MEDICINOS FAKULTETAS (04)

Background There is a lack of reliable epidemiological data on long-term survival trends of first-ever stroke patients in Lithuanian population.

Aims To evaluate trends in long-term survival after stroke and to determine the influence of some sociodemographic and lifestyle factors, time and subtype of stroke, and stroke care on survival.

Methods All stroke events included in Kaunas stroke register database were ascertained and validated according to the standardized criteria outlined by the WHO MONICA Project. The study included all patients in Kaunas (Lithuania) city aged 25 to 64 years who experienced a stroke between 1986 and 2011. Death time was confirmed by the Office for National Death Statistics. Estimates of stroke long-term survival data and factors influencing survival changes were made by applying the Kaplan-Meier and Cox regression analysis.

Results During the study period, 4,129 persons aged 25–64 years suffered from a first-ever stroke: 2,215 (53.6%) of them were men and 1,914 (46.4%)—women. Ischemic stroke was significantly more frequent in males than in females (80.6% and 78.6%, respectively, p<0.05) and subarachnoid hemorrhage was more common in women than in men (9.0% and 7.0% respectively, p <0.05). Of all first-ever stroke patients, 3,272 (79.2%) survived 1 year and 2,905 (70.4%) survived 5 years after stroke onset. The 1- and 5-years survival rate after a first-ever stroke in women was significantly higher as compared with that in men (Log-rank test p = 0.0001). The older (55–64 year) persons had poorer 1-year and 5-years survival rate as compared with persons in the younger (25–54 years) age group (Log-rank test p = 0.0001). Among persons with a first-ever stroke who had their stroke in 2007–2011, 1- and 5-year survival rate was higher compared with that in persons who had had a stroke in 1986–1990 and in 1997–2001 (Log-rank test p = 0.0001). The persons with a first-ever ischemic stroke had a better chance to survive first 1- and 5-years after stroke compared with persons who had intracerebral or subarachnoid haemorrhage. Only female gender was associated with higher 1- and 5-year survival rate after first-ever stroke. The older age, previous myocardial infarction and diabetes mellitus were associated with lower 1- and 5-year survival rate after first-ever stroke.

Conclusions This population-based study of patients with first-ever stroke demonstrated that the long-term survival was better in women than men, and improved significantly in both men and women during the past decade. Long-term survival was better of those with first-ever ischemic stroke and of younger age– 25 to 54 years.

Colorectal tumors have an impaired gene expression. As microRNAs (miRNAs) are involved in post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression we performed high-troughput miRNA profiling of 20 Adenomatous Polyp, 20 CRC and 32 healthy control formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded samples using small RNA sequencing approach.

Background

Tuberculosis (TB) is a public health problem in Lithuania, among the 18 high-priority TB countries in the European region, and the most common AIDS-indicative disease with the highest proportion in the EU/EEA since 2015. The study aimed to identify socio-demographic, clinical characteristics and their relationship with TB outcomes in TB-HIV co-infected patients in Lithuania.

Methods

A retrospective chart review analysed the characteristics of TB-HIV co-infected adults registered in State Information System of Tuberculosis over 2008–2020. The factors associated with drug-resistant TB and unsuccessful treatment outcome were identified by multivariable logistic regression.

Results

The study included 345 cases in 311 patients (239 new, 106 previously treated cases), median age 40 years (IQR 35–45), 80.7% male. 67.8% patients knew their HIV-positive status before TB diagnosis, median time to TB diagnosis was 8 years (IQR 4–12). 83.6% were unemployed, 50.5%—anytime intravenous drug users (IDU), 34.9% abused alcohol. Drug-resistant TB rates in new and previously treated TB cases were 38.1% and 61.3%, respectively. In multivariable analysis, higher risk of drug-resistant TB was associated with imprisonment in new (aOR 3.35; 95%CI 1.17–9.57) and previously treated (aOR 6.63; 95%CI 1.09–40.35) cases. In 52.3% of new TB cases and in 42.5% previously treated TB cases the treatment outcomes were unsuccessful. In multivariable analysis of new TB cases, current imprisonment (aOR 2.77; 95%CI 1.29–5.91) and drug-resistant TB (aOR 2.18; 95%CI 1.11–4.28) were associated with unsuccessful treatment outcome. In multivariable analysis of previously treated TB cases, female gender (aOR 11.93; 95%CI 1.86–76.69), alcohol abuse (aOR 3.17; 95%CI 1.05–9.58), drug-resistant TB (aOR 4.83; 95%CI 1.53–15.28) were associated with unsuccessful treatment outcome.

Conclusions

In the TB-HIV-infected adult cohort in Lithuania, unemployment, imprisonment, IDU, alcohol abuse, known to be risk factors for TB, were very frequent. Drug resistance was an undeniable risk factor for unsuccessful treatment outcome and imprisonment was associated with drug resistant TB.

This dataset contains the data of patients with multiple sclerosis on:

1. Demographic details (sex, age, disease course and duration);
2. Vestibular testing results (caloric testing, cervical vestibular evoked myogenic potencials, visual evoked potencials)
3. Questionnaire data (Dizziness Handicap Inventory, System Usability Scale, Visual analog scale);
4. Subjective visual vertical testing results (static, dynamic, three head positions). Also, the dataset contains demographical and subjective visual vertical data of healthy controls.