Valeria Mocanu

Introduction: The aim of this study was to evaluate the results of combined treatment with CO2 laser microsurgery and interferon (IFN α2b) in children suffering from the laryngeal papillomatosis. Material and method: In the study were included during a 14 years period (1996–2009) 32 [for full text, please go to the a.m. URL]

Objectives: COVID-19 has varied clinical manifestations, from asymptomatic to severe cases, and conjunctivitis is one of them, but sometimes a lone initial symptom is found to be present. The aim of this study was to identify the prevalence of conjunctivitis as the first symptom in COVID-19 patients in a primary healthcare unit. Methodology: A retrospective study was conducted, analyzing the presenting complains/symptoms and results of COVID-19-confirmatory tests. Results: Out of the 672 cases that were sent for RT-PCR testing, only 121 (18%) were found to be positive. Among these, 2.67% patients had both conjunctivitis and COVID-19, 77.77% patients had unilateral eye affected, while 22.22% had bilateral conjunctivitis of varying degrees. Fifteen patients diagnosed to have both acute conjunctivitis and COVID-19 presented other symptoms associated with COVID-19 infection. Three patients had only acute conjunctivitis during their entire course of COVID-19. Conclusions: Conjunctivitis ...

Tracheotomy is a surgical procedure in which a direct airway is open in the trachea. Conventional tracheotomy is the procedure of election in pediatric patients. The goal of this study was to assess the indications and complications of pediatric tracheotomies performed in the Department of Pediatric Surgery of the Pediatric Hospital “Louis Turcanu” in Timisoara, from July 2011 to February 2013. Over the studied period 7 tracheotomies were performed. 6 (85.71%) were male and one (14.28%) was female. The age of the patients ranged between 3 months and 10.5 years, with a mean of 24.71 months. 6 of the patients (85.71%) were under one year of age. . In 5 of the 7 cases (71.42 the main indication was prolonged orotracheal intubation. In two cases (28.57%) tracheotomy was performed for upper airway obstruction. The overall rate of complications was 42.85%. They were all early complications: intraoperative bleeding in two cases and pneumothorax in one patient. Decannulation was performed s...

Background: Poorly informed college students tend to adopt the habit of cigarette smoking. This habit often continues into their adulthoods, adversely affecting the population’s health and increasing the burden on healthcare systems. Aim: We aimed at exploring the predictors of the avoidable habit of smoking. We performed an analysis of the correlation between the potential predictors (marijuana use among peers and truancy) and the tobacco smoking statuses of the students. Material and method: Our study sample included 2976 students from colleges in Timis County, Romania, during the 2018–2019 period. The gender distribution of the participants was 62.5% girls and 37.5% boys, between the ages 18 and 25 years. A logistic regression test was performed to determine the impact of some personal and environmental factors, which are responsible for heavy smoking in this population. Results: Our findings suggest that the degree of marijuana smoking among friends and the frequency of college ...

Ovarian cancer (OC) represents the most common and lethal gynecologic malignancy, due to its increased incidence and mortality rate. It is usually diagnosed in advanced stages and, even though surgery and platinum-based treatments are initially efficient, recurrences emerge in over 70% of cases. Although there are multiple options of chemotherapy drugs from which to choose, little is known regarding the best strategy for prolonged survival. Thus, this study aimed to assess the effect that most frequently used chemotherapeutic regimens have upon time-to-treatment-failure (TTF) from the first line and beyond, considering clinical and biological factors which influence the treatment outcome of platinum-resistant recurrent OC. We retrospectively analyzed data from 78 patients diagnosed with platinum-resistant OC, who underwent chemotherapy-based treatment with or without anti-angiogenic therapy at OncoHelp Oncology Center, Romania (January 2016–February 2021). Our study identified posit...

Objectives: Streptococcus pneumoniae is the leading bacterial etiologic agent in acute otitis media (AOM), and it produces a more severe inflammatory response than other otopathogens. Additionally, the presence of multidrug-resistant (MDR) S. pneumoniae is an important issue in the management of AOM. The present pilot study aimed to ascertain whether MDR S. pneumoniae is associated with a higher inflammatory response and/or a more severe disease. Methods: This was a prospective, single-center study on nonpneumococcal conjugate vaccine-immunized pediatric patients with severe AOM. Demographic and clinical characteristics were recorded. Middle ear fluid was obtained and cultured for each patient; antibiotic-resistance profiling was tested for S. pneumoniae isolates. The C-reactive protein (CRP) level and complete blood count were determined. Patients with positive middle ear fluid culture for S. pneumoniae were divided into 2 groups according to antibiotic resistance profile: MDR and ...

Background and objective: Amblyopia is the leading cause of visual impairment in children and adults and is very common during childhood. The aim of this study was to identify the prevalence and the risk factors of amblyopia in a pediatric population with refractive errors from an Eastern European country. Materials and methods: A total of 1231 children aged 5–16 years, who had refractive errors and were examined from January to August 2017, were enrolled in a cross-sectional population-based study. Every child underwent a complete ophthalmological exam. Amblyopia was defined as a visual acuity (VA) of less than 0.63. The study respected the Multi-Ethnic Pediatric Eye Disease Study (MEPEDS) criteria for defining amblyopia (MEPEDS, 2008). Parents participated in a face-to-face interview. The questionnaire contained details about their family history of amblyopia; the child’s maternal nutritional status in the preconception period; their history of maternal smoking or work in a toxic ...

The juvenile laryngeal papillomatosis is the most frequent benign tumour of the larynx. In 1800 Sir Morrel MacKenzie describes papillomas as pharyngo-laryngeal lesions at a child, and the term of juvenile laryngeal papillomatosis has been introduced by Chevalier Jakson in 1940. The etiological agent is HPV types 6 and 11 and the section of the respiratory tract the most frequently infected is the squamocolumelar junction. Juvenile laryngeal papillomatosis is a disease more frequent between 3 and 5 years, characterised by multiple relapses and exuberant growth at the level of the laryngeal mucosa. The annual costs of the treatment of this disease are over 123 million USD. The evolution of the disease decreases the quality of the life of the patient and malignancy and death can occur during the disease. Objectives: bringing new informations about the etiology, the diagnosis and the treatment of the disease for the specialties that deal with this pathology, especially paediatrics and o...

Background and aims: C-reactive protein (CRP) is an inflammatory biomarker that may be associated with diabetic retinopathy (DR). The body mass index (BMI) is an important element, frequently evaluated in patients with diabetes mellitus. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between CRP, BMI and existing DR in type 2 diabetes (T2DM) subjects. Material and method: Thirty T2DM patients aged 35-50 were subjected to a general, ophthalmologic and fundus examination. Results: 9 of the 30 patients (30%) didn’t presented changes in the fundus examination. 15 (50%) presented minor retinal changes while 6 (20%) were diagnosed with DR: one case of nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy, 2 cases of preproliferative DR and 3 cases of proliferative DR. In patients with normal fundus examination and minor retinal changes, CRP was positive in the majority of the cases (95.8%). CRP was positive in only one patient in the group with diagnosed DR. BMI was increased in 85.71% of th...

Background and aims: Our aim was to evaluate the association between the potential risk factors and the different stages of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in a population aged 52-85 years. Material and methods: One hundred and ten patients with different stages of AMD were evaluated by direct interview for identifying possible present factors risk and were subjected to a detailed ophthalmological examination, including measurement of the macular area by the Spectral Domain-Optical Coherence Tomograph Heidelberg Engineering (SD-OCT). For the grading of AMD we used the International Classification and Grading System for Age-Related Maculopathy. Results: In our study, diabetes, arterial hypertension, dyslipidemia and smoking were risk factors for AMD. A longer history of diabetes or smoking status was associated with stage 3 or 4 of AMD. We found no statistical significant association between pseudophakia and AMD. Conclusions: Further investigation is needed to identify and to ...