Acta clinica Croatica
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Acta clinica Croatica · Aug 2023
SALIVARY MELATONIN VALUES SIGNIFICANTLY CORRELATE WITH REDUCED QUALITY OF LIFE IN CHRONIC SPONTANEOUS URTICARIA PATIENTS: A PILOT STUDY.
Chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) is a dermatological disorder accompanied by itching that greatly affects the quality of life and quality of sleep. Therefore, it is assumed that CSU patients consequently experience reduced melatonin secretion and lower values of serum or salivary melatonin. This pilot study included 20 patients with CSU (chronic urticaria of unknown etiology that lasts for more than 6 weeks) and 10 healthy controls. ⋯ Salivary melatonin levels were determined by ELISA and all subjects completed a standardized Dermatology Life Quality Index questionnaire and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index on the same day they gave a saliva sample for analysis. According to our results, 86% of CSU patients had decreased values of salivary melatonin, and lower salivary melatonin values significantly correlated with a reduced quality of life in CSU patients. This study was the first to analyze melatonin in CSU patients, also suggesting a possible new therapeutic option for the treatment of CSU.
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Acta clinica Croatica · Aug 2023
Case ReportsAVASCULAR OVERHANGING BLEB REDUCTION WITH MODIFIED SUTURELESS TECHNIQUE.
A late postoperative trabeculectomy complication could be the overhanging bleb, especially when antimetabolites are used. It can be associated with hypotony, foreign body sensation, dellen, and visual compromise. We report a case of an avascular overhanging bleb successfully reduced with a modified sutureless technique. ⋯ Six months after the surgery, the patient's visual acuity improved, with intraocular pressure of 12 mm Hg and a Seidel negative asymptomatic bleb. In conclusion, this less invasive technique preserves better bleb function without ripping the surrounding ischemic tissue. The procedure is safe and easy to perform, with less surgical time and fast recovery.
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Acta clinica Croatica · Aug 2023
Case ReportsREFRACTORY GUILLAIN-BARRÉ SYNDROME IN A PATIENT WITH ASYMPTOMATIC MULTIPLE MYELOMA SUCCESSFULLY TREATED WITH LOW-DOSE RITUXIMAB.
Despite being extremely rare, Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) has been recognized as a neurological complication of multiple myeloma, with variable responses to plasmapheresis (PEX), intravenous immunoglobulins (IVIG), and anti-myeloma therapies. In this paper, we report a case of a female patient with asymptomatic multiple myeloma (aMM) who initially presented as PEX- and IVIG-refractory GBS. ⋯ Additional studies are needed to elucidate the pathophysiological processes and the interplay between the dysregulated immune response, monoclonal immunoglobulin (MG), and neural tissue damage in GBS patients. Also, the potential role of rituximab in the treatment of MG-associated GBS warrants further exploration.
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Acta clinica Croatica · Aug 2023
SERUM URIC ACID TO HDL CHOLESTEROL RATIO IS ASSOCIATED WITH DIABETIC CONTROL IN NEW ONSET TYPE 2 DIABETIC POPULATION.
Since uric acid to HDL cholesterol ratio (UHR) is proposed as a novel predictor of metabolic and inflammatory disorders, we aimed to study UHR levels in patients with new onset type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and compare them to those in healthy controls. Patients with new onset T2DM were enrolled and control subjects were volunteers to participate without any established diseases. ⋯ Moreover, UHR was significantly and positively correlated with HbA1c (r=0.75, p<0.001), FBG (r=0.64, p<0.001), waist circumference (r=0.35, p<0.001), body mass index (r=0.20, p=0.002) and inversely correlated with glomerular filtration rate (r=-0.24, p<0.001). High levels of UHR might be associated with increased mean blood glucose levels for a long time, since UHR was correlated with both FBG and HbA1c in patients with new onset T2DM.
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Acta clinica Croatica · Aug 2023
CHARACTERISTICS OF HEARING RECOVERY IN CHILDREN WITH CHRONIC OTITIS MEDIA WITH EFFUSION AFTER VENTILATION TUBE INSERTION.
The objective was to determine the range of hearing improvement (in dB) post ventilation tube insertion in children with chronic otitis media with effusion (COME), and whether there was a difference in hearing improvement between age groups and genders. This study also investigated whether there was a difference in the mean hearing improvement between the left and right ear, how many months passed before recovery of eustachian tube function, and how long the aeration of the middle ear lasted. The children included in the study were between six and twelve years of age, diagnosed with COME by audiological processing (type B tympanometric recording and conductive hearing loss up to 40 dB on pure tone audiometry) and underwent surgical insertion of ventilation tubes in both ears. ⋯ Younger age groups had a longer expected period of eustachian tube function recovery, and were expected to have ventilation tubes inserted for a longer period of time. Treatment with ventilation tube insertion resulted in significant improvement in hearing in children where previous conservative therapy failed to recover eustachian tube function and improve hearing. Although children of older age groups had greater preoperative hearing impairment, the recovery of both eustachian tube function and hearing improvement was faster, and the mean length of time that the ventilation tubes had to be inserted was shorter.