Z badań nad rolnictwem społecznie zrównoważonym (15)

Seria: Program Wieloletni 2011-2014. Konkurencyjność Polskiej Gospodarki Żywnościowej w Warunkach Globalizacji i Integracji Europejskiej; nr 50Bilans węgla i emisji gazów cieplarnianych (dwutlenku węgla, metanu i podtlenku azotu) w polskim rolnictwie. Rolnictwo ekologiczne w Polsce - stan i perspektywa. Czynniki kształtujące poziom zrównoważenia gospodarstw rolnych. Uwarunkowania i czynniki rozwoju rolnictwa zrównoważonego.Kamila Sobieck

Subcostal echocardiographic assessment of tricuspid annular kick (SEATAK) — a novel independent predictor of 30-day mortality in patients with acute pulmonary embolism

BACKGROUND: The most commonly used parameter of right ventricular (RV) systolic function — tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion (TAPSE) is unavailable in some patients. Subcostal echocardiographic assessment of tricuspid annular kick (SEATAK) has been proposed as its alternative. AIM: The aim of the study was to assess the feasibility of SEATAK use in patients with acute pulmonary embolism (PE) and its value in prognosis after PE. METHODS: The observational study included 164 consecutive patients (45.7% men; average age, 70 years) with high clinical probability of PE referred for computed tomography pulmonary angiography. RESULTS: SEATAK was unavailable due to inadequate quality of echocardiograph in 2.8% of patients, whereas TAPSE in 4.9%, both parameters only in 0.6%. SEATAK and TAPSE values did not differ between groups of patients with (n = 82) and without PE (n = 82). In the whole study SEATAK correlated positively with TAPSE (r = 0.71; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.62–0.78; P <0.001), fractional area change of RV, left ventricular ejection fraction and peak systolic tricuspid annular velocity assessed with tissue Doppler imaging. There were only 3 echocardiographic predictors of 30-day all-cause mortality (n = 10) in patients with PE: SEATAK, pulmonary acceleration time and 60/60 sign. SEATAK predicted 30-day all-cause mortality with AUC (area under the curve) 0.726 (95% CI, 0.594–0.858; P = 0.01) and 30-day PE-related mortality (n = 4) with AUC, 0.772 (95% CI, 0.506–0.998; P = 0.03). CONCLUSIONS: SEATAK is a promising feasible echocardiographic parameter reflecting RV systolic function and might be an accurate alternative to TAPSE. Moreover, SEATAK could be an independent predictor of all-cause and PE-related 30-day mortality in patients with acute PE

Twenty years’ observation of subcutaneous pollen allergoid immunotherapy efficacy in adults

Introduction : It is valuable to determine the long-term efficacy of allergen-specific immunotherapy (SIT) and whether it can cure allergy. Aim : For this study, patients were prospectively observed for 20 years after completion of SIT to determine its effectiveness. Material and methods : A total of 1006 patients who underwent SIT for pollen allergy were observed for 20 years to assess the efficacy of SIT. The rhinitis symptom score (RSS) and asthma symptom score (ASS) were measured after SIT completion. The possibility of allergy cure was estimated based on three sets of criteria: group A – neither symptoms nor intake of medication during the analysis period, group B – no symptoms during the analysis period (but possible medication intake), and group C – at most one mild symptom during the analysis period. Results : After SIT, approximately 25% of patients showed complete relief of allergy symptoms and had no need for symptomatic drug treatment during the pollen season. The level of effectiveness of SIT was similar throughout the treatment period. During the observation period after SIT, RSS ranged from 1.51 to 1.82, and ASS ranged from 1.22 to 1.29. The treatment effect at 10 and 20 years after SIT was comparable, regardless of whether criterion A or B was used. However, the effect of SIT using criterion C was lower than those using criteria A and B for the analyzed time points. Conclusions : For this study cohort, SIT had a long-term effect that did not depend significantly on the duration of immunotherapy against pollen