Volume 55 (2017): Issue 2 (June 2017)

The present paper is aimed at briefly presenting psychological factors involved in cancer related pain and what psychosocial interventions are efficient in reducing it. Cancer related pain is a complex experience and the most integrative and recommended approach is the biopsychosocial model. It has been proved that chronic pain is more strongly related to psychological factors than to treatment or illness related factors. Psychological factors influencing pain experience can be intuitively grouped starting with awareness of pain (i.e., attentional factor), then with evaluation of pain (i.e., cognitive factors) which is leading to feelings (i.e., emotional factors), and behaviours (i.e., coping strategies) regarding pain. Psychosocial interventions (i.e., skill based and education based interventions) have strong evidence that is effective in reducing cancer related pain.

Introduction. Heart failure (HF) is characterized by neuroendocrine activation. The cardiac natriuretic hormones, including atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) and brain natriuretic peptide (BNP), together with their related pro-peptides (proANP and proBNP) represent a group of peptide hormones produced by the heart. A normal NT-proBNP level has a high negative predictive value for heart failure. The use of NT-proBNP testing is helpful in diagnosing acute HF in the emergency care setting, allowing an early and optimal treatment. The purpose of this study is to assess the prognostic value of NT-proBNP in heart failure in children younger than 3 years old and to establish whether it correlates with the NYHA/Ross functional class and left ventricle systolic function.

Methods. We enrolled 24 consecutive children with HF due to congenital heart diseases and dilated cardiomyopathy. The serum levels of NT-proBNP were measured, all patients underwent echocardiography and left ventricle ejection fraction was calculated.

Results. The highest median value of NT-proBNP was recorded in patients with cyanotic heart diseases (248.0 fmol/mL), p = 0.610. NT-proBNP had a negative correlation with the ejection fraction of the left ventricle: Spearman's rank correlation coefficient was −0.165.

Conclusions. NT-proBNP levels correlate with the severity of HF in infants and small children younger than 3 years old with heart failure due to congenital heart diseases and dilated cardiomyopathy.

Background. The change in the level of NT-pro-BNP (N-terminal-pro-Brain Natriuretic Peptide) is now considered as a reflection of the hemodynamic alterations and its circulatory reductions reported early after successful PTMC (percutaneous transvenous mitral commissurotomy). The present study aims to assess the change in the level of NT-pro BNP following PTMC in patients with mitral stenosis and also to determine the association between circulatory NT-pro-BNP reduction and post-PTMC echocardiography parameters.

Methods. Twenty five symptomatic consecutive patients with severe MS undergoing elective PTMC were prospectively enrolled. All patients underwent echocardiography before and also 24 to 48 hours after PTMC. Peripheral blood samples were taken for measurement of NT-pro-BNP before as well as 24 to 48 hours after PTMC. The patients were also classified in group with normal sinus rhythm or having atrial fibrillation (AF) based on their 12-lead electrocardiogram.

Results. It was shown a significant decrease in the parameters of PPG (Peak Pressure Gradient), MPG (Mean Pressure Gradient), PHT (Pressure Half Time), PAP (Pulmonary Arterial Pressure), LAV (Left Atrial Volume), and also a significant increase in MVA (Mitral Valve Area) RVS (Right Ventricular S velocity), and strains of lateral, septal, inferior and anterior walls of LA following PTMC. The mean LVEF remained unchanged after PTMC. The mean NT-pro-BNP before PTMC was 309.20 ± 17.97 pg/lit that significantly diminished after PTMC to 235.72 ± 22.46 pg/lit (p = 0.009). Among all echocardiography parameters, only MPG was positively associated with the change in NT-pro-BNP after PTMC. Comparing the change in echocardiography indices between the patients with normal rhythm and those with AF, lower change in PAP was shown in the group with AF. However, more change in the level of NT-pro-BNP after PTMC was shown in the patients with AF compared to those without this arrhythmia.

Conclusion. PTMC procedure leads to reduce the level of NT-pro-BNP. The change in NT-pro-BNP is an indicator for change in MS severity indicated by decreasing MPG parameter. Lower change in PAP as well as higher change in NT-pro-BNP is predicted following PTMC in the group with AF compared to those with normal sinus rhythm.

Background and aims. As already known, spondyloarthritis patients present a striking resemblance in intestinal inflammation with early Crohn’s disease. Moreover, the frequent use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs is an important part of their treatment. Both conditions could lead to intestinal stenoses. Therefore we proposed to investigate the usefulness of the patency capsule test in patients with spondyloarthritis.

Material and methods. 64 consecutive patients (33 males; mean age 38 ± 11 years) that fulfilled the AMOR criteria for seronegative spondyloarthropathy (59.4% ankylosing spondylitis) lacking symptoms or signs of intestinal stenosis were enrolled and submitted to an AGILE™ capsule patency test followed by a video capsule endoscopy (PillCam SB2™), as part of a protocol investigating the presence of intestinal inflammatory lesions. After reviewing the VCE recordings, the Lewis score (of small bowel inflammatory involvement) was computed.

Results. In only 5 patients (7.8%) of the study group, the luminal patency test was negative. However, there was no retention of the videocapsule in any of the patients. From the 59 patients with a positive patency test, 3 patients presented single small bowel stenoses (two with ulcerated overlying inflamed mucosa, one cicatricial), all being traversed by the videocapsule along the length of the recording. None of the patients with a negative test had bowel stenoses. There was no correlation between the patency test and the Lewis score, the C reactive protein value, diagnosis of inflammatory bowel disease, or the family history of spondyloarthritis, psoriasis or inflammatory bowel disease.

Conclusion. The AGILE patency capsule does not seem to be a useful tool for all patients with spondyloarthritis prior to small bowel videocapsule endoscopy (ClinicalTrial.gov ID NCT 00768950).

Introduction. Chronic pancreatitis is morphologically characterized by ductal dysplasia, breeding grounds for the proliferation of the ductal cells, the degenerative changes in pancreatic acinar cells and fibrosis, and it is defined on the basis of the clinical, morphological and functional criteria.

Aim. The aim of our study is to examine the existence of a possible correlation between the iNOS-2087A>G polymorphism and chronic pancreatitis by means of the genetic analysis.

Material and method. We have conducted the study at the Gastroenterology Clinic and the Research Center of Gastroenterology and Hepatology of the University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Craiova, between March 2015 – September 2016. The study had a prospective character. Both for the 58 patients diagnosed with chronic pancreatitis and for the 132 patients in the witness group, the biological material was represented by blood, (around 2.5 – 5 milliliters of venous blood) let on EDTA and kept at 4°C up to the separation of the DNA molecule. All the patients were genotyped for the iNOS – 2087A>G polymorphism, by means of the Real Time PCR technique with TaqMan probes.

Results. Analysing the prevalence of the iNOS genotypes within the study group and witness group, we have noticed that, statistically speaking, there are no significant differences between the two groups.

Conclusion. As a conclusion, in the study lot we can sustain that the risk of developing chronic pancreatitis is not increased by the presence of the iNOS-2087A>G polymorphism.

Background. Renal biopsy is an important method for diagnosis of renal parenchymal abnormalities. Here, we compare the effectiveness and complications of percutaneous ultrasound-guided renal biopsy using axial vs. sagittal probe locations.

Methods. In a cross-sectional survey, in 2012, patients with a nephrologist order were biopsied by a radiology resident. Renal biopsy was done on 15 patients using axial (A group) and the same number of biopsies done with sagittal probe location (S group). The two groups were compared in term of the yields and complications of each method.

Results. In the A group, the ratio of glomeruli gathered to the number of obtained samples was significantly higher than in the S group. Nine patients in the A group (60%) required only two samplings, whereas 66.7% in the S group required more than two attempts. Microscopic hematuria was more common in the A; conversely, gross hematuria was less common in the A group. Meagre hematomas were more frequent in the S group. When compared with hemoglobin level before biopsy, its level 24 hours after biopsy was similar within groups.

Conclusion. Our study shows that percutaneous ultrasound-guided renal biopsy using axial probe provides better yield with fewer efforts and fewer serious complications.

In the past decade, there has been significant progress in clinical hematology with the discovery of targeted molecules and thus the achievement of both hematologic and molecular responses. Nevertheless, chemotherapy remains the treatment of choice for many types of hematological malignancies. Aggressive chemotherapy leads to immunosuppression, accompanied by a high rate of infections and an increased rate of treatment-related mortality. Invasive fungal infections as well as more common bacterial and viral infections are frequent in immunocompromised patients as they are difficult to diagnose and treat. Pleuropulmonary infections in immunocompromised patients are diagnosed using clinical examination, imaging and laboratory tests. Many laboratory tests are run for several days before a final result is given and are expensive. Computer tomography is a reliable technique, but it is encumbered by high irradiation and high cost, and can assess lesions larger than 1 cm. Transthoracic ultrasound is a modern method, used in the diagnostic algorithm of pleuropulmonary pathology. It allows the diagnosis of small lesions, can be performed at the patients’ bedside, with acceptable costs and no irradiation. A fast, informed and accurate medical decision is essential for a favorable outcome in immunosuppressed patients with an adjacent infection. In the current case series we present the implementation of a new protocol for the follow-up of immunocompromised patients using transthoracic ultrasonography, of great potential use in the clinic.

A 95-year old woman was admitted to our emergency unit because of acute abdominal pain. After urgent surgery according to the acute abdomen, she was referred to intensive care unit (ICU) of the emergency unit as she was intubated. It was developed a run of new arrhythmia which was diagnosed by cardiology resident as bidirectional ventricular tachycardia due to beat to beat changing the axis of the QRS. However, a second and more precise evaluation of the abnormal ECG suggested a narrow supraventricular tachycardia, most probably AV nodal reentrant tachycardia with a 2:1 right bundle branch block.