Medicina
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Cardiovascular diseases are still a major public health concern in Estonia despite the decline in the mortality rate during the past decade. For better preventive strategies we aimed to investigate the prevalence of cardiovascular disease risk factors and their relations with age, gender and ethnicity. ⋯ The study established a high prevalence of cardiovascular disease risk factors in Estonian adults (20-65 years of age). Younger portion of the population and some extent ethnic considerations should be taken into account when designing future studies, health prevention activities and interventions.
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Return visits (RVs) to a pediatric emergency department (ED) within a short period after discharge have an influence on overcrowding of the ED and reveal some weaknesses of the health care system. The aim of this study was to determine the rate of RVs and factors related to RVs to the pediatric ED in Lithuania. ⋯ RVs accounted for only a small proportion of visits to the ED. RVs were more prevalent among younger patients and patients with a GP referral as well as performed more often after discharging from the ED in the evening and at night.
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Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a common and potentially serious postoperative complication after cardiac surgery, and it remains a cause of major morbidity and mortality. The aim of our study was to assess the prognostic illness severity score and to estimate the significant risk factors for poor outcome of patients with AKI requiring renal replacement therapy (RRT) after cardiac surgery. ⋯ Our study demonstrated that SOFA score estimation is the most accurate to predict the fatal outcome in patients with AKI requiring RRT after cardiac surgery. Lethal patient outcome is related to Glasgow coma score, mean arterial blood pressure, preoperative serum creatinine and postoperative platelet count.
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The aim of our study was to evaluate how response inhibition, set shifting, and complex executive function (represented by risky decision-making) are altered in chronic lower back pain patients. ⋯ We found no statistically significant difference in response inhibition, set shifting, or complex executive function between CLBP patients and healthy older adults. Moreover, a risky decision-making pattern found in the Lithuanian population may underscore the importance of cultural context when examining complex executive function. However, further studies are needed to prove this point.
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Our aim was to investigate the effects of probiotics on glucose metabolism in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus using a meta-analysis of randomized, controlled trials. ⋯ The present meta-analysis suggests that consuming probiotics may improve glucose metabolism by a modest degree, with a potentially greater effect when the duration of intervention is ≥8 weeks, or multiple species of probiotics are consumed.