Background: Even though medication and interventional therapy have improved the death rate for non-ST elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) patients, these patients still have a substantial residual risk of cardiovascular events. Early identification of high-risk individuals is critical for improving prognosis, especially in this patient group. The focus of recent research has switched to finding new related indicators that can help distinguish high-risk patients. For this purpose, we examined the relationship between the pan-immune-inflammation value (PIV) and the severity of coronary artery disease (CAD) defined by the SYNTAX score (SxS) in NSTEMI patients. Methods: Based on the SxS, CAD patients were split into three groups. To evaluate the risk variables of CAD, multivariate logistic analysis was employed. Results: The PIV (odds ratio: 1.003; 95% CI: 1.001–1.005; p = 0.005) was found to be an independent predictor of a high SxS in the multivariate logistic regression analysis. Additionally, there was a positive association between the PIV and SxS (r: 0.68; p < 0.001). The PIV predicted the severe coronary lesion in the receiver-operating characteristic curve analysis with a sensitivity of 91% and specificity of 81.1%, using an appropriate cutoff value of 568.2. Conclusions: In patients with non-STEMI, the PIV, a cheap and easily measured laboratory variable, was substantially correlated with a high SxS and the severity of CAD.

Introduction: We aimed to investigate the effects of cerium oxide, applied before the sevoflurane anesthesia, on lung tissue in rats with lower extremity ischemia-reperfusion (IR). Materials and Methods: A total of 30 rats were randomly divided into five groups as; control (C), IR, cerium oxide-IR (CO-IR), IR-sevoflurane (IRS), and cerium oxide-IR-sevoflurane (CO-IRS). In the CO-IR group, 30 minutes after the injection of cerium oxide (0.5 mg/kg, intraperitoneal (i.p)), an atraumatic microvascular clamp was placed on the infrarenal abdominal aorta for 120 minutes. Then, the clamp was removed and reperfused for 120 minutes. Sevoflurane was applied in 100% oxygen at a rate of 2.3% at 4 L/min during IR. The blood samples were taken for biochemical analysis and the lung tissue samples were taken for histological analysis. Results: Neutrophil infiltration/aggregation was significantly higher in the IR group than in the C and CO-IRS groups. The alveolar wall thickness and total lung injury scores were significantly higher in the IR group than in the C, IRS, CO-IR and CO-IRS groups. Discussion: We determined that the administration of 0.5 mg/kg dose of cerium oxide with sevoflurane reduces the oxidative stress and corrects IR-related damage in lung tissue. Our results show that the administration of cerium oxide before IR and the administration of sevoflurane during IR have a protective effect in rats.

Background: Coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) for the treatment of ischemic heart disease is still considered an effective treatment option to improve clinical outcomes and reduce mortality. However, the patency rates of saphenous vein grafts (SVGs) are significantly lower compared to those of arterial grafts. Atherosclerosis has emerged as one of the main causes of SVG stenosis (SVGS), especially stenoses that develop after one year. In this study, we aimed to investigate the association of glucose-to-lymphocyte ratio (GLR), a novel inflammatory biomarker, with LVG patency status in patients undergoing CABG surgery. Methods: A total of 778 patients who were diagnosed with chronic coronary syndromes (CCS) according to the 2019 ESC guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of CCS; had undergone CABG more than one year previously; and had at least one SVG used during surgery were included in this study. GLR was calculated as blood glucose level (mg/dL) divided by lymphocyte count (K/uL). Results: SVGS was detected in 341 patients, while SVGs were intact in 437 patients. Patients with SVGS had a higher prevalence of diabetes mellitus (DM) (p = 0.002) and significantly higher blood glucose levels (p < 0.001). In addition, the interval between CABG operation and coronary angiography (CAG) was longer in the SVGS group (p < 0.001). Neutrophil levels were higher, and lymphocyte levels were lower in this group (p = 0.010 and p = 0.034, respectively). Neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet/lymphocyte ratio (PLR), glucose/lymphocyte ratio (GLR) and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (CRP) levels were significantly higher in patients with SVGS (p < 0.001 for all). According to multivariate logistic regression analysis, DM, CRP level, time since CABG, and GLR were identified as independent predictors of SVGS (p = 0.004, p = 0.048, p < 0.001, and p < 0.001, respectively). ROC analysis showed that SVGS could be predicted with 75.8% sensitivity and 68.6% specificity when the cut-off value for GLR was >315.5 (area under the curve [AUC]: 0.801, 95% CI: 0.765–0.837, p < 0.001). Conclusions: Higher GLR levels are associated with SVGS in patients with coronary artery disease.

Objective:Veinviewer visualize peripheral vessels localized 8-10 mm deep under skin. This device can be used as a novel diagnostic and therapeutic assistant which provides chronoprofilaxy, cost reduction and comfort for patient and clinician. Thus, a prospective and randomized study was designed to assess versatility of Veinviewer in various applications.Method:The study included overall 40 patients who referred to outpatient clinic. Group 1 patients underwent sclerotherapy with or without using Veinviewer. Group 2 patients underwent phlebectomy with or without using Veinviewer.Results:It was seen that duration of the process was significantly reduced; and easiness of the process and patient quality of life were improved in the patients who underwent sclerotherapy via using Veinviewer(p<0.05).It was found that duration of the phlebectomy was significantly reduced; and convenience in the process of finding and removal of varicose vein were improved in the patients who underwent surgical varicose vein excision via using Veinviewer(p<0.05).Conclusion: It was detected that use of Veinviewer in sclerotherapy and phelebectomy, improved the comfort of patient and clinician, provided shorter and easier procedure and markedly contributed to effectiveness of therapy.

Coronary artery disease (CAD) due to myocardial ischemia causes permanent loss of heart tissue. We aimed to demonstrate the possible damage to the myocardium at the molecular level through the mechanisms of autophagy and apoptosis in coronary bypass surgery patients. One group was administered a Custodiol cardioplegia solution, and the other group was administered a Blood cardioplegia solution. Two myocardial samples were collected from each patient during the operation, just before cardiac arrest and after the aortic cross-clamp was released. The expressions of autophagy and apoptosis markers were evaluated. The level of statistical significance adopted was 5%. The expression of the BECLIN gene was significant in the myocardial tissues in the BC group (p=0.0078). CASPASE 3, 8, and 9 gene expression levels were significantly lower in the CC group. Postoperative TnT levels were significantly different between the groups (p=0.0072). CASPASE 8 and CASPASE 9 gene expressions were similar before and after aortic cross-clamping (p=0.8552, p=0.8891). In the CC group, CASPASE 3, CASPASE 8, and CASPASE 9 gene expression levels were not found to be significantly different in tissue samples taken after aortic cross-clamping (p=0.7354, p=0.0758, p=0.4128, respectively). With our findings, we believe that CC and BC solutions do not have a significant difference in terms of myocardial protection during bypass operations.

Background and Objectives: Carotid artery stenosis is an inflammatory vascular disease closely linked to atherosclerosis and associated with inflammatory biomarkers. The neutrophil/albumin ratio (NAR) is a novel promising biomarker in assessing cardiovascular disease severity. This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between NAR and lesion severity in patients with carotid artery stenosis. Materials and Methods: This retrospective, single-center, comparative study included 625 asymptomatic patients who underwent digital subtraction angiography (DSA) for suspected high-grade carotid artery stenosis between 2012 and 2022. Patients were classified into two groups based on stenosis severity: critical carotid artery stenosis (≥70% stenosis) and non-critical carotid artery stenosis (<70%). Only asymptomatic patients were included; patients with symptoms were excluded. NAR was calculated preoperatively as neutrophil count divided by serum albumin. Additional inflammatory markers, such as neutrophil–lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and C-reactive protein (CRP) to albumin ratio (CAR), were also analyzed. Results: Severe carotid artery stenosis was detected in 191 of the patients who underwent DSA. Individuals in the critical carotid artery stenosis group were older and had a higher prevalence of diabetes mellitus and hypertension (51 (45–57) vs. 60 (54–68), p < 0.001; 143 vs. 83, p = 0.025; 193 vs. 104, respectively, p = 0.021), as well as higher neutrophil counts (4.3 (3.2–6.2) vs. 8.1 (4.9–12.5), p < 0.001), NLR (2.2 (1.4–3.2) vs. 4.2 (2.3–8.9), p < 0.001), while CRP (3.8 (1.8–8) vs. 5.7 (3.6–7.6), p = 0.005) and CAR (0.9 (0.5–1.9) vs. 1.6 (0.8–2.1), p < 0.001) values were significantly higher. NAR was higher in patients of the critical carotid artery stenosis group than the non-critical (1.1 (0.8–1.6) vs. 2.1 (1.4–3.2), p < 0.001). Multivariate analysis identified NAR as an independent predictor of carotid artery stenosis (Odds Ratio [OR]: 3.432; 95% Confidence Interval [CI]: 2.116–5.566; p < 0.001). The best cut-off value of NAR for predicting critical carotid artery stenosis was 1.47, which provided 73.8% sensitivity and 70.5% specificity. Conclusions: NAR, which can be easily measured through a simple blood test, demonstrated moderate sensitivity and specificity in predicting critical carotid artery stenosis, suggesting its potential role as a supportive marker in clinical risk assessment.