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Background: In Poland, a national hepatitis B (HBV) immunization program was introduced for neonates in 1996, and between 2000 and 2011, those born from 1986 to 1995 were vaccinated. Little is known about vaccination rates among adults born before 1986. This study aimed to determine the frequency of anti-HBs seropositivity rates related to vaccination and past HBV infection in older Poles., Methods: The HBV serological status was analyzed in 5781 (96.6%) of the PolSenior2 population-based cohort (60+) by assessing serum seropositivity for HBs antigen, anti-HBs, and anti-HBc antibodies. The survey was performed in 2018-2019 and included medical and socio-economic questionnaires, anthropometric measurements, and comprehensive geriatric assessment., Results: Serological status implying past hepatitis B and serological profile consistent with anti-HBV vaccination corresponded to 15.2% (95% CI: 13.4-17.0) and 25.2% (95% CI: 23.4-27.0) prevalences, respectively. Female gender, living in a town or city, having better education, and suffering from coronary artery disease, or depression independently increased the rate of past hepatitis B. On the other hand, being 'white collar' and self-reliant, having the ability to use the Internet, and past surgical procedures in the last 5-year period were factors associated with a higher vaccination rate., Conclusions: More than 15% of older adults in Poland present serological profiles suggesting past hepatitis B, and one-fourth anti-HBV vaccination. Being functionally independent, 'white collar', using the Internet, and having past surgical procedures are factors associated with a higher chance of being vaccinated. Nevertheless, a large group of older adults should be prophylactically vaccinated due to increased exposure to medical procedures.

Background: In recent years, the implementation of artificial intelligence (AI) in health care is progressively transforming medical fields, with the use of clinical decision support systems (CDSSs) as a notable application. Laboratory tests are vital for accurate diagnoses, but their increasing reliance presents challenges. The need for effective strategies for managing laboratory test interpretation is evident from the millions of monthly searches on test results' significance. As the potential role of CDSSs in laboratory diagnostics gains significance, however, more research is needed to explore this area., Objective: The primary objective of our study was to assess the accuracy and safety of LabTest Checker (LTC), a CDSS designed to support medical diagnoses by analyzing both laboratory test results and patients' medical histories., Methods: This cohort study embraced a prospective data collection approach. A total of 101 patients aged ≥18 years, in stable condition, and requiring comprehensive diagnosis were enrolled. A panel of blood laboratory tests was conducted for each participant. Participants used LTC for test result interpretation. The accuracy and safety of the tool were assessed by comparing AI-generated suggestions to experienced doctor (consultant) recommendations, which are considered the gold standard., Results: The system achieved a 74.3% accuracy and 100% sensitivity for emergency safety and 92.3% sensitivity for urgent cases. It potentially reduced unnecessary medical visits by 41.6% (42/101) and achieved an 82.9% accuracy in identifying underlying pathologies., Conclusions: This study underscores the transformative potential of AI-based CDSSs in laboratory diagnostics, contributing to enhanced patient care, efficient health care systems, and improved medical outcomes. LTC's performance evaluation highlights the advancements in AI's role in laboratory medicine., (© Dawid Szumilas, Anna Ochmann, Katarzyna Zięba, Bartłomiej Bartoszewicz, Anna Kubrak, Sebastian Makuch, Siddarth Agrawal, Grzegorz Mazur, Jerzy Chudek. Originally published in JMIR Medical Informatics (https://medinform.jmir.org).)

Nowadays, there is an increasing emphasis on the need to alleviate the chronic inflammatory response to effectively treat hypertension. However, there are still gaps in our understanding on how to achieve this. Therefore, research on interaction of antihypertensive drugs with the immune system is extremely interesting, since their therapeutic effect could partly result from amelioration of hypertension-related inflammation, in which macrophages seem to play a pivotal role. Thus, current comprehensive studies have investigated the impact of repeatedly administered hypotensive drugs (captopril, olmesartan, propranolol, carvedilol, amlodipine, verapamil) on macrophage functions in the innate and adaptive immunity, as well as if drug-induced effects are affected by a high-sodium diet (HSD), one of the key environmental risk factors of hypertension. Although the assayed medications increased the generation of reactive oxygen and nitrogen intermediates by macrophages from standard fed donors, they reversed HSD-induced enhancing effects on macrophage oxidative burst and secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines. On the other hand, some drugs increased macrophage phagocytic activity and the expression of surface markers involved in antigen presentation, which translated into enhanced macrophage ability to activate B cells for antibody production. Moreover, the assayed medications augmented macrophage function and the effector phase of contact hypersensitivity reaction, but suppressed the sensitization phase of cell-mediated hypersensitivity under HSD conditions. Our current findings contribute to the recognition of mechanisms, by which excessive sodium intake affects macrophage immune activity in hypertensive individuals, and provide evidence that the assayed medications mitigate most of the HSD-induced adverse effects, suggesting their additional protective therapeutic activity., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS.. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: Hypertension is a leading cardiovascular risk factor. Accurate blood pressure (BP) measurement is pivotal in hypertension diagnosis and management. Conventional office blood pressure measurements (OBPMs) are error‑prone, exacerbated by the white‑coat effect. Unattended automated office blood pressure measurement (UAOBPM) is emerging as an alternative, mitigating the white‑coat effect. However, its ability to predict hypertension‑mediated organ damage (HMOD) remains disputable., Objectives: This study compares UAOBPM with OBPM in terms of their association with various types of HMOD, including left ventricular hypertrophy, left atrial enlargement, left ventricular systolic and diastolic dysfunction, intima‑media complex thickening, microalbuminuria, and abnormal pulse wave velocity., Patients and Methods: A total of 219 hypertensive patients were recruited, interviewed, and examined. Subsequently, BP measurements were conducted in a randomized manner: 1) UAOBPM, after 5 minutes of solitary rest in an examination room, BP was automatically measured 3 times at 1‑minute intervals; 2) OBPM, after 5 minutes of rest, a physician performed 3 consecutive BP measurements at 1‑minute intervals. Subsequent evaluations aimed to detect HMOD and included echocardiography, carotid artery ultrasound, pulse wave velocity assessment, and laboratory tests., Results: UAOBP values were lower than the OBP ones (mean [SD], 124.7 [14.4] vs 128.2 [14.2] mm Hg; P <0.001 for systolic BP, and 73.3 [10.2] vs 75.2 [10.6] mm Hg; P <0.001 for diastolic BP). Correlation and receiver operating characteristic curve analyses revealed no superiority of either method in predicting HMOD., Conclusions: The UAOBPM did not prove superior to OBPM in predicting HMOD. Further research is warranted to determine the role of UAOBPM in clinical practice.

I n t r o d u c t i o n: Seasonal variation has been observed for bacterial and viral infections (e.g., COVID-19 [1]), but also for numerous cardiac problems. However, little information is available on the seasonality of infectious endocarditis (IE), a rare disease that is usually linked to a bacterial origin. Data from the Polish population are lacking. Materials and M e t h o d s: Our retrospective study focused on the identification of patients with IE, who were hospitalized at the University Hospital in Krakow between 2005-2022. For this purpose, we searched the medical records system using the ICD-10 code. We decided to divide our patients into four groups (winter, spring, summer, autumn), based on the date of admission to the hospital. Comparison of the distribution of IE incidents by season was performed with the ch2 test. R e s u l t s: One hundred and ten patients were included in the study (median age 62.5 years (range 20-94), 72 men (65.45%)). The left native valve IE was diagnosed in 49% of the patients, the prosthetic valve IE in 16%, the right valve IE in 27% and the implantable cardiac electronic devices IE in 12% of the subjects. The outcomes comprised of cardiac surgery (n = 53), embolism (n = 16), death (n = 15) and metastatic infections (n = 5). No differences in the incidence of IE by season were observed. C o n c l u s i o n s: In the preliminary observation of IE cases of patients admitted to the University Hospital in Krakow, Poland no seasonal pattern of IE was detected. Therefore, IE should be taken into account in the differential diagnosis at any time of the year.

Background: The foramen magnum is the largest opening at the base of the skull. The dimensions of the foramen magnum are of significant clinical importance because of the vital structures that pass through it. The aim of the study was the morphometric analysis of the foramen magnum in children based on head computed tomography (CT)., Materials and Methods: The study was carried out on 84 CTs of the head of children aged 0-18 years; seven age groups were distinguished. The sagittal and transverse dimensions were measured to determine the growth rate, changes between groups, and differences in the foramen size by sex. Statistical analysis of changes was performed., Results: The entire group's mean transverse and sagittal dimensions were 29.08 mm (standard deviation [SD] 3.4 mm) and 35.63 (SD 4.23) mm. By sex, the mean transverse dimension in girls was 28.53 (SD 3.25) mm, and in boys, 29.6 (SD 3.49) mm. The mean sagittal dimension was 35.15 (SD 3.76) mm in girls and 36.09 (SD 4.64) mm in boys. Both dimensions were higher for the male sex. A statistically significant increase in the foramen magnum size was demonstrated up to the age of 36 months in the following age groups; above that age, the increase was statistically insignificant., Conclusions: The dimensions were similar to those described in adults a moderate dependence of the foramen magnum size on age was found.

Hypertension remains the leading preventable risk factor for stroke and coronary artery disease, significantly contributing to all-cause global mortality and predisposing patients to renal and heart failure, as well as peripheral vascular disease. Due to the widespread usage of antihypertensive drugs, global mean blood pressure has remained unchanged or even slightly decreased over the past four decades. However, considering the broad spectrum of mechanisms involved in the action of antihypertensive drugs and the prevalence of their target receptors on immune cells, possible immunomodulatory effects which may exert beneficial effects of lowering blood pressure but also potentially alter immune function should be considered. In this review, we attempt to assess the consequences to immune system function of administering the five most commonly prescribed groups of antihypertensive drugs and to explain the mechanisms behind those interactions. Finally, we show potential gaps in our understanding of the effects of antihypertensive drugs on patient health. With regard to the widespread use of these drugs in the adult population worldwide, the discussed results may be of vital importance to evidence-based decision-making in daily clinical practice., Competing Interests: Conflict of interest statement The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS.. All rights reserved.)

Monitoring airborne pollutants, like aromatic hydrocarbons, are raising more and more concerns recently. Various sampling techniques and methods are known to collect, measure, and analyse environmental pollution levels based on honey bee bodies or bee product samples. Although honey bees are studied in detail and sampling methods are becoming more and more sophisticated biological samples may significantly differ in pollutant accumulation, showing a wide range of pollution levels even in the same site and environment. We have compared the pollution levels of honey bee capped brood and bee bread (pollen collected by honey bees and deposited in the hive) originating from four sites during two years of study and twelve honey bee families near various pollution sources emitting monocyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (BTEX) to the environment. Our result showed, that the environmental monitoring of BTEX can be based on sampling honey bees, and bee bread in particular. However, we found a significant difference in the uptake of these pollutants regarding sample type. Pollen collected as a food source revealed consistently higher levels of BTEX than bee brood, as well as some other differences in pollution levels between samples and between seasons, as opposed to capped brood. Based on our results, we suggest that for measuring and monitoring of BTEX pollution in the environment the use of bee bread is a valuable source of information., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)