Background: The prevalence of hyponatremia is highly variable among patients with lung cancer. However, its prevalence and prognostic significance in subgroups of patients with lung cancer have not yet been evaluated in a meta-analysis.Methods: We have registered our meta-analysis and review protocol to the PROSPERO International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews, with the following registration number: CRD42020167013. A systematic search was done in the following sources: MEDLINE, Embase, CENTRAL, Web of Science, ClinicalTrials.gov, a WHO Global Health Library.Results: We identified a total of 8,962 potentially eligible studies, and we included 31 articles in our evaluation. The prevalence of hyponatremia in patients with lung cancer varied between 3 and 94.8% with an average of 25% without any significant differences between the following subgroups: histotype, gender, age, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) state, and the extent of disease. The overall survival (OS) was significantly lower in hyponatremic compared to normonatremic patients at 10 months [RR.59 (95% CI.47–0.74), p < 0.001] and at 20 months [RR.44 (95% CI.33–0.59), p < 0.001], with worse survival rates in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) [RR.27 (95% CI.12–0.44), p < 0.001] than in small cell lung cancer (SCLC) [RR.42 (95% CI.27–0.57), p < 0.001]. If hyponatremia was corrected, OS at 10 months was significantly higher than in the uncorrected hyponatremia group [RR 1.83 (95% CI 1.37–2.44), p < 0.001], but, at 20 months, no statistically significant difference could be found between these subgroups [RR 2.65 (95% CI.94–7.50), p = 0.067].Conclusions: Patients with lung cancer diagnosed with hyponatremia, especially patients with NSCLC, seem to have significantly lower survival rates than normonatremic patients. If hyponatremia remains uncorrected, the mortality rates might be even higher.

Thyroglobulin (Tg) is the most important tumor marker in differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC). The aim of this study was to assess the diagnostic and prognostic roles of postoperative stimulated and postablative lowest, highest, and one-year non-stimulated Tg values obtained during the follow-up of patients with DTC. In this retrospective study, 222 radioiodine-treated, anti-thyroglobulin antibody (TgAb)-negative DTC patients having at least 9 months’ follow-up time were included (172 papillary and 50 follicular cancers; median age: 48 (from 15 to 91) years; female–male ratio: 158/64; median (quartiles) follow-up time: 54 (22–97) months). The 2015 American Thyroid Association guidelines were applied as criteria of the therapeutic response. Postoperative stimulated Tg values had significantly lower diagnostic accuracy than any of the non-stimulated postablative Tg values. One-year non-stimulated Tg had excellent prognostic value for structural disease: a cut-off value of 0.85 ng/mL had an 88.1% diagnostic accuracy. If the Tg value did not decrease below 0.75 ng/mL at any time during follow-up, the risk of residual disease was 25 times higher. The highest non-stimulated Tg during follow-up was the best predictor of residual disease (e.g., a Tg value exceeding 7.7 ng/mL indicated a 30-fold increase in risk). Non-stimulated Tg values measured during follow-up have excellent diagnostic accuracy to predict structural disease in DTC patients. The risk classification of a patient can safely be modified based on even a single Tg measurement.

The correlation between cholesterol and risk reduction is unique: no J curve is seen even at extreme low levels. According to PRECISE-IVUS, the effect of intensive cholesterol lowering on plaque regression is more pronounced post-myocardial infarction syndrome than in chronic coronary disease. The importance of LDL-C lowering with ezetimibe in IMPROVE-IT (1.4 mmol/L compared to 1.8 mmol/L in the statin monotherapy arm) is expressed in several international guidelines and the indication spectrum of combination cholesterol lowering has broadened and strengthened. There is a strong evidence that myalgia during statin treatment is generally not caused by statins and it is not related to type or dose of the drug. With patience, the majority of patients can be made to become statin takers even with good quality of life; for those who cannot, ezetimibe monotherapy can be an alternative. Even though intensive cholesterol lowering is safe, avoiding statin myopathy should be emphasized. Despite the outstanding efficacy and safety of cholesterol lowering, Hungarian statin sales have decreased recently, in which driven dilettante public climate around the products may be of utmost importance. Everyone of us should counteract this according to the possibilities. Orv Hetil. 2018; 159(32): 1303–1309.

Background: The adrenocortical system and copeptin as prognostic markers were intensively investigated in critical illness. The potential predictive power of apelin-13 as a biomarker is largely unknown. We aimed to investigate the prognostic role of apelin-13 in relation to free cortisol, aldosterone, CRH, and copeptin in critically ill patients. Methods: In this prospective observational study, 124 critically ill patients (64 men, 60 women, median age: 70 (59–78) years) were consecutively enrolled at the time of admission. All routinely available clinical and laboratory parameters were evaluated and correlated to hormonal changes. Results: Serum apelin-13 was 1161 (617–2967) pg/mL in non-survivors vs. 2477 (800–3531) pg/mL in survivors (p = 0.054). The concentrations of apelin-13 and CRH had strong positive correlations (r = 0.685, p < 0.001) and were significantly higher in surviving non-septic patients (Apelin-13 (pg/mL): 2286 (790–3330) vs. 818 (574–2732) p < 0.05; CRH (pg/mL) 201 (84–317) vs. 89 (74–233) p < 0.05). Apelin-13 and free cortisol were independent determinants of survival in the multivariate Cox regression analysis, while copeptin, CRH, or aldosterone were not. Conclusions: Beyond free cortisol, serum apelin-13 may also help refine prognostic predictions in the early phase of critical illness, especially in non-septic patients.

Background/Objectives: A significant gap exists between guideline recommendations and everyday practice. Stringent treatment is needed for vulnerable patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS). Methods: Data on the lipid-lowering therapy (LLT), including the adherence, persistence, and mortality of patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention or bypass surgery in Hungary in 2018 were followed up and analyzed based on the National Health Insurance Fund database until the end of 2020. Results: A total of 12,997 patients underwent revascularization for ACS in 2018, whose discharge therapy included any LLT, a high- or moderate-intensity statin, or ezetimibe at a proportion of 91%, 75%, 12%, and 4%, respectively. By the end of the observation period, the frequency of ezetimibe administration increased to 11%. Persistence decreased, reaching 50% for all therapeutic regimens by month 16. Patients on moderate statin doses had a significantly higher mortality rate at the end of follow-up than those receiving high-intensity statin with (20% vs. 9%, p < 0.0001) or without (20% vs. 14%, p = 0.00029) ezetimibe. Those taking less potent statin doses had higher rates of comorbidities; for example, a minimum of three comorbidities were present in 39% of patients taking medium statin doses and 23% among those on high-intensity statin therapy (p < 0.0001). Conclusions: LLT persistence decreased during follow-up. The administration of a higher-intensity lipid-lowering regimen was associated with better persistence and adherence, along with more favorable mortality rates. Multimorbidity was associated with the use of lower statin doses. The results suggest that more attention is needed in terms of lipid control of females, elderly people, and individuals with several comorbidities, and emphasis should be placed on improving persistence and increasing the frequency of combined LLT prescriptions.

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the complex interactions of thyroid hormone, apelin, and copeptin in the fluid–ion homeostasis of patients with severe transitory hypothyroidism.Methods: In this prospective observational study, 39 patients (ECOG: 0; 11 men, 28 women, mean age: 50.3 ± 14.9 years) were investigated during short-term severe hypothyroidism due to surgical removal of the thyroid gland and after adequate thyroid replacement therapy. In addition to the routinely available lab tests, copeptin and apelin levels were determined using ELISA.Results: In the hypothyroid state, apelin concentration was lower, while copeptin levels did not differ compared to the euthyroid condition. Apelin showed a positive correlation with copeptin (p = 0.003), sodium (p = 0.002), NT-proBNP (p < 0.001), and fT4 (p < 0.001) and a negative correlation with thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) (p < 0.001). In multivariate linear regression models, copeptin and TSH proved to be significant independent predictors of apelin levels, of which TSH had an explanatory power of 48.7%. Aside from apelin, copeptin only correlated with sodium (p = 0.046). Sodium levels were negatively associated with TSH (p = 0.004) and positively with ACTH (p = 0.002) and cortisol (p = 0.047), in addition to copeptin. None of the parameters were independent predictors of serum sodium levels in a multivariate regression model.Conclusions: In short-term severe hypothyroidism, serum apelin level is markedly decreased, which may predispose susceptible patients to hyponatremia, while the level of copeptin is unchanged. TSH and copeptin are independent predictors of apelin concentration, of which TSH is stronger.