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Aim-Background: A high prevalence of undernutrition has been recorded in hospital patients. The aim of our study was to investigate the prevalence of malnourished patients in a Greek district hospital. Methods: All patients admitted during a 30-day period were recorded. Their demographic data as well as their NRS 2002 scores and length of hospital stay were analyzed. Results: A total of 290 patients (132 men and 158 women with a mean age of 62 years) were enrolled in the study. Patients in the internal medicine and cardiology clinic had a higher prevalence of undernutrition compared with those in general surgery and orthopaedics. Sixty-six patients (22.7%) had a NRS 2002 score ≥3 at admission. There was no significant difference in their score at discharge. Lower education level and monthly incomes, as well as aging, were adversely related with the prevalence of undernutrition on admission. Conclusions: The prevalence of undernutrition of patients admitted to our hospital was higher in the internal medicine and cardiology clinics. Undernourished patients had a longer hospital stay, but their nutritional status did not deteriorate during hospitalization. Nutritional support should be introduced in order to improve the outcome and reduce the costs of treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to detect any improvement in left ventricular diastolic dysfunction in hypertensive patients 1 month after cilazapril therapy. Twenty-three patients, 5 men and 18 women (mean age, 53.52 ± 9.10 years), with mild or moderate hypertension (160 ± 13/98 ± 10mm Hg), and free of other cardiac or systemic diseases, were studied using ultrasonic automated boundary detection (ABD) and pulsed Doppler echocardiography, before and 1 month after a daily dose of 2.5 mg of cilazapril. The following new ABD diastolic indices were determined: the time rate of area change in early diastole (d/d), that in late diastole (d/d), and their ratio (d/d)/(d/d), while Doppler transmitral flow measurements of left ventricular diastolic filling were also simultaneously recorded. The ABD results showed left ventricular diastolic dysfunction (LVDD) in 9 of 23 patients (39%) compared with the ABD values of 12 normal volunteers. Neither method revealed any significant difference before and after treatment in the patient group as a whole. However, in the group of 9 patients with diastolic dysfunction, the ABD ratio (d/d)/(d/d) was significantly improved after cilazapril therapy (1.20 ± 0.21 versus 1.41 ± 0.17; P < 0.05). We concluded that a large percentage (39%) of patients with mild or moderate hypertension had reduced diastolic performance of the left ventricle at a stage of the disease when systolic dysfunction and/or hypertrophy were not evident. Significant improvement of diastolic dysfunction in hypertensive patients could be detected by the proposed ABD new diastolic indices 1 month after cilazapril therapy. In conclusion, automatic boundary detection should be a useful non-invasive modality for the early diagnosis of left ventricular diastolic dysfunction, as well as early recognition of its improvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective-To investigate the relation between total serum IgE at 0.5-3 and 3-6 years, and the risk of allergic sensitisation and persistent wheezing up to 8 years of age. Methods-Prospective follow up study of 45 infants with highly recurrent wheezing, no allergic symptoms, and negative skin tests. Results-In the last follow up year, 15 children still suffered from wheezing. Five wheeze-free and four episodically wheezing children had become sensitised. No association was found between early (0.5-3 years) IgE z scores and the recurrence of wheezing during follow up, or atopic sensitisation. IgE z scores at 3-6 years were significantly higher in children with positive skin tests (p = 0.013), but were still not associated with recurrence of wheezing. Conclusions-In subjects with frequent early wheezing and no signs of atopy, early total serum IgE measurements are not predictive of outcome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]