background: phthalates are widely used as plasticizers in polyethylene terephthalate (pet) products. several pharmaceutical products have been stored in pet containers, and due to serious health effects of phthalates, migration levels of them into pharmaceutical products must be determined. in the present study, leaching levels of four common phthalate esters including di-n-butyl phthalate (dbp...

The research studied the clinical and laboratory characteristics of COVID-19 patients against background cardiovascular diseases. A high prevalence diseases (CVD) was revealed among patients: arterial hypertension (93.4%), chronic heart failure (60.9%), cardiac arrhythmias (40.1%), coronary disease (21.9%). reliable correlation established between timing hospitalization from onset severity infe...

OBJECTIVE To compare clinical and economic outcomes following plasma exchange (PLEX) and intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) in U.S. patients with primary diagnoses of myasthenia gravis (MG). METHODS Our cohort was identified from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample database for years 2000-2005 using codes from the International Classification of Diseases, 9th edition. Multivariate regression analy...

A prospective study among adults hospitalized for polymerase chain reaction-confirmed respiratory syncytial virus infections (n = 123) showed frequent occurrence of lower respiratory-tract complications causing respiratory insufficiency (52.8%), requirement for assisted ventilation (16.3%), and intensive care unit admission/death (12.2%). High viral RNA concentration was detected at time of hos...

OBJECTIVE To identify risk factors for preoperative respiratory complications associated with tracheobronchial foreign body aspiration (TFBA) by retrospectively analysing paediatric cases presenting with or without complications. METHODS Paediatric patients who presented with TFBA and were admitted to hospital were enrolled in the study. Patients were divided into two groups based on occurren...

Background: Micronutrients play roles in strengthening and maintaining immune function, but their supplementation and/or deficiency effects on respiratory tract infections are inconclusive. This review aims to systematically assess the associations between micronutrient or deficiency, with novel coronavirus incidence disease severity. Methods: Systematic literature searches conducted five elect...

BACKGROUND Cryptococcosis is a common opportunistic infection of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected individuals mostly occurring in resource-limited countries. This study compares the performance of a recently developed lateral flow immunoassay (LFA) to blood culture and enzyme immunoassay (EIA) for the diagnosis of cryptococcosis. METHODS Archived sera from 704 HIV-infected patients...

Background: Respiratory function in patients undergoing open heart surgery is disrupted after surgery.  Patient education on managing complications can reduce occurrence or severity of them. A variety of educational tools has been introduced, but there are controversies about the most appropriate tools. Aim: Determine the effect of instructional videos on respiratory function of the patients af...

BACKGROUND Mycoplasma pneumoniae (M. pneumoniae) is a frequent cause of respiratory tract infections. However, there is deficient knowledge about the clinical manifestations of M. pneumoniae infection. We described the clinical and laboratory findings of M. pneumoniae pneumonia in hospitalized children who were all diagnosed by a ≥ fourfold increase in antibody titer. METHODS M. pneumoniae an...