Sepsis-associated acute kidney injury (SA-AKI) is defined as the development of AKI in the context of a potentially life-threatening organ dysfunction attributed to an abnormal immune response to infection. SA-AKI has been associated with increased mortality when compared to sepsis or AKI alone. Therefore, its early recognition is of the utmost importance in terms of its morbidity and mortality rates. The aim of this review is to shed light on the pathophysiological pathways implicated in SA-AKI as well as its diagnostics and therapeutics. In this review, we will elucidate upon serum and urinary biomarkers, such as creatinine, cystatin, neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL), proenkephalin A 119–159, interleukin-6, interleukin-8 and interleukin-18, soluble toll-like receptor 2 (sTLR2), chemokine ligand 2 (CCL2) and chemokine C-C-motif 14 (CCL14). In addition, the role of RNA omics as well as machine learning programs for the timely diagnosis of SA-AKI will be further discussed. Moreover, regarding SA-AKI treatment, we will elaborate upon potential therapeutic agents that are being studied, based on the pathophysiology of SA-AKI, in humans and in animal models.

The Greek HeartQoL questionnaire is designed to assess health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in patients with ischemic heart disease. This study aims to validate its psychometric properties in Greek patients diagnosed with angina pectoris, myocardial infarction, and ischemic heart failure. A cross-sectional study was conducted with 158 patients from five clinical sites in Greece. Participants completed the Greek HeartQoL, the Short Form-36 Health Survey, and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. Psychometric evaluations included Mokken scale analysis, reliability testing with Cronbach's alpha, and validity assessments through Spearman correlation coefficients, and analysis of covariance. The Greek HeartQoL exhibited excellent internal consistency, with Cronbach's alpha values exceeding 0.90. Factor analysis confirmed the questionnaire's two-factor structure, effectively capturing physical and emotional dimensions of HRQoL. Convergent validity was demonstrated by strong correlations with Short Form-36 Health Survey (r > 0.70), and discriminative validity was confirmed by significant differences in HRQoL scores between patients with angina pectoris, myocardial infarction, and ischemic heart failure (P < .001). The findings suggest that the Greek HeartQoL demonstrates strong reliability and validity in assessing HRQoL in Greek ischemic heart disease patients. However, further studies with larger and more diverse samples are needed to confirm its psychometric properties across different clinical populations.

Background: Although deaths from Acute Coronary Syndromes (ACS) are the most prevalent globally, during the outbreak of the new SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus pandemic, there was a declining trend in hospital admissions for ACS patients. Inevitably a reduction of invasive procedures in cardiac catheterization laboratories was observed. Moreover, an increase in sudden out-of-hospital cardiac deaths was recorded. On the other hand, patients that eventually treated in the hospital had a much worse outcome in terms of cardiac function. Inadequate treatment of acute myocardial infarction resulted in a further increase in mortality due to coronary artery disease. The aim of our study was the comparison of admissions of the patients with ACS before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: A retrospective single center study was conducted. We recorded all admissions with ACS underwent invasive interventions during the period of lockdown due to COVID-19 pandemic, in Greece, from 16 March 2020 to 1 May 2020 (study period A), as well as in the period of gradual withdraw of restrictions from 2 May 2020 to 1 June 2020 (study period B),. The data were compared with those of the periods of 2019 (control period A and B). Results: One hundred thirty eight patients were the group of study period and 158 were the group of the control period. The reduction rate was 12.7% in study period. The largest decrease in admissions concerned with elderly patients over 75 years old, as well as females (by 52% - 53% respectively). The severity of the restrictions but also the fear of the spread of the coronavirus may be relevant to the insufficient seek of help for these groups of patients. Conclusion: Our study showed that during the pandemic period, the invasive interventions were fewer than those of 2019. However, the expected reduction of catheterizations during this two and a half months period was mitigated by the increase of inter-hospital transfers of patients with ACS from neighboring hospitals, without a catheterization laboratory.

Conduction system pacing is an alternative practice to conventional right ventricular apical pacing. It is a method that maintains physiologic ventricular activation, based on a correct pathophysiological basis, in which the pacing lead bypasses the lesion of the electrical fibers, and the electrical impulse transmits through the intact adjacent conduction system. For this reason, it might reasonably characterized by the term “electrical bypass” compared to the coronary artery bypass in revascularization therapy. In this review reference is made to the sequence of events that conventional right ventricular pacing may cause adverse outcomes. Furthermore, there is a reference to alternative strategies and pacing sites. Interest focuses on the modalities for which there is data from the literature, namely for the Right Ventricular (RV) septal pacing, the His Bunde pacing (HBP), and the Left Bundle Branch pacing (LBBP). A more extensive reference is about the HBP, for which there are the most updating data. We analyze the considerations that limit HBP wide application in three axes, and we also present the data for the implantation and follow-up of these patients. Then, the indications with their most important studies to date are described in detail, not only in their undoubtedly positive findings but also in their weak aspects, because of which, this pacing mode has not yet received a strong recommendation for implementation. Finally, there is a report on LBBP, focusing mainly on its points of differentiation from HBP.