How Dexamethasone Used in Anti-COVID-19 Therapy Influenced Antihypertensive Treatment in Patients with SARS-CoV-2.

BACKGROUND: During the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic period, in the treatment approved by the WHO, along with antivirals, antibiotics, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and anticoagulants, dexamethasone was always used. This study started from the professional concern related to the vasopressor effect of cortisone on blood pressure (BP). METHODS: The study group was achieved by selecting, from a total of 356 patients hospitalized in the clinic, the patients with known hypertensive status at admission for SARS-CoV-2. Dexamethasone was part of the anti-COVID-19 treatment, with an administration of 4-6-8 mg/day, depending on bodyweight, for 10 days. All patients with hypertension received antihypertensive treatment in adjusted doses according to the recorded BP values. RESULTS: Monitoring of BP in hospitalized patients was performed daily, in the morning and evening. If on the 2nd day of treatment, 84% of the patients partially responded to the treatment with a moderate decrease in BP, on the 3rd therapy day, the situation clearly improved: more than 75% of the patients had values of BP that can be classified as high-normal (38.23%) and normal (40.03%). CONCLUSIONS: Dexamethasone for treatment of SARS-CoV-2 infection did not have a notable influence on increasing BP, because the doses were low-moderate and prescribed for a short time.

Liver damage in the context of SARS-CoV-2. Covid-19 treatment and its effects on the liver.

Since COVID-19 was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization, the scientific community has tried to protect the population from the infection and its effects through multiple lines of evidence. Patients at high risk of developing severe disease were advised to protect themselves and practice effective physical distancing. Phenotypes specific to this infection need to be reviewed to understand COVID-19 and its clinical manifestations. When the pandemic began, the scientific community was concerned with the unfavorable outcome of cases with pre-existing liver disease. There have been speculations about risk factors for severe diseases such as liver disease, age, gender, and association with obesity or diabetes.

A Study Regarding Nursing Leadership.

PURPOSE: The research included the analysis and processing of questionnaires applied in county hospitals in Craiova. The purpose of this article is to highlight the qualities, skills and competencies of a leader, necessary in the development of leadership and professional development skills. MATERIAL AND METHOD: We performed a descriptive and cross-sectional study involving 166 medical staff from hospitals in Craiova. Between January 2020 and January 2021, we used a questionnaire as an investigative tool containing 26 questions on complex leadership issues. The results were stored in Microsoft Excel files (Microsoft Corp., Redmond, WA, USA) and were statistically analyzed using the Microsoft Excel XLST AT (Addinsoft) software suite. SARL, Paris,). Secondary data processing: calculation of fundamental statistical parameters, mean and standard deviation of their ratio, coefficient of variation, graphical representation and calculation of regression coefficients was performed with Excel, Pivot Tables using controls, Functions, Statistics, Diagram and Data Analysis module. In conclusion, a better organization of the management of the hospital units is required, taking into account the leadership in nursing.

Risk Factors and Genetic Predisposition in Colorectal Cancer: A Study on Young and Old Adults.

According to GLOBOCAN 2018 data Colorectal cancer (CRC) represents the third most commonly diagnosed cancer in the world and has the second-highest mortality rate. The incidence of CRC has been rising worldwide, the majority of cases being in developing countries mostly due to the adoption of an unhealthy lifestyle. The main driving factors behind CRC are a sedentary lifestyle, obesity, red meat consumption, alcohol, and tobacco; however, early detection screenings and standardized treatment options have reduced CRC mortality. Better family history and genetic testing can help those with a hereditary predisposition in taking preventative measures.

Metabolic Impact of Diabetes Mellitus Type 2 in Hepatitis C Virus Infected Patients.

OBJECTIVE: Patients with chronic hepatitis C are subjected to a greater risk of cardiovascular disease and difficult to control diabetes mellitus type 2 (T2DM) comparatively to people that have never contracted Hepatitis C Virus (HCV). We aimed to investigate the impact of T2DM on HCV patients with the help of Fibromax test results compared to nonT2DM patients, and the metabolic differences between the 2 study groups. Our long term goals are to observe the long term impact of achieving systemic virusologic response (SVR) by means of Direct-Acting antivirals (DAA) between the 2 cohorts. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: We selected a lot of 200 patients with HCV that will undergo interferon-free DAA-based antiviral treatment for HCV and we used the results of the Fibromax Test to compare the biological parameters of T2DM and nonT2DM patients. RESULTS Among patients with T2DM compared to NonT2DM there is a significant correlation on Steatotest, NashTest, GGT, Glycemia, body weight, height and BMI. Test also showed that 15,5% of the test group had elevated glycemia, indicating the probability of developing diabetes in the future. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that HCV patients that also have T2DM are subjected to a combined higher risk of accelerated steatosis development, steatohepatitis, added difficulty in controlling glycemic levels. All these previous elements combined with a prevalence for patients to be overweight have a negative metabolic impact. Eradication of HCV with the help of DAA is important in order to help improving the metabolic impact of diabetes on steatosis, steatohepatitis. An added benefit is better management of glycemic control by decreasing insulin use and eliminating one risk factor of T2DM.

Managing Low Back Pain in Primary Care.

Low back pain (LBP) is one of the most common pathologies for which patients present for consultation in primary medical practice. The objective of the study was to determine the number of patients with LBP who presented to the general practitioner 's (GP) office between October 2019 and March 2020, to determine risk factors, favoring factors and their correlation with clinical data obtained after performing the clinical examination, with paraclinical data obtained by imaging investigation. 347 patients, aged between 17 and 82 years, were included in the study, presenting a sex ratio of men: women of approximately 2: 1. The main pain symptoms of the patients were: localized pain in the lumbar spine, radicular pain, referred to the lower limbs, subjective sensitivity disorders felt in the lower limbs, distal motor deficit in the lower limbs, paravertebral muscle contractions and the feeling of instability in the low back. The main risk factors were smoking, the existence of a trauma to the lumbar spine, sedentary lifestyle, maintaining a prolonged fixed position and intense physical exercise, either occasionally or daily. Among the patients included in the study, a number of 93 patients required the granting of medical leave both by the attending GP and by other specialists. Regardless of the etiology and pathophysiological mechanisms involved in the occurrence of LBP, therapeutic management should aim to stop pain symptoms and prevent recurrences.

Colon cancer: clinical, macroscopic and microscopic aspects.

Although in developed countries the incidence of colorectal cancer is decreasing through the introduction of well-designed screening systems, the worrying worldwide increase of the mortality rate by colorectal neoplasm indicates the need for a thorough characterization of this pathology. Clinical, endoscopic, histopathological and immunohistochemical data provide important information for creating categories of patients that can benefit from intensive screening methods and for establishing the prognosis based on these data. Approximately 80% of the colorectal cancer develops from adenomas, which shows that early detection of premalignant lesions is an important step in reducing global incidence and mortality. Our study aims at providing information about the clinical, imaging and histopathological characterization of colorectal neoplasm and premalignant lesions. A total of 98 patients were evaluated, including 72 patients diagnosed with colorectal cancer and 26 with premalignant lesions. Patients underwent colonoscopy with biopsy specimens that were examined histopathologically. From the epidemiological data, we observe a higher incidence in men with a men/women ratio of 2/1, with a median age in colorectal cancer patients of 63.93 years. Different data on signs and symptoms were observed according to the colonoscopy location, with a slight difference between symptoms of patients with premalignant lesions compared to those diagnosed with colorectal neoplasm. Endoscopy showed that the rectum was the most frequent location, followed by the left colon, the tumor having a vegetative aspect in most cases. Histopathology confirms that the most common subtype is adenocarcinoma, described in 67 of the studied cases. The moderate differentiation degree is present in more than half of the cases.

Positive and Negative Predictive Factors for Treatment Response in Patients with Chronic Viral C Hepatitis.

More than 200 million people worldwide are infected with hepatitis C virus. In the United States, suggested estimates are that more than 5 million people live with HCV. The purpose of this paper is to identify, within the Southwestern Romanian population, host factors associated with the response to Pegylated Interferon and Ribavirin treatment for Hepatitis C virus infection. We investigated several factors and their correlation to sustained virological response. The study included 267 patients diagnosed with chronic Hepatitis C between 2013 and 2016, treated with Pegylated Interferon and Ribavirin in the 2nd Medical Department of the Emergency County Hospital Craiova. From the 267 patients included in this study, 149 (55,81%) achieved sustained virological response during the 48 weeks of treatment. Several factors were taken in consideration regarding the treatment response. Positive predictive factors for achieving sustained virological response were: the female gender (35,96%), Low Viral Load at the beginning of treatment, Early Virological Response 75 (28,09%), Rapid Virologic Response133 (49,81%), and stage of fibrosis, with Stage F1 having the highest rate of Sustained Virological Response during double therapy 81 (30,34%). Although at the present time a number of more effective antiviral products have been approved for the treatment of viral hepatitis C, in our country the standard of treatment remains with PegInterferon and Ribavirin therapy. Multiple clinical and paraclinical tools can identify patients with a high chance of responding to treatment, or those who, during treatment, do not meet the criteria for prolonging therapy.

Clinical importance of pharmacogenetics in the treatment of hepatitis C virus infection.

Globally, over 4% of the world population is affected by hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. The current standard of care for hepatitis C infection is combination therapy with pegylated interferon and ribavirin for 48 weeks, which yield a sustained virological response in only a little over half of the patients with genotype 1 HCV. We investigated the clinical importance of pharmacogenetics in treatment efficacy and prediction of hematotoxicity. A total of 148 patients infected with HCV were enrolled. All patients were treated for a period of 48 weeks or less with pegylated interferon and ribavirin. Four genotypes were investigated: inosine triphosphatase (ITPA) rs1127354, C20orf194 rs6051702, interferon lambda (IFNL)3 rs8099917, IFNL3÷4 rs12979860 in the population from southwestern Romania. Genetic variants for rs129798660 and rs6051702 proved once more to represent an indisputable clinical tool for predicting sustained virological response (SVR) (69.23%, chi-square p=0.007846, p<0.05 and 63.29%, chi-square p=0.007846, p<0.05, respectively). ITPA genetic variants protect against ribavirin-induced hemolytic anemia and C20orf194 also proved to be protective against thrombocytopenia. These clinical findings strengthen the belief that pharmacogenetics should play a constant role in treatment decisions for patients infected with hepatitis C virus.