T2).

Implementation and evaluation of the AAPM TG 111 for radiation dosimetry in a state-of-the-art C-arm cone beam CT system.

The aim of this study was to assess the dosimetric characteristics of a state-of-the-art C-arm cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) system using the methodology proposed by the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) Task Group (TG) 111. The dose measurement methodology described in AAPM TG 111 for wide cone beam acquisitions without table translation was employed to estimate equilibrium beam length (αeq‾) and equilibrium dose (feq‾) in various interventional task-specific protocols with different tube arc projection geometries. Dose profiles were derived from point dose measurements in the centre and peripheral locations of the ICRU/AAPM and standard polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) body phantom.

Performance of Ultrasonography in the Diagnosis of Acute Colonic Diverticulitis.

Objectives: Computed tomography is regarded as the reference-standard imaging modality for the assessment of acute left-sided colonic diverticulitis (ALCD). However, its utility may be impaired by cost issues, limited availability, radiation exposure, and contrast-related adverse effects. Ultrasonography is increasingly advocated as an alternative technique for evaluating ALCD, although there is variation regarding its accuracy in disease diagnosis and staging and in determining alternative diagnoses.

bacteremia in a patient with skin and soft tissue infection. A case report and literature review.

is a beta-hemolytic species arranged in short chains, which was first described in 2006. In the last years, there have been several reports of human infections by this bacterium, with five skin and soft tissue infections identified. Herein, a case of skin and soft tissue infection in a patient, who also developed bacteremia and was successfully treated with intravenous antibiotics, is reported.

infection - a case series from a tertiary hospital in Greece.

Introduction: is a small Gram-positive facultative anaerobic coccoid rod that was reclassified in 1997 from the genus and is difficult to culture with usual microbiological techniques, as it is slowly growing. is an emerging human pathogen that is most commonly implicated in urinary tract infections (UTIs), but has also been isolated less frequently from abscesses of various sites (such as the skin, the genitourinary tract, surgical sites or intraabdominal).

Methods: All cases where was identified during a 6-year period (January 2016 - January 2022) in the University Hospital of Heraklion were reviewed.

Global prevalence of cefiderocol non-susceptibility in Enterobacterales, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Acinetobacter baumannii, and Stenotrophomonas maltophilia: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Cefiderocol is a last resort option for carbapenem-resistant (CR) Gram-negative bacteria, especially metallo-β-lactamase-producing Pseudomonas aeruginosa and CR Acinetobacter baumannii. Monitoring global levels of cefiderocol non-susceptibility (CFDC-NS) is important.

Objectives: To systematically collate and examine studies investigating in vitro CFDC-NS and estimate the global prevalence of CFDC-NS against major Gram-negative pathogens.