Tomasz Smiatacz

• Medical University of Gdansk

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a progressive and fatal disease, characterized by impaired wound repair, tissue remodeling and fibrosis. Immune system may participate in the development and progression of the disease as indicated by altered activity in IPF sufferers. This study investigates the immune response to the BNT162b2 COVID-19 vaccin...

Vaccination against COVID-19 in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) on replacement therapy and kidney transplant recipients (KTRs) is particularly important due to the high mortality rate. Here, we tested the local and systemic immunity to the novel Pfizer BioNTech (BNT162b2) messenger RNA (mRNA) in ESRD, KTR patients, and healthy individu...

Kroniki pandemii to zbiór 27 stanowisk opublikowanych przez interdyscyplinarny Zespół doradczy ds. COVID-19 przy Prezesie Polskiej Akademii Nauk, działający od lipca 2020 roku. Jest to już drugie po Zrozumieć COVID-19 obszerniejsze opracowanie naszego zespołu porządkujące wiadomości dotyczące wirusa SARS-CoV-2 i powodowanej przez niego choroby COVI...

Opracowanie zespołu naukowców pracujących pod kierunkiem prezesa Polskiej Akademii Nauk prof. Jerzego Duszyńskiego w sposób przystępny przedstawia aktualny stan wiedzy na temat wirusa SARS-CoV-2, choroby COVID-19 oraz jej skutki medyczne, psychologiczne, gospodarcze i społeczne. W publikacji naukowcy prezentują prognozy epidemii w sezonie jesienno-...

The evidence on the pathophysiology of the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 infection is rapidly growing. Understanding why some patients suffering from COVID-19 are getting so sick, while others are not, has become an informal imperative for researchers and clinicians around the globe. The answer to this question would allow rationalizing the fear sur...

Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within DNA region containing interferon lambda 3 (IFNL3) and IFNL4 genes are prognostic factors of treatment response in chronic hepatitis C (CHC). Iron overload, frequently diagnosed in CHC, is associated with unfavorable disease course and a risk of carcinogenesis. Its etiology and relationship with the immu...

Objectives: To evaluate the frequency, co-occurrence, and risk factors for hematological complications at the time of diagnosis of chronic hepatitis C (CHC). Methods: This study included 1237 patients with CHC aged 18-88 years diagnosed in the years 1998-2010 in the Pomeranian region of Poland. Clinical data, cell blood count, liver biopsy, and...

Kaposi sarcoma (KS) is known to be one of the three AIDS-defining neoplasms together with non-Hodgkin lymphoma and cervical carcinoma. Since the beginning of AIDS epidemics, KS has been frequently diagnosed as a skin or mucous tumour accompanied by a low CD4 count due to advanced HIV infection. In our report, we describe the case of KS diagnosed in...

Long-term antiviral therapy of chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection can lead to the selection of drug resistant HBV variants and treatment failure. Moreover, these HBV strains are possibly present in treatment-naïve patients. Currently available HBV drug resistance detection assays can identify mutants that constitute ≥5% of viral population....

The course of chronic hepatitis C virus infection (c-HCVI) is often asymptomatic at onset; If becomes symptomatic extrahepatic complications may dominate. Among them, hematological complications occur quite frequently including mainly mixed cryoglobulinemia and thrombocytopenia, less common non-Hodgkin's lymphomas (NHL) and monoclonal gammopathy of...

Antiviral therapy (interferon alpha with ribavirin) for chronic hepatitis C virus infection (c-HCVI) frequently causes decrease of cell blood counts (CBC) which may affect undertaken treatment. The aim of the study was to evaluate the frequency of CBC changes during antiviral therapy and to assess if pre-treatment CBC declines affect the incidence...

Background Success in treating hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection with nucleoside analogues drugs is limited by the emergence of drug-resistant viral strains upon prolonged therapy. In addition to mutation patterns in the viral polymerase gene, host factors are assumed to contribute to failure of treatment in chronic HBV infections. The aim of this...

Available data on prevalence of HCV genotypes in Poland are insufficient. The aim of the study was the analysis of distribution of HCV genotypes in Poland over the period of recent 10 years regarding the age of patients and the regions of the country. Analysis of HCV genotypes in Poland was carried out between 2003 and 2012, and included 14 651 pat...

Over 2000 new hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections, 1500 new hepatitis B virus (HBV) infections and 100 new hepatitis A virus (HAV) infections are registered in Poland annually. Hepatotropic viruses induce not only liver damage but also extrahepatic manifestations affecting other organs mainly due to autoimmune reactions. Extrahepatic manifestations...

The purpose of this study was to determine energy intake in HIV-positive adults. In the study participated 150 adults. Energy intake and percentage of energy from protein, carbohydrate and fat were measured using 24-hour dietary recalls and computer program Wikt 1.3. The results of the study showed that energy intakes were below the dietary referen...

The authors present material about 12 HIV infected children at the age between 0 and 18 years observed and treated in Department of Infectious Diseases Medical University of Gdansk in the period between 1991 till 2006. Retrospectively medical records of 4 of them currently undergoing observation and treatment have been analyzed taking into consider...

Anaesthesia procedures for surgical interventions in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) are not commonly found in clinical practice, and often have special considerations that must be taken into account in treatment planning. As a result, these procedures are rarely subject to publication, rendering it difficult for the anaesthesiolo...

The authors present material about 12 HIV infected children at the age between 0 and 18 years observed and treated in Department of Infectious Diseases Medical University of Gdansk in the period between 1991 till 2006. Retrospectively medical records of 4 of them currently undergoing observation and treatment have been analyzed taking into consider...

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the epidemiology of intravascular coagulation in bacterial meningitis and to recognise the associations with disease severity and outcome. Thirty-eight consecutively admitted adult patients with microbiologically proven bacterial meningitis were observed prospectively for platelets count (PLT), platelets-de...

To assess the relationship between inflammatory changes in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and prognosis in patients with acute viral encephalitis (AVE). PATIENTS and retrospective medical records analysis of 99 cases of AVE, 37 females and 62 males, age 4-71. Patients were assigned to 2 subgroups: group I--without inflammatory changes in CSF (cytosis <...

The introduction of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) led to a decreased incidence of the most severe opportunistic infections (OIs) in HIV-infected patients. In Poland, HAART became widely used in 1998. This study was based on data from medical records data collected in the years 2000-2002 from medical centers for HIV-infected patients...

We report a case of previously healthy student with acute rhombencephalitis and brainstem abscess caused by Listeria monocytogenes. The disease begun with uncharacteristic prodromal symptoms of gastrointestinal infection followed by headache and vertigo. After hospital admission the patient rapidly deteriorated, presenting pronounced dysphagia and...

Disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) is an important, but not satisfactory explained risk factor of death in purulent meningitis (PM). Evaluation of: 1) acute thrombocytopenia (ATP) in patients with PM, 2) dynamics in changes of peripheral blood platelet (PLT) count and serum coagulation factors, 3) correlation between acute DIC and mortali...

In this article mechanisms of CD4 cells depletion, apoptosis, necrosis and T-cell activation, cellular immune responses to HIV infection, with emphasis on involvement of CD4 and CD8 HIV-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes in human immunodeficiency virus infection are being discussed. Author reviews recent reports on immune restoration resulting from a...

We report an analysis of clinical course of 18 patients presenting with Staphylococcus aureus sepsis. Community acquired infection was caused by Methicillin susceptible S. aureus (MSSA) in 11 patients. MSSA in 3 and Methicillin Resistant S. aureus strains (MRSA) in 4 patients, were the etiologic factor in 7 patients with nosocomial infection. From...

Unlabelled: Opportunistic infections are one of the major problem among HIV infected patients still connected with high mortality. The aim of the investigation is to evaluate the incidence and mortality from opportunistic infections in HIV infected population in Pomeranian region of Poland. The paper presents analysis of incidence of opportunistic...

In the period of 1988-2001 (June) 24 HIV-positive patients with symptoms of sepsis were observed. Most of them (17 persons) were intravenous drug addicts, six patients were infected HIV trough sexual contact and one person-via blood transfusion. There were 26 cases analyzed (one of the patients went trough three episodes of sepsis). Bacterial sepsi...

During last decades we have been witnessing substantial progress in hepatology, particularly in relation to viral hepatitis. Novel diagnostic tools allowed researchers to define new etiological agents, understand their epidemiology and pathogenesis as well as develop effective preventive measures. However, several important questions still remain t...

Objective of the study was to determine whether there is any influence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) or hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection on CD4 count decline rate in HIV-infected individuals. Retrospective analysis of consecutive CD4 counts was conducted in 72 HIV-infected untreated individuals (including 57 intravenous drug addict (i.v.d.a.)) in rel...

Among 46 i.v. drug abusers we revealed HBV infection in 36, presence of anti-HCV antibodies in 33, and HIV infection in 21. Prevalence of HBV markers and anti-HCV antibodies increased with a period of time of i.v. drug abuse. The course of HBV and HCV infection was often subclinical. IgG levels turned out to be higher in HBV infected persons, with...