ACHAIKI IATRIKI | 2020; 39(2): 56
Letter from the Editor
C. Triantos
Assistant Professor in Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology Faculty of Medicine, School of Health Sciences, University of Patras
Dear colleagues,
we have done well so far regarding the pandemic. Our knowledge is expanding today. Ιn the current issue, you will find emerging new data on the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19. The editorial by Tsounis et al., describes the pancreatic function alterations in the course of SARS-CoV-2 infection. The original article by Akinosoglou et al., presents data regarding the impact of SARS-CoV-2 infections requiring hospitalization in the University General Hospital of Patras which is the referral center for South Western Greece, during the 1st epidemic wave. This study included 54 patients, 52% of which were men. Fever, fatigue and dyspnoea were the predominant symptoms on presentation. 89% of these patients successfully recovered, while the mortality rate among those requiring mechanical invasive ventilation was 75%.
The editorial by Patsatsi et al., focuses on bullous pemphigoid (BP), a rare autoimmune disorder and its relationship to the use of antidiabetic drugs and especially to DPP4 inhibitors in elderly diabetic patients. The last editorial by Karavasili et al., addresses the impact of clostridium difficile infection (CDI) on patients with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), highlighting that surveillance and prompt infection management could improve IBD outcome.
Moreover, this issue includes three reviews. The first review, by Lykouras et al., summarizes the most common sleep disorders including insomnia, obstructive sleep apnea and circadian rhythm sleep-wake disorder and emphasizes the importance of proper diagnosis and management. It is common knowledge that sleep disorders are underestimated in everyday clinical practice. Christopoulou et al., describe the definition, epidemiology and pathophysiology of sarcopenic obesity along with the ageing mechanism, disease diagnostic criteria and management guidelines. Sarcopenic obesity is an emerging type of obesity encountered in older adults, in which low skeletal muscle mass is coupled with high levels of adiposity. According to the World Gastroenterology Organization and population-based studies from different countries, NAFLD is becoming the most common cause of liver disease worldwide. Filippas-Ntekouan et al., discuss the altered metabolic pathways which contribute to the development of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and provide an overview of the effect of insulin and insulin resistance in the pathogenesis of this disease.
Another original study is also included in this issue, by Mpratsiakou et al., which describe the characteristics of peritonitis, the associated risk factors and the related outcomes in patients on peritoneal dialysis (PD). Lastly, this issue includes an interesting case report by Lagadinou et al., presenting a rare case of a man, with hepatitis A acute liver failure and multiple organ involvement who recovered without liver transplantation.
Dear colleagues, COVID-19 is still here. The pandemic is now hitting low-resource countries. We definitely need to make sure that health systems are prepared to protect those who are most vulnerable. May this summer be creative for all of us. Happy and safe holidays to all.