In this study it was demonstrated that ECC and the use of aprotinin did not have any influence on the secretion of PCT. A systemic bacterial infection caused a significant increase of PCT, whereas PCT values remained normal in case of a SIRS. So it seems to be possible to distinguish between a primary SIRS and a bacterial sepsis by means of PCT.

Long-term ACEI treatment before cardiac surgery raises the perioperative need for catecholamines. Patients with preoperative long-term use of ACEI who do not receive ACEI postoperatively face an increased risk of impaired microcirculation. The inhibition of angiotensin-II (AT II) generation causes the vasodilatatory effects of ACEI, and could be one reason for a post-perfusion syndrome or a SIRS.

While the world is fighting against the newly emerged highly contagious coronavirus strain, new evolving ideas regarding symptoms and investigations are reverberating among health care professionals to combat the public health emergency. The study aims to review various presenting symptoms of COVID-19 especially the unusual one and analyzing the importance of olfactory and taste disturbances. 20 studies published recently in the last 1 year were analyzed and discussed for insights into the unusual presentation of symptoms in COVID-19 patients. All the findings and statements in this review regarding the pandemic are based on published information as listed in the references. Most research articles initially focused on fever and respiratory symptoms. Later gastrointestinal symptoms were also taken into consideration. Only 5 studies from the literature have mentioned any smell and taste disturbances after SARS-CoV-2 infection to date. So changing trends can be seen in publications and recognizing these symptoms has important to timely combat this disease. The majority of corona virus-infected patients suffer from mild to moderate severity of the disease. Much hyped up symptoms of the respiratory tract may not be shown by a greater number of patients. So the need of the hour especially in developing and densely populated nations is to recognize unusual symptoms of COVID-19 especially its influence over smell and taste sensation to prevent any delay or misdiagnosis.

Introduction: Cardiomyocytes respond to stress with the expression of various heat shock proteins (HSPs). Expression of mitochondrial HSP60 is known to be induced by various stress factors, including ischaemia and reperfusion. The aim of the study was to investigate the induction of HSP60 in human myocardium during cardiac surgery. Method: From eight patients undergoing elective coronary artery bypass grafting or valve replacement, samples of right atrium were harvested before and after extracorporeal circulation (ECC). Two patients had atrial fibrillation and six were in sinus rhythm. The myocardial samples were excised and immediately immersed in liquid nitrogen. The HSP60 protein level was determined using sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacryl-amide gel electrophoresis, Western blot, and subsequent ECL technique. The amount of HSP60 protein was quantified by optical densitometry, according to the immunoreactive bands of actin. Results: In all samples HSP60 was detected before and after ECC. We could not find any difference in HSP60 expression before and during cardiac surgery. There was no correlation with duration of cardiopulmonary bypass or reperfusion time. Conclusion: We could not demonstrate a cytoprotective upregulation of HSP60 after an obligatory period of ischaemia, cardioplegic arrest and reperfusion. This might reflect effective cardioprotection during ECC.

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