Browsing by Author "Matija, Lidija (35327404100)"

Introduction/Objective Diabetic nephropathy leading to end-stage renal disease is a major health problem worldwide. Hemodialysis (HD) treatment is associated with glycemia variations. Diabetic patients on HD might benefit from a non-invasive online glycemia monitoring system. The aim of this study was to assess the glucose concentration from the matrix of the spent dialysate fluid using near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy. Methods Blood samples and spent dialysate were collected in the 15th minute of the HD treatment from 15 patients. The spent dialysis fluid was characterized by a NIR spectrometer in the range of 900–1300 nm. In order to apply the artificial neural network (ANN) and train it, the MATLAB NFTOOL program was used. The testing and training of the ANN were executed using the NIR spectrum of the spent dialysis fluid as input, and the glucose concentration as output. Results A significant correlation in excess of 93% between the NIR spectrum of the spent dialysate and the blood glucose concentration (3–9 mmol/l) was found. Conclusions NIR spectroscopy is a non-invasive and reliable method of glycemia monitoring which can be used in maintaining HD patients. © 2020, Serbia Medical Society. All rights reserved.

Background: Sensitivity and specificity of ex vivo dermatoscopy (EVD) for malignancy detection of skin tumors is unknown. We sought to assess whether the use of EVD could be a useful adjunct to histopathological diagnosis of pigmented skin tumors, including cases where complete clinical information is inadequate or missing. Materials and methods: EVD was performed on 195 excised, formalin-fixed pigmented skin tumors. Results: Of 183 eligible lesions, 104 (56.8%) were melanocytic and 79 (43.2%) nonmelanocytic. Overall, 54 (29.5%) were malignant: 10 melanomas, 39 basal cell carcinomas, and five squamous cell carcinomas. Ex vivo images were devoid of red color. The following colors were seen: light and dark brown, grey, blue, black, and white. All structures typical for pigmented melanocytic and nonmelanocytic lesions were observed. In malignant nonmelanocytic lesions, diagnostic accuracy and sensitivity for malignant/benign decision was not better when combining visual assessment and EVD but diagnostic specificity improved by 3.0%. For melanoma, combined diagnostics improved diagnostic accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity for 9.6, 30.0, and 7.5%, respectively. Conclusion: For dermatopathologists, EVD offers increased specificity for all categories of tumors and increased diagnostic accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity for melanoma. With EVD view, the dermatopathologist can instantly find areas of interest, thus minimizing the possibility for missing a malignant lesion. © 2018 The International Society of Dermatology