Recent Publications

...We completely agree with Slouma et al that the presence of some chronic systemic disorders can cause a bias in the interpretation of the test. ...

There are limited data on the characteristics and clinical course of fungal infections in patients on durable left ventricular assist device (LVAD) support. We sought to further characterize the epidemiology and outcomes of LVAD patients with fungemia.

COVID-19 is "a once-in-a-century" pandemic, bringing with it unparalleled health, social, and economic ramifications. As part of the world's efforts to restrain the pandemic, vaccine development has been expedited. This population-representative survey in Israel aimed to investigate whether the knowledge, attitudes, and vaccination status of medical students affect their intention to recommend COVID-19 vaccination (as well as reasons for refusal and acceptance of the vaccine).

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is increasingly encountered. It is associated with several comorbid diseases. However, its association with infectious biliary diseases is still unknown. We aimed to assess whether NAFLD is a risk factor for the development of acute cholangitis among patients with common bile duct (CBD) stones.

Graves' disease (GD) can be managed by antithyroid drugs (ATD), radioactive iodine (RAI) and surgery....The aim of this review is to discuss possible reasons for the low proportion of surgery in the treatment of GD, emphasizing an evidence-based approach to the clinicians' preferences for surgical referrals, surgical indications and confronting traditional reasons and concerns relating to the low referral rate with up-to-date data.

The short-term reported antibody response to SARS-COV-2 vaccination in dialysis patients is high, with a seroconversion response rate up to 97%. Data on the long-term durability of this response are scarce. Our objective was to characterize the long-term anti-spike antibody level in dialysis patients.

Vaccination coverage of dose two of MMR (MMR2) at 5th birthday has been consistently low in London and measured 76.3% in 2018/19. Since the early 2000s seven boroughs in London started offering dose two earlier, from 15 to 18 months onwards instead of the recommended 3 years 4 months. In this study we investigate whether the accelerated schedule of MMR2 leads to a change in coverage of MMR2 and other childhood vaccines with an ecological study using childhood immunisation data from 2009 to 2018 in London.

This study aims to describe injury patterns, prehospital interventions and mortality rates of combat-related thoracic injuries during the past decade among Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers before and after implementation of the 2012 IDF-Military Corps 'My Brother's Keeper' plan which included the publication of clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) for thoracic injuries, emphasis on adequate torso protection, introduction of modern life-saving procedures and encouragement of rapid evacuation.

Living organisms repeatedly encounter stressful events and apply various strategies to survive.... We designed a study to investigate the levels of the urea cycle and polyamine synthesis-related enzymes in a fish model of acute hypoxia. 

Fatty pancreas (FP) has become an increasingly encountered entity in recent years. Several studies have shown an association with several disease states. We aimed to generate a simple non-invasive scoring model to predict the presence of FP.

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need for reliable and accurate diagnostic tools that provide quantitative results at the point of care. Real-time RT-PCR requires large laboratories, a skilled workforce, complex and costly equipment, and labor-intensive sample processing. Despite tremendous efforts, scaling up RT-PCR tests is seemingly unattainable. To date, hundreds of millions of COVID-19 tests have been performed globally, but the demand for timely, accurate testing continues to outstrip supply. Antigen-based rapid diagnostic testing is emerging as an alternative to RT-PCR. However, the performance of these tests, namely their sensitivity, is still inadequate. To overcome the limitations of currently employed diagnostic tests, new tools that are both sensitive and scalable are urgently needed. We have developed a miniaturized electrochemical biosensor based on the integration of specific monoclonal antibodies with a biochip and a measurement platform, and applied it in the detection of Spike S1 protein, the binding protein of SARS-CoV-2.

The benefits of surfactant administration via a thin catheter (minimally invasive surfactant therapy [MIST]) in preterm infants with respiratory distress syndrome are uncertain. Examines the effect of selective application of MIST at a low fraction of inspired oxygen threshold on survival without bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD).

Primary hyperoxaluria type 1 (PH1) is a rare genetic disease caused by hepatic overproduction of oxalate, leading to kidney stones, nephrocalcinosis, kidney failure, and systemic oxalosis. In the 6-month double-blind period (DBP) of ILLUMINATE-A, a phase 3, randomized, placebo-controlled trial in patients with PH1 ≥6 years old, treatment with lumasiran, an RNA interference therapeutic, led to substantial reductions in urinary oxalate (UOx) levels. We report data to month 12 in the extension period (EP) of ILLUMINATE-A, including patients who continued lumasiran (lumasiran/lumasiran) or crossed over from placebo to lumasiran (placebo/lumasiran).

Severe mitral annulus calcification (MAC) is believed to bear high operative and post-operative risk during mitral valve replacement (MVR) surgery, including longer surgery time, post-surgical valvular leaks and increased rate of embolic phenomena. We hypothesized that quantification of mitral calcium in pre-operative chest computerized tomography (CCT), performed to assess aortic root before cross-clamping may help in risk assessment of adverse intraoperative and postoperative outcomes in patients undergoing MVR. (Alexandra Kasim, Amjad Shalabi, Erez Kachel, Liza Grosman-Rimon, Michael Jerdev, Offer Amir, Shemy Carasso)

Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a potentially fatal perioperative complication. The objective of this study was to assess the rate and risk factors for VTE in endoscopic skull base surgery (ESBS).