Medical Science Monitor : International Medical Journal of Experimental and Clinical Research

BACKGROUND This study evaluated the clinical efficacy of polylactic acid (PLA) membranes in guiding bone regeneration in anterior maxillary implants. MATERIAL AND METHODS Forty-eight participants with maxillary anterior tooth loss requiring implantation with guided bone regeneration were recruited and randomly divided into 2 groups (n=24): the PLA membrane (experimental) and the Bio-Gide membrane (control) group. Wound healing was observed at 1 week and 1 month postoperatively. Cone beam CT was performed immediately and at 6 and 36 months postoperatively...

BACKGROUND This prospective study, from a single center in Poland, aimed to evaluate the correction of residual ametropia, or refractive errors, after corneal grafting using femtosecond laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis (Femto-LASIK) in 60 patients (96 eyes) who had previously undergone deep anterior lamellar keratoplasty (DALK) compared with that achieved in 60 patients (108 eyes) who underwent vision correction using Femto-LASIK alone. MATERIAL AND METHODS The study group included 60 patients (96 eyes) whose residual ametropia was corrected using the Femto-LASIK procedure after having previously undergone DALK...

BACKGROUND This study aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of portal vein puncture with a new guidance system using double C-arm digital subtraction angiography (DSA) during transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) placement. MATERIAL AND METHODS The procedure details of TIPS placements performed on 39 patients in our center between January and December 2021 were retrospectively analyzed. The procedure was performed under double C-arm DSA guidance (study group) and C-arm DSA (control group) in 18 and 21 patients, respectively...

BACKGROUND Intermittent hypoxemia can cause changes in certain brain structures. However, in pediatric patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) caused by adenotonsillar hypertrophy (ATH), there is only limited information on the effect of ATH-induced OSA on brain structures. This study sought to investigate alterations in amygdala and hippocampal volumes in children with OSA by ATH. MATERIAL AND METHODS Magnetic resonance imaging scans were applied in children who had ATH-induced OSA (ATH/OSA) and in healthy children...

BACKGROUND Loss of cervical lordosis and cervicogenic headache have similar tissue abnormalities, including weakness and atrophy in the neck muscles. Cervicogenic headache is mainly unilateral and is perceived in the occipito-temporo-frontal regions. However, it is not clear whether loss of cervical lordosis is a sign of headache with cervical origin. Herein, we aimed to assess and compare headache characteristics in patients with and without loss of cervical lordosis. MATERIAL AND METHODS This was a cross-sectional study conducted on chronic neck pain patients with (n=38; F/M: 28/10; mean age 33...

BACKGROUND The sympathetic nervous system is principally accountable for peripheral artery regulation, and its effect is that vasospasm occurs in the medium and large arteries of the extremities, resulting in decreased flow of blood. Because of this information of how the body works, our goal is to create a noninvasive and repeatable self-test model that uses Doppler ultrasound examination. MATERIAL AND METHODS The study was conducted on 31 healthy and active participants who volunteered for the study. Written informed consent was obtained from all participants...

BACKGROUND Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) accounts for 85% of pancreatic carcinoma cases. Patients with PDAC have a poor prognosis. The lack of reliable prognostic biomarkers makes treatment challenging for patients with PDAC. Using a bioinformatics database, we sought to identify prognostic biomarkers for PDAC. MATERIAL AND METHODS Using proteomic analysis of the Clinical Proteomics Tumor Analysis Consortium (CPTAC) database, we were able to identify core differential proteins between early and advanced pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma tissue, and then we used survival analysis, Cox regression analysis, and area under the ROC curves to screen for more significant differential proteins...

BACKGROUND Balloon dilation eustachian tuboplasty (BET) is used to treat eustachian dysfunction but its therapeutic effect and cost-effectiveness when combined with tympanotomy tube insertion (TBI) on refractory otitis media with effusion under local anesthesia with sedation compared to traditional general anesthesia are not well understood. MATERIAL AND METHODS Forty patients with refractory secretory otitis media who received BET+TBI were enrolled in this study and randomized into the local anesthesia with sedation group (n=20) and general anesthesia group (n=20)...

BACKGROUND Robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP) is becoming an increasingly common method for treatment of prostate cancer. This study aimed to compare outcomes of estimated blood loss and postoperative pain, determined by patient-controlled analgesia (PCA), between RARP and standard laparoscopic radical -prostatectomy (LRP). MATERIAL AND METHODS We enrolled 57 patients who had localized prostate cancer (28 patients in RARP, 29 patients in LRP). Primary outcomes were estimated blood loss (EBL) measured by gravimetric method for gauze and visual estimation for suction bottle, and PCA bolus count that the bolus doses were injected at the 1st, the 6th, the 24th, and the 48th hour after the operation...

BACKGROUND The chorion membrane has been used for several decades as an allograft in tissue repair and various periodontal regenerative procedures. The present study, conducted at a single center in India, aimed to evaluate and compare the clinical outcomes of 26 gingival recession sites in chronic smokers treated using a pouch and tunnel technique with connective tissue graft (CTG) and lyophilized chorion membrane (LCM). MATERIAL AND METHODS The study included 22 smokers with 26 sites of recession defect, with Miller's class I and class II gingival recession, which were allotted into control and test groups...

BACKGROUND Splenic artery steal syndrome (SASS) can aggravate liver damage in patients with cirrhosis. This study explored whether SASS could be an effective therapeutic target for improving hepatic artery perfusion and liver function in patients with decompensated cirrhosis. MATERIAL AND METHODS Based on inclusion and exclusion criteria, 87 patients with hepatitis B cirrhosis and portal hypertension hypersplenism admitted to our General Surgery Department for splenectomy and pericardial devascularization surgery were selected...

Takotsubo cardiomyopathy, also known as stress-induced cardiomyopathy, is a reversible syndrome commonly found among patients presenting for acute coronary syndromes, especially women. With the COVID-19 pandemic, the incidence of takotsubo cardiomyopathy was dramatically increased. However, this clinical cardiac entity remains underdiagnosed, largely due to the interplay with acute coronary syndrome. The pathophysiology of takotsubo cardiomyopathy is miscellaneous, including coronary vasospasm, microcirculatory dysfunction, catecholamine surge, and sympathetic overdrive...

BACKGROUND Delayed graft function (DGF) caused by ischemia-reperfusion injury is a common pathophysiological process that should be monitored by specific biomarkers in addition to serum creatinine. Thus, this single-center retrospective study aimed to investigate the association between levels of neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL), kidney injury molecular-1 (KIM-1), liver-type fatty acid binding protein (L-FABP), and interleukin-18 (IL-18) in DGF associated with acute kidney injury in kidney transplant recipients (KTRs) and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) at 3 years post-transplant...

Modern medicine, both in clinical practice and research, has become more and more based on data, which is changing equally in type and quality with the advent and development of healthcare digitalization. The first part of the present paper aims to present the steps through which data, and subsequently clinical and research practice, have evolved from paper-based to digital, proposing a possible future of this digitalization in terms of potential applications and integration of digital tools in medical practice...

BACKGROUND Diabetic distal symmetric polyneuropathy (DSPN) is one of the most common and costliest long-term complications. The pain and function limitations may lead to depression. This study aimed to assess the influence of demographic and clinical factors on the prevalence of depression among diabetic patients with distal symmetric polyneuropathy (DSPN). MATERIAL AND METHODS A total of 140 patients with diabetic DSPN completed the 21-item Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) measuring characteristic attitudes and symptoms of depression...

Strains of avian influenza A, believed to have originated in poultry with transmission to wild birds, have been associated with epidemics and four major pandemics in humans in the past century. The 1918 influenza pandemic was caused by an avian strain of the influenza A(H1N1) virus that initially adapted to infect humans and then rapidly spread between humans. Since 2021, highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) virus subtypes have been identified in poultry and wild birds. In October 2022, the HPAI virus variant A(H5N1) was isolated from intensively farmed American mink...

BACKGROUND Postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) may be primary or secondary and is defined as the loss of 500 ml or more of blood within the first 24 h after birth. The Bakri balloon tamponade (BBT) is an intrauterine device used as an adjunctive treatment for refractory PPH. The aim of this study was to present the real-world experience from a single center on the effectiveness of the BBT for the treatment of PPH. MATERIAL AND METHODS This cohort study of 279 women was conducted in a real-world setting. Patients' characteristics and clinical outcomes between the BBT Success group and BBT Failure group were analyzed by t test or chi-square test...

BACKGROUND Although body mass index (BMI) is currently being utilized frequently as an indicator of obesity, it provides little information concerning body composition; key components such as fat and muscle cannot be differentiated. It is especially non-sensitive in identifying muscle mass, which can be challenging to examine without the use of radiologic methods. We sought to identify whether biometric values such as upper arm subcutaneous fat thickness/circumference could provide an adequate indicator of muscle mass...

BACKGROUND The efficacy of lumbar fusion surgery in patients age 80 years and older with lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) is still controversial. This retrospective study aimed to evaluate the surgical outcomes of LSS patients ³80 vs 65-79 years. MATERIAL AND METHODS The study included 66 patients diagnosed with LSS from 2014 to 2020; 33 patients were ³80 years and 33 patients were 65-79 years. The 2 groups were matched for sex and surgical segment. All patients underwent posterior lumbar decompression, fixation, and fusion surgery...

BACKGROUND A fracture of the orbital floor can lead to complications such as enophthalmos, impaired eye motility, or diplopia, which is why it is necessary to reconstruct the bony walls of the orbit. This study from a single center in Niš, Serbia, included 58 patients with unilateral orbital floor fracture and aimed to use volumetric measurement to compare the fractured and non-fractured orbit before and after surgery using a titanium implant or a resorbable poly-d, l-lactic acid (PDLLA) implant. MATERIAL AND METHODS From 2018 to 2022, a total of 58 patients with unilateral orbital floor fractures were treated at the Clinic of Dental Medicine, Niš...