Inflammatory Biomarkers for Assessing In-Hospital Mortality Risk in Severe COVID-19-A Retrospective Study.

(1) Background: Our study aims to investigate the utility of inflammatory factors as prognostic indicators for disease severity and mortality in COVID-19 patients admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) Department of Pelican Clinical Hospital Oradea Romania. While elevated white blood cell (WBC) levels are associated with COVID-19 severity and mortality, they may not effectively predict the risk of death; (2) Methods: In our ICU department, we conducted assessments on the 10th and 14th days of COVID-19 patients' hospitalization, measuring the following markers: C-reactive protein (CRP) levels, procalcitonin (PCT) levels, granulocytes/lymphocytes (G/L) ratios, ferritin levels, age, and obesity status. We included a total of 209 eligible COVID-19 patients in the final analysis. Our goal was to identify biomarkers that could quickly identify high-risk patients with a potential for disease progression and mortality; (3) Results: Our study (a retrospective, single-center observational cohort study) demonstrated statistically significant differences in predicting mortality and disease severity based on G/L ratio (p < 0.0001), PCT (p < 0.0002), CRP (p < 0.0001), ferritin (p < 0.0001), age (p < 0.0001), and obesity (p < 0.0001); (4) Conclusions: Having a G/L ratio exceeding 20 units, along with elevated levels of PCR, PCT, and ferritin in older and obese patients on the 3rd day of ICU admission, represents significant risk factors for in-hospital mortality in severe COVID-19 patients.

The role of fine-needle aspiration biopsy in the diagnosis of malignant tumors.

Cytopathology and histopathology play a key role in the process of diagnosing oncological diseases and premalignant conditions. Fine-needle aspiration (FNA) is one of the techniques used for obtaining biopsy of a wide variety of body tissues, causing patients minimal discomfort. Therefore, it is often considered to be the best strategy for investigating and diagnosing some precancerous or potential malignant lesions. Being successful as a means of confirming the clinical suspicion of metastatic recurrence in the cases of an already known cancer, the interest has further focused on the preliminary diagnosis of various types of benign or malignant tumors. In cases of inoperable tumors, this technique is useful for formulating the final diagnosis. FNA biopsy proved its effectiveness as a highly accurate, cost-effective, and safe technique, with potential high diagnostic yield. Immunohistochemistry, used as an additional tool to classical histopathological examination, remains a very practical and reliable technique that promises good results especially in determining the site of origin within metastatic disease.

Anterior Approach to Hip Arthroplasty with Early Mobilization Key for Reduced Hospital Length of Stay.

Background and Objectives: This study aimed to explore the preoperative factors related to early mobilization and length of stay (LOS) after total hip arthroplasty and the benefits of the anterior approach over the traditional lateral approach. Materials and Methods: Every patient benefits from information regarding details of the surgery approach, possible intra, and postoperative complications, post-operator medical care, and steps in the early mobilization protocol. The patient underwent a pre-anesthetic evaluation, was checked for preoperatory vital function, and was reevaluated for mobilization at 6, 12, 24, 36, 48, and 96 h after total hip arthroplasty using the anterior versus lateral approach. Results: The result of the statistical calculations indicates the independent negative risk factors for reaching the mobilization target: age with a coefficient of -0.046, p = 0.0154 and lateral approach with a relative risk of 0.3802 (95% CI: 0.15-0.90), p = 0.0298. Statistical data concerning the length of stay (LOS) showed significant differences in the total days spent in the hospital. The patients who were operated on using the lateral approach presented a higher body mass index than those with the anterior approach, but this difference did not reach the threshold of statistical significance. Conclusions: In our study, patient mobilization is crucial to reduce LOS.

Cardiac axis evaluation as a screening method for detecting cardiac abnormalities in the first trimester of pregnancy.

Congenital cardiac abnormalities refer to especially anatomic malformations of the heart that normally occur during fetal heart development, before eight weeks after conception. Aim: The aim is to investigate the association between cardiac axis and congenital heart abnormalities for a potential underline clinical application of cardiac axis evaluation during detection by abnormalities at the time of first trimester ultrasound. It is known that aneuploids can be associated in almost half of cases with cardiac abnormalities, so the angle of the cardiac axis could be a potential indirect marker for the detection of aneuploids in the first trimester of pregnancy. Being easy to obtain, from the cross-section at the chest level with the visualization of the four chambers, does not require additional sections to those provided in the current guides, we aim to prove its usefulness in diagnosing aneuploids and congenital cardiac abnormalities along with the translucent nuchal flow, at the level of the venous duct and the presence of tricuspid regurgitation. Conclusions: Cardiac axis has a higher value for the detection of congenital cardiac abnormalities with respect to the nuchal translucency, tricuspid regurgitation and inverted A wave at the level of the venous duct.