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Cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC) is a skin malignancy that is one of the non-melanocytic skin cancers (NMSCs). The objective of our study was to highlight the epidemiological and histological characteristics of cSCC diagnosed in a clinical county hospital.

Background: Lung cancer remains one of the leading causes of cancer-related mortality worldwide, with multiple independent risk factors contributing to its development. The objective of this study was represented by the impact of independent risk factors, such as smoking, anemia, cachexia or COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) for lung cancer development. Methods: We conducted a retrospective study, and we analyzed a database of 412 patients hospitalized between 1 February and 31 December 2023 in the Pulmonology Department of the Mureș County Clinical Hospital. Following the analysis of the inclusion and exclusion criteria, the final analyzed group included 115 patients. Results: From the study group, 88 patients were diagnosed with non-small cell lung cancer and 27 with small cell lung cancer. Of the non-small cell lung cancer patients, 50% had adenocarcinoma and 50% had squamous cell carcinoma. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and cardiovascular diseases predominate as concomitant pathologies, with 82 and 81 cases identified among the patients evaluated, respectively. The incidence of diabetes mellitus was n = 20 for the patients, followed by asthma and other neoplasms. The body mass index was also analyzed with an average of 24.6. Body mass index does not correlate with histological type. The mean hemoglobin value in the group of patients was 12.8, and this could not be correlated with the histopathological type. Conclusions: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and lung cancer may just be two different clinical presentations based on the same etiological factors, which also have a lot of overlapping pathophysiological mechanisms. Therefore, Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease represents an individual risk factor for developing lung cancer. Smoking, as well as anemia, cachexia or other comorbidities (COPD), are individual risk factors for lung cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/Objectives: Melanoma is an aggressive skin malignancy, and the majority of deaths associated with melanoma result from malignant skin lesions. Our study aims to evaluate the expression of the markers CD133 and NANOG, associated with tumor stem cells, and to analyze their link with epidemiological and histological parameters, thus contributing to early diagnosis and the development of targeted therapies. Methods: We performed a retrospective study in the Mureș Clinical County Hospital, Romania, which included 66 cases of melanoma: 50 primary cutaneous melanomas, 10 metastases, and 6 local recurrences. CD133 and NANOG marker expression was assessed by immunohistochemistry and quantified using the H score. Statistical analyses were applied to determine the correlations between marker expression and clinicopathological parameters. Results: CD133 expression was identified in six cases (12%) of primary melanoma, with a mean H-Score of 29, and was associated with an increased Breslow index and a higher number of mitoses. NANOG expression was positive in 30 cases (60%) of primary melanoma, with a median H-Score of 15 and with increased expression observed in cases with pagetoid migration and lesions in situ. In metastases, eight cases (80%) were positive for NANOG and four (40%) for CD133. Local recurrences showed positive expression for NANOG in four cases (66%). Conclusions: The expression of CD133 and NANOG markers highlights the role of tumor stem cells in melanoma progression. Early identification of these markers could improve diagnosis and treatment, including the application of targeted therapies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

(1) Background: Melanoma represents the most aggressive form of skin cancer, with an increasing incidence and numerous risk factors. The COVID-19 pandemic has led to modifications in work protocols. This study aims to elucidate potential changes in the number and characteristics of primary melanomas diagnosed in the Pathology Department of the Târgu Mureș County Clinical Hospital before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic. (2) Methods: This study included 140 patients grouped into six periods: two pre-COVID-19 periods, the COVID-19 pandemic period, and three post-COVID-19 periods. Epidemiological data, diagnoses, and histopathological reports were analyzed. (3) Results: The number of cases diagnosed during the COVID-19 pandemic was significantly lower than in the other analyzed periods. Regarding the monitored parameters, a statistically significant increase was observed in the first two post-COVID-19 periods, with a return to values similar to those of the first period in the last analyzed period. Additionally, a statistically significant increase in the incidence of distant metastases was identified in the post-COVID-19 periods. (4) Conclusions: The COVID-19 pandemic had a negative impact on the diagnosis of new melanoma cases, leading to an increase in the number of cases and a worsening of prognostic parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introducere. Infecțiile la nou-născuți reprezintă un subiect studiat la scară largă la nivel mondial. Infecțiile neonatale sunt de două tipuri: cele cu debut precoce, dobândite, cu microrganisme provenite de la nivelul tractul genital feminin sau peripartum, și cele cu debut târziu, apărute ca urmare a unor proceduri invazive, din cauza unor germeni nosocomiali sau invazive, peri- sau postpartum. Obiective. Scopul studiului a fost identificarea unor factori predictivi ai infecțiilor neonatale cu debut precoce. Material și metode. Am realizat un studiu prospectiv în cadrul Clinicii de Neonatologie din cadrul Spitalului Clinic Județean din Tg. Mureș, România, în perioada ianuarie 2017 - martie 2019. Rezultate. În cadrul studiului, au fost incluși 120 de nou-născuți, dintre care 15 (12,5%) au avut scorul APGAR 10 la 1 minut. La 5 minute, 57 (47,5%) au avut APGAR 10. Tipul nașterii: 59 (49,2%) dintre pacienți au fost născuți pe cale vaginală și 61 (50,8%) prin cezariană. Vârsta gestațională medie a fost de 39,04 săptămâni. Greutatea medie la naștere a fost 3.197,33 g, iar la externare a fost de 3.126,12 g. Media lungimii fătului a fost 51,62 cm, iar media perimetrului cranian a fost 33,48 cm. Cel mai frecvent, pacienții au prezentat patologie infecțioasă neonatală precoce (n = 40), frecvent asociată cu afectarea sistemului pulmonar. Durata medie de spitalizare a fost de de 4 zile, cu o medie de spitalizare de 6,15 zile. Scorul APGAR la 1 minut și la 5 minute s-a corelat semnificativ statistic cu numărul de zile de internare și cu paritatea. Concluzii. Scorul APGAR la 1 minut și la 5 minute a reprezentat în studiul nostru cel mai fidel indicator pentru riscul de infecție neonatală. Valorile sale s-au corelat cu numărul de zile de internare. Numărul de zile de internare s-a corelat și cu paritatea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introducere. Pneumoniile la copii determină o rată mare a morbidității și mortalității, în special la copiii mici. Evoluția și prognosticul sunt influențate de o serie de parametri clinico-biologici, în raport cu vârsta copilului și cu terapia primită. Obiective. Evaluarea statusului proinflamator la pacienții cu pneumonie. Material şi metode. Studiul a fost realizat în cadrul Clinicii Pediatrie I din cadrul Spitalului Clinic Județean de Urgență din Târgu Mureș, România, în perioada septembire 2018 - decembrie 2019, și a inclus 95 de pacienți. Rezultate. Analiza nivelului seric al proteinei C reactive, varianta înalt-senzitivă (hsCRP), a arătat o corelație pozitivă, semnificativ statistică între nivelul la internare și numărul de neutrofile la internare (p = 03169, r = 0,2801), respectiv o corelație negativă, semnificativ statistică între nivelul la externare și nivelul leucocitelor (p = 0,0253, r = -0,2911), monocitelor (p = 0,0014, r = -0,4105) și neutrofilelor (p = 0,0335, r = -0,2793) la externare. Dintre cele trei citokine monitorizate (IL-1β. IL-6 și TNF-α), au fost observate corelații semnificativ statistic pentru TNF-α. Astfel, a fost identificată o corelație pozitivă, semnificativ statistică între valorile limfocitelor (p = 0,0007, r = 0,3448), monocitelor (p = 0,00563, r = 0,2896) și ale trombocitelor (p = 0,0335, r = 0,2195) la internare cu valorile markerului seric TNF-α. De asemenea, a fost identificată o corelație negativă, semnificativ statistică între valorile hemoglobinei (p = 0,0034, r = -0,328) și ale hematocritului (p = 0,0004, r = -0,3932) la externare cu valorile markerului seric TNF-α. Au fost observate următoarele corelații: corelație negativă, semnificativ statistică între TNF-α și NLR (p = 0,0144, r = -0,2601), NPR (p = 0,0473, r = -0,2051) și PLR (p = 0,0138, r = -0,2602), corelație pozitivă, semnificativ statistică între hsCRP la internare și NLR (p = 0,0124, r = 0,3264), NPR (p = 0,0073, r = 0,3460) și corelație pozitivă, semnificativ statistică între hsCRP la externare și NLR (p = 0,0189, r = 0,3128), PLR (p = 0,0036, r = 0,3831). Concluzii. Studiul nostru a arătat că valorile neutrofilelor, limfocitelor, monocitelor și trombocitelor, NLR, PLR și TNF-α au fost semnificativ crescute în pneumonii, corelându-se și cu PCR, subliniind statusul inflamator precoce apărut în acestă afecțiune. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction. Pneumonia in children causes a high rate of morbidity and mortality, especially in young children. The evolution and prognosis are influenced by a series of clinical-biological parameters, in relation to the child's age and the therapy received. Objectives. Assessment of proinflammatory status in patients with pneumonia. Material and methods. The study was conducted at the Pediatrics Clinic I within the Emergency County Clinical Hospital in Tg. Mures, Romania, between September 2018 and December 2019 and included 95 patients. Results. Analysis of the serum level of C-reactive protein, the high-sensitive form (hsCRP), showed a positive correlation, statistically significant between its level at admission and the number of neutrophils at admission (p = 03169, r = 0.2801), respectively a negative correlation, statistically significant between its level at discharge and the level of leukocytes (p = 0.0253, r = -0.2911), monocytes (p = 0.0014, r = -0.4105) and neutrophils (p = 0.0335, r = -0.2793) at discharge. From the three monitored cytokines (IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α) statistically significant correlations were observed for TNF-α. Thus, a positive, statistically significant correlation was identified between lymphocyte values (p = 0.0007, r = 0.3448), monocytes (p = 0.00563, r = 0.2896) and platelets (p = 0.0335, r = 0.2195) at admission with the values of the serum marker TNF-α. Also, a negative, statistically significant correlation was identified between hemoglobin values (p = 0.0034, r = -0.328) and hematocrit (p = 0.0004, r = -0.3932) at discharge and the TNF-α serum marker values. The following correlations were observed: negative correlation, statistically significant between TNF-α and NLR (p = 0.0144, r = -0.2601), NPR (p = 0.0473, r = -0.2051) and PLR (p = 0, 0138, r = -0.2602), positive correlation, statistically significant between hsCRP at admission and NLR (p = 0.0124, r = 0.3264), NPR (p = 0.0073, r = 0.3460) and positive correlation, statistically significant between hsCRP at discharge and NLR (p = 0.0189, r = 0.3128), PLR (p = 0.0036, r = 0.3831). Conclusions. Our study showed that the values of neutrophils, lymphocytes, monocytes and platelets, NLR, PLR and TNF-α were significantly increased in pneumonia, correlating with C-reactive protein, highlighting the early inflammatory status in this condition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Plantar fibromatosis also known as Morbus Ledderhose, first described in 1897 by Georg Ledderhose is characterized by slow-growing benign extra-abdominal desmoid nodules on the plantar aponeurosis. The etiology of this disease is unknown but is often associated with diabetes mellitus, liver disease, alcoholism, and repeated traumatic episodes of the soles. New possible causative agents reported in the literature are: drugs from the class of beta-blockers, anticonvulsants, nutritional supplements high in glucosamine or chondroitin, and high doses of vitamin C. Case presentation: In this report, we present the case of a 33-year-old caucasian male with a 5-year history of palpable nodule within the medial plantar region of the left sole, who denied any personal or family history that could be related to this disease, medications or alcohol consumption. Instead, he did report daily intake of nutritional supplements high in vitamin C, which corresponds to the onset of disease. Conclusion: Because our patient did not have any other predisposing factors that could lead to this pathology, we intend to highlight the fact that prolonged consumption of nutritional supplements high in vitamin C can influence the occurrence of Morbus Ledderhose. Further investigation between the long-term use of these nutritional supplements and the development of this pathology is necessary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Necrotizing fasciitis, considered to be a very rare and severe soft tissue infection, is associated with rapid progressive necrosis of subcutaneous tissue and superficial fascia. Although this rare condition has a very high mortality rate and requires prompt diagnosis as well as urgent treatment, there are no defined blood tests that can diagnose it. Case presentation: In this report, we present the case of a 51-year-old patient, known with mental and behavioral disorders due to alcohol abuse, liver cirrhosis, early liver encephalopathy, anemia, and hypoproteinemia, who presented to the Dermatovenerology department with a main complaint of hematoma at the level of the joint of elbow, appeared as a result of physical aggression. Despite the medical care, the patient's situation deteriorated, more accurately with the extended progression of erythema and sorrow, with deep hyperpigmentation and extended tenderness. As a consequence, the patient was transferred urgently to the plastic surgery department with the suspicion of necrotizing fasciitis as a diagnosis. Conclusion: Knowing that soft tissue necrotizing infections have an acute, aggressive, and rapidly progressive character, in patients with cirrhosis they occur more often than in the general population, because the phenomenon of bacterial translocation occurs in the intestinal lumen as a consequence of intestinal bacterial growth, increased permeability and decreased motility. Excessive growth of intestinal bacteria is also responsible for the occurrence of hyperammonemia, leading, consequently, to the appearance of hepatic encephalopathy. Considering those presented, complications place this group of patients in the category of those at high risk of mortality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]