Enhanced external counterpulsation: Mechanisms of action and clinical applications

Symptomatic coronary artery disease (CAD) and heart failure (HF), either of ischaemic or non-ischemic aetiology, are common medical problems. Despite optimal medical treatment and improved revascularisation techniques, a significant number of patients are not successfully managed. Among the non-pharmacological, alternative, non-invasive treatments suggested for these patients, enhanced external counterpulsation (EECP) is considered the most effective one. EECP, administered in an out-patient setting, consists of three pneumatic cuffs applied to each of the patient's legs that are sequentially inflated and deflated synchronised with the cardiac cycle. Numerous clinical trials have shown that EECP is safe and effective in patients with ischaemic heart disease, with or without left ventricular dysfunction, improving their quality of life. EECP appears to be beneficial as an adjunctive therapy in patients with HF of any aetiology. Cardiac syndrome X has been shown to be effectively treated with EECR Research in EECP expanded in its potential use for entities other than heart disease. More trials are necessary, including sham-controlled trials, to further establish EECP among medical society

Health-Related Quality of Life and Cosmesis After Thyroidectomy: Long-Term Outcomes

Background: Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) after thyroidectomy has been recently reported with conflicting conclusions. In this study, we assess HRQoL and neck scar cosmesis of thyroid patients several years after thyroidectomy for benign and malignant pathology. Methods: Three hundred and thirty patients who underwent thyroidectomy between 2000 and 2010 answered the SF-36 Health Survey and Patient Scar Assessment Questionnaire (PSAQ) in 2010 and at the end of 2018. Changes in the SF-36 and PSAQ scores were analyzed taking into account various demographic, surgical and medical characteristics of the patients. Results: Patients reported worse SF-36 scores after 8.5 years, in scales of physical functioning (p < 0.001), social role functioning (p = 0.002), bodily pain (p = 0.001) and general health perceptions (p < 0.001). Interestingly enough, there were no significant changes in scales of physical role functioning (p = 0.304), mental health (p = 0.681), emotional role functioning (p = 0.903) and vitality (p = 0.121). Multivariate analysis showed that several chronic diseases were related to worse HRQoL scores. On the other hand, PSAQ appearance, symptoms and consciousness scores improved during this period (p < 0.001). Conclusions: In the long term, patients undergoing thyroidectomy do not show worse HRQoL outcomes in terms of mental health, emotional functioning and vitality, whereas scar cosmesis perception is improved. They show deteriorated outcomes in terms of physical, social functioning and bodily pain, which is mainly related to specific chronic diseases that are common to the aging person. © 2019, Société Internationale de Chirurgie

Nitroglycerin and Epinephrine Improve Coronary Perfusion Pressure in a Porcine Model of Ventricular Fibrillation Arrest: A Pilot Study

Background: Cardiac arrest remains one of the leading causes of death worldwide. European Resuscitation Council Guidelines for Resuscitation 2005 recommend epinephrine for its treatment. Objectives: To estimate whether the administration of a vasodilatator such as nitroglycerin in combination with epinephrine during cardiopulmonary resuscitation would improve resuscitation outcome in an established model of ventricular fibrillation. Methods: Design: Prospective, randomized, blinded, controlled study. Setting: Animal research laboratory. Ventricular fibrillation was induced in 20 Landrace/Large-White pigs. It remained untreated for 8 min before attempting resuscitation precordial compressions, mechanical ventilation, and electrical defibrillation. Animals were randomized into two groups, 10 animals each. Group A received saline as placebo (10 mL dilution, bolus) and epinephrine (0.02 mg/kg). Group B received nitroglycerin (50 μg/kg) and epinephrine (0.02 mg/kg) during cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Electrical defibrillation was attempted after 10 min of ventricular fibrillation. Results: Four animals in group A restored spontaneous circulation in comparison to eight in Group B. Coronary perfusion pressure (p < 0.0001) was significantly increased in Group B during cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Conclusion: A vasodilatator, when administered in combination with a vasopressor such as epinephrine during cardiopulmonary resuscitation, increases coronary perfusion pressure. © 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved

Vasopressin and epinephrine in the treatment of cardiac arrest: An experimental study

Background: Epinephrine remains the drug of choice for cardiopulmonary resuscitation. The aim of the present study is to assess whether the combination of vasopressin and epinephrine, given their different mechanisms of action, provides better results than epinephrine alone in cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Methods: Ventricular fibrillation was induced in 22 Landrace/Large-White piglets, which were left untreated for 8 minutes before attempted resuscitation with precordial compression, mechanical ventilation and electrical defibrillation. Animals were randomized into 2 groups during cardiopulmonary resuscitation: 11 animals who received saline as placebo (20 ml dilution, bolus) + epinephrine (0.02 mg/kg) (Epi group); and 11 animals who received vasopressin (0.4 IU/kg/20 ml dilution, bolus) + epinephrine (0.02 mg/kg) (Vaso-Epi group). Electrical defibrillation was attempted after 10 minutes of ventricular fibrillation. Results: Ten of 11 animals in the Vaso-Epi group restored spontaneous circulation in comparison to only 4 of 11 in the Epi group (p = 0.02). Aortic diastolic pressure, as well as, coronary perfusion pressure were significantly increased (p < 0.05) during cardiopulmonary resuscitation in the Vaso-Epi group. Conclusion: The administration of vasopressin in combination with epinephrine during cardiopulmonary resuscitation results in a drastic improvement in the hemodynamic parameters necessary for the return of spontaneous circulation. © 2008 Stroumpoulis et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd

Factors influencing arrival of patients with acute myocardial infarction at emergency departments: Implications for community nursing interventions

xanthos t., pantazopoulos i., vlachos i., stroumpoulis k., barouxis d., kitsou v., marathias k., karabinis a. & papadimitriou l. (2010) Factors influencing arrival of patients with acute myocardial infarction at emergency departments: implications for community nursing interventions. Journal of Advanced Nursing 66(7), 1469-1477. Title.: Factors influencing arrival of patients with acute myocardial infarction at emergency departments: implications for community nursing interventions. Aim.: This paper identifies the characteristics of Greek patients with acute myocardinal infraction who have long prehospital delays and identifies the factors that are specifically associated with these delays. Background.: The time between the first appearance of symptoms until the hospitalization of the patient with myocardial infarction correlates statistically significantly with in-hospital and long-term mortality. Methods.: The study took place in two Greek coronary care units from 1 June 2007 to 31 July 2008. From 232 consecutive patients with myocardial infarction, 160 were enrolled. Data were collected by a trained hospital staff nurse, who interviewed all patients within 48 hours of hospital admission. Results.: Smokers arrived statistically significantly sooner at the hospital than non-smokers [smokers' prehospital time delay: 78·9 (sd = 3·2) minutes vs. non-smokers' prehospital time delay: 98·2 (sd = 4·1) minutes, Mann-Whitney U-test, Z = -2·5, P < 0·05]. Patients with hyperlipidaemia arrived with a mean delay of 13 minutes less than normolipidaemic patients. Those with inferior ST segment elevation myocardial infarction exhibited statistically significantly shorter delay times than those with anterior or lateral (inferior vs. anterior, P = 0·003, inferior vs. lateral, P = 0·024, anova with Bonferroni-Holm post hoc test, F = 7·5, P = 0·001). Conclusion.: Community nurses should educate all patients about myocardial infarction, not only those at high risk but also those without known risk factors for ischaemic heart disease. © 2010 The Authors. Journal compilation © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd

Upregulation of human endogenous retroviruses in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid of covid-19 patients

Severe COVID-19 pneumonia has been associated with the development of intense inflammatory responses during the course of infections with SARS-CoV-2. Given that human endogenous retroviruses (HERVs) are known to be activated during and participate in inflammatory processes, we examined whether HERV dysregulation signatures are present in COVID-19 patients. By comparing transcriptomes of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) of COVID-19 patients and healthy controls, and peripheral blood monocytes (PBMCs) from patients and controls, we have shown that HERVs are intensely dysregulated in BALF of COVID-19 patients compared to those in BALF of healthy control patients but not in PBMCs. In particular, upregulation in the expression of specific HERV families was detected in BALF samples of COVID-19 patients, with HERV-FRD being the most highly upregulated family among the families analyzed. In addition, we compared the expression of HERVs in human bronchial epithelial cells (HBECs) without and after senescence induction in an oncogene-induced senescence model in order to quantitatively measure changes in the expression of HERVs in bronchial cells during the process of cellular senescence. This apparent difference of HERV dysregulation between PBMCs and BALF warrants further studies in the involvement of HERVs in inflammatory pathogenetic mechanisms as well as exploration of HERVs as potential biomarkers for disease progression. Furthermore, the increase in the expression of HERVs in senescent HBECs in comparison to that in noninduced HBECs provides a potential link for increased COVID-19 severity and mortality in aged populations. © 2021 American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved

Frequency of mutations and polymorphisms in borderline ovarian tumors of known cancer genes.

Borderline ovarian tumors represent an understudied subset of ovarian tumors. Most studies investigating aberrations in borderline tumors have focused on KRAS/BRAF mutations. In this study we conducted an extensive analysis of mutations and single nucleotide polymorphisms in borderline ovarian tumors. Using the Sequenom MassARRAY platform we investigated 160 mutations/polymorphisms in 33 genes involved in cell signalling, apoptosis, angiogenesis, cell cycle regulation, and cellular senescence. Of 52 tumors analysed, 33 were serous, 18 mucinous and 1 endometrioid. KRAS c.35G>A p.Gly12Asp mutations were detected in 8 tumors (6 serous and 2 mucinous), BRAF V600E mutations in 2 serous tumors, and PIK3CA H1047Y and PIK3CA E542K mutations in a serous and an endometrioid BOT respectively. CTNNB1 mutation was detected in a serous tumor. Potentially functional polymorphisms were found in VEGF, ABCB1, FGFR2 and PHLPP2. VEGF polymorphisms were the most common and detected at 4 loci. PHLPP2 polymorphisms were more frequent in mucinous as compared to serous tumors (p=0.04), with allelic imbalance in one case. This study represents the largest and most comprehensive analysis of mutations and functional single nucleotide polymorphisms in borderline ovarian tumors to date. At least 25% of borderline ovarian tumors harbour somatic mutations associated with potential response to targeted therapeutics

Acceptability of Self-Sampling for Human Papillomavirus-Based Cervical Cancer Screening

Background: Human papillomavirus (HPV)-DNA testing combined with self-sampling could increase cervical cancer screening effectiveness, utilizing a sensitive screening modality and an easy sampling method with minimal pain or discomfort. Self-sampling acceptability, though, is pivotal. Materials and Methods: This study is a nested cross-sectional survey within GRECOSELF, a cross-sectional study on HPV-based screening with self-sampling, aiming at investigating self-sampling acceptability among Greek women residing in rural areas, and the factors affecting it. Women between 25 and 60 years old were recruited by midwives participating in a nationwide midwifery network. Participants, after self-sampling, filled out a questionnaire with three sections, one regarding demographic characteristics, a second with questions pertaining to the participants' cervical cancer screening history, and a third with questions regarding the self-sampling process per se. Results: The sample included 13,111 women. Most participants (67.9%), including those screened or not in the past, would prefer self-sampling if assured that the results are not inferior to standard testing. Discomfort or pain during self-sampling was absent or minimal in 97.1% and 96.5% of the cases, respectively, and 74.4% of the women felt adequately confident that they followed the instructions correctly. Women mostly preferred self-sampling at home compared with health care facilities. Pain and discomfort during the procedure, although rare, were significant factors against acceptance. Most of the women reporting a negative impression had a negative experience with conventional sampling in the past. Conclusion: Self-sampling is highly acceptable. Acceptance can be further improved with proper communication of the process and its noninferiority compared with conventional screening. © Copyright 2020, Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers 2020