(1) Background: There are limited clinical data in patients from the Eastern European regions hospitalized for a severe form of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). This study aims to identify risk factors associated with intra-hospital mortality in patients with COVID-19 severe pneumonia admitted to a tertiary center in Iasi, Romania. (2) Methods: The study is of a unicentric retrospective observational type and includes 150 patients with severe COVID-19 pneumonia divided into two subgroups, survivors and non-survivors. Demographic and clinical parameters, as well as comorbidities, laboratory and imaging investigations upon admission, treatments, and evolution during hospitalization were recorded. First, we sought to identify the risk factors associated with intra-hospital mortality using logistic regression. Secondly, we assessed the correlations between D-Dimer and C-reactive protein and predictors of poor prognosis. (3) Results: The predictors of in-hospital mortality identified in the study are D-dimers >0.5 mg/L (p = 0.002), C-reactive protein >5mg/L (p = 0.001), and heart rate above 100 beats per minute (p = 0.001). The biomarkers were also significantly correlated the need for mechanical ventilation, admission to intensive care unit, or multiple organ dysfunction syndrome. By area under the curve (AUC) analysis, we noticed that both D-Dimer (AUC 0.741) and C-reactive protein (AUC 0.707) exhibit adequate performance in predicting a poor prognosis in patients with severe viral infection. (4) Conclusions: COVID-19′s outcome is significantly influenced by several laboratory and clinical factors. As mortality induced by severe COVID-19 pneumonia is considerable, the identification of risk factors associated with negative outcome coupled with an early therapeutic approach are of paramount importance, as they may significantly improve the outcome and survival rates.

Background: Acute heart failure (HF) represents an increasingly common and challenging presentation in the emergency room, also inducing a great socio-economic burden. Extensive research was conducted toward finding an ideal biomarker of acute HF, both in terms of sensitivity and specificity, but today practicians’ interest has shifted towards a more realistic multimarker approach. Natriuretic peptides (NPs) currently represent the gold standard for diagnosing HF in routine clinical practice, but novel molecules, such as sST2, emerge as potentially useful biomarkers, providing additional diagnostic and prognostic value. Methods: We conducted a prospective, single-center study that included 120 patients with acute HF and 53 controls with chronic HF. Of these, 13 patients (eight with acute HF, five from the control group) associated the coronavirus-19 disease (COVID-19). The diagnosis of HF was confirmed by a complete clinical, biological and echocardiographic approach. Results: The serum levels of all studied biomarkers (sST2, NT-proBNP, cardiac troponin) were significantly higher in the group with acute HF. By area under the curve (AUC) analysis, we noticed that NT-proBNP (AUC: 0.976) still had the best diagnostic performance, closely followed by sST2 (AUC: 0.889). However, sST2 was a significantly better predictor of fatal events, showing positive correlations for both in-hospital and at 1-month mortality rates. Moreover, sST2 was also associated with other markers of poor prognosis, such as the use of inotropes or high lactate levels, but not with left ventricle ejection fraction, age, body mass index or mean arterial pressure. sST2 levels were higher in patients with a positive history of COVID-19 as compared with non-COVID-19 patients, but the differences were statistically significant only within the control group. Bivariate regression showed a positive and linear relationship between NT-proBNP and sST2 (r(120) = 0.20, p < 0.002). Conclusions: we consider that sST2 has certain qualities worth integrating in a future multimarker test kit alongside traditional biomarkers, as it provides similar diagnostic value as NT-proBNP, but is emerging as a more valuable prognostic factor, with a better predictive value of fatal events in patients with acute HF.

The role of the gut microbiome in mental health has been of great interest in the past years, with several breakthroughs happening in the last decade. Its implications in several psychiatric disorders, namely anxiety, depression, autism and schizophrenia, are highlighted. In this review were included relevant studies on rodents, as well as human studies. There seems to be a connection between the gut microbiome and these pathologies, the link being emphasized both in rodents and humans. The results obtained in murine models align with the results acquired from patients; however, fewer studies regarding anxiety were conducted on humans. The process of sequencing and analyzing the microbiome has been conducted in humans for several other pathologies mentioned above. Additionally, the possible beneficial role of probiotics and postbiotics administered as an aid to the psychiatric medication was analyzed.

The increasing phenomenon of cyberbullying among adolescents needs parental, educational, and social intervention. The study aimed to identify the prevalence of cyberbullying among Romanian adolescents and the importance of gender, family-related factors, self-esteem, and parental styles in both victims and perpetrators. A total of 835 adolescents aged 10–19 years were included in the research. An online questionnaire was specially constructed for this research, gathering socio-demographic and family-related data along with information about cyberbullying as a victim, aggressor, or bystander, and strategies used in order to deal with it. Four psychological scales were used to evaluate self-esteem, loneliness, cybervictimization/cyberaggression, and parental style. (3) Results showed that the most common age for a personal smartphone is M = 10.24 ± 2.43. The main reasons why students use these networks are primarily chatting and fun and less for academic tasks. During the week, adolescents spend 5.53 ± 2.75 h on social media, while during weekends, the duration of smartphone usage almost doubles. Girls are the most common victims of cyberbullying, and less than three-quarters of students believe that aggressors can be both girls and boys, and only a quarter of them have reported an incident. Family affluence, the relationship with parents and classmates, the presence of loneliness and sociodemographic factors were found to be in a strong relationship with the presence of aggression and/or victimization among adolescents. Cyberaggression was found to be positively correlated with the aggressive parental style and negatively correlated with the compassionate and avoidant parental styles. Results are crucial for identifying cyberbullying actors and preventing the negative effects of cyberbullying on psychological, social, and academic life for students, parents, and teachers.

Background: Nowadays it is considered that a specific causal relationship exists between asthma and gastroesophageal reflux (GER), because of the aspiration of gastric refluate which leads to and maintain spasticity even real crisis of paroxystic expiratory dyspnea. This study explores this relationship and evaluates the results after treatment. Methods: 56 children diagnosed with asthma, hospitalized in a regional center of pediatric gastroenterology in Northeast Romania, underwent 24-hour continuous esophageal pH monitoring in order to establish the presence of GER. The Boix-Ochoa score was used to interpret the results. Proton pump inhibitors were administered to those with GER and the patients were reevaluated after 2 months. Results: 39 patients (69.64%) had GER, with a Boix-Ochoa score above normal (N < 11.99), and 17 patients (30.36%) had normal score. After administering proton pump inhibitors for 2 months, 7 patients still had high Boix-Ochoa score (17.95%). The result of this analysis shows that the presence of asthma increases the chance of GER by 2.86 times. Conclusions: In children with asthma we have to look for GER in order to treat, because it can help the treatment of asthma or even solve some cases resistant to standard treatment.