Porto biomedical journalPub Date : 2024-11-14eCollection Date: 2024-11-01DOI: 10.1097/j.pbj.0000000000000264
Ana Marta Gomes, Bruno Schau, Ana Farinha
{"title":"Emerging perspectives in the management of IgA nephropathy: a comprehensive review.","authors":"Ana Marta Gomes, Bruno Schau, Ana Farinha","doi":"10.1097/j.pbj.0000000000000264","DOIUrl":"10.1097/j.pbj.0000000000000264","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>IgA nephropathy (IgAN) is the most prevalent form of primary glomerulonephritis worldwide and a leading cause of chronic kidney disease and renal failure. This disorder is characterized by the deposition of immune complexes containing galactose-deficient forms of IgA and complement C3 in the glomeruli. Until now, disease management relied mainly on optimized supportive care. Systemic corticosteroid therapy is proposed for patients at high risk of disease progression, but the effectiveness and safety of this approach are under debate. A significant proportion of patients do not respond to current therapies and require kidney replacement therapy at a young age, with substantial costs and impact on quality of life. Recently, there have been multiple joint efforts to improve the understanding of IgAN pathophysiology. International collaborations resulted in multiple ongoing clinical trials that are providing new insights toward innovative therapeutic options such as SGLT2 inhibitors, dual endothelin and angiotensin receptor blockers, targeted-release budesonide, B-cell proliferation and differentiation inhibitors, and complement system blockers. Based on this new evidence, revision of the guidelines to manage IgAN is expected to occur in the near future. In addition to the novelty in therapeutic agents, there is also a growing interest in new noninvasive biomarkers for IgAN screening, risk stratification to monitor the course of the disease, and the response to treatment. In this review, we discuss current knowledge on the pathophysiology of IgAN, disease management, and emerging advances in clinical translation of IgAN research.</p>","PeriodicalId":74479,"journal":{"name":"Porto biomedical journal","volume":"9 6","pages":"264"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-11-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11560120/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142633497","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Porto biomedical journalPub Date : 2024-11-14eCollection Date: 2024-11-01DOI: 10.1097/j.pbj.0000000000000272
Nuno J S Ferreira, Raquel A Branco, Sabrina C Pimentel, Maria Ana S Paço, Isabel M S R Coelho, Lúcia E P R Serpa
{"title":"Microbiological profile and antibiotic susceptibility profile of urine cultures in patients with spinal cord injury-retrospective study.","authors":"Nuno J S Ferreira, Raquel A Branco, Sabrina C Pimentel, Maria Ana S Paço, Isabel M S R Coelho, Lúcia E P R Serpa","doi":"10.1097/j.pbj.0000000000000272","DOIUrl":"10.1097/j.pbj.0000000000000272","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Urinary tract infections (UTIs) and urinary tract colonizations (UTCs) are common in patients with spinal cord injury (SCI). The aim of this study was to characterize the microbiological profile of urine cultures in patients with SCI and to determine the antibiotic susceptibility profile of most common microorganisms, to track antibiotic resistance and facilitate empiric antibiotic selection.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A retrospective observational study was conducted on 235 urine culture results of 29 patients with SCI followed at a Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine outpatient consultation between January 2016 and April 2024. Data regarding sociodemographics, cause of SCI, American Spinal Injury Association Impairment Scale classification, voiding method, microbiological urine culture profile, and antimicrobial resistance were collected and statistically analyzed. UTIs (defined as bacteriuria, leukocyturia, positive urine culture, and new onset of signs and/or symptoms) were differentiated from UTCs.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Patients were mostly men (86%), with a mean age of 52.1 years. UTIs occurred in 134 specimens (57%) and UTCs in 101 (43%). In both UTIs and UTCs, microbiological agents were mostly bacteria; <i>Escherichia coli</i> was the commonest overall (39%) and more frequent in indwelling catheterization (in UTIs) and intermittent self-catheterization (in UTCs); more frequently identified microorganisms were <i>E. coli</i>, <i>Klebsiella pneumoniae</i>, <i>Pseudomonas aeruginosa</i>, <i>Proteus mirabilis</i>, and <i>Enterococcus faecalis</i>. For these 5 more frequent bacteria, antibiotic susceptibility profiles were determined. High resistance to fluoroquinolones, low resistance to cephalosporins, and very low resistance to nitrofurantoin were found. Specific multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs) accounted for 11.2%, mostly identified in patients with indwelling catheters. Antibiotic prescriptions in UTIs were according to antibiograms.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>In UTIs and UTCs, <i>E. coli</i> was the most common microorganism; microorganisms were distinct on different types of voiding methods. Antibiotic susceptibility profiles were determined for the more frequent bacteria. Very low resistance to nitrofurantoin of <i>E. coli</i> and <i>E. faecalis</i>, low resistance to cephalosporins, and high resistance to fluoroquinolones were found. The data now reported can, in selected cases, facilitate empiric antibiotic selection.</p>","PeriodicalId":74479,"journal":{"name":"Porto biomedical journal","volume":"9 6","pages":"272"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-11-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11560116/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142633502","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Porto biomedical journalPub Date : 2024-10-25eCollection Date: 2024-09-01DOI: 10.1097/j.pbj.0000000000000265
Diogo Mota, Maria João Vasconcelos, Borja Bartolomé-Zavala, Diana Silva, Alice Coimbra
{"title":"Flaxseed anaphylaxis: an emerging allergen.","authors":"Diogo Mota, Maria João Vasconcelos, Borja Bartolomé-Zavala, Diana Silva, Alice Coimbra","doi":"10.1097/j.pbj.0000000000000265","DOIUrl":"10.1097/j.pbj.0000000000000265","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Flaxseed is an emerging allergen, and a detailed clinical history is crucial for diagnosis. Flaxseed allergens identified are associated with severe reactions. Providing clear advice on food avoidance might be challenging as there are no reports of clinical cross-reactivity to other foods published.</p>","PeriodicalId":74479,"journal":{"name":"Porto biomedical journal","volume":"9 5","pages":"265"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-10-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11500771/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142514323","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Porto biomedical journalPub Date : 2024-10-25eCollection Date: 2024-09-01DOI: 10.1097/j.pbj.0000000000000269
Bruna Silva, Catarina A Pereira, Catarina Cidade-Rodrigues, Catarina Chaves, Alexandra Araújo, Ana Saavedra, Cláudia Machado, Mariana Martinho, Vânia Gomes, Margarida Almeida, Filipe M Cunha
{"title":"Adrenal insufficiency as a cause of hypertransaminasemia and hyperferritinemia: case report and review of the literature.","authors":"Bruna Silva, Catarina A Pereira, Catarina Cidade-Rodrigues, Catarina Chaves, Alexandra Araújo, Ana Saavedra, Cláudia Machado, Mariana Martinho, Vânia Gomes, Margarida Almeida, Filipe M Cunha","doi":"10.1097/j.pbj.0000000000000269","DOIUrl":"10.1097/j.pbj.0000000000000269","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":74479,"journal":{"name":"Porto biomedical journal","volume":"9 5","pages":"269"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-10-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11500775/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142514322","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Porto biomedical journalPub Date : 2024-10-16eCollection Date: 2024-09-01DOI: 10.1097/j.pbj.0000000000000267
Jane Mendonca, Archith Boloor, Matthew A Manoj, Tanya Singh, Tulio L Correa
{"title":"Whole blood viscosity and its association with the presence and severity of hearing loss and other microangiopathies in Indian patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.","authors":"Jane Mendonca, Archith Boloor, Matthew A Manoj, Tanya Singh, Tulio L Correa","doi":"10.1097/j.pbj.0000000000000267","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1097/j.pbj.0000000000000267","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background/aims: </strong>Although studies correlating idiopathic sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) to whole blood viscosity (WBV) have been conducted, no such study has been done in diabetic patients in whom WBV is said to be altered. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the potential association between calculated WBV and the presence and severity of SNHL and other microangiopathies in Indian patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A cross-sectional study was carried out in the Kasturba Medical College (KMC) group of hospitals among individuals who were older than 18 years and had T2DM. The included patients underwent pure-tone audiometry, ophthalmoscopy, monofilament test, and routine blood investigations for diabetes. WBV was derived using hematocrit and total protein with a validated formula.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Of the total 60 participants, 73.3% had SNHL, which was predominantly bilateral and moderate. There was a statistically significant association between glycemic control and the degree of SNHL. The associations between SNHL and HbA1C levels and random plasma glucose were both statistically significant (<i>P</i> = .001). The statistical association between WBV and the degree of SNHL was not significant (<i>P</i> = .056). Although higher mean blood viscosity was noted in individuals with diabetic retinopathy and neuropathy than those without, the associations between blood viscosity and the presence of retinopathy, neuropathy, and nephropathy were not statistically significant (<i>P</i> = .238, <i>P</i> = .621, and <i>P</i> = .656; respectively). Finally, the associations between WBV and glycemic control were also not significant (<i>P</i> = .652 for random plasma glucose and <i>P</i> = .928 for HbA1C).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>This study concludes that SNHL is highly prevalent in diabetes, and poor glycemic control is associated with its worsening. Elevations in WBV, if present, are not affected by poor glycemic control and do not appear to significantly contribute to the development of complications of the microvasculature in T2DM.</p>","PeriodicalId":74479,"journal":{"name":"Porto biomedical journal","volume":"9 5","pages":"267"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-10-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11473063/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142482650","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Porto biomedical journalPub Date : 2024-10-14eCollection Date: 2024-09-01DOI: 10.1097/j.pbj.0000000000000268
Leonor Naia, Márcio Tavares, Catarina Ferreira, Sofia Fonseca, Henrique Coelho
{"title":"Primary vitreoretinal lymphoma masquerading as refractory uveitis-just go with the flow.","authors":"Leonor Naia, Márcio Tavares, Catarina Ferreira, Sofia Fonseca, Henrique Coelho","doi":"10.1097/j.pbj.0000000000000268","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1097/j.pbj.0000000000000268","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":74479,"journal":{"name":"Porto biomedical journal","volume":"9 5","pages":"268"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-10-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11469907/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142482649","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Porto biomedical journalPub Date : 2024-10-14eCollection Date: 2024-09-01DOI: 10.1097/j.pbj.0000000000000266
Ana M Meireles, Leonardo M Moço, Cláudia S Moreira, Gil P Brás, Ana E Santo, Mário Mariz
{"title":"NEWS, NEWS2, and qSOFA accuracy in predicting sepsis-related mortality in acute myeloid leukemia: a retrospective single-center analysis.","authors":"Ana M Meireles, Leonardo M Moço, Cláudia S Moreira, Gil P Brás, Ana E Santo, Mário Mariz","doi":"10.1097/j.pbj.0000000000000266","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1097/j.pbj.0000000000000266","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) treated with intensive chemotherapy carries a high risk of severe infection. The development of reliable assessment tools to promptly identify patients at risk of developing critical illness is essential to prevent delays in intensive care unit (ICU) admission. This study evaluated the accuracy of quick Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (qSOFA) score, National Early Warning Score (NEWS), and NEWS2 score in predicting ICU admission and sepsis-related mortality in this population. A retrospective analysis was conducted, including 365 episodes of febrile neutropenia in 126 patients. The results showed that all three scores-qSOFA, NEWS, and NEWS2-demonstrated good accuracy for all outcomes, with area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve values for sepsis-related mortality of 0.812, 0.858, and 0.848, respectively. In addition, the scores exhibited excellent accuracy in predicting ICU admission and the composite outcome of ICU admission or sepsis-related mortality. To our knowledge, this is the first study to evaluate the accuracy of NEWS in a population of patients with AML who did not undergo stem cell transplantation. These findings suggest that NEWS and NEWS2 are effective tools for identifying patients with AML at high risk of clinical deterioration during febrile neutropenia, supporting their use in clinical practice.</p>","PeriodicalId":74479,"journal":{"name":"Porto biomedical journal","volume":"9 5","pages":"266"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-10-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11469889/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142482648","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Porto biomedical journalPub Date : 2024-08-09eCollection Date: 2024-07-01DOI: 10.1097/j.pbj.0000000000000263
Maria I Sousa, Emanuel Dias, Patrícia Andrade, Guilherme Macedo
{"title":"Fecal calprotectin as an inflammatory biomarker in small bowel Crohn disease.","authors":"Maria I Sousa, Emanuel Dias, Patrícia Andrade, Guilherme Macedo","doi":"10.1097/j.pbj.0000000000000263","DOIUrl":"10.1097/j.pbj.0000000000000263","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Small bowel capsule endoscopy (SBCE) is an essential tool for evaluation of small bowel (SB) Crohn disease (CD). Fecal calprotectin (FC) represents an important biomarker of intestinal inflammation, widely used in ulcerative colitis and CD. Our aim was to evaluate the role of FC for diagnosing inflammatory activity in patients with isolated SB CD and how it correlates with SBCE findings.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This is a retrospective study conducted in a tertiary inflammatory bowel disease referral center that included patients with SB CD who underwent SBCE between January 2017 and February 2023. FC value was obtained from the closest stool examination to SBCE.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>One hundred ninety-six patients were included: 123 were women (63%) with a mean age of 44.2 years. In the SBCE, 127 (65%) patients had a Lewis Score ≥135 and, among the 94 patients with FC >200 μg/g, 23 had LS <135, 36 had LS between 135 and 790, and 35 had LS ≥790. FC levels were predictive of endoscopic lesions in SBCE, with significant correlation between FC level and total LS (Pearson correlation coefficient 0.43, <i>P</i><.001). The sensitivity and specificity were calculated for each cut-off value being respectively 78% and 45% for FC = 100 μg/g, 69% and 59% for FC = 150 μg/g and 67% and 67% for FC = 200 μg/g.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>FC showed moderate correlation with endoscopic findings in SBCE in SB CD. It is, therefore, a reasonable marker for predicting significant inflammatory lesions in SBCE; however, none of the cut-off had a high sensitivity or specificity.</p>","PeriodicalId":74479,"journal":{"name":"Porto biomedical journal","volume":"9 4","pages":"263"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-08-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11309623/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141918281","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Porto biomedical journalPub Date : 2024-07-24eCollection Date: 2024-07-01DOI: 10.1097/j.pbj.0000000000000261
José Guilherme Freitas, Teresa Ribeiro, Cláudia Moreira, Ilídia Moreira, José Mário Mariz
{"title":"When \"Myeloma\" is not a Myeloma: a case report of malignant bone lymphoma.","authors":"José Guilherme Freitas, Teresa Ribeiro, Cláudia Moreira, Ilídia Moreira, José Mário Mariz","doi":"10.1097/j.pbj.0000000000000261","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1097/j.pbj.0000000000000261","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":74479,"journal":{"name":"Porto biomedical journal","volume":"9 4","pages":"261"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11265780/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141763102","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Porto biomedical journalPub Date : 2024-07-11eCollection Date: 2024-07-01DOI: 10.1097/j.pbj.0000000000000262
Sofia L E Fernandes, Filipa A G de Carvalho
{"title":"Preimplantation genetic testing: A narrative review.","authors":"Sofia L E Fernandes, Filipa A G de Carvalho","doi":"10.1097/j.pbj.0000000000000262","DOIUrl":"10.1097/j.pbj.0000000000000262","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Preimplantation genetic testing (PGT) is a diagnostic procedure that has become a powerful complement to assisted reproduction techniques. PGT has numerous indications, and there is a wide range of techniques that can be used, each with advantages and limitations that should be considered before choosing the more adequate one. In this article, it is reviewed the indications for PGT, biopsy and diagnostic technologies, along with their evolution, while also broaching new emerging methods.</p>","PeriodicalId":74479,"journal":{"name":"Porto biomedical journal","volume":"9 4","pages":"262"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11236403/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141592343","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}