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Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) are persistent problem in contemporary in-hospital patients' treatment but they are recognized as potentially preventable. The influence of HAI on patients' outcomes after discharge is not fully acknowledged. The authors conducted the study to determine the associations between HAI and length of hospitalization, all-cause in-hospital death, need for treatment in the intensive care unit (ICU), and rehospitalization within 14 days, 30 days, and 365 days. On the basis of inclusion criteria, 631 of 5322 (11.86%) inpatients were enrolled to the study, for whom the authors determined, among other factors, medical history, Activities of Daily Living (ADL) score and Nutritional Risk Screening 2002 (NRS-2002) score, nutritional status (using anthropometric characteristics and bioelectrical impedance analysis), and Charlson Comorbidity Index score. Healthcare-associated infections occurred in 17.9% of the inpatients enrolled to the study. Healthcare-associated infections were linked with greater length of in-hospital stay (LOS), risk of in-hospital death, transfer to the ICU, and hospital readmission within 14 days and 30 days. In multivariate analysis, HAI was the strongest risk factor for LOS prolongation, need for treatment in the ICU (OR = 15.26, 95% CI: 3.0-77.8, p < 0.01), and all-cause in-hospital death (OR = 10.73, 95% CI: 3.9-29.69, p < 0.001), alongside NRS-2002 and ADL scores. Healthcare-associated infections did not affect the risk of 14- and 30-day and 1-year readmissions in multivariate analysis, which were related to, among other factors, ADL score and mode of admission. Healthcare-associated infections statistically and significantly affected only outcomes related to the current hospitalization, across both univariate and multivariate analyses. Int J Occup Med Environ Health. 2025;38(2):179-89.

Chronic heart failure (CHF) and nutritional disorders are recognized as major challenges for contemporary medicine. This study aims to estimate the role of nutritional disorders as risk factors for CHF development and prognostic factors for CHF patients and the outcome of nutritional intervention in CHF. Full-text English articles published between January 2013 and February 2019 available in the PubMed and Scopus databases were considered. Seventy-five prospective, retrospective, and cross-sectional studies as well as meta-analyses on patients with CHF, reporting correlation of their nutritional status with the risk and prognosis of CHF and the outcome of nutritional interventions in CHF were all included. Higher BMI increases the risk of CHF by 15–70%, especially when associated with severe, long-lasting and abdominal obesity. Overweight and obesity are associated with the reduction of mortality in CHF by 24–59% and 15–65%, respectively, and do not affect the outcome of invasive CHF treatment. Malnutrition increases the risk of mortality (by 2- to 10-fold) and the risk of hospitalization (by 1.2- to 1.7-fold). Favorable outcome of nutritional support in CHF patients was reported in a few studies. Nutritional disorders are prevalent in patients with CHF and play a significant role in the incidence, course, and prognosis of the disease. The existence of an “obesity paradox” in patients with CHF was confirmed. Further studies on the effect of nutritional support and body weight reduction in patients with CHF are necessary.

Purpose Cancer-related fatigue (CRF) is a common and relevant symptom in patients with advanced cancer that significantly decreases their quality of life. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of a physiotherapy programme on CRF and other symptoms in patients diagnosed with advanced cancer. Methods The study was designed as a randomized controlled trial. Sixty patients diagnosed with advanced cancer receiving palliative care were randomized into two groups: the treatment group ( n  = 30) and the control group ( n  = 30). The therapy took place three times a week for 2 weeks. The 30-min physiotherapy session included active exercises, myofascial release and proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF) techniques. The control group did not exercise. The outcomes included Brief Fatigue Inventory (BFI), Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale (ESAS) and satisfaction scores. Results The exercise programme caused a significant reduction in fatigue scores (BFI) in terms of severity of fatigue and its impact on daily functioning. In the control group, no significant changes in the BFI were observed. Moreover, the physiotherapy programme improved patients’ general well-being and reduced the intensity of coexisting symptoms such as pain, drowsiness, lack of appetite and depression. The analysis of satisfaction scores showed that it was also positively evaluated by patients. Conclusion The physiotherapy programme, which included active exercises, myofascial release and PNF techniques, had beneficial effects on CRF and other symptoms in patients with advanced cancer who received palliative care. The results of the study suggest that physiotherapy is a safe and effective method of CRF management.

Monitoring the quality of food products is very important, due to the fact that substances potentially harmful to consumers may be formed during production and storage. In addition, vegetal oils are subject to falsification, which is based mainly on mixing and adding other, usually cheaper equivalents or providing false data on the composition and origin. In this way, the path from a very healthy product to a product that has a negative impact on the human body is very short. In this study fluorescence spectra and fluorescence decay kinetics of selected cold-pressed oils were characterized and the origin of the observed fluorescence bands was discussed. The obtained fluorescence characteristics were found to be the unique fingerprints of the individual oils and showed evident differences which arise from specific qualitative and quantitative compositions of the oils. The most apparent differences in the shape of fluorescence bands were observed in the emission spectrum at excitation wavelength 350 nm and in the excitation spectrum recorded at emission wavelength 500 nm. The obtained results show the utility of the applied steady-state and time –resolved fluorescence measurements in the identification of the tested vegetal oils.

In this study, steady-state and time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy techniques have been applied to determine fluorescence characteristics and fluorescence decay kinetics parameters (fluorescence lifetimes and their amplitudes) of available on the Polish market bee products, including several nectar honeys, royal jelly, bee bread in honey and in liquid artificial honey. The fluorescence properties of the tested bee products arise from the presence of a unique composition of aromatic amino acids, vitamins, phenolic compounds and Maillard reaction products. In the 300–550 nm region of the emission spectra (excited at 280 nm), each of the tested bee products exhibited (showed) a specific and distinctive vibronic structure, which was not observed in the spectrum of artificial honey. Quantitative and qualitative composition as well as specific interactions between fluorescent constituents determine the specific fluorescence characteristics of a given bee product providing a unique fingerprint that can be used in the identification of bee products of different botanical origin. Combination of stationary and time-resolved fluorescence techniques seems to be a promising approach in the identification, authentication and quality control of bee products to verify their health-beneficial properties.

The number of venous interventions continues to rise. The outcome of venous procedures is related to appropriate stent selection and implantation. To compare the usefulness of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) in the determination of target vein section area (VSA) as techniques for selecting an appropriate diameter for a venous stent. VSAs of iliac and common femoral veins obtained in contrast-enhanced MRI (CE-MRI) and non-contrast-enhanced MRI (NCE-MRI) were calculated for 18 consecutive patients with post-thrombotic syndrome (PTS), and VSAs obtained using IVUS were calculated for 15 of these PTS patients. The differences in iliac and common femoral vein VSAs obtained using CE-MRI and NCE-MRI were small and not clinically significant. VSAs of vessels obtained using CE-MRI and NCE-MRI correlated significantly with each other, with values in the range 0.87-0.97 and -values < 0.001. However, no significant relationships were found between section areas measured using MRI and IVUS and the differences in measurements was, on average, to 60%. CE magnetic resonance venography can be replaced by Dixon-based NCE-MRI in the preoperative evaluation of patients with PTS who qualify for venous intervention. However, CE-MRI and NCE-MRI performed for ipsilateral and contralateral extremities are not sufficient for appropriate venous stent selection, and IVUS remains a necessary tool in determining venous intervention in iliac veins.

Nutritional status assessment is an important part of preoperative patient evaluation, but the standard anthropometric parameters do not appear to be adequate. To determine the changes in the values of bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) parameters in patients 3 months after undergoing surgery for colorectal cancer (CRC). BIA and nutritional status assessment parameters were determined in 80 patients prior to undergoing surgery for CRC. The results 3 months after surgery for 64 of those patients were then compared with their initial assessments. According to standard WHO ranges, 54% of the patients were diagnosed as being overweight and 29% as obese. The percentage of patients categorized as obese amounted to 56% when this was defined as high fat mass. Moderate sarcopaenia, defined as a low skeletal muscle index (SMI) or low percentage of skeletal muscle mass, was diagnosed in 21% and 29% of patients, respectively. Patients with postoperative weakness that made it impossible for them to attend the control visit had a lower preoperative skeletal muscle mass ( = 0.01) and SMI value ( = 0.001). Parameters of BIA did not discriminate patients with postoperative complications, which occurred in 23% of individuals enrolled. A significant proportion of the patients undergoing surgery for CRC were overweight or obese, which could mask the sarcopaenia that presented in 21-29% of them. Sarcopaenia was the only parameter predictive of a postoperative decrease in performance status.

Background: The early identification of patients at risk of peri-procedural complications and poor prognosis is particularly important. We conducted our study to determine whether serum orexigenic neuropeptide Y (NPY) concentration is associated with nutritional status and prognosis among patients undergoing surgery for colorectal cancer (CRC). Materials and Methods: A cohort study with a 3-month follow-up was conducted with 84 consecutive inpatients who underwent elective surgery in one center between 2016 and 2019 for primary CRC. The clinical characteristics and nutritional status of all patients were assessed. In long-term follow-ups (median; IQR: 1322; 930–1788 days; average 3.6 years), the patients’ survival status was also checked during a telephone consultation. Results: Before CRC surgery, patients with serum NPY concentrations equal to or higher than the median value (661.70 pg/mL) had higher scores in their Mini Nutritional Assessment, Barthel, and Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL) questionnaires, greater handgrip strength, a lower score in the Patient-Generated Subjective Global Assessment, and almost a three-times lower risk of perioperative complications, as well as higher Barthel and IADL scores and larger calf circumference at the 3-month follow-up visit in comparison to individuals with lower serum NPY concentrations. A higher serum NPY concentration was predictive of a low Nutritional Risk Screening 2002 score at the 3-month visit, and this was also found to have significantly influenced the patients’ survival during the 1200 days after CRC surgery. Conclusions: A higher preoperative serum NPY concentration may be related to lower nutritional risk, more favorable patient nutritional and functional status, and better survival, but further studies are required.

Background: Acute ischemic stroke (AIS) induces a severity of inflammatory response that varies depending on the individual and may depend on the type of reperfusion treatment used. The aim of this study was to compare values of inflammatory response indices between AIS patients treated with endovascular mechanical thrombectomy (EMT) only and those in whom EMT was preceded by intravenous thrombolysis (IVT). Patients and methods: Retrospective analysis of medical documentation of 2242 consecutive, real-world patients hospitalized in one center due to AIS between 1 January 2014 and 31 May 2025. Several single and composite inflammatory indices were analyzed. Results: Patients who underwent double reperfusion treatment (IVT + EMT) (n = 1201; 53.57%) had lower C-reactive protein (CRP)-to-albumin, CRP-to-lymphocyte, CRP-to-neutrophil, and CRP-to-platelet ratios; lower platelet-to-lymphocyte, platelet-to-albumin, and platelet-to-hemoglobin ratios; and a lower inflammatory burden and systemic inflammatory index than those who were treated only with EMT (n = 1041; 46.43%). Compared to patients treated only with EMT, those treated with IVT + EMT also had a shorter length of in-hospital stay, were less likely to be readmitted within 14 days of discharge, and were more likely to achieve a modified Rankin score of 0–1 at discharge. Conclusions: Patients with AIS treated with IVT + EMT may exert a lower inflammatory magnitude of response and better functional status at discharge than those treated with EMT only. Biomarkers of inflammatory response to AIS require further study to confirm their usefulness in AIS patients’ management and personalized qualification for reperfusion and non-reperfusion targeted treatment.