Background: Patients with heart failure (HF) are at high risk of unfavorable courses of COVID-19. The aim of this study was to evaluate characteristics and outcomes of COVID-19 patients with HF. Methods: Data of patients hospitalized in a tertiary hospital in Poland between March 2020 and May 2021 with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 were analyzed. The study population was divided into a HF group (patients with a history of HF) and a non-HF group. Results: Out of 2184 patients (65 ± 13 years old, 50% male), 12% had a history of HF. Patients from the HF group were older, more often males, had more comorbidities, more often dyspnea, pulmonary and peripheral congestion, inflammation, and end-organ damage biomarkers. HF patients had longer and more complicated hospital stay, with more frequent acute HF development as compared with non-HF. They had significantly higher mortality assessed in hospital (35% vs. 12%) at three (53% vs. 22%) and six months (72% vs. 47%). Of 76 (4%) patients who developed acute HF, 71% died during hospitalization, 79% at three, and 87% at six months. Conclusions: The history of HF identifies patients with COVID-19 who are at high risk of in-hospital complications and mortality up to six months of follow-up.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) shows high incidence of thromboembolic events in humans. In the present study, we aimed to evaluate if anticoagulation prior to COVID-19 infection may impact clinical profile, as well as mortality rate among patients hospitalized with COVID-19. The study was based on retrospective analysis of medical records of patients with laboratory confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection. After propensity score matching (PSM), a group of 236 patients receiving any anticoagulant treatment prior to COVID-19 infection (AT group) was compared to 236 patients without previous anticoagulation (no AT group). In 180 days, the observation we noted comparable mortality rate in AT and no AT groups (38.5% vs. 41.1%, p = 0.51). Similarly, we did not observe any statistically significant differences in admission in the intensive care unit (14.1% vs. 9.6%, p = 0.20), intubation and mechanical ventilation (15.0% vs. 11.6%, p = 0.38), catecholamines usage (14.3% vs. 13.8%, p = 0.86), and bleeding rate (6.3% vs. 8.9%, p = 0.37) in both groups. Our results suggest that antithrombotic treatment prior to COVID-19 infection is unlikely to be protective for morbidity and mortality in patients hospitalized with COVID-19.

Cancer is the second most common cause of death in Poland and the number of new cases is expected to increase by 28% over the next 10 years. Despite modifications and expenditure growth in the Polish health care system, oncological treatment outcomes are lower comparing to the other European Union countries. Early preventative interventions are effective in reducing the total number of cancers and improving early detection. OnkoLogika is an educational campaign launched in 2016 by the Comprehensive Cancer Centre, aimed at improving cancer awareness. One hundred and twenty students from 25 high schools of the Lower Silesia region in Poland participated in the OnkoLogika program, which consisted of four-segment workshops containing pre-/post-tests, theoretical and practical parts within the project. The mean number of correct answers from the both tests improved after educational intervention (p < 0.001). Students’ knowledge increased, especially in relation to risk factors of breast cancer development (416.31% increase), HPV-related cancers (344.81% increase), risk factors and red flag signs of skin melanoma (120.31% and 99.05% increase respectively). Approx. 86% of participants were satisfied with the OnkoLogika with 14% of respondents being dissatisfied and 94% declared increased awareness about cancer prophylaxis. High schools students indicated insufficient time (250; 16.67%) and lack of details considering presented cancers (80; 5.33%) to be the major weaknesses of the program. Nevertheless, 94% of participants would recommend OnkoLogika to a friend. OnkoLogika promotes healthy lifestyle and helps acquire necessary knowledge about chosen cancers.

Introduction: Social campaigns concerning vaccinations against human papillomavirus (HPV) in Poland are mainly addressed to women. In addition to cervical cancer, anal, penile, and oropharyngeal cancers can be caused by the virus, which clearly affects men as well. HPV vaccinations are voluntary and mostly not refunded in Poland. Methods: A survey was published on social media’s group gathering males and contained questions concerning epidemiological data, knowledge about HPV, and opinions of HPV vaccination. A questionnaire was enriched with educational note regarding HPV-dependent cancers and available vaccines against HPV in Poland. Results: Because of age limitations, 169 males (115 heterosexuals, 48 homosexuals) aged 14-39 were chosen for the study. Seventy-five percent of heterosexual and 88% of homosexual men were aware of HPV, but less than 4% and 17% (respectively) were vaccinated against the virus. Main sources of knowledge about HPV were the Internet (61%), media (28%) and relatives (27%). HPV infection was linked with the development of anal and oropharyngeal cancers by 28%, and 37% of heterosexual males, compared with 56.3% and 43.8% of homosexual males. The majority of respondents (88%) indicated that all genders should be vaccinated, although only 57% were aware of HPV vaccination availability in Poland. Conclusions: The men are at risk of HPV-related cancers and the danger is poorly understood amongst Polish men. Despite awareness of HPV vaccines, the vaccination rate is low. Consequently, there is a serious need to broaden educational with a special attention to LGBTQ+ communities.

Background: The main objective of the treatment of essential thrombocythemia (ET) is to reduce thrombohemorrhagic events. According to last European LeukemiaNet (ELN) guidelines, hydroxycarbamide (HU) and interferon (IFN) are recommended as a first line therapy and anagrelide (ANA) is a second‐line therapy option in high‐risk patients with ET. According to the literature, ANA is not inferior to HU, but in some studies there was observed an association of ANA with a higher incidence of arterial thrombosis, bleeding complications and fibrotic progression. Thus, the panel of the ELN did not reached a consensus on recommending the ANA in first line therapy.Aims: to analyse the outcome of ET patients according to received therapy (ANA vs HU vs ANA plus HU vs no treatment)Methods: We performed the multicentre, retrospective study. The study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki. We analysed 993 ET patients diagnosed and treated between 1985 and 2017. Clinical and analytical data were collected at diagnosis (age, sex, WBC, Hgb, Plt, LDH, mutation status, karyotype, splenomegaly, IPSET, thrombosis previous at diagnosis). Patients with suspicious of prefibrotic fase of myelofibrosis (pre‐PMF), were excluded from the analysis. Patients were classified according to the therapy they received (HU, ANA, HU plus ANA, no therapy). The statistical analysis due the lack of normal distribution of variables was based on analysis of variance (ANOVA). The survival analysis was prepared using Kaplan‐Meier estimator.Results: There was 542 (54.6%) patients on HU, 117 (11.8%) on ANA, 75 (7.5%) on ANA plus HU, 33 (3.3%) with other therapy and 226 (22.8%) with no treatment. We did not find significant differences in clinical and analytical data at diagnosis between 4 groups of patients. The median follow‐up was 99 (> 12–354) months. Respect to the frequency of transformation to myelofibrosis, there was no significant differences between patients on ANA vs on HU (p = 0,848). However, we observed increased frequency of progression to myelofibrosis in patients on HU plus ANA vs no treatment (9.33 vs 3.54%; p = 0,046). There was no significant differences between patients on ANA vs no treatment and patients on HU vs no treatment. The overall survival free from fibrotic transformation (HU vs ANA vs HU plus ANA vs no treatment) is presented on a figure. Patients who presented fibrotic transformation vs no transformation had significantly higher LDH level at diagnosis (284.9 vs 246.7; p = 0.023). Moreover, fibrotic transformation was significantly more frequent in ET JAK2 (−) vs ET JAK2 (+) (8.9 vs 4.4; p = 0.057).Summary/Conclusion: There was no significant difference between fibrotic transformations in ET on HU vs ET on ANA. The risk of fibrotic transformation of ET seems to be related to analytical data and biological features previous to start the treatment but not with the therapy. The association between HU+ANA therapy and myelofibrosis transformation probably reflects a more advanced disease. Based on our data, contrary to previous observations, ANA does not seem to increase the risk of fibrosis. Concerning higher prevalence of fibrosis in HU+ANA ET therapy, further study is necessary to establish the safety of combined treatment. image

In Poland, vulvar cancer is the fourth most common malignant neoplasm of reproductive organs in women. The annual standardised incidence rate is estimated at 2.7 per 100,000 population (Didkowska e...