Irish journal of medical science
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The retinal microvasculature offers unique non-invasive evaluation of systemic microvascular abnormalities. Previous studies reported associations between retinal microvascular parameters (RMPs) and diabetes. The aim of this study was to assess associations between RMPs and diabetes in a cross-sectional analysis of older persons from the Northern Ireland Cohort for the Longitudinal Study of Ageing (NICOLA). ⋯ Despite previously reported associations between diabetes and RMPs, our study failed to corroborate these associations in an older community-based cohort.
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COVID-19 has been recognized as the unprecedented global health crisis in modern times. The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of COVID-19 on treatment of neck of femur fractures (NOFF) against the current guidelines and meeting best practice key performance indicators (KPIs) according to the National Hip Fracture Database (NHFD) in two large central London hospitals. ⋯ The impact of COVID-19 pandemic has not adversely affected the KPIs for the treatment of NOFF patients with significant improvement in numerous care domains. These findings may represent the efforts to ensure that these vulnerable patients are treated promptly to minimize their risks from the coronavirus.
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Elderly patients are at increased risk of developing acute kidney injury (AKI) following major surgery and rapid diagnosis is essential. ⋯ Plasma NGAL levels seem to represent an early and reliable marker for AKI in elderly patients undergoing laparotomic surgery with the potential to allow early diagnosis and prevent further renal deterioration. Further confirmatory studies are warranted.
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Early cardiac death is more common in patients with Crohn's disease (CD) than in healthy adults, but the exact cause is unknown. ⋯ This study suggests visually undetectable myocardial involvement due to chronic systemic inflammation in patients with Crohn's disease. Cardiac MRI can help assess and monitor cardiac involvement in patients with CD.
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Tokyo guidelines (TG13/18) are used for the severity assessment of acute cholangitis (AC). Lactate is a clinical marker of tissue hypoxia and disease severity, independent from blood pressure. ⋯ The blood lactate level is associated with the severity of AC. In addition to TG13/18 guidelines, blood lactate level can be a useful biomarker in the severity grading of AC.