Impact of Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccination on postoperative mortality in patients with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection

There is little evidence around the potentially protective role of previous Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccination on postoperative mortality in patients with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 vaccination. Prior BCG vaccination did not protect SARS-CoV-2 infected patients against postoperative pulmonary complications and 30-day mortality

GROWTH-RESPONSE TO GROWTH HORMONE-RELEASING HORMONE(1-29)-NH2 COMPARED WITH GROWTH-HORMONE

To assess the growth-promoting effect of different doses of growth hormone-releasing hormone(1-29)-NH2 (GHRH(1-29)-NH2) in GH deficiency (GHD) of hypothalamic origin, 43 prepubertal children aged between 4.3 and 18.9 years (mean 10.4 +/- 2.9 years) were randomly assigned to three treatment regimens: low-dose GHRH(1-29)-NH2 (LD group; n = 15), high-dose GHRH(1-29)-NH2 (HD group; n = 12) and GH (GH group; n = 16). The LD group received GHRH(1-29)-NH2 at 30 mug/kg/day s.c. in three daily doses, the HD group received 60 mug/kg/day s.c. in three daily doses and the GH group received GH. 0.1 IU/kg/day s.c. once daily. All children were treated for a period of 6 months. Evaluation included anthropometry, bone age, intravenous and subcutaneous GHRH(1-29)-NH2 tests and determination of insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) levels. An increase in height velocity of 2 cm/year or more was observed in all except two children. Height velocity during treatment was lowest in the LD group, but comparable in the HD and GH groups. An increase in height SDS for bone age occurred only in the GH-treated group. GH responses to intravenous GHRH(1-29)-NH2 showed a priming effect of the LD GHRH(1-29)-NH2 treatment, while a decrease in response occurred in the GH-treated group. Following a subcutaneous test dose of one-third of the daily dose of GHRH(1-29)-NH2, GH levels remained unchanged in both the LD and HD groups. There was accumulation of GHRH immunoreactivity over time in the HD group, but there was no correlation between measured GHRH and GH levels. IGF-I levels increased in the HD and GH-treated groups. Antibodies to GHRH were detected in 54% and 58% of children in the LD and HD groups, respectively. None of these variables correlated with changes in height velocity. The results indicate that 6 months of GH and high-dose GHRH(1-29)-NH2 treatment have similar growth-promoting effects

The relationships between blood pressure, blood glucose, and bone mineral density in postmenopausal Turkish women

Huseyin Altug Cakmak,1 Burcu Dincgez Cakmak,2 Ayse Ender Yumru,3 Serkan Aslan,4 Asim Enhos,1 Ali Kemal Kalkan,4 Ebru Inci Coskun,5 Abdullah Serdar Acikgoz,6 Suat Karatas3 1Department of Cardiology, Mustafakemalpasa Government Hospital, Bursa, 2Department of Obstetric and Gynecology, Rize Kackar Government Hospital, Rize, 3Department of Obstetric and Gynecology, Sisli Hamidiye Etfal Training and Research Hospital, 4Department of Cardiology, Mehmet Akif Ersoy Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery Training and Research Hospital, Istanbul, 5Department of Obstetric and Gynecology, Inonu University, Malatya, 6Department of Obstetric and Gynecology, Cerrahpasa Medical Faculty, Istanbul University, Istanbul, Turkey Background: Hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and osteoporosis are important comorbidities commonly seen in postmenopausal women. The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationships between blood pressure, blood glucose, and bone mineral density (BMD) in postmenopausal Turkish women.Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 270 consecutive patients who were admitted to an outpatient clinic with vasomotor symptoms and/or at least 1 year of amenorrhea were included. The patients were categorized into three groups according to their blood pressure and metabolic status as follows: normotensive, hypertensive nondiabetics, and hypertensive diabetics. The T- and z-scores of the proximal femur and lumbar vertebrae were measured with the dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry method to assess the BMD of the study groups.Results: Lumbar vertebral T-scores (P<0.001), lumbar vertebral z-scores (P<0.003), and proximal femoral T-scores (P<0.001) were demonstrated to be significantly lower in the hypertensive diabetic group compared to the hypertensive nondiabetic and normotensive groups. Systolic blood pressure was significantly inversely correlated with lumbar vertebral T-scores (r=-0.382; P=0.001), lumbar vertebral z-scores (r=-0.290; P=0.001), and proximal femoral T-scores (r=-0.340; P=0.001). Moreover, diastolic blood pressure was significantly inversely correlated with lumbar vertebral T-scores (r=-0.318; P=0.001), lumbar vertebral z-scores (r=-0.340; P=0.001), and proximal femoral T-scores (r=-0.304; P=0.001). Hypertension (odds ratio [OR]: 2.541, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.46–3.48, P=0.003), diabetes mellitus (OR: 2.136, 95% CI: 1.254–3.678, P=0.006), and age (OR: 1.069, 95% CI: 1.007–1.163, P=0.022) were found to be significant independent predictors of osteopenia in a multivariate analysis, after adjusting for other risk parameters.Conclusion: The present study is the first to evaluate the relationships between blood pressure, blood glucose, and BMD in postmenopausal Turkish women. Moreover, both hypertension and diabetes were demonstrated as significant independent predictors of osteopenia in postmenopausal Turkish women. Clinicians should be aware of the high risk of developing osteopenia in diabetic hypertensive postmenopausal women. Keywords: hypertension, type 2 diabetes mellitus, postmenopausal, bone mineral densit