Irish journal of medical science
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To measure the vascular density (VD) and foveal avascular zone (FAZ) area in patients with Behçet's disease (BD) obtained by optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA). ⋯ In the patients with BD, OCTA showed decreased VD in both the superficial and deep retinal vascular networks. Besides, the VA was correlated with the VD and FAZ.
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Adults ageing with HIV and on antiretroviral therapy have a greater burden of chronic diseases compared with adults without HIV as reported by Althoff et al. (Curr Opin HIV AIDS 11:527-36, 2016). Therefore, it is important in this clinically stable HIV+ population to monitor and evaluate their risk of chronic kidney disease and intervene when appropriate. The European AIDS Clinical Society (EACS) advise that yearly screening for CKD with eGFR calculation and spot urine protein measurements should be performed (European AIDS Clinical Society Guidelines 2018). The Centre for Excellence for Health, Immunity and Infection (CHIP) have created a validated study calculator to estimate a patient's risk for CKD as reported by Mocroft et al. (PLoS Med 12(3):e1001809, 2015). ⋯ Although this audit was small and with limitations, it highlights the importance of collecting relevant and accurate patient data annually to estimate and mitigate the risk of chronic kidney disease in patients with HIV.
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Lipase is one of the diagnostic criteria for acute pancreatitis; however, the value of serum lipase in the early prediction and diagnosis for post-endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) pancreatitis remains controversial. ⋯ For early prediction of PEP, 3-h post-ERCP serum lipase activity is at least as good as that of amylase. For diagnosis of PEP, 24-h post-ERCP serum lipase is a much better indicator than that of amylase. Together, this study suggests that serum lipase should be given priority in the early prediction and diagnosis of PEP.
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Although atrial fibrillation (AF) causes one-third of strokes in Ireland, studies have shown that public awareness and knowledge of AF are poor. The Irish Heart Foundation conducted a national AF awareness campaign in 2013. ⋯ Our study shows that overall public knowledge of AF in Ireland is generally poor. While this pilot national awareness campaign had no positive impact on awareness levels, there are several possible reasons for this including the limited funding allocation to the campaign. A further AF awareness campaign is planned for next year.
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Hemoglobin (HB) and red cell distribution width (RDW) are known to be prognostic in many cancer types. The HB-RDW ratio (HRR) is a new biomarker that has been shown to be predictive in some cancer types. However, the prognostic significance of HRR in patients with gastric cancer (GC) is unknown. ⋯ HRR is a new biomarker that can predict DFS and OS in GC patients treated with neoadjuvant FLOT.