BACKGROUND: The association between undetectable serum total IgE level and chronic upper and lower respiratory tract inflammatory diseases is uncertain. We sought to determine whether chronic sinopulmonary inflammatory diseases are present in adult patients with undetectable serum total IgE who reside in inner-city Chicago, IL, USA. METHODS: Medical records of ...

ObjectivesTo what extent silent paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (AF) is present in ischaemic stroke patients has not been established. We hypothesized that brief intermittent long-term electrocardiogram (ECG) recordings at regular time intervals are more effective than short-term continuous ECG monitoring in detecting silent AF episodes.Methods and ResultsConsecutive patients who had suffered ...

BACKGROUND: Whether agminated, within a speckled lentiginous nevus/nevus spilus, or randomly scattered, multiple Spitz nevi (SN), defined as two or more SN, is a rare entity. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate patients presenting with multiple SN. METHODS: We conducted a search of the database of the ...

Purpose: New aspects like acetabular overcoverage, acetabular retroversion and proximal femoral head-neck dysplasia have been detected as a main cause of osteoarthritis. The study addresses the detection of reasons for osteoarthritis requiring THA in young adults. We wanted to prove the hypothesis that idiopathic reasons play an overestimated role in ...

BACKGROUND: The aim of this prospective study was to assess internal anal sphincter (IAS) innervation in patients undergoing total mesorectal excision (TME) by intraoperative neuromonitoring (IONM). STUDY DESIGN: Fourteen patients underwent TME. IONM was carried out through pelvic splanchnic nerve stimulation under continuous electromyography of the IAS. Anorectal function was ...

We assessed the earliest manifestations of recurrent membranous glomerulonephritis (MGN) in renal allografts. Clinical, laboratory and pathologic data were reviewed in 21 patients at the initial biopsy within 4 months post-transplant with evidence of MGN and on follow-up biopsies, compared to a biopsy control group of eight transplants without recurrent ...

Little is known about the quality of life and survival in the patients on maintenance hemodialysis (HD) in India. Poor nutrition and dialysis noncompliance is common. This study investigates the factors that affect the quality of life (QoL) in HD patients in India. This cross-sectional study included 78 patients on ...

BACKGROUND: Traditional cardiovascular risk factors do not explain the high incidence of cardiovascular mortality and morbidity in patients with end-stage renal disease. A prothrombotic state could accelerate the process of vascular disease in these patients.METHODS: In this study, four platelet activation markers (NAP-2, P-selectin, GP1b and RANTES) and two endothelial ...

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic inflammatory disease of the skin for which there are no reliable biomarkers to assess clinical severity. Serum interleukin-18 (IL-18) levels may be associated with AD severity. To identify putative biomarkers associated with clinical severity in adult AD patients, we enrolled 121 adult AD patients ...

OBJECTIVES: Nonacid gastroesophageal reflux (GER), particularly in patients taking acid suppression, has been implicated as a cause of respiratory infections. We hypothesize that children with cystic fibrosis (CF) and a higher nonacid reflux burden have greater rates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa (Pa) infection than patients with a lower reflux burden. STUDY ...

Objective: To study lesions in the oral cavity of patients with hereditary hemochromatosis and determine their association with iron overload. Study Design: We took a clinical history, examined the pigmentation of the oral mucosa, and measured total stimulated saliva production. We correlated our results with epidemiological, phenotypic, and genotypic findings. ...

BACKGROUND:: The role of genetic factors in the etiology of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is still uncertain. AIM:: To define whether the presence of reflux symptoms in first-degree relatives can affect the severity of the endoscopic picture of patients with GERD and disease evolution during follow-up. PATIENTS/METHODS:: A total of ...

The aim of the study was to identify the clinical characteristics and outcome of patients with liver fibrosis in choledochal cyst (CC). Forty patients with CC who underwent liver biopsy were included. Liver fibrosis was classified as follows: grade 0, no fibrosis; grade 1, mild fibrosis localized in the portal ...

OBJECTIVE: We have previously shown that sudomotor dysfunction in autoimmune autonomic ganglionopathy is severe, widespread, and predominantly post-ganglionic. However, the long-term changes in sudomotor function have not been studied in detail. Our objective was to characterize the long-term changes in sudomotor dysfunction in patients with autoimmune autonomic ganglionopathy. METHODS: Changes ...

AIMS: Although considered as a feature of inflammatory rheumatic diseases, there is a lot of controversy around low bone mass in patients with psoriatic arthritis. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to analyze bone mineral density in patients with psoriatic arthritis, as well as to investigate its possible association ...

Background: Atopic dermatitis (AD) is increasing among the elderly. Staphylococcus aureus colonization is one of the most important aggravating factors in AD. Objective: This study analyses the clinical features of AD in elderly patients and determines the pathogenic roles of staphylococcal superantigens in AD with low and high total IgE ...

Background/Aims: An epidemiological survey of endemic nephropathy (EN) was performed in endemic Croatian areas and the current prevalence was compared to that reported for the same villages several decades ago. Methods: A total of 2,487 adult farmers from 6 endemic villages and 3 non-endemic villages were enrolled. An extensive epidemiological ...

We retrospectively reviewed records of 1002 patients who underwent a third-generation ceramic-on-ceramic total hip arthroplasty. Fifteen patients complained of squeaking, at any time after their arthroplasty. Of these 15 patients, 14 were evaluated clinically and radiologically. These 14 patients were found to have significantly higher mean body mass index of ...

In order to compare the diagnostic efficacy of microscopy of faecal concentrates and real-time PCR for the detection of intestinal parasites in Danish patients, a total of 889 fresh faecal samples were chosen randomly over a period of 6 months (November 2007-May 2008) among faecal samples submitted for general parasitological ...

OBJECTIVES: This study aims to investigate the relationship between clinical and US findings together with the prevalence and distribution of US findings indicative of monosodium urate (MSU) crystal deposition within the foot in patients with gout. METHODS: A total of 50 patients with gout attending the in-patient and the out-patient ...

Context and Objective:The primary purpose of this study was to detect and quantify 3-iodothyronamine (T(1)AM), an endogenous biogenic amine related to thyroid hormone, in human blood.Design:T(1)AM, total T(3), and total T(4) were assayed in serum by a novel HPLC tandem mass spectrometry assay, which has already been validated in animal ...

BACKGROUND: There are many pathophysiological mechanisms underlying reciprocal relationships between changes in cytokines and insulin resistance in metabolic and cardiovascular disorders. The aim of this study was to evaluate alterations in soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (sICAM-1), soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (sVCAM-1), soluble E-selectin (sE-selectin), matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9), plasminogen activator ...

This study was conducted to assess the coincidence of mucosal hyperplasia in the maxillary sinus and related clinical diagnoses of posterior maxillary teeth found in cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) scans. A total of 204 patients who underwent CBCT examinations between 2006 and 2008 were evaluated retrospectively. Clinical and CBCT ...

Genotype-specific effects of parvovirus B19 (B19V) infections on left ventricular function in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) have not been investigated so far. In this prospective clinical study, the prevalences of B19V genotypes in endomyocardial biopsies from patients presenting with inflammatory heart disease and DCM were determined. A total of ...

The aim of this study was to test the null hypothesis that voice parameters of post-laryngectomy patients using tracheo-oesophageal (TO) prosthetic valves are similar to those of normal laryngeal subjects. Thirty total laryngectomy patients and thirty normal controls were subjected to acoustic analysis of single voice recordings using a sustained ...

To compare salivary with serum total cortisol in patients with severe sepsis, postoperative patients and healthy controls. Serum total cortisol was determined by chemiluminescence immunoassay; salivary cortisol was determined by enzyme immunoassay. In patients with severe sepsis, median concentration of salivary cortisol was 14.0 and 2.6 higher than that of ...

Criteria for sonographic diagnosis of monosodium urate (MSU) crystal deposition have been developed, but the interreader reproducibility of this modality is not well established. We therefore assessed agreement using a systematic approach. Fifty male subjects ages 55-85 years were recruited during primary care visits to an urban Veterans Affairs hospital, ...

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Several mechanisms are involved in the pathophysiology of the Acute Coronary Syndrome (ACS). We have addressed whether B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) and high-sensitive C-reactive protein (hsCRP) in admission samples may improve risk stratification in chest pain patients with suspected ACS. METHODS: We included consecutively 982 patients admitted with ...

Noninvasive ventilation (NIV) has been widely used to decrease the complications associated with tracheal intubation in mechanically ventilated patients. However, nasal ulcerations may occur when conventional masks are used for continuous ventilation. A Total face mask (TFM), that has no contact with the more sensitive areas of the face, is ...

BackgroundTo assess diagnostic efficacy of plasma total homocysteine (tHcy) and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels for ocular ischemic syndrome (OIS).MethodsIn all, 87 patients with retinal vein occlusion (RVO), 955 patients with a stenosis of internal carotid artery (ICA) <90% and 159 patients with a stenosis of ICA >90% were included between ...

Background: Imbalance of glutamatergic neurotransmission has been proposed as a key mechanism underlying symptoms of schizophrenia. The neuropetide N-acetylaspartylglutamate (NAAG) modulates glutamate release. NAAG provides a component of the proton magnetic resonance spectrum (1H-MRS) in humans. The signal of NAAG, however, largely overlaps with its precursor and degrading product N-acetylaspartate ...

AbstractIntroduction: The incidence of hyperthyroidism has been reported in various countries to be 23 - 93/100 000 inhabitants/year. This extended study has evaluated the incidence for approximately 40% of the Swedish population of 9 million inhabitants. Sweden is considered iodine sufficient.Methods: All patients including children, who were newly diagnosed with ...

To determine the frequency of uterine leiomyomas and hysterectomy in patients with lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM), a disease characterized by proliferation of abnormal-appearing smooth muscle-like cells. Retrospective study. Natural history study at the National Institutes of Health. 456 patients with sporadic LAM and LAM associated with tuberous sclerosis complex (LAM/TSC). Review of ...

Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) is a useful technique for differential diagnosis of various interstitial lung diseases (ILDs) and is usually realized by analysis of the differential cell count. This study was conducted to estimate the value of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) total cell count (TCC) in the diagnosis of ILD. We ...

Flexible sigmoidoscopy can diagnose majority of pathologies in patients with rectal bleeding and is less demanding than colonoscopy. Frequency of different findings in patients with rectal bleeding on flexible sigmoidoscopy was considered. Out of a total of 215 patients, 133 (61.9%) were males and 82 (38.1%) were females. The most ...

Hip replacement arthroplasty is a very reliable and effective therapeutic modality for patients with end-stage degenerative coxarthrosis secondary to Legg-Calvé-Perthes disease (LCPD). Long-term results of the conventional total hip arthroplasty for patients with LCPD have been reported to be satisfactory similar to those for patients with primary arthritis. For selective ...

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this work was to study the quality of life (QOL) of adult patients with epilepsy in northern China. METHODS: Three hundred three adult patients with epilepsy were identified using a strict procedure of diagnosis at the outpatient clinic of the epilepsy center, and then their QOL ...

We have shown that routine biopsies of the ascending colon obtained at colonoscopy allow the detection of Lewy neurites (LN) in the enteric nervous system (ENS) of Parkinson's disease (PD) patients. Although colonoscopy is a relatively safe procedure, it requires colon preparation and anesthesia. The present study was therefore undertaken ...

Our aim was to test the efficacy of 131-I therapy (RIT) using recombinant human TSH (rhTSH) in patients with differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC) in whom endogenous TSH stimulation was not an option due to the poor patient's physical condition or due to the disease progression during L-thyroxin withdrawal. The study ...

BACKGROUND: Lens culinaris agglutinin-reactive fraction of α-fetoprotein (AFP-L3) is a specific marker used to detect hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, its clinical utility is not sufficient in patients with low total AFP concentrations because of limitations in instrument sensitivity. Recent advances have led to the introduction of a highly sensitive AFP-L3% ...

We report the case of a 51-year-old patient with a history of liver cirrhosis, who presented with jaundice (total bilirubin 50 mg/dl [855 µmol/l], direct bilirubin 20 mg/dl [342 µmol/l]) and life-threatening hypophosphataemia (serum phosphate 0.5 mg/dl [0.16 mmol/l]), accompanied by inappropriate phosphaturia. The patient also manifested hypouricaemia (serum uric ...

ObjectiveA literature review revealed there is no outcome data for endoscopic endonasal dacryocystorhinostomy (EES-DCR) in the subgroup of patients with acquired partial nasolacrimal duct obstruction (NDO). This study aimed to compare the results of EES-DCR vsexternal DCR (ext-DCR) in the treatment of partial NDO.DesignThis study is designed as a prospective ...

BACKGROUND: Generally accepted reference values in CSF diagnostics are not valid in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) containing large amounts of blood. Residual blood may obscure ventriculitis as diagnostics largely depend on parameters such as cell count, lactic acid and total protein measurement. We sought to improve the diagnostics by evaluating a ...

Recent data has implicated Staphylococcus aureus (SA) superantigen as a potential disease modifier in patients with chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) with nasal polyps (CRSwNP). The objective of this work was to compare total serum immunoglobulin E (IgE) and serum eosinophils in patients with CRSwNP and CRS without nasal polyps (CRSsNP) based ...

Background/Aims: The purpose of this study was to explore the clinicopathological characteristics of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) in patients with cirrhosis. Methodology: A total of 155 patients with ICC were divided into those with cirrhosis (n=52) and those without cirrhosis (n=103). We compared the clinicopathological features of patients in both groups. ...

We retrospectively reviewed the clinical and radiological findings, management, and factors correlated with outcomes in 20 patients with simultaneous multiple hypertensive intracranial hemorrhages (ICH). The mean admission Glasgow Coma Scale score was 7.8. The most common hematoma location was the putamen, while putamen-brainstem hematomas were the most common combination. The ...

We assessed the reliability of the Baltimore Activity Scale for Intermittent Claudication (BASIC) for the evaluation of physical activity levels in individuals with intermittent claudication. We also identify the characteristics of the patients that influence the reliability of this questionnaire. A total of 38 men and women with peripheral artery ...

Although left atrial volumes (LAVs) and transport function can be accurately measured by multi-slice computed tomography (MSCT) during sinus rhythm, limited data are available for in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). The aims of our study were to compare LAVs and function assessed by MSCT and transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) during ...

OBJECTIVE To study the relation between metabolic syndrome (MS), cavernosal morphological vasculopathy, and peripheral vascular alterations (carotid and femoral wall) in patients with erectile dysfunction. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS A total of 207 patients and 50 control subjects were evaluated for cardiovascular risk factors, physical examination, reproductive hormones, ultrasound analysis ...

BACKGROUND: The modified Evans formula is the most often used schema for calculating intravenous resuscitation fluid requirement in burn patients in China, including two parameters: body weight and burnt body surface area (BBS). The aim of this retrospective study was to analyse depth of wound influencing intravenous fluid replacement in ...