Krzysztof Leksowski

Effect of Television on Obesity and Excess of Weight and Consequences of Health.

The epidemic nature of obesity in industrialized countries is a serious health and social concern. The number of obese people has significantly increased in the past 20 years. In Poland excess weight and obesity are a serious epidemiological concern. In terms of the number of overweight people, Poland is a leader in Europe. Therefore, indicating many serious health concerns that are the natural consequences of this phenomenon has become important from the point of view of public health. This work identifies numerous diseases which are a direct consequence of obesity due to bad eating habits and lack of physical exercise among Poles. It discusses the negative effect of television and food commercials contributing to an increase in obesity, not only among adults but also among children. This is an overview forming grounds for further studies into ways of preventing the development of diseases due to obesity, both in Poland and in the world.

Computed tomographic colonography in preoperative evaluation of colorectal tumors: a prospective study.

BackgroundThis study aimed to assess the usefulness of computed tomographic colonography (CTC) in preoperative evaluation of colorectal tumors and the entire bowel including endoscopically inaccessible regions.MethodsColonoscopy and CTC were performed for 49 patients. The tumor and the entire colon were assessed, and the results were compared with colonoscopy. The extraluminal findings of CTC were compared with contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT) of the abdomen and the pelvis in 33 patients. All these patients had undergone surgery. A comparison of results for tumor node metastasis classification between CTC, CT, and histopathology was performed.ResultsExploration of the entire colon was possible for 89.8% of the patients using CTC and 49.0% of the patients using colonoscopy. Bowel cleansing was assessed as worse with CTC. In the evaluation of tumor location and morphologic type, CTC was congruent with colonoscopy. Colonoscopy enabled approximate tumor size and volume to be evaluated for only 59.2% (29/49) and 30.6% (15/49) of patients, respectively, whereas CTC enabled evaluation of all 48 (100.0%) visualized tumors. Wall thickening, outer contour, and suspected infiltration of surrounding tissues and organs are impossible to determine with colonoscopy but can be determined with CTC. Using CTC, two additional tumors were found proximate to occlusive masses in endoscopically inaccessible regions.ConclusionComputed tomographic colonography is a useful method for diagnosing colorectal tumors. It allows the clinician to diagnose tumor, determine local tumor progression, and detect synchronous lesions in the large bowel including endoscopically inaccessible regions.

Technology Advances in Hospital Practices: Robotics in Treatment of Patients

Laparoscopic cholecystectomy is widely considered as the treatment of choice for acute cholecystitis. The safety of the procedure and its minimal invasiveness made it a valid treatment option for a patient not responding to antibiotic therapy. Our research shows that patients positively assess this treatment method, but the world’s tendency is to turn to a more sophisticated method utilizing robot-assisted surgery as a gold standard. Providing patient with minimally invasive surgical procedures that utilize the state-of-the-art equipment like the da Vinci Robotic Surgical System underscores the commitment to high-quality patient care while enhancing patient safety. The advantages include minimal invasive scarring, less pain and bleeding, faster recovery time, and shorter hospital stay. The move toward less invasive and less morbid procedures and a need to re-create the true open surgical experience have paved the way for the development and application of robotic and computer-assisted systems in surgery in Poland as well as the rest of the world.

Chronic Stress and Suicidal Thinking Among Medical Students

Introduction: The subject of chronic stress and ways of dealing with it are very broad. The aim of this study was to analyze stress and anxiety and their influence on suicidal thinking among medical students. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted in the years 2014 to 2015 in Poland, at the Medical University—Nicolaus Copernicus University, Collegium Medicum. The objective of this study was to assess chronic stress and suicidal thinking among students and how students cope with this huge problem. Descriptive statistics and chi-square analyses were conducted to detect differences. Results: Analyses showed that students’ life is full of stressors. Students toward the end of their education cope better with stress than students starting their university studies. Chronic stress has a strong impact on mental health and suicidal thinking among students. Conclusions: The results of the study confirmed that chronic stress and anxiety have a negative influence on mental health and also confirm a relation to suicidal thinking in medical students. Students cope with stress by listening to music, talking to relatives or people close to them, resting or engaging in sports, with cycling, running and swimming being the most common methods used to affect suicidal thinking.

Evaluation of Stress Intensity and Anxiety Level in Preoperative Period of Cardiac Patients.

Introduction. The stress related to patients stay in a hospital increases when it is necessary to perform a surgery. Therefore, the study of the phenomenon of stress intensity in hospitalized patients has become an important issue for public health. Material and Method. The study was conducted in University Hospital No. 1 in the cardiosurgery clinic. The study involved 58 patients who were admitted as planned to the hospital. The study used a standardized questionnaire measuring intensity of the stress and also deepened interviews with patients about stress and anxiety felt before the surgery. Results. The greater the patients anxiety resulting from his state of health, the greater the intensity of stress in the preoperative period. This relationship is linear. The results of the study also made it possible to see intrapersonal factors (pain, illness, and suffering) and extrapersonal factors (anesthesia, surgery, and complications after surgery), which are causes of anxiety before surgery. Conclusion. The research showed high (negative) results of anxiety and stress associated with the disease, surgery, and complications after cardiac surgery. Active involvement in hospitalization elements, such as patient education before surgery, psychological support, and medical care organization taking into account patients preferences, reduces the impact of stressors.

The risk factors and prevention of cardiovascular disease: the importance of electrocardiogram in the diagnosis and treatment of acute coronary syndrome

Acute coronary syndrome is a leading cause of emergency medical treatment and hospitalization in Poland. High-speed electrocardiogram (ECG) has shown good accuracy of the initial diagnosis and of the final diagnosis in treated cardiac patients. Initial diagnosis and definitive diagnosis were analyzed statistically (P<0.0001). Although much is said about the prevention of sudden death in heart failure, the elimination of risk factors health care in Poland does not pay due attention to the need for early diagnosis and ECG analysis (at the stage of prevention). This article presents the inclusion of ECG in the prevention process and shows that it allows for early detection of cardiovascular diseases. In Poland, ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction patients are identified in the ambulance that reduces time to door-to-balloon.

Cornelia de Lange syndrome - characteristics and laparoscopic treatment modalities of reflux based on own material.

Cornelia de Lange syndrome (typus degenerativus amstelodamensis, CdLS, Brachmann syndrome) is a complex, congenital, multi-gene anomaly characterized by mental retardation. Its features include growth inhibition, hirsutism, structural anomalies of the limbs and abnormal development of osseous structures of the face. Independent of the phenotype of the disease, 85% of patients are assumed to have symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). Aspiration pneumonia is one of the complications of GERD and a main cause of death in these patients. Patients not responding to medical treatment qualify for surgery. Until recently, anti-reflux procedures for GERD in CdLS patients were performed solely via laparotomy. The contemporary gold standard is a procedure performed laparoscopically. There are a few case reports of patients with CdLS operated on for GERD with laparoscopy available in the literature. The goal of this paper is to present two cases of Cornelia de Lange syndrome treated with laparoscopic antireflux procedures. We have performed two such procedures in 14 and 16 year-old girls with typical symptoms of the syndrome, i.e. developmental and mental retardation, hirsutism, structural limb anomalies and abnormal face development. The main indications for surgery in both cases were ineffective medical treatment and persistent aspiration pneumonia and its complications as a result of the gastroesophageal reflux. Oesophageal hiatus hernia and reflux were confirmed with accessory tests in both cases. During 36 months of follow-up, according to Barents, no episode of oesophageal reflux with acidic gastric content was noted. The treated children slept well during the night and did not need hospitalization for aspiration pneumonia. Neither of them required proton pump inhibitors. It should be concluded that laparoscopic Nissen fundoplication is a safe and effective method of GERD treatment in children with CdLS.

Occupational HIV risk for health care workers: risk factor and the risk of infection in the course of professional activities

Virtually created panic among health care workers about pandemic acquired immune deficiency syndrome prompted us to review the scientific literature to investigate the risk of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) transmission in the daily works of health care workers, especially surgeons and anesthesiologists. In this review, we report worldwide valuations of the number of HIV infections that may occur from unsafe daily work in health care. We also present how to minimize the risk of infection by taking precautions and how to utilize postexposure prophylaxis in accordance with the latest reports of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. HIV-infected patients will be aging, and most of them will become the candidates for procedures such as major vascular reconstruction and artery bypass grafting, where the risks of blood contact and staff injury are high. For these reasons, all health care workers need to know how to prevent, and fight following the accidental exposure to HIV.

Bispectral index and cerebral oximetry in low-flow and high-flow rate anaesthesia during laparoscopic cholecystectomy - a randomized controlled trial.

Introduction The need to reduce pollution emissions in the operating room and to reduce treatment costs motivates more frequent use of general anaesthesia with a small or minimal fresh gas flow rate. Nevertheless, the reduction of the delivery of fresh gases should not influence the quality and safety of the anaesthesia. Material and methods A total of 105 elective laparoscopic cholecystectomy patients were included in the study. There were 72 female (68.6%) and 33 male (31.4%) patients. Patients were randomized by a ‘closed envelope’ method into two groups. Group I included patients with low-flow anaesthesia and group II included patients with high-flow anaesthesia. In all patients the cerebral oximetry was measured separately for each cerebral hemisphere; the bispectral index (BIS), heart rate, blood pressure, end-tidal carbon dioxide concentration and haemoglobin oxygen saturation were monitored. Results Heart rate, blood pressure, end-tidal carbon dioxide concentration and saturation were similar in both groups and the differences between them were statistically insignificant. The BIS values were similar in both groups and indicated that patients who underwent low-flow anaesthesia were not exposed to a higher risk of awakening during the procedure than the high-flow anaesthesia patients. The changes in brain oximetry values were similar in both low-flow and high-flow anaesthesia. Conclusions Use of both low-flow and high-flow rate general anaesthesia provided patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy proper oxygenation of the central nervous system, adequate sleep depth and haemodynamic stability.

Health behaviors of patients diagnosed with type 2 diabetes mellitus and their influence on the patients’ satisfaction with life

Background The diagnosis of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) carries with it a number of changes to the patient’s lifestyle. A healthy lifestyle, health and preventive behaviors, as well as healthy nutrition habits play a key role in treating T2DM as well as limiting its complications. Materials and methods The aim of this study was the analysis of the correlation of T2DM patients’ health behaviors and their influence on the patients’ quality of life. The study was performed on a group of 50 patients from the Kuyavian–Pomeranian Voivodeship. In this study, the Health Behavior Inventory and the Satisfaction with Life Scale were used. The results were statistically analyzed. The study was approved by the ethics committee. Results The intensity of severity of health behavior and satisfaction with life of T2DM patients depends on the gender of the patient (P<0.05). The analysis of the patients’ behaviors in four categories, proper eating habits (consuming vegetables, fruit, whole meal bread), health practices (daily physical activity, recreation, sleeping habits), preventive behaviors (including keeping to health recommendations), and positive mental attitude, showed substantial correlation of the Health Behavior Inventory and the Satisfaction with Life Scale (P<0.05). Conclusion The categorization of the prohealth behaviors shown by diabetics allowed us to measure the connection between the individual categories of satisfaction with life. Males with T2DM showed a higher satisfaction with life score than females with the same diagnosis. The analysis showed that patients with a higher intensity of health behaviors also had superior health behaviors. The resulting correlations prove a notable relationship.