Browsing by Author "Zdravković, Marija (24924016800)"

Antiphospholipid antibodies (aPLA) are a laboratory criterion for the classification of antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) and are known to cause clinical symptoms such as vascular thrombosis or obstetric complications. It is suggested that aPLA may be associated with thromboembolism in severe COVID-19 cases. Therefore, we aimed to combine clinical data with laboratory findings of aPLA at four time points (admission, worsening, discharge, and 3-month follow-up) in patients hospitalized with COVID-19 pneumonia. In 111 patients with COVID-19 pneumonia, current and past history of thrombosis and pregnancy complications were recorded. Nine types of aPLA were determined at four time points: anticardiolipin (aCL), anti-β2-glycoprotein I (anti- β2GPI), and antiphosphatidylserine/prothrombin (aPS/PT) of the IgM, IgG, or IgA isotypes. During hospitalization, seven patients died, three of them due to pulmonary artery thromboembolism (none were aPLA positive). Only one of the five who developed pulmonary artery thrombosis was aPLA positive. Out of 9/101 patients with a history of thrombosis, five had arterial thrombosis and none were aPLA positive at admission and follow-up; four had venous thrombosis, and one was aPLA positive at all time points (newly diagnosed APS). Of these 9/101 patients, 55.6% were transiently aPLA positive at discharge only, compared to 26.1% without a history of thrombosis (p = 0.041). Patients with severe forms of COVID-19 and positive aPLA should receive the same dose and anticoagulant medication regimen as those with negative aPLA because those antibodies are mostly transiently positive and not linked to thrombosis and fatal outcomes. © 2023 by the authors.

Antiphospholipid antibodies (aPLA) are a laboratory criterion for the classification of antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) and are known to cause clinical symptoms such as vascular thrombosis or obstetric complications. It is suggested that aPLA may be associated with thromboembolism in severe COVID-19 cases. Therefore, we aimed to combine clinical data with laboratory findings of aPLA at four time points (admission, worsening, discharge, and 3-month follow-up) in patients hospitalized with COVID-19 pneumonia. In 111 patients with COVID-19 pneumonia, current and past history of thrombosis and pregnancy complications were recorded. Nine types of aPLA were determined at four time points: anticardiolipin (aCL), anti-β2-glycoprotein I (anti- β2GPI), and antiphosphatidylserine/prothrombin (aPS/PT) of the IgM, IgG, or IgA isotypes. During hospitalization, seven patients died, three of them due to pulmonary artery thromboembolism (none were aPLA positive). Only one of the five who developed pulmonary artery thrombosis was aPLA positive. Out of 9/101 patients with a history of thrombosis, five had arterial thrombosis and none were aPLA positive at admission and follow-up; four had venous thrombosis, and one was aPLA positive at all time points (newly diagnosed APS). Of these 9/101 patients, 55.6% were transiently aPLA positive at discharge only, compared to 26.1% without a history of thrombosis (p = 0.041). Patients with severe forms of COVID-19 and positive aPLA should receive the same dose and anticoagulant medication regimen as those with negative aPLA because those antibodies are mostly transiently positive and not linked to thrombosis and fatal outcomes. © 2023 by the authors.

Introduction/Objective There is very limited data regarding the need for transfusion and its effect on the overall mortality of patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The aim of our study is to determine the need for blood component transfusion in patents treated for COVID-19 infection. Methods This retrospective observational study included 4426 COVID-19-positive patients treated at the Bežanijska Kosa University Hospital Medical Center between June 23, 2020 and May 2, 2021. Of these patients, 826 were treated in the intensive care units of the hospital. Of the total number of patients, 326 (7.4%) received transfusions. The clinical presentation, the structure of the applied transfusion therapy, the laboratory parameters, and the treatment outcome were analyzed in this study. Results Of the 828 patients treated in the intensive care units, 151 (18.2%) patients required transfusion, while transfusion was necessary in a total of 4.9% of patients treated in the hospital wards. Of the total number of all transfused patients, 86% received erythrocytes, one-third of them received fresh frozen plasma, 10% received cryoprecipitate, while platelets were administered in around 6% of the patients. The mortality rate in the tested group was 46%. Conclusion The frequency of the application of blood components was significantly higher in patients with a severe form of the disease. The presence of comorbidities did not affect the need for transfusion therapy. In the group of patients treated in the intensive care units, 85% received erythrocytes, 39% received fresh frozen plasma, 19% received cryoprecipitate and 7% received platelets. © 2023, Serbia Medical Society. All rights reserved.

Introduction. Myxoma is the most common primary benign heart tumor. The most frequent location is the left atrium, the chamber of the heart that receives oxygen- rich blood from the lungs. Myxomas usually develop in women, typically between the ages of 40 and 60. Symptoms may occur at any time, but most often they are asymptomatic or oligosymptomatic for a long period of time. Symptoms usually go along with body position, and are related to compression of the heart cavities, embolization and the appearance of general symptoms. The diagnosis of benign tumors of the heart is based on anamnesis, clinical features and findings of the tumor masses by use of non-invasive and invasive imaging methods. Extensive surgical resection of the myxoma is curative with minimal mortality. Long term clinical and echocardiographic follow-up is mandatory. Case report. We reported a case of a 62-year-old male, presented with 15 days of intermittent shortness of breath, dizziness and feeling of heart palpitations and subsequently diagnosed with right atrial myxoma based on transthoracic echocardiography . The patient was emergently operated in our hospital. Long-term followup did not reveal recurrence. Conclusion. Our case was an atypical localisation of right atrial myxoma. Whether the intracardiac mass is benign or malignant, early surgery is obligatory in order to prevent complications. © 2018, Inst. Sci. inf., Univ. Defence in Belgrade. All rights reserved.

Introduction: Lesbian, gay, and bisexuals have unique healthcare needs. Breast cancer is leading cancer in women, worldwide, accounting for 25% of all cases. Annual incidence rates increased significantly in all countries and age groups. The occurrence of breast cancer is rare in transgender population. As they have very limited access to medical care, it is much less likely to pursue breast cancer screening than in other individuals not identified as transgender. Review of the cases from literature: Up to date, only 13 cases of the breast cancer transsexuals (female to male) have been reported in six published papers worldwide. Histological examination of the breast tumor in female-to-male transgender showed progesterone/estrogen-positive invasive ductal carcinoma. Discussion: Gender identity describes a person’s inherent sense of being a woman, man, or of neither gender, whereas sexual orientation refers to how people identify their physical and emotional attraction to others. Gender reassignment surgery, as series of complex surgical genital and non-genital procedures, is recognized as the most effective treatment for patients with gender dysphoria. The two main principles of hormone therapy for transgender patients are to reduce endogenous hormone levels and their associated sex characteristics and replace them with hormones of the preferred sex. Breast cancer infrequently occurs in transgender patients. Even breast core biopsies can be difficult for interpreting after changes in breast tissue in female-to-male transsexuals following gender reassignment. Conclusion: Reviewing the literature, so many different data concerning probability of breast cancer in sexual minority can be found. Breast cancer screening program should be offered to all transgender individuals according to national guidelines. Very important is to take into consideration a transgender person’s natal and surgical anatomy, unique clinical concerns for depression and anxiety, risk of suicide together with risk factors including experiences of harassment or physical or sexual violence, low education level, and unemployment. Understanding the need for mammography in these often marginalized groups is very important in addressing breast cancer disparities despite differences in insurance coverage in some countries and greater concern for the cancer of the breast in residual breast tissue. The best screening rule, ever, for breast cancer in male transsexuals and other similar population should be, besides surgical history and hormonal status, “Screen Now, Screen Regularly and Screen What You Have.”. © 2018, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.

Introduction: Lesbian, gay, and bisexuals have unique healthcare needs. Breast cancer is leading cancer in women, worldwide, accounting for 25% of all cases. Annual incidence rates increased significantly in all countries and age groups. The occurrence of breast cancer is rare in transgender population. As they have very limited access to medical care, it is much less likely to pursue breast cancer screening than in other individuals not identified as transgender. Review of the cases from literature: Up to date, only 13 cases of the breast cancer transsexuals (female to male) have been reported in six published papers worldwide. Histological examination of the breast tumor in female-to-male transgender showed progesterone/estrogen-positive invasive ductal carcinoma. Discussion: Gender identity describes a person’s inherent sense of being a woman, man, or of neither gender, whereas sexual orientation refers to how people identify their physical and emotional attraction to others. Gender reassignment surgery, as series of complex surgical genital and non-genital procedures, is recognized as the most effective treatment for patients with gender dysphoria. The two main principles of hormone therapy for transgender patients are to reduce endogenous hormone levels and their associated sex characteristics and replace them with hormones of the preferred sex. Breast cancer infrequently occurs in transgender patients. Even breast core biopsies can be difficult for interpreting after changes in breast tissue in female-to-male transsexuals following gender reassignment. Conclusion: Reviewing the literature, so many different data concerning probability of breast cancer in sexual minority can be found. Breast cancer screening program should be offered to all transgender individuals according to national guidelines. Very important is to take into consideration a transgender person’s natal and surgical anatomy, unique clinical concerns for depression and anxiety, risk of suicide together with risk factors including experiences of harassment or physical or sexual violence, low education level, and unemployment. Understanding the need for mammography in these often marginalized groups is very important in addressing breast cancer disparities despite differences in insurance coverage in some countries and greater concern for the cancer of the breast in residual breast tissue. The best screening rule, ever, for breast cancer in male transsexuals and other similar population should be, besides surgical history and hormonal status, “Screen Now, Screen Regularly and Screen What You Have.”. © 2018, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.

Acute coronary syndrome (ACS) in patients with COVID-19 is triggered by various mechanisms and can significantly affect the patient’s further treatment and prognosis. The study aimed to investigate the characteristics, major complications, and predictors of mortality in COVID-19 patients with ACS. All consecutive patients hospitalized from 5 July 2020 to 5 May 2021 for ACS with confirmed SARS-Co-2 were prospectively enrolled and tracked for mortality until 5 June 2021. Data from the electronic records for age and diagnosis, matched non-COVID-19 and COVID-19 ACS group, were extracted and compared. Overall, 83 COVID-19 ACS patients, when compared to 166 non-COVID ACS patients, had significantly more prevalent comorbidities, unfavorable clinical characteristics on admission (acute heart failure 21.7% vs. 6.6%, p < 0.01) and higher rates of major complications, 33.7% vs. 16.8%, p < 0.01, and intrahospital 30-day mortality, 6.7% vs. 26.5%, p < 0.01. The strongest predictors of mortality were aortic regurgitation, HR 9.98, 95% CI 1.88; 52.98, p < 0.01, serum creatinine levels, HR 1.03, 95% CI 1.01; 1.04, p < 0.01, and respiratory failure therapy, HR 13.05, 95% CI 3.62; 47.01, p < 0.01. Concomitant ACS and COVID-19 is linked to underlying comorbidi-ties, adverse presenting features, and poor outcomes. Urgent strategies are needed to improve the outcomes of these patients. © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.

Aim To compare the prognostic performance of three major risk scoring systems including global registry for acute coronary events (GRACE), thrombolysis in myocardial infarction (TIMI), and prediction of 30-day major adverse cardiovascular events after primary percutaneous coronary intervention (RISK-PCI). Methods This single-center retrospective study involved 200 patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) who underwent invasive diagnostic approach, ie, coronary angiography and myocardial revascularization if appropriate, in the period from January 2014 to July 2014. The GRACE, TIMI, and RISK-PCI risk scores were compared for their predictive ability. The primary endpoint was a composite 30-day major adverse cardiovascular event (MACE), which included death, urgent target-vessel revascularization (TVR), stroke, and non-fatal recurrent myocardial infarction (REMI). Results The c-statistics of the tested scores for 30-day MACE or area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) with confidence intervals (CI) were as follows: RISK-PCI (AUC = 0.94; 95% CI 1.790-4.353), the GRACE score on admission (AUC = 0.73; 95% CI 1.013-1.045), the GRACE score on discharge (AUC = 0.65; 95% CI 0.999-1.033). The RISK-PCI score was the only score that could predict TVR (AUC = 0.91; 95% CI 1.392-2.882). The RISK-PCI scoring system showed an excellent discriminative potential for 30- day death (AUC = 0.96; 95% CI 1.339-3.548) in comparison with the GRACE scores on admission (AUC = 0.88; 95% CI 1.018-1.072) and on discharge (AUC = 0.78; 95% CI 1.000- 1.058). Conclusions In comparison with the GRACE and TIMI scores, RISK-PCI score showed a non-inferior ability to predict 30-day MACE and death in ACS patients. Moreover, RISK-PCI was the only scoring system that could predict recurrent ischemia requiring TVR.

Background: Systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) changes cortisol dynamics and indicates dissociation between the adrenal cortex and the hypothalamo-pituitary unit. The aim of this study was to assess the cortisol response after stimulation with ACTH1-24 in patients with SIRS at admission to the Respiratory Intensive Care Unit (RICU) and seven days later. Methods: Fifty-four subjects were included in the study, and SIRS was defined according to the Consensus Conference criteria from 1992. Severity of the disease was determined using the APACHE II score, and organ dysfunction using the SOFA score. Low-dose (1 μg) ACTH test (LDT) was performed in all patients, and cortisol was determined along with basal ACTH. Data were analyzed using parametric and nonparametric tests and regression analysis. The results are presented as mean ± standard deviation, and P<0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: There were no differences in cortisol values between the two LDTs. Cortisol increment lower than 250 nmol/L during the LDT was found in 14/54 (25.9%) subjects at the onset of SIRS. Five out of 54 (9.6%) patients died within 7 days from the onset of SIRS. Female sex and maximal cortisol response (Δ max) on LDT predicted the duration of hospitalization in RICU, while APACHE II and SOFA scores best predicted the duration of hospitalization, mortality outcome as well as overall survival outcome. Conclusions: A difference was found in Δ max at the diagnosis of SIRS and seven days later. Δ max, and primarily the clinical scores APACHE II and SOFA predicted the outcomes of hospitalization and overall survival. © 2016 Jelica Bjekić-Macut et al.

Background: Systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) changes cortisol dynamics and indicates dissociation between the adrenal cortex and the hypothalamo-pituitary unit. The aim of this study was to assess the cortisol response after stimulation with ACTH1-24 in patients with SIRS at admission to the Respiratory Intensive Care Unit (RICU) and seven days later. Methods: Fifty-four subjects were included in the study, and SIRS was defined according to the Consensus Conference criteria from 1992. Severity of the disease was determined using the APACHE II score, and organ dysfunction using the SOFA score. Low-dose (1 μg) ACTH test (LDT) was performed in all patients, and cortisol was determined along with basal ACTH. Data were analyzed using parametric and nonparametric tests and regression analysis. The results are presented as mean ± standard deviation, and P<0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: There were no differences in cortisol values between the two LDTs. Cortisol increment lower than 250 nmol/L during the LDT was found in 14/54 (25.9%) subjects at the onset of SIRS. Five out of 54 (9.6%) patients died within 7 days from the onset of SIRS. Female sex and maximal cortisol response (Δ max) on LDT predicted the duration of hospitalization in RICU, while APACHE II and SOFA scores best predicted the duration of hospitalization, mortality outcome as well as overall survival outcome. Conclusions: A difference was found in Δ max at the diagnosis of SIRS and seven days later. Δ max, and primarily the clinical scores APACHE II and SOFA predicted the outcomes of hospitalization and overall survival. © 2016 Jelica Bjekić-Macut et al.

[No abstract available]

Background: This study aimed to calculate the frequency of elevated liver enzymes in hospitalized patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection and to test if liver enzyme biochemistry levels on admission could predict the computed tomography (CT) scan severity score of bilateral interstitial pneumonia. Methods: This single-center study comprised of 323 patients including their demographic data, laboratory analyses, and radiological findings. All the information was taken from electronic health records, followed by statistical analysis. Results: Out of 323 patients, 115 of them (35.60%) had aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and/or alanine aminotransferase (ALT) over 40 U/L on admission. AST was the best predictor of CT scan severity score of bilateral interstitial pneumonia (R2 = 0.313, Adjusted R2 = 0.299). CT scan severity score in the peak of the infection could be predicted with the value of AST, neutrophils, platelets, and monocytes count (R2 = 0.535, Adjusted R2 = 0.495). Conclusion: AST, neutrophils, platelets, and monocytes count on admission can account for almost half (49.5%) of the variability in CT scan severity score at peak of the disease, predicting the extensiveness of interstitial pneumonia related to COVID-19 infection. Liver enzymes should be closely monitored in order to stratify COVID-19 patients with a higher risk of developing severe forms of the disease and to plan the beforehand step-up treatment. © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.

(1) Background: The COVID-19 pandemic tested the public health system’s readiness for crises and highlighted the importance of knowing the demand for blood products and the maintenance of the blood supply chain. The aim of this study was to evaluate blood product usage in a series of patients that were hospitalized due to COVID-19 and to analyze their demographics and clinical characteristics. (2) Methods: In this retrospective cohort study, we analyzed data from transfused COVID-19 patients that were treated in the University Hospital Medical Center Bezanijska Kosa in Belgrade, Serbia during the second wave of the epidemic. (3) Results: This study included 90 patients. The median age of the patients was 72 (range 23–95) years. The median time of hospitalization was 23 days (range 3–73 days). In intensive care units (ICUs) the median time of hospitalization was 9 days (range 0–73). One or more comorbidities were observed in 86 individuals (95.6%). The total number of transfused red blood cell concetrates (RBC) was 304 (139 in ICU, 165 in other wards), with a mean of 3 units/patient (range 1–14). Comorbidities, severity of illness and hospital duration in the ICU were statistically significant predictors of higher RBC use. (4) Conclusion: Knowledge of the transfusion profile of COVID-19 patients allowed better management of the hospital’s blood stocks during the COVID-19 pandemic. © 2021 by the authors.

(1) Background: The COVID-19 pandemic tested the public health system’s readiness for crises and highlighted the importance of knowing the demand for blood products and the maintenance of the blood supply chain. The aim of this study was to evaluate blood product usage in a series of patients that were hospitalized due to COVID-19 and to analyze their demographics and clinical characteristics. (2) Methods: In this retrospective cohort study, we analyzed data from transfused COVID-19 patients that were treated in the University Hospital Medical Center Bezanijska Kosa in Belgrade, Serbia during the second wave of the epidemic. (3) Results: This study included 90 patients. The median age of the patients was 72 (range 23–95) years. The median time of hospitalization was 23 days (range 3–73 days). In intensive care units (ICUs) the median time of hospitalization was 9 days (range 0–73). One or more comorbidities were observed in 86 individuals (95.6%). The total number of transfused red blood cell concetrates (RBC) was 304 (139 in ICU, 165 in other wards), with a mean of 3 units/patient (range 1–14). Comorbidities, severity of illness and hospital duration in the ICU were statistically significant predictors of higher RBC use. (4) Conclusion: Knowledge of the transfusion profile of COVID-19 patients allowed better management of the hospital’s blood stocks during the COVID-19 pandemic. © 2021 by the authors.

As with all other chronic noncommunicable diseases, adequate health literacy plays a key role in making the right decisions in the treatment of heart failure. Patients with heart failure and a lower health literacy have a reduced quality of life. A cross-sectional study among 200 patients with heart failure was conducted at a state university hospital in Belgrade, Serbia. The European Health Literacy Questionnaire, HLS-EU-Q47, was used to assess health literacy. Quality of life was measured with the generic SF-36 and the Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire. Descriptive and analytical statistical analysis was applied. More than half of the respondents (64%) had limited health literacy. The lowest mean health literacy index (28.01 ± 9.34) was within the disease prevention dimension, where the largest number of respondents showed limited health literacy (70%). Our patients had a poorer quality of life in the physical dimension, and the best scores were identified in the emotional role and social functioning. Health literacy was highly statistically significant and an independent predictor of quality of life (physical, mental, and total quality of life). Improving health literacy can lead to better decisions in the treatment of disease and quality of life in heart failure patients. © 2018 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.

As with all other chronic noncommunicable diseases, adequate health literacy plays a key role in making the right decisions in the treatment of heart failure. Patients with heart failure and a lower health literacy have a reduced quality of life. A cross-sectional study among 200 patients with heart failure was conducted at a state university hospital in Belgrade, Serbia. The European Health Literacy Questionnaire, HLS-EU-Q47, was used to assess health literacy. Quality of life was measured with the generic SF-36 and the Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire. Descriptive and analytical statistical analysis was applied. More than half of the respondents (64%) had limited health literacy. The lowest mean health literacy index (28.01 ± 9.34) was within the disease prevention dimension, where the largest number of respondents showed limited health literacy (70%). Our patients had a poorer quality of life in the physical dimension, and the best scores were identified in the emotional role and social functioning. Health literacy was highly statistically significant and an independent predictor of quality of life (physical, mental, and total quality of life). Improving health literacy can lead to better decisions in the treatment of disease and quality of life in heart failure patients. © 2018 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.

Background/Aim. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a global threat and a huge problem for our community. There are so many open questions. The aim of this study was to establish the frequency of gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms in hospitalized patients with infection caused by this virus (coronavirus disease-19 – COVID-19), but also to compare if patients with GI symptoms have a higher computed tomography (CT) scan severity score of interstitial pneumonia (IP) compared to patients with COVID-19 without GI symptoms. Methods. Our database comprised 322 patients with COVID-19 who were divided into two groups, patients with and without GI symptoms. All information was taken from anamnestic data and patients’ history, followed by statistical analysis. Results. Thorax CT scans of 206 patients (63.9%) were described as bilateral IP, of which 76 CT scans (36.9%) were described by radiologists as the peak of infection. Moreover, 130 patients (40.4%) had GI symptoms, and even 58 out of 130 patients (44.6%) reported GI symptoms as the first manifestation of COVID-19 infection. The most commonly reported one was the lack of appetite (73 patients or 56.15%). Furthermore, 65 (50%) patients reported diarrhea, 25 (19.2%) patients reported nausea and vomiting, and 9 (6.9%) patients reported abdominal pain. In addition, among patients with bilateral IP and GI tract symptoms, 31 (40.79%) of them did not have a higher CT scan severity score at the peak of the disease compared to the patients without GI symptoms (45 of them or 59.2%), (p = 0.704). Conclusion. GI symptoms often are the first manifestation of COVID-19. Therefore, every patient with newly formed digestive tract symptoms should be tested for COVID-19. On the other hand, GI symptoms do not indicate COVID-19 patients will have a severe form of IP. © 2022 Inst. Sci. inf., Univ. Defence in Belgrade. All rights reserved.

Introduction. Hypokalemic thyrotoxic paralysis is a very rare form of periodic paralysis in Caucasian population. In this population, a more frequent form is familiar hypokalemic periodic paralysis with the same clinical presentation. It is flaccid paralysis of proximal muscles in extremities. Having in mind that clinical presentation of hyperthyroidism in these patients is milder than it could be expected with given values of thyroid hormones, differential diagnosis to other forms of hypokalemic paralysis is essential. Case report. We presented a case of a young male with hyperthyroidism and severe periodic flaccid paralysis particularly of leg muscles. Laboratory findings showed elevated thyroid hormones levels and hypokalemia during the attacks with normalized potassium levels between attacks. The patient had no relatives with the similar condition. Also, he never had anything like these attacks prior to development of hyperthyroidism. After differential diagnosis, other reasons for hypokalemic periodic paralysis were excluded. We intensified the hyperthyroidism treatment and resolved hypokalemic periodic paralysis attacks with potassium chloride (KCl) infusions. The patient was advised to start a definitive treatment of hyperthyroidism after stabilization of hormonal levels. Conclusion. Hypokalemic thyrotoxic paralysis is a rare and potentially dangerous condition which, if recognized, can be prevented by resolving hyperthyroxinemia and the use of nonselective β blockers. © 2020 Inst. Sci. inf., Univ. Defence in Belgrade. All rights reserved.

Background: The important risk factors for atrial fibrillation (AF) in the general population are not always equally important in specific and relatively prevalent diseases. Objective: The main goal of this narrative review is to focus attention on the presence and the relationship of AF with several important diseases, such as cancer or sepsis, in order to: 1) stimulate further research in the field, and 2) draw attention to this relationship and search for AF in clinical practice. Methods: We searched PubMed, SCOPUS, Elsevier, Wiley, Springer, Oxford Journals, Cambridge, SAGE, and Google Scholar for less-known comorbidities of AF. The search was limited to publications in English. No time limits were applied. Results: AF is widely represented in cardiovascular and other important diseases, even in those in which AF is rarely mentioned. In some specific clinical subsets of AF patients (e.g., patients with sepsis or cancer), the general risk factors for AF may not be so important. Patients with new-onset AF have a several-fold increase in relative risk of cancer, deep vein thrombosis, and pulmonary thromboembolism (PTE) during the follow-up. Conclusion: AF presence, prognosis, and optimal therapeutic approach are insufficiently recognised in several prevalent diseases, including life-threatening ones. There is a need for a better search for AF in PTE, pulmonary oedema, aortic dissection, sepsis, cancer and several gastrointestinal diseases. Im-proved AF detection would influence treatment and improve outcomes. © 2022 Bentham Science Publishers.

We investigated circulating levels of inflammatory biomarkers pentraxin-3 (PTX3), cyclophilin A (CypA), and heparin-binding epidermal growth factor-like growth factor (HB-EGF); oxidative stress; and antioxidant status markers in the patients with ST-segment elevation acute myocardial infarction (STEMI) to better understand a relationship between inflammation and oxidative stress. We examined the impact of oxidative stress on high values of inflammatory parameters. The study included 87 patients with STEMI and 193 controls. We observed a positive correlation between PTX3 and HB-EGF (ρ = 0.24, P =.027), CyPA, and sulfhydryl (SH) groups (ρ = 0.25, P =.026), and a negative correlation between PTX3 and SH groups (ρ = −0.35, P =.001) in patients with STEMI. To better understand the effect of the examined parameters on the occurrence of high concentrations of inflammatory parameters, we grouped them using principal component analysis. This analysis identified the 4 most contributing factors. Optimal cutoff values for discrimination of patients with STEMI from controls were calculated for PTX3 and HB-EGF. An independent predictor for PTX3 above the cutoff value was a “metabolic-oxidative stress factor” comprised of glucose and oxidative stress marker prooxidant-antioxidant balance (odds ratio = 4.449, P =.030). The results show that higher PTX3 values will occur in patients having STEMI with greater metabolic and oxidative stress status values. © The Author(s) 2020.