Recent Publications

Letter to the editor (The Pathophysiology of COVID-19 and SARS-CoV-2 Infection)

Letter to the editor (The Pathophysiology of COVID-19 and SARS-CoV-2 Infection)

Letter to the editor

Invited commentary.

Trauma is the leading cause of death among casualties between 1-44 years. A large proportion of trauma deaths occurs even before arriving at a medical facility. The paucity of prehospital data is a major reason for the lagging development of prehospital trauma care research. This study aims to describe the Israel Defense Forces Prehospital Trauma Registry, the steps taken to improve data collection and quality, the resulting trends, and the registry's contribution to policymaking.

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is associated with a variety of tumors and nonmalignant conditions. Latent EBV genomes in cells, including tumor cells, are often CpG methylated, whereas virion DNA is not CpG methylated. We demonstrate that methyl CpG binding magnetic beads can be used to fractionate among sources of EBV DNA (DNA extracted from laboratory-purified virions vs DNA extracted from latently infected cell lines). We then applied the technique to plasma specimens and showed that this technique can distinguish EBV DNA from patients with EBV-associated tumors (nasopharyngeal carcinoma, Hodgkin lymphoma) and viral DNA from patients without EBV-associated tumors, including immunocompromised patients and patients with EBV(-) Hodgkin lymphoma.

We conducted a prospective study to determine if the combination of pregnancy and surgical delivery (SD)/cesarean section (CS) is a stronger triggering factor for thromboembolic events than the combination of pregnancy and vaginal delivery (VD). This issue relates to the fact that VD and SD/CS are by themselves thrombophilic triggers.

Retained common bile duct (CBD) stone after an acute episode of biliary pancreatitis is of paramount importance since stone extraction is mandatory. The aim of this was to generate a simple non-invasive score to predict the presence of CBD stone in patients with biliary pancreatitis. (Tawfik Khoury, Anas Kadah, Mahmud Mahamid, Amir Mari, Wisam Sbeit)

Cesarean sections, particularly non-elective cesareans, are an important risk factor for the development of postpartum endometritis, a leading cause of postpartum febrile morbidity. We evaluated the yield of obtaining routine intrauterine culture during elective and non-elective cesarean sections, in the prevention and management of postpartum endometritis. (Inshirah Sgayer, Tomer Gur, Daniel Glikman, Hagai Rechnitzer, Jacob Bornstein, Maya Frank Wolf)

The accuracy of a cytology diagnosis obtained by fine needle aspiration (FNA) is influenced by several factors such as the technique used and the experience of both the aspirator as well as the cytologist. In this trial we planned to evaluate the interobserver differences of thyroid nodule cytopathology in our medical center

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is the most common systemic autoimmune disease characterized by chronic systemic inflammation. Half of the deaths of patients with RA are due to cardiovascular diseases (CVD). Patients with RA also experience poor sleep, which by itself is associated with endothelial dysfunction, CVD events and sudden death. OUR AIM: was to study the mechanistic pathways and the correlations between sleep efficiency and vascular reactivity of patients with RA.

In Minerva Gastroenterologica e Dietologica 

Lymphangioma is a malformation of the lymphatic system, for which surgical excision is a possible treatment. However, complete excision may be hindered by the lesion's size, anatomical location, unclear borders and invasion to adjacent tissues. We describe a 14-year old girl who presented with a rapidly progressing axillary swelling. MRI and US revealed a lymphatic macrocystic multilocular lesion. Following pre- and intraoperative indocyanine green lymphography, a complete surgical excision was achieved without damage to collateral lymphatic channels or surrounding tissues. Intraoperative indocyanine green lymphography may be useful in achieving efficient and safe resection of lymphangioma without damaging unconnected lymphatics. (Assi Drobot, Samer Ganam, Nour Karra, Amitai Bickel, Ibrahim Abu Shakra, Eli Kakiashvili )

Post-surgical bleeding after tonsillectomy occurs in 2–7 per cent of cases. This study examined whether heart rate and haematocrit changes are associated with the amount of bleeding.

Lactobacilli administration has been suggested for the treatment and prevention of bacterial vaginosis, which increases the risk for preterm birth. We aimed to evaluate the vaginal colonization of lactobacilli orally administered to pregnant women at risk for preterm birth.