The Efficiency of Kinesiotherapy versus Physical Modalities on Pain and Other Common Complaints in Fibromyalgia.

Due to its variety of signs and symptoms, there have been numerous attempts to treat fibromyalgia (FM), but a cure has yet to be established. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of a complex kinetic therapy program and a combined physical modality program on pain and other common symptoms of FM. Patients and methods: A total of 78 female patients were included in this study; 39 subjects underwent a kinesiotherapy (KT) intervention (combining aerobic and Pilates exercises), and 39 participated in a physical modality (PM) program (including electrotherapy (TENS and low-laser therapy) and thermotherapy). Results: Regarding the parameter of pain assessment, kinesiotherapy demonstrated its superiority both during the treatment period and in the evaluation 3 months after therapy cessation. Both in terms of patient-reported pain (inter-group comparisons: p = 0.000 at T3) and the examination of tender points (inter-group comparisons: p = 0.000 at T3), as well as the algometric assessment, pain was alleviated by the two forms of applied kinetic therapy. The observed functional impairment was statistically significantly influenced (p = 0.001) at the end of the kinetic program application, while for the perceived functional impairment, neither therapy proved superiority over the other at any point of evaluation (inter-group comparisons: p = 0.715 at T3). Regarding the influence of the emotional consequences implied by fibromyalgia, neither the forms of kinesiotherapy nor the chosen physical modalities proved superiority at any point of evaluation (HAQ anxiety inter-group comparisons: p = 0.000 at T3). In conclusion, even though kinesiotherapy had superior influences on fibromyalgia pain in the studied group, the current research lends credence to the significance of non-pharmacological therapy in managing fibromyalgia. Participants demonstrated positive advancements in subjective and objective pain assessments, as well as improvements in functional and emotional well-being.

Challenges in the Differential Diagnosis of COVID-19 Pneumonia: A Pictorial Review.

COVID-19 pneumonia represents a maximum medical challenge due to the virus's high contagiousness, morbidity, and mortality and the still limited possibilities of the health systems. The literature has primarily focused on the diagnosis, clinical-radiological aspects of COVID-19 pneumonia, and the most common possible differential diagnoses. Still, few studies have investigated the rare differential diagnoses of COVID-19 pneumonia or its overlap with other pre-existing lung pathologies. This article presents the main radiological features of COVID-19 pneumonia and the most common alternative diagnoses to establish the vital radiological criteria for a differential diagnosis between COVID-19 pneumonia and other lung pathologies with similar imaging appearance. The differential diagnosis of COVID-19 pneumonia is challenging because there may be standard radiologic features such as ground-glass opacities, crazy paving patterns, and consolidations. A multidisciplinary approach is crucial to define a correct final diagnosis, as an overlap of COVID-19 pneumonia with pre-existing lung diseases is often possible and suggests possible differential diagnoses. An optimal evaluation of HRTC can help limit the clinical evolution of the disease, promote therapy for patients and ensure an efficient allocation of human and economic resources.

Bronchogenic Cyst in Infants-Clinical and Histopathological Features.

A male infant, one month old, weight 4000 g, breastfed only, no pathological history, was admitted to the 2nd Pediatric Clinic, Clinical Emergency County Hospital in Craiova with fever and cough. Clinical findings when he was admitted: fever 38.7°C, perioral cyanosis, spastic cough, expiratory dyspnea, intercostal retraction, polypnea, subcrepitant rales in the right lung area. The chest x-ray revealed pneumonia aspect in the right middle perihilar region. He was administered antibiotic treatment, HHC, antithermics, with a favorable evolution. The control x-ray, when the infant was in a fair general state, with no disease symptomatology, pointed out a cystic formation at the level of the right middle lobe. The pulmonary CT revealed cavitary lesion, with a diameter of about 40mm in the right lung, and with the presence of septa to the interior and air content. The infant was urgently transferred to Marie Curie Hospital in Bucharest, where the cyst formation was removed through a surgical procedure. The anatomo-pathological examination revealed a bronchogenic cyst. The evolution was favorable after the surgical procedure.

Metastases to the Kidney: A Case Report and Review of the Literature.

Renal metastases are uncommon in clinical practice, even as autopsy reports much frequent cases în disseminated tumors. Usually multiple and bilateral, they can determine many problems of differential diagnosis in case of solitary renal mass, when a primary kidney neoplasm must be excluded. Main sources are represented by the tumors of the lung, breast, digestive tract, melanomas and lymphomas, but rare cases with other etiology have been reported. Imaging can help to the diagnosis; CT scan, MRI, transabdominal ultrasound and sometimes contrast enhanced ultrasound can be useful. The treatment is individualized by the general status, by other organs involved and by the control of primary tumors; nephrectomy can be made in cases with unsure diagnosis and if primary tumor is controlled.

Non-invasive imaging techniques for the in vivo diagnosis of Bowen's disease: Three case reports.

Bowen's disease (BD) is a relatively frequent non-melanoma skin cancer occurring mostly in elderly people. Until now, the usual way to establish the diagnosis is histopathological examination of a skin biopsy. Dermoscopy and reflectance confocal microscopy (RCM) are modern alternative methods that can be used as quick and non-invasive diagnostic techniques and as follow-up instruments in cases in which a conservative treatment is chosen for the management of BD. There are no very specific dermoscopic criteria for the diagnosis of this disease, but some dermoscopic features (scaly surface, vascular structures and pigmentation) can be found more frequent and can be helpful for the diagnosis. RCM of BD shows an acanthotic epidermis with two types of targetoid cells: the first, a large cell with bright center and dark peripheral halo, the second, a cell with dark center and a bright rim surrounded by a dark hallo, related with dyskeratotic cells on histological examination. BD management could be improved by using non-invasive, in vivo imaging techniques that allow a fast and easy diagnosis and can be used as follow-up tools. However, larger studies are necessary for the validation of our observations.

Role of modern imaging techniques for the in vivo diagnosis of lichen planus.

Lichen planus (LP) is a chronic inflammatory skin disease that can sometimes affect mucosal surfaces, with unknown pathogenesis, even though it appears to be an autoimmune disease. The diagnosis of lichen planus is usually based on histopathological examination of the lesions. Nowadays, the classical invasive diagnostic methods are replaced by modern non-invasive techniques. In this review, we present the main non-invasive imaging methods (dermoscopy, reflectance confocal microscopy, optical coherence tomography, ultrasound and diffuse reflection spectrophotometry) used in the diagnosis and therapeutic monitoring of lichen planus. Dermoscopy is a non-invasive method initially used for diagnosis of pigmented tumors but now is used also for inflammatory and infectious skin diseases. In lichen planus, the dermoscopy increases the accuracy of diagnosis, avoids skin biopsies commonly used and can be useful in the therapeutic monitoring by repeated investigation at different stages of treatment. Reflectance confocal microscopy (RCM) is a novel non-invasive imaging technique that is prevalently used for the diagnosis of skin tumors and inflammatory skin diseases. This technology has been mostly employed for bedside, real-time microscopic evaluation of psoriasis, lichen planus, contact dermatitis, revealing specific confocal features to support clinical diagnosis and assist with patient management. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is an emergent imaging technique, developed over the last decade, based on the interaction of the infrared radiation (900-1,500 nm) and the living tissues. A limited information exists on the benefits of OCT technology for the in vivo diagnosis of LP but could be a useful auxiliary tool in the in vivo differential diagnosis, especially in clinical equivocal settings like mucosal lesions, and in monitoring the response to treatment. Our review shows the possibility of using modern imaging techniques for the in vivo diagnosis and also for evaluation of the treatment response.

Comparative study in leg telangiectasias treatment with Nd:YAG laser and sclerotherapy.

Telangiectasias and reticular veins of the lower extremities are common lesions. Sclerotherapy is considered the gold standard for treatment. The aim of our prospective randomized study was to compare the efficacy and safety of hypertonic 20% saline/2% lignocaine (HS) versus polidocanol 0.5% (POL) versus long-pulsed neodymium:ytrium aluminium garnet (Nd:YAG) laser (LAS) treatments of leg telangiectasias in women, using each patient as her own control. We included in this study 285 women with primary leg telangiectasias and reticular veins (C1AEpAS1PN) in order to be treated with sclerotherapy or laser. One leg was treated with either LAS, POL or HS. The other leg received, randomly, one other of these treatments. At the end there were 190 legs treated with each method. There were two sessions at 8-week interval. Assessment of vessel clearing and complications was conducted 2 months after each session using before and after photographs of the leg vessels using a six-point scale from 0 (no change) to 5 (100% cleared). For telangiectasias under 1 mm diameter LAS was better (RR=9.72, P<0.0001) than HS and also POL was better (RR=2.70, P=0.003); for telangiectasias over 1 mm diameter LAS and POL were better too (RR=2.70, P=0.003) respectively (RR=1.44, P=0.00756). For telangiectasias under 1 mm LAS treatment is clearly superior to POL treatment. For telangiectasias over 1 mm the hazard regression model showed a hazard ratio of 3.97 (P=0.047) for LAS and 4.96 (P=0.486) for POL vs. HS treatment. In conclusion, telangiectasias and reticular veins of the lower extremities can be successfully treated with Nd:YAG laser or sclerotherapy. Nd:YAG laser is recommended in treating small telangiectasias (under 1 mm diameter) while sclerotherapy with polidocanol is more efficient as long as telangiectasias diameter is growing.

The incidence of skin lesions in contrast media-induced chemical hypersensitivity.

Contrast agents are used in radiology to increase the sensibility and specificity of radiological techniques. Some of these compounds have side effects that include organ toxicity (with kidney being the most affected organ) and hypersensitivity reactions. We performed multiple PubMed searches from January, 2008 to January, 2018 for studies regarding adverse reactions to compounds used as contrast agents in imagistic techniques. The initial research identified 929 records written in English. After further excluding 223 non-human studies, 292 articles that had irrelevant designs as reviews, meta-analysis, commentaries, editorials and case reports, 414 studies were selected for retrieval. After reading the abstracts, we excluded 363 studies as they had little relevance to the study. In total, 51 full-articles were assessed for eligible studies to be included. Finally, 20 articles were included in the analysis. In our systematic literature search the incidence of overall skin immediate reactions to iodinated contrast media (ICM) had an incidence between 1.15 and 0.12%, depending on the cohort analyzed in the studies. The percentage of cutaneous manifestations in the cohort that experienced immediate hypersensitivity reactions was between 33.33 and 87.7%. The most frequent skin manifestations were urticaria, rashes, pruritus and limited facial edema. Non-iodinated contrast agents have a safer profile compared with ICM, the incidence of immediate adverse reactions being very low in gadolinium-based contrast agents and other agents used for contrast-enhanced ultrasound. The incidence of delayed reactions was between 10.1 and 0.03%. In the studies analyzed by us the main adverse reactions due to delayed hypersensitivity phenomena were cutaneous manifestations that were present between 70.27 and 100% of the cases. Regarding the risk factors for developing immediate adverse reactions, being female was a predisposing factor accompanied by history of allergy and history of reactions to contrast media. An accurate anamnesis of the patients and a correctly conducted pretreatment can limit the incidence and the severity of the adverse reactions and also can avoid the life occurrence of life-threatening reactions.

Age-dependent endocrine disorders involved in the pathogenesis of refractory acne in women.

Acne is a disorder of the pilosebaceous unit, common among adolescents, which may be extended to adulthood. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of hormonal disorders in women with acne resistance to conventional therapy. We included 72 women aged between 15 and 36 years (divided in two age groups) who presented to our clinic between May and October 2014, suffering from moderate and severe forms of papulopustular and nodulocystic acne. The subjects were non­responsive to classic dermatological treatment or had clinical manifestation of hyperandrogenism. Based on age, we divided the women into two groups, group I with 40 patients aged 15­22 years and group II with 32 patients aged 23-36 years. Using ELISA, a hormonal profile was performed for each patient in days 1­3 of the menstrual cycle including, total testosterone, dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEA­S), follicle­stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH), estradiol, prolactin, and plasma cortisol. For statistical analysis we used Stata 13 software. We compared the hormonal profile of the two groups and identified significant differences for: testosterone levels (mean value, 0.64±0.35 vs. 0.97±0.50 ng/ml; p<0.0001), DHEA­S levels (mean value, 0.85±0.27 vs. 1.05±0.33 mg/24 h; p=0.001), prolactin levels (mean value, 281.85±91.113 vs. 353.969±102.841 mIU/ml; p=0.002) and LH levels (14.8±6.7 vs. 20.1±8.2 mIU/ml; p=0.002) were higher in group â…¡. No statistically significant differences were found for estradiol (p=0.588) and cortisol (p=0.182) levels. In conclusion, refractory acne can be the first sign of systemic illness including polycystic ovary syndrome. Thus, for a correct therapeutic approach it is necessary to interpret the clinical and biochemical elements in correlation with the medical history.

Rare case of disseminated fusariosis in a young patient with graft vs. host disease following an allogeneic transplant.

Fusarium infection is a severe fungal infection caused by fungi of the genus Fusarium. It most commonly occurs in immunocompromised patients with malignant hematological comorbidities or secondary to hematopoietic stem cell transplant. The classical route of contamination is through inhalation but infection may also occur through contiguity with a skin lesion. This report describes the case of a 24-year-old woman who developed graft-vs.-host disease (GVHD) at 220 days after receiving an allogeneic stem cell transplant from a sibling donor for Hodgkin disease. On day 330 after transplant the patient presented with fever and several painful subcutaneous, tender, red nodules with ulcerative and necrotic features on the pelvic region and right leg, extensive glass infiltrative lesions in the lungs and pansinusitis; however, the patient did not have onychomycosis. Following skin biopsy, culture of cutaneous lesions, computed tomography (CT) scanning of the lungs and CT scanning and magnetic resonance imaging of facial sinuses the patient was diagnosed with disseminated Fusarium species infection. Despite intensive treatment with voriconazole, the patient succumbed with respiratory insufficiency on day 400 after transplant. This case is noteworthy because the patient did not have any additional risk associated with the allogeneic transplant; there was no transplant mismatch, no severe neutropenia and no prior clinical signs of onychomycosis. The association of skin lesions with GVHD lesions increased the initial immunosuppression and delayed diagnosis.

Investigator-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized comparative study on combined vacuum and intense pulsed light versus intense pulsed light devices in both comedonal and papulopustular acne.

INTRODUCTION: The aim was to compare the treatment effectiveness of intense pulsed light (IPL) and vacuum versus IPL with placebo for mild to moderate comedonal and inflammatory acne. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We randomized 180 patients with mild to moderate comedonal and inflammatory acne into three groups: Group A - 60 patients treated with vacuum and IPL, Group V - 60 patients treated with IPL, and Group 0 (control group) - 60 patients who received topical treatment with Sebium H2O Micellaire Solution. We evaluated the results using the Leeds revised acne-grading system and Cardiff Acne Disability Index. RESULTS: There was a significant reduction in the number of papules, pustules, and comedones in Groups A and V compared with those in the control group (p < 0.001) with a more rapid decrease of the papules from Group A compared with that from Group V. We found an improvement in the clinical aspect (p < 0.001) when we compared Groups A and V with controls. Patients belonging to Group A were more satisfied compared with those belonging to Group V (p = 0.004) and significantly more satisfied compared with those belonging to Group 0 (p < 0.001). In conclusion, we consider that both the devices are efficient, the combination of vacuum and IPL representing a therapeutic option for the comedonal acne.

Steatosis and serum lipid patterns in patients with chronic viral hepatitis: differences related to viral etiology.

Lipid metabolism disorders related to viral etiology are described in chronic viral hepatitis, independent of age, gender and liver synthetic function. Steatosis is present, especially in chronic hepatitis C but also in chronic hepatitis B. Although liver biopsy is the gold standard in determining presence of steatosis, its presence can be determined by ultrasonographic examination as an initial screening test. Our aim in this study was to evaluate the presence of steatosis in chronic hepatitis B and C, to determine its frequency in both hepatitis type, and to explore possible relationships between presence of steatosis, lipid metabolism disorders and viral etiology. Our study lot included 66 patients, 36 subjects with chronic hepatitis C, and 30 with chronic hepatitis B. We only encountered significant levels of steatosis in the chronic hepatitis B sub-group. We found the average age, cholesterol, triglyceride, HDL-C, VLDL-C levels in the group with steatosis to be significantly higher than those in the group without steatosis (p < 0.05). Ultrasound reports of hepatic steatosis were particularly associated with histological inflammation, as well as fibrosis; however, the sensitivity and specificity of steatosis on ultrasound was poor when compared to steatosis on biopsy. Hepatic steatosis was significantly more frequent in chronic hepatitis C than in chronic hepatitis B. Severe inflammation and advanced fibrosis were more frequently found in HCV-infected patients with steatosis than in patients without steatosis.

[The role of endoscopic ultrasound-guided transesophageal fine needle aspiration and immunocytochemistry assesment of the patients with suspected lung cancer and negative bronchoscopic biopsies]. / Rolul endoscopiei ultrasonografice cu punctie fina aspirativa transesofagiana si examen imunocitochimic în evaluarea pacientilor cu suspiciune de cancer bronhopulmonar si biopsii bronsice negative.

INTRODUCTION: Endoscopic ultrasound-(EUS) guided fine needle aspiration (FNA) allows the assessment of the posterior mediastinum, as well as the diagnosis and staging of lung cancer patients. The purpose of this feasibility study was to assess the importance of EUS-FNA combined with cytology and immunocytochemistry for patients with suspected lung cancer and negative bronchoscopic biopsies. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Our study included 20 consecutive patients assessed at the Research Center of Gastroenterology and Hepatology Craiova, University of Medicine and Pharmacy Craiova. The patients were initially examined by chest X-ray, computer tomography scans and bronchoscopy, without a tissue confirmation of malignancy. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: Of the 20 patients included in our study without a tissue confirmation of malignancy, 16 patients had a positive EUS-FNA for malignancy. For 11 patients the samples were obtained from the mediastinal lymphnodes, and for 4 cases directly from the primary mediastinal tumor, some of the obtained samples being included in paraffin to obtain cell blocks. The cell blocks allowed us to accomplish imunocytochemistry for two purposes: to establish the epithelial and mesenchimal fenotype of the malignant cells, as well as the origin of the identified atypical cells. CONCLUSIONS: EUS-FNA combined with cytology, is an excellent minimal invasive technique, highly accurate for the assessment of lung cancer, showing not only the tumoral and lymph node invasion, but also offering the ideal alternative for surgical staging. Association of immunocytochemistry determined an increase in the accuracy of the method, as well as the confirmation of a tissue diagnosis of malignancy.

Histopathological factors as predictors for survival in colon and rectal cancers.

Colorectal cancer is one of the most frequent malignant diseases with a raising incidence in Romania. Survival at 5-years even was improved in the last decade, remains low especially because of delayed diagnosis. Many clinical-biological and pathological factors have demonstrate a good prognostic value over the time but there are not a wide consensus in this field. The aim of our study is to evaluate the accepted pathological prognostic factors of survival for colorectal cancer in relation to management adopted in a general surgical clinic. We included in our study 273 patients with colon and rectal cancers admitted in Surgical Clinic of Military Hospital of Craiova in which we evaluate the clinical-pathological features, location of the distant metastasis, postoperative staging, curability and survival. We established correlations, inside of a same stage of the disease, for pathological features (characters of the tumors, differentiation grade and location) and survival rate. Our results showed that curative resection is one of the most important factors that could improve survival. Tumor differentiation is correlated with survival only for the patients with stage II and III of the disease, perineural invasion and pathologic N stage representing important predicting factors for a shorter survival. Peritoneal washing for cytology prior to surgery is correlated with the stage of the disease and not with tumor differentiation.

The study of CD20 and CD45.Ro antibodies in the inflammatory infiltrate involved in acne and seborrheic dermatitis.

The aim of our study was to evaluate the role of CD20 and CD45.Ro antibodies in acne and seborrheic dermatitis. A number of 20 patients with papular, pustular or nodular acne and another 20 patients with seborrheic dermatitis were available for our study. We removed bioptic material from all of them and we perform histochemical and immunohistochemical processing within the Laboratory of Histology, Histopathology and Immunohistochemistry of the University of Medicine and Pharmacy of Craiova. In acne, we could reveal a positive CD45.Ro immunomarking in rare lymphoid cells situated in the middle derma at a distance from the affected pilosebaceous follicle and in the inflammatory infiltrate subepidermically, and also a negative immunomarking in the inflammatory cells from the proximity of the affected pilosebaceous follicle. In patients with seborrheic dermatitis we noticed a positive immunomarking infiltrate of the papillary derma and a positive immunomarking of membrane for CD45.Ro in many lymphoid cells of the inflammatory infiltrate situated in the papillary derma predominantly disposed perivasculary. Conclusions. The absence of the cells marked with CD45.Ro in the proximity of the pilosebaceous follicle interested in acne excludes the direct participation of B- and T-lymphocytes in the perifollicular inflammatory process, though the T-lymphocytes can be revealed in a small number at a distance from the affected follicle. The inflammatory infiltrate from the seborrheic dermatitis proved to be rich in positive CD45.Ro cells and poorer in positive CD20 cells.

Giant retroperitoneal sarcomas.

Retroperitoneal sarcomas are rare malignant tumors, which are developing from mesenchymal stem cells residing in muscle, fat, and connective tissues. Underlying the rarity of this kind of tumors in general population, the aim of this paper is to present three cases of retroperitoneal sarcomas operated in Surgical Department of Military Hospital of Craiova (a retroperitoneal liposarcoma, a dedifferentiated liposarcoma and a malignant fibrous histiocytoma). From clinical point of view, we note the poverty of symptoms and non-specificity of these and a great tolerability of retroperitoneal space that offers the possibility for a great development of the tumor. CT-scan and MRI are the best investigations for diagnosis but surgical exploration is the best way for a good evaluation of these tumors. From histological point of view, we try to present new features about these kinds of tumors in order to classify them. Results of surgery correlated with complementary therapies were good without per-operative mortality or postoperative morbidity but we noted a recidive of one tumor (with different histological pattern) 21 months after the surgical intervention. The rarity of retroperitoneal sarcomas, combined with the vast array of histologic subtypes, has complicated our understanding of these tumors and impeded the development of effective therapies.