Risk Factor Profile and Quality of Life of Psoriasis Vulgaris

Background: Psoriasis is an autoimmune human skin disease. It is a chronic and recurrent lesion characterized by erythema patches with well-defined borders with rough, multi-layered, and transparent scales with a significant negative impact on patients' quality of life. Several risk factors for psoriasis can decrease patient’ quality of life. Purpose: To determine the risk factor profile and quality of life of psoriasis patients at the dermatology and venereology outpatient clinic at Dr. Soetomo General Academic Hospital Surabaya. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study involving new and control psoriasis patients. Their risk factors were evaluated using questionnaires, and their quality of life was measured using the DLQI questionnaires. The data was collected at the Dermatology and Venereology outpatient unit Dr. Soetomo General Academic Hospital Surabaya. Result: Of the 24 patients, the biggest risk factor for psoriasis patients was trauma/ Koebner phenomenon, as reported in 15 patients (62.5%), and 11 patients’ (45.8%) quality of life was affected. Conclusion: Trauma was the largest risk factor for psoriasis, and psoriasis has significantly affected patient’ quality of life.

Gender Differences in Risk Factor Profile and Clinical Characteristics in 89 Consecutive Cases of Cerebral Venous Thrombosis

Gender has been shown to be an important variable in cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT) risk and significantly influences its clinical manifestations and outcome. The aim of our study was to investigate the gender-specific risk factor profile and clinical picture of this rare cerebrovascular disorder. Materials and methods: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 89 consecutive cases of CVT at a tertiary neurology clinic in Târgu Mures, Romania, between June 2009 and January 2021 to analyze the gender-related differences in etiology, clinical presentation, and outcome. Results: Women comprised 62.5% of the cohort. Females were significantly younger than males (37.3 years versus 48.8 years, respectively, p = 0.001), and the main risk factors were hormone related in 37.9% of the cases, followed by primary thrombophilia (34.4%), smoking (25.8%), obesity (17.2%), infections (17.2%), mechanical factors (17.2%), cancer (8.6%), systemic autoimmune disorders (8.6%), and hematological disorders (8.6%). In male patients, the main risk factors were smoking (41.9%), primary thrombophilia (29%), infections (22.6%), heavy alcohol consumption (16.1%), and venous thromboembolism in the medical history (12.9%). Frequency of headache was higher in females than in males (75.9% versus 67.7%), whereas frequency of coma (6.5% in males versus 1.7% in females) and dizziness (19.4% in males versus 10.3% in females) was higher in males. CVT onset was acute in 41.4% of females and 38.7% of males. The Rankin score at discharge was significantly lower in females compared with males (0.6 versus 1.6), reflecting a more favorable short-term outcome. Mortality was 6.4% in males and 1.7% in females. Conclusions: CVT is a multifactorial disorder that has a broad spectrum of risk factors with important gender-related differences in clinical manifestation and prognosis. Female patients, especially those with hormone-related risk factors, have a more favorable outcome than male patients.

RISK FACTOR PROFILE OF CHRONIC NON-COMMUNICABLE DISEASES IN DIFFERENT OBESITY PHENOTYPES

To study the features of modifiable biological and behavioral risk factors of chronic noncommunicable diseases in individuals with different metabolic phenotypes.

Clinical Features of Patients With Cervical Artery Dissection and Fibromuscular Dysplasia

Background and Purpose: Observational studies have suggested a link between fibromuscular dysplasia and spontaneous cervical artery dissection (sCeAD). However, whether patients with coexistence of the two conditions have distinctive clinical characteristics has not been extensively investigated. Methods: In a cohort of consecutive patients with first-ever sCeAD, enrolled in the setting of the multicenter IPSYS CeAD study (Italian Project on Stroke in Young Adults Cervical Artery Dissection) between January 2000 and June 2019, we compared demographic and clinical characteristics, risk factor profile, vascular pathology, and midterm outcome of patients with coexistent cerebrovascular fibromuscular dysplasia (cFMD; cFMD+) with those of patients without cFMD (cFMD–). Results: A total of 1283 sCeAD patients (mean age, 47.8±11.4 years; women, 545 [42.5%]) qualified for the analysis, of whom 103 (8.0%) were diagnosed with cFMD+. In multivariable analysis, history of migraine (odds ratio, 1.78 [95% CI, 1.13–2.79]), the presence of intracranial aneurysms (odds ratio, 8.71 [95% CI, 4.06–18.68]), and the occurrence of minor traumas before the event (odds ratio, 0.48 [95% CI, 0.26–0.89]) were associated with cFMD. After a median follow-up of 34.0 months (25th to 75th percentile, 60.0), 39 (3.3%) patients had recurrent sCeAD events. cFMD+ and history of migraine predicted independently the risk of recurrent sCeAD (hazard ratio, 3.40 [95% CI, 1.58–7.31] and 2.07 [95% CI, 1.06–4.03], respectively) in multivariable Cox proportional hazards analysis. Conclusions: Risk factor profile of sCeAD patients with cFMD differs from that of patients without cFMD. cFMD and migraine are independent predictors of midterm risk of sCeAD recurrence.

A STUDY OF RISK FACTOR PROFILE OF ATRIAL FIBRILLATION APPLYING CHA2DS2-VASC SCORE

Objective: To identify the risk factor profile of Atrial Fibrillation applying CHA2DS2-VASC scoring system Study Design: Descriptive cross-sectional study. Place and Duration of Study: The study was conducted in outdoor patient and emergency departments of Armed Forces Institute of Cardiology/National Institute of Heart Diseases in 4 months duration after approval of synopsis, from Sep 2019 to Dec 2019. Methodology: All patients with symptoms of palpitation and dyspnea were evaluated with detailed history, physical examination, electrocardiogram and 2-D echocardiography for collection of data. Patients who were found with Atrial Fibrillation on electrocardiogram and non-valvular on 2-D echocardiography were enrolled. Detailed History regarding CHA2DS2-VASC scoring system was taken. Patients with age <18 years, those with moderate rheumatic stenos is, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and Atrial Fibrillation with prosthetic valves were excluded. Data was entered and analyzed with SPSS-23. Results: Out of 100 patients enrolled, frequencies of male and female patients were 60 (60%) and 40 (40%) respectively. The age varied from 25 years to 89 years with a mean age of 64.27 ± 12 years. Maximum number of patients was between 65-74 years (31%). Hypertension (57%) was the most common risk factor after gender followed by age. Frequencies of other risk factors were congestive heart failure (33%), diabetes mellitus (18%), vascular disease (14%) and stroke/TIA/thrombo-embolism (13%). Paroxysmal atrial fibrillation was the most common type of atrial fibrillation observed (67%) followed by persistent atrial fibrillation (31%). The number of patients having CHA2DS2-VASC score 2 and greater than 2 were 76 (76%) and less than 2 were 24%. Conclusion: Our findings highlighted the prevalence of non-modifiable as well as modifiable predictors of thromboembolic phenomena in atrial fibrillation using CHA2DS2-VASC scoring system in our population.