Bratislavské Lekárske Listy

BACKGROUND: Infective endocarditis (IE) is most often caused by bacteria. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this work is the research of the dynamics of the clinical laboratory and instrumental methods of the diagnostics during the period of two decades. METHODS: The data of 241 patients with infective endocarditis (IE) who were treated at the State Clinical Hospital named after Botkin S.P. was included in the research. 121 patients were observed from 2011 till 2020 (the first group) and 120 patients - from 1997 to 2004 (the second test group)...

Despite all the achievements of science and medicine, juvenile idiopathic arthritis today remains one of the main childhood diseases that lead to severe irreversible consequences. This, in turn, makes it urgent to search for effective drugs for the treatment of juvenile idiopathic arthritis, of which interleukin 1 (anakinra) and interleukin 6 (tocilizumab) inhibitors are becoming increasingly popular. AIM: to analyse the efficacy of genetically engineered biological drugs, namely anakinra and tocilizumab in children with systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis among patients of the Karaganda region...

AIM: Prospective evaluation of the results of endoscopic lumbar discectomy. METHODS: 95 patients were consecutively enrolled in the study between 2017 and 2021. We monitored low back pain and sciatica according to the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), the limitations in daily activities (Oswestry Disability Index, ODI), overall satisfaction according to a 0-100 % scale, and the rate of surgical complications and reoperations. RESULTS: Postoperatively, the VAS values of low back pain and sciatica decreased significantly from 5 to 1 point and from 6 to 1 point, respectively, and the pain remained in the tolerable range (VAS 1-2) throughout the follow-up period...

BACKGROUND: Insulin resistance (IR) is a consequence of chronic adipose tissue inflammation and underlies the pathogenesis of several diseases, such as type 2 diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular diseases and metabolic syndrome. In this study, we examined the association between dyslipidaemia and IR; directly comparing conventional lipid ratios and apoB/apoA1 ratios for strength and independence as risk factors for IR in a Kazakh population. METHODS: The design of this study was a case-control study...

UNLABELLED: The work was aimed to determine the level of oral dysbiosis of patients depending on the type of prosthetics constructures. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study involved 48 patients with the presence in the oral cavity of fixed dentures from 4 to 6 units with a service life of no more than 3 years. The samples of plaque from the vestibular surface of dentures were collected to determine the microorganisms in the gingival plaque. Bacteriological research was carried out by the multiplex polymerase chain reaction in real time using the Phemoflor 8 reagent kit...

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to analyze the global profile of the literature in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) research. BACKGROUND: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is a clinically heterogeneous condition characterized by fat accumulation in the liver and the absence of significant alcohol consumption or underlying genetic disorders. These manifestations are associated with inflammation, steatosis, and fibrosis that can develop into cirrhosis and even hepatocellular carcinoma...

INTRODUCTION: The study presents associations between prevalence of chronic diseases and selected socio-economic (SES) attributes in adult population of Slovakia and analyses the prevalence of chronic diseases in regions of Slovakia. METHODS: In total, 735 respondents (146 men and 589 women) with a mean age of 37.79 ± 13.6 participated in this cross-sectional study. The main observed characteristics were chronic diseases and their associations with SES attributes, namely household income, education, age and lifestyle represented by frequency in engaging in recondition-relaxation activities...

OBJECTIVES: The objective of the research is to determine the levels of vitamin D and trace elements in the umbilical cord blood, as well as to evaluate the clinical and laboratory characteristics in premature newborns with congenital pneumonia. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This single‑center case-control research included 228 premature newborns who were divided into the main group composed of 76 newborns with congenital pneumonia, and control group composed of 152 newborns without congenital pneumonia, who were born in the period from January 2021 to December 2021...

OBJECTIVES: The main objective of this study was to determine whether infrared thermography could be used as an efficient technique to evaluate the impact of a birth-related brachial plexus injury on the temperature of the injured arm and whether it could be used as a complementary method when diagnosing this injury in clinical praxis. BACKGROUND: Clinically, the brachial plexus injury is a peripheral paresis, which occurs when nerves that send signals from the spinal cord to the shoulder, arm, and hand are stretched or compressed...

OBJECTIVES: The aim of the study was to evaluate renal arterial variations in Slovak context. METHODS: Forty cadavers (80 formalin-fixed cadaveric kidneys) were included in the study. The accessory renal arteries (ARAs) were evaluated on the basis of point of origin, termination in the kidney (superior pole, hilum, inferior pole), and symmetry. RESULTS: The incidence of ARAs was detected in 20 % (8/40) of the cadavers. Double renal arteries were observed in 9 (11...

OBJECTIVES: Sialendoscopy is a relatively new mini-invasive method that allows direct visualisation and intervention in the salivary gland ductal system. The aim of the study was to evaluate the results of sialendoscopy in the treatment of obstructive sialadenitis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This is a 15-year retrospective study analysing the treatment results of patients treated in the period of 2007-2022 at the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Comenius University Bratislava, Slovakia...

The indication for primary surgical resection or neoadjuvant therapy in lower and middle rectal cancers is often disputable. The aim of the study was to evaluate the occurrence of local recurrence of rectal cancer as for a period of at least 4 years after radical resection. The second aim was to evaluate and compare the results of preoperative magnetic resonance (MR) staging with definitive histology.From September 2013 to December 2017, we, at the 3rd Surgical Department Comenius University, Bratislava, prospectively evaluated patients with lower and middle rectal cancers with the distal tumor border being in a 12-cm distance from the anal verge...

Diabetes mellitus (DM) and altered glucose metabolism have been associated with carcinogenesis, but also with prognosis and tolerance to treatment in different types of cancer. Head and neck cancers (HNC), the sixth most common malignancy worldwide, require a multimodal approach, especially in advanced stages and cancer specific treatment is often associated with therapeutic failure and severe toxicities even if it is delivered according to current standards. The aim of the study was to evaluate the clinical, biological and outcomes implications of DM in patients with HNC...

BACKGROUND: The relationship between epicardial adipose tissue and inflammatory events has been shown in many studies. Because it is an inflammatory process in coronary progression, it is aimed to examine the relationship between coronary artery disease progression and epicardial adipose tissue thickness. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Our research was conducted with 50 patients (33 men, 17 women) who underwent planned or emergency coronary angiography, by evaluating the coronary artery disease progression from the coronary angiography images together with the echocardiographic epicardial adipose tissue thickness measurement...

OBJECTIVE: Lichen planus (LP) is one of the chronic inflammatory diseases. Epicardial fatty tissue (EFT) is the adipose tissue in which pro-inflammatory and pro-atherogenic hormones and cytokines are secreted. We planned to investigate the predictive value of EFT in LP patients by evaluating together with Fibrinogen to albumin ratio (FAR) other inflammation markers. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 53 consecutive LP patients and 57 healthy controls were enrolled in this single-center, prospective, case-control study...

Suicides are one of the topics discussed around the world. This problem receives large space in scientific and professional literature, in order to eliminate its occurrence. Mechanisms of suicides are determined by whole spectrum of reasons determined by/depending on physical and psychological health. The objective of this work is to document the differences in mechanisms and realization of suicides by mentally sick people. Ten cases of suicides are reported in the article: three of which in people with a history of depression of the victim noted by family members, one with treated depression, three with anxiety-depressive disorder and three schizophrenic patients cases...

INTRODUCTION: Despite known risk factors for developing type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D), the research community still tries to discover new markers that would widen our diagnostic and therapeutic approach to diabetes. Therefore, research on microRNA (miR) in diabetes thrives. This study aimed to assess the utility of miR-126, miR-146a, and miR-375 as novel diagnostic markers for T2D. METHODS: We examined relative quantities of miR-126, miR-146a, and miR-375 in the serum of patients with established type 2 diabetes mellitus (n = 68) and compared these with a control group (n = 29)...

BACKGROUND: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a common chronic inflammatory lung disease with high mortality and morbidity rates. Obesity, various comorbid diseases, and inflammation often coexist in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), exhibiting a complex interaction with disease severity. The aim of the study was to examine the relationship between COPD markers and obesity, the Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI), and neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR). METHODS: Eighty male patients with stable COPD admitted to the pulmonology unit were included in the study...

OBJECTIVE: The studies on the pathogenesis of schizophrenia reported data indicating that abnormal immune responses might play a role in the development of schizophrenia. One of the markers of systemic inflammation is the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR). In our study, the relationship between the early-onset schizophrenia, NLR, platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), and monocyte-to-lymphocyte ratio (MLR) was investigated. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study included 30 patients and 57 healthy controls matched in age and gender...

OBJECTIVES: Aging is characterized by appetite loss and cachexia, i.e., factors that contribute to malnutrition. An inflammation marker, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), is a significant prognostic predictor of many geriatric syndromes. We aim to determine the association between NLR and malnutrition. METHODS: We designed a retrospective study on hospitalized patients in the geriatric unit of a university hospital between January 2019 and January 2021. Demographic data, chronic diseases, history of smoking, length of hospital stay, number of drugs, laboratory and further examinations, and comprehensive geriatric assessment scores were recorded from the hospital data system...