Preventable Hazards from in Vitro Fertilization - A Case Series of CF Patients from Bulgaria.

Pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) is not often performed when donor gametes are used, due to its high cost. This is with the presumption that the donors are healthy. We report on five cases of babies with confirmed cystic fibrosis (CF), being the result from in vitro fertilization (IVF) with donor (4 cases) or own gametes (one case). There has been no family history for CF in any of the families affected. The clinical presentation in the children ranged from meconium ileus to recurrent respiratory infections and severe nasal polyposis. The age of diagnosis also varied from birth until 9 years. Since one of the presented cases was discovered in a very renowned private IVF clinic, the clinic changed their own protocol, and currently they test every donor for CF carriership. The percentage of CF carriers in the donor population is roughly the same as the one predicted in the general population of Bulgaria - 1/33. Although PGD is costly, the costs for proper care for a CF patient are currently much higher. The more economical option would to screen every donor for CF carriership. IVF requires a lot of physical and psychological stamina. The couples that go through this procedure also require a great deal of hope. It is essential to be more preconscious for possible congenital diseases. We advocate every IVF center to test the donors for CF carriership or to provide PGD for their clients.

[Left ventricular dysfunction in patients following high-dose chemotherapy and autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation].

AIM: To evaluate the dynamics of LV global longitudinal strain (GLS) and other EchoCG parameters after high-dose chemotherapy (HDCT) and autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (aHSCT). MATERIAL AND METHODS: The risk of LV dysfunction in patients after HDCT followed by aHSCT has not been sufficiently studied. This study included 74 patients with hemoblastosis aged 20 to 65 years who had undergone HDCT followed by aHSCT. All patients had a history of antitumor treatment. EchoCG with assessment of LV GLS and measurements of troponin T and N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) were performed for all patients before and after the treatment. RESULTS: A decrease in GLS by 15 % or more from the baseline was detected in 6 (8.1 %) patients. The decrease in GLS was associated with increased NT-proBNP >125 pg / ml at baseline (odds ratio, 8.667; 95 % confidence interval, 1.419-52.942; p=0.022). CONCLUSION: The decrease in LV GLS in patients after aHSCT was associated with increased NT-proBNP before the intervention.

[ASSESSMENT OF PATIENT SATISFACTION WITH THE MEDICAL ORGANIZATION AND ITS SERVICES].

The relevance of the problem under study is due to the fact that the medical organization must be aware of the target patient: to know who he is, how and why he wants to receive a particular medical service. All the information received and its analysis will allow us to develop a real scheme of mutually beneficial communication, convenient for each of the parties-the medical organization and the patient, which will allow us to reveal the weaknesses in the work and respond to them in a timely manner. The purpose of the study: to form an assessment of the patient's satisfaction with the medical organization and its services, taking into account the interest, feelings, purpose, arguments and thoughts that appear in the patient from the moment of the first contact with the clinic, with the display of the point of contact in graphic form, in order to minimize all possible obstacles in his route to receiving quality medical services and increasing the economic efficiency of the clinic.

[Recreational potential of medical tourism of Russia].

Since January 1, 2019, the Russian Federation has entered the global medical tourism market thanks to the approved federal project "Development of the export of medical services". The level of attractiveness of a country as a global destination for medical tourists is determined by a number of factors: the level of medical technology, transport accessibility, proximity to donor countries of foreign patients; the level of realization of export potential, international reputation, medical marketing; the level of healthcare organization, international staff training, etc. Among the factors determining the success of the country as the destination of medical tourism, a special place is held by the recreational complex, spa treatment. The level of development of the recreational complex within the framework of medical tourism performs several tasks at once: it provides a full cycle of medical assistance to foreign medical tourists - from outpatient admissions and in-patient treatment to rehabilitation and recovery; sanatorium-resort treatment and rehabilitation are considered not only as an integral part of the complex of medical services, but also as an independent promising direction for the export of medical services by domestic health resorts. Also, the fight against the consequences of COVID-19, when hundreds of thousands of neighboring states citizens need qualified rehabilitation, can become a driver for the development of the sanatorium-resort complex of Russia. The purpose of the study is to identify bottlenecks in the development strategy of the recreational potential of the regions of the Russian Federation and make suggestions for its improvement. The number of foreign patients who received medical care from January to May 2020 in the federal districts is 729,000. This indicator was achieved during the pandemic, and therefore does not reflect the true potential of rehabilitation as an element of the full cycle of medical care for foreign patients. The target audience for rehabilitation programs is up to 100,000 foreign patients.

[Evaluation of the export potential of the healthcare system of the Russian Federation on the example of a separate taken region].

The relevance of the research is due to the fact that the development of medical services exports in the Russian Federation is based on the eponymous Federal project «Development of medical services exports¼ of the national project «Healthcare¼. The Federal project is being implemented in the Russian Federation in the period 2019-2024 and is unique for two reasons. Firstly, the project has no analogues in the world: for the first time in one country, 71 regions were involved in a project related to the development of planned medical care for foreign citizens. Secondly, the main role in the project is assigned to medical organizations of state ownership. Due to the fact that the key outstanding issue of the project is to assess the export potential of the health care system of subjects of the Russian Federation, which is a Federal project, the goal of research to assess the export potential of the health care system of the Russian Federation (on the example of Tyumen oblast). A methodology for calculating the economic efficiency of the medical services export program in the region has been developed. As the criteria for evaluating the economic efficiency of testing the concept of developing the export of medical services in the above-mentioned regions, it is proposed to set certain parameters.

Th17 cells in Bulgarian children with chronic obstructive lung diseases.

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: Th17 lymphocytes are now widely believed to be critical in various chronic pulmonary diseases. However, there is still a small number of investigations regarding children. We aimed to assess the percentage of Th17 lymphocytes and IL-17A in peripheral blood of children with chronic obstructive lung diseases. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We included a total of 42 children: 20 with bronchial asthma (BA), 12 with cystic fibrosis (CF) and 10 healthy children without a history of allergies, aged 4-17 years. Th17 cells (CD3+CD4+CD161+CCR6+) were determined in peripheral blood by flow cytometry. The concentration of serum IL-17A was measured by ELISA. RESULTS: The BA patients had a significantly higher percentage of Th17 (12.40±1.16%) compared to the CF children (7.64±0.87%, p=0.0035) and healthy (7.25±0.45%, p=0.008). Stratifying the BA group, we found higher levels of Th17 in patients with severe BA (p=0.03), whereas patients with moderate BA had Th17 cells close to those in CF and healthy children. We found that patients with better control of BA had Th17 closer to those with CF (p=0.98) than BA children with poor control (p<0.001) (post hoc, Bonferroni correction). CF patients with concomitant P. aeruginosa infection showed slightly higher percentages of Th17 cells than those without infection (8.08±3.09% vs. 6.25±2.42%, p=0.294). CONCLUSIONS: The percentage of Th17 cells was significantly increased in the peripheral blood of children with severe BA compared to the children with moderate BA, which suggests that the former could possibly benefit from future target therapies.

[The future of computer-aided diagnostics in chest computed tomography]. / Perspektivy ispol'zovaniia kompleksnoi komp'iuter-assistirovannoi diagnostiki v otsenke struktur grudnoi kletki.

Recently, more and more attention has been paid to the utility of artificial intelligence in medicine. Radiology differs from other medical specialties with its high digitalization, so most software developers operationalize this area of medicine. The primary condition for machine learning is met because medical diagnostic images have high reproducibility. Today, the most common anatomic area for computed tomography is the thorax, particularly with the widespread lung cancer screening programs using low-dose computed tomography. In this regard, the amount of information that needs to be processed by a radiologist is snowballing. Thus, automatic image analysis will allow more studies to be interpreted. This review is aimed at highlighting the possibilities of machine learning in the chest computed tomography.

IL4Rα and ADAM33 as genetic markers in asthma exacerbations and type-2 inflammatory endotype.

BACKGROUND: Genetic markers of susceptibility to asthma exacerbations in adults remain unclear. OBJECTIVE: To identify genetic markers of asthma exacerbations, particularly in patients with type-2 inflammatory endotype. METHODS: In this observational study of patients enrolled in the Kinki Hokuriku Airway disease Conference multicenter study, frequency of exacerbations requiring systemic corticosteroids during 2 years after enrolment and associated risk factors was determined. For genetic marker analysis, interleukin-4 receptor α (IL4RA) rs8832 and a disintegrin and metalloprotease 33 (ADAM33) S_2 (rs528557), T_1 (rs2280091), T_2 (rs2280090), and V_4 (rs2787094) variants were included. Elevated serum periostin levels at enrolment (≥95 ng/mL, defined as type-2 inflammatory endotype) were considered in the analysis. RESULTS: Among 217 patients who were successfully followed up for 2 years after enrolment, 60 patients showed at least one asthma exacerbation during the 2 years. Airflow limitation (%FEV1 <80%) and recent exacerbations but not genetic variants were identified as risk markers of exacerbations. A total of 27 patients showed type-2 inflammatory endotype (serum periostin ≥95 ng/mL at enrolment) and subsequent exacerbations; risk factors in these patients were airflow limitation (odds ratio, 6.51; 95% confidence interval (CI): 2.37-18.6; P=.0003), GG genotype of IL4RA rs8832 (odds ratio, 4.01; 95% CI: 1.47-11.0; P=.007), and A allele of ADAM33 T_2 (odds ratio, 2.81; 95% CI: 1.05-7.67; P=.04) by multivariate analysis. In addition, GG genotype of IL4RA rs8832 was associated with type-2 endotype, whereas A allele of ADAM33 T_2 was associated with mixed type of eosinophilic/type-2 and neutrophilic inflammations. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: IL4RA and ADAM33 variants may be risk markers of asthma exacerbations in type-2 inflammatory endotype. Precise endotyping may facilitate the identification of genetic risk markers of asthma exacerbations.

Use of biologics for psoriasis in Central and Eastern European countries.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the use of biological agents for the treatment of psoriasis and to explore country-specific differences within six Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries, namely Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Romania. METHODS: A literature overview on the epidemiology and disease burden of psoriasis in CEE was conducted. The number of patients treated with biologics was obtained from patient registries, ministries of health, national professional societies and health insurance funds. Biological treatment rates were estimated by two different methods: (i) as a proportion of all psoriasis patients of a country (assuming a common prevalence of psoriasis 2%) and (ii) per 100,000 population. Moreover, we provide a detailed comparison of drug coverage policies and guidelines regulating the treatment with biologics in psoriasis. RESULTS: On average 0.25% of all psoriasis patients, or five psoriasis patients out of 100,000 inhabitants are treated with biologics embedding a 14.6-fold difference between the six countries. Bulgaria, Croatia and Poland lag behind the other three countries in the use of biologics. The significant differences among CEE countries cannot be explained by variations in prices of biologics, cost-effectiveness or budget impact of biologics. It seems that the time since coverage decision, the fewer number of covered biologics, the more restrictive criteria to be eligible for covered treatment in terms of baseline Psoriasis Area and Severity Index and Dermatology Life Quality Index scores, and the maximum duration of treatment allowed are responsible for the majority of the differences. CONCLUSIONS: There exists a disconnect between the European psoriasis treatment guidelines and the various CEE country-specific biologic coverage eligibilities. The cost of biologic therapy for psoriasis is not solely and directly responsible for the different use rates amongst the CEE countries. Psoriasis may not be perceived by all payers as a serious disease that can be successfully treated in a cost-effective manner.

Complex assessment of age-specific morphofunctional features of skin of different anatomic localizations.

OBJECTIVE: The goal of the described study was complex assessment of age-specific morphofunctional features of skin of different anatomic localization using optical coherence tomography (OCT). METHODS: Forty-three healthy volunteers aging from 4 to 74 years were enrolled in the study. Optical and functional skin parameters were studied in 18 areas of the human body. All the studied areas were classified as open and closed, depending on external impact. Structural parameters of skin were determined by means of the OCT device equipped with a removable, flexible probe with microscanner (registration certificate no. 022a2035/2213-05) designed and fabricated at the IAP RAS (Nizhny Novgorod, Russia) with longitudinal and transverse resolution of about 20 µm. RESULTS: Age-specific morphofunctional features of skin most evident in areas exposed to external action were found. Statistically significant difference in elasticity (-0.57, P = 0.00012) in areas closed to external action (further referred to as closed areas) and in useful signal depth, hydration and elasticity in areas exposed to external action (further referred to as open areas) was assessed for different age groups. Analysis of the dependence of parameters on age showed statistically significant correlations between age and thickness of cellular layers of the epidermis (-0.33, P = 0.035), pigmentation level (-0.22, P = 0.044) and elasticity in closed areas and highly significant correlations between age and hydration and elasticity in open areas. CONCLUSION: The current work is concerned with investigation of age-specific morpho-functional parameters of skin of different localizations.

[Contemporary opinion about anticholinergics use in premedication].

The article deals with the analysis of publications which discuss anticholinergics use in premedication. The article briefly says about the use history and characteristics of anticholinergics. In conclusion the article stresses the need to abandon the routine anticholinergics use. Intravenous anticholinergics application is preferable if there are indications for its use. New inhalation and intravenous anaesthetics promote to prescribe the anticholinergics individually

Antianemic activity of water-soluble Na,Ca,Fe-polygalacturonate.

A pronounced antianemic effect of water-soluble Na,Ca,Fe-polygalacturonate is demonstrated. The drug in solution is more effective than in the solid form; it promotes absorption of nutrient calcium and iron. During this treatment, consumed calcium does not impair iron absorption.

[Early parenteral nutrition with very low and extremely low birth weight infants--practical approach].

UNLABELLED: Newborn infants with birth weight 1500 g and less (VLBW/ELBW) have higher nutritional needs, but enteral feeding is often insufficient or impossible. Parenteral nutrition (PN) as an important component of intensive care with them minimizes the risk of nutritional deficiency. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of early PN administration in VLBW/ELBW infants. STUDY DESIGN: The prospective study includes 23 newborn babies with birthweight below 1500 g who were admitted to the NICU from 01.03. to 20.04. 2009. With all babies a PN was started from the first day of life with dextrose and amino acid solutions, adding lipid solutions in gradually increasing quantity on the second day. During the first 20 days of life for each baby were calculated on a daily basis the exact quantities of energy and the essential nutritional substances as well as the balance among them. All babies were followed up for weight gain, presence or absence of complications, related with parenteral nutrition as well as for: blood sugar, acid-base status, total serum protein, electrolytes, urea, triglycerides, billirubin, alkaline phosphatase, ASAT ALAT RESULTS: We found that due to the small infusion volumes during the first days, the minimal daily needed nutrition levels are reached at day 4-5. Nutritional intake at day 7-10 in most children is enough for growth. A positive mean weight gain for the whole group 6.6 g/kg/d (SD 6.2) is observed. Negative weight gain during the first 20 days is observed only with two critically ill babies with substantial reduction of infusion volume. In 9 babies a transient increase in urea levels was observed during the first week, 5 babies had an increase in triglycerides as a symptom of bad lipid tolerance. In 7 babies on prolonged total PN an increase in alkaline phosphatase is observed. Conclusions. Early and sufficient PN in newborn babies below 1500 g guarantees the daily intake of energy and essential nutritive substances for adequate growth and is a basic component of intensive therapy. It should be corresponding to the nutritional needs as well as to the clinical condition; matching the severity of complications and carried under strict laboratory control.