Introduction: Reactivation of latent tuberculosis is a major complication of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) inhibitors. Therefore, screening for latent TB is recommended before initiation of this treatment. The aim of the study was to compare Tuberculosis skin test (TST) size reaction between healthy people and patients, with Rheumatoid arthritis (RA), Ankylosising spondylitis (AnS) and Psoriatic arthritis (PsA). Patients and Methods: Results of TST of 133 healthy subjects were compared with the results of TST of 79 patients, suffering from RA, AnS and PsA. A χ 2 test was used to compare the difference between the groups. A value of p < 0.05 was considered significant. Active tuberculosis (TB) was excluded by chest X-ray and through patient's history. The results of TST reaction were grouped according to the CDC's (Centers for Disease Control and prevention) recommendation, e.g. 0-4 mm, 5-9 mm, 10-15 mm and >15 mm. Results: Among RA patients 80% received Methotrexate (MTX), 50% Prednisone and 20% other DMARDs. 20% of patients suffering from AnS received MTX, 80%-NSAIDs, and among patients with PsA 70% received MTX, 30%-Salazopirin. There was no significant difference in history of bacilli Calmette-Guerine vaccination between the groups. There was no significant difference in TST reaction distribution between healthy subjects and patients with RAp > 0.5. TST reaction distribution differed significantly between healthy people and AnS (p < 0.05) and PsA (p < 0.001) patients. The overall tendency in these two patients' groups was towards high positive TST, especially among PsA patients. Conclusion: Our results showed that RA patients may present TST reaction as healthy people. The high percent of our AnS and PsA patients that showed TST reaction above 15 mm need further exploration. We conclude that it may be not appropriate to use TST to recognize LTBI in our population.
Introduction. The urethroplasty of the urethral stricture disease is still a severe problem for surgeons. The aim of this study is to evaluate own results of buccal mucosa graft urethroplasty (BMGU) for the treatment of urethral stricture. Aim. Evaluation of own results of urethroplasty with a graft of the oral mucosa in the treatment of urethral strictures. Materials and methods. Between 01.08.2014 and 01.06.2020 we treated 136 patients with urethral stricture at our Medical Centers, where we provided buccal mucosa graft urethroplasty for bulbar and penile urethra. Results. The bulbar stricture was found among 105 patients of 136 (77,1 % cases), in which 64 had stricture in proximal part and 41 – in distal part of the urethra, 19 patients – in penile urethra and the other part had panurethral lesion. The median length of the stricture was measured as 3,8 ± 0,6 sm in the first three groups, and in the last group it was 10,4 ± 1,5 sm. At a median follow-up of 16,3 months 87,5% of patients in the first group, 90,2 % in the second, 84,2 % in the third and 83,3 % in the fourth group had no stricture recurrence and were satisfied with BMGU. Conclusion. For patients with urethral stricture disease, BMGU offers excellent success, morbidity with different techniques and methods, which statistically are equal to each other.
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