Neurological symptoms in hospitalised patients with COVID-19 and their association with in-hospital mortality

Objectives. To evaluate the spectrum of neurological symptoms in patients with COVID-19 during the first 14 days of hospitalisation and its association with in-hospital mortality. Material and methods. We included 200 patients with RT-PCR-confirmed COVID-19 admitted to University Hospital in Krakow, Poland. In 164 patients, a detailed questionnaire concerning neurological symptoms and signs was performed prospectively within 14 days of hospitalisation. In the remaining 36 patients, such questionnaires were completed retrospectively based on daily observations in the Department of Neurology. Results. During hospitalisation, 169 patients (84.5%) experienced neurological symptoms; the most common were: fatigue (62.5%), decreased mood (45.5%), myalgia (43.5%), and muscle weakness (42.5%). Patients who died during hospitalisation compared to the remainder were older (79 [70.5–88.5] vs. 63.5 [51–77] years, p = 0.001), and more often had decreased level of consciousness (50.0% vs. 9.3%, p < 0.001), delirium (33.3% vs. 4.4%, p < 0.001), arterial hypotension (50.0% vs. 19.6%, p = 0.005) or stroke during (18.8% vs. 3.3%, p = 0.026) or before hospitalisation (50.0% vs. 7.1, p < 0.001), whereas those who survived more often suffered from headache (42.1% vs. 0%, p = 0.012) or decreased mood (51.7% vs. 0%, p = 0.003). Conclusions. Most hospitalised patients with COVID-19 experience neurological symptoms. Decreased level of consciousness, delirium, arterial hypotension, and stroke during or before hospitalisation increase the risk of in-hospital mortality

DENDROFLORA PARKU PODWORSKIEGO WE WSI WOJSŁAWICE W POWIECIE ZDUŃSKOWOLSKIM

DENDROFLORA OF THE FORMER MANOR PARK IN WOJSŁAWICE VILLAGE IN THE ZDUŃSKA WOLA DISTRIC

Dendroflora of the former manor park in Wojsławice village in the Zduńska Wola district

Park in Wojsławice is a valuable remnant of the former manor (palace)-park complex, established at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries around the seat of the Siemiątkowski family. The original spatial arrangement of the complex has been changed as a result of changes in the form of area use after nationalization and then privatization (of a part) of the facility. At present, the flora of trees and shrubs includes 73 species (20 conifers and 53 deciduous), which represent 23 families. The characteristic component of the park are numerous magnificent specimens of European ash Fraxinus excelsior, Norway maple Acer platanoides and Canadian poplar Populus canadensis. A varied-in-species groups of trees, best preserved around the palace (the central part of the complex), are the highest value of the park. Newer elements are build mainly by the colourful varieties and forms of alien species of coniferous and deciduous shrubs. Among 281 trees and shrubs, noted in the available non-forested part of the park and nearly 300 trees noted in the forested area, which were inventoried in details, 10 trees achieve a size of natural monuments.Park w Wojsławicach jest cenną pozostałością dawnego założenia dworskiego, powstałego na przełomie XIX i XX wieku wokół siedziby rodziny Siemiątkowskich. Oryginalny układ przestrzenny założenia został zmieniony w wyniku zmian sposobu zagospodarowania terenu po upaństwowieniu, a następnie sprywatyzowaniu (części) obiektu. Obecnie na dendroflorę parku składają się 73 gatunki drzew i krzewów (20 gatunków iglastych i 53 gatunki liściaste), reprezentujących 23 rodziny. Charakterystycznym komponentem parku są liczne okazałe jesiony wyniosłe Fraxinus excelsior, klony zwyczajne Acer platanoides i topole kanadyjskie Populus canadensis. Walorem parku są wielogatunkowe zgrupowania drzew, najlepiej zachowane w części (centralnej) przypałacowej. Nowsze elementy założenia tworzone są głównie przez barwne odmiany i formy obcych gatunków krzewów iglastych i liściastych. Wśród szczegółowo zinwentaryzowanych 281 drzew i drzewiastych form krzewów dostępnych w części nieleśnej parku i blisko 300 drzew w części leśnej, wyróżnia się 10 okazów o wymiarach pomnikowych

Low prevalence of diabetic retinopathy in patients with long-term type 1 diabetes and current good glycemic control - one-center retrospective assessment

PURPOSE: Despite progress in type 1 diabetes (T1DM) therapy, diabetic retinopathy (DR) is still a common complication. We analysed predictors and prevalence of DR in patients with T1DM lasting 10 years or more. All of the patients were considered to be currently in excellent glycemic control and treated using modern therapies. METHODS: Study included 384 (80.7% women) T1DM patients participating in the Program of Comprehensive Outpatient Specialist Care at the University Hospital in Krakow between the years 2014 and 2020. A retrospective analysis of medical records was conducted. RESULTS: The patients were on average 34 ± 9.2 years old, had a BMI 25.0 ± 3.9 and a T1DM duration of 20.5 ± 7.9 years. The mean level of HbA1c throughout the follow-up (mean duration 4.9 ± 1.4 years) was 6.9 ± 1%. The group included 238 (62.0%) patients treated with insulin pumps and 99 (25.8%) on multiple daily injections, 47 (12.2%) used both methods; almost all patients were on insulin analogues. DR was confirmed in 150 (39.1%) patients, from which 109 (28.4%) were diagnosed de novo. Severe DR was occurred in just 31 cases (8.1%). In the multivariate logistic regression, independent risk factors for the presence of DR were T1DM duration (OR 1.13; 95% CI, 1.09–1.19), HbA1c level (OR 1.41; 95% CI, 1.08–1.84), LDL level (OR 1.79; 95% CI, 1.16–2.87), and the combined presence of non-DR micro- and macrovascular chronic complications (OR 1.86; 95% CI, 1.16–3.03). CONCLUSIONS: In this highly-selected group of T1DM patients, mostly female, the prevalence of both DR at any stage and severe DR was lower than earlier reported results from other cohorts. Independent risk factors for the DR cohort did not differ from previously reported studies