Background. The most common haematological manifestation in RA is anaemia (30-60%). The aim of the study was the assessment of the prevalence of iron deficiency in RA patients using standard parameters and new biomarkers.Material and methods. The study was conducted on 62 RA patients, aged 52±15, treated at the Department of Internal Medicine of the 4th Military Teaching Hospital in Wrocław between 2016 and 2017. The control group comprised 58 healthy individuals, aged 56±9. The following tests were carried out: DAS-28, complete blood count, creatinine, uric acid, AspAT, ALAT, GGT, bilirubin, TSH, lipid profile, iron, TIBC, transferrin saturation, ferritin, soluble transferrin receptor, hepcidin, and IL-6.Results. A higher percentage of RA patients compared with the control group had TSAT values below 20%, ferritin levels below the reference range, soluble transferrin receptor levels above 1.59mg/l and hepcidin levels below 14.5 ng/ml. 60% of RA patients had iron deficiency. The correlations between reduced ferritin levels and younger age, female gender, lower GGT levels and increased platelet counts was shown. The correlations were found between iron deficiency and younger age, female gender, reduced haemoglobin levels, increased platelet counts, increased GFR, reduced GGT levels, lower disease activity and less frequent use of sulfasalazineConclusions. Iron deficiency is common in RA patients with high disease activity. RA patients had lower transferrin saturation, lower ferritin and hepcidin levels and higher serum sTfR levels. The increased DAS-28 scores and reduced haemoglobin levels were the two strongest determinants of iron deficiency in RA patients.

Introduction. Diabetes mellitus is one of the most common chronic diseases with a high number of sufferers worldwide. Diabetic neuropathy and diabetic angiopathy lead to serious infectious complications which are very difficult to combat and may finally lead to the amputation of a lower limb. The aim of the study was to evaluate the quality of life, the level of acceptance of the illness and the nutritional status of patients after lower limb amputation due to diabetes. Methods. Ninety nine patients (23 men and 76 women) were enrolled into the study. They had all undergone lower limb amputation due to diabetic foot in the Department of General and Oncological Surgery. The following questionnaires were used: the WHO Quality of Life-BREF, the Mini Nutritional Assessment, the Acceptance of Illness Scale and the socio-demographic questionnaire. Results. The diabetes-related amputees had a higher QoL within the social domain (64.48), an intermediate QoL – within the environmental domain (63.04) and the mental domain (59.61), and a lower QoL – within physical (somatic) domain (54.69). There was no statistical correlation between genders or between all the domains of QoL (p>0.05). The patients were at risk of malnutrition (MNA was 22.66). There were statistical differences between women and men as regards nutritional status (p=0.034). The mean AIS score was 27.65, which means that the respondents accept their disease. There was no statistical correlation between gender and the acceptance of the disease (p=0.288). There was not statistical correlation between age and QoL (p>0.05). There were statistical differences between age and nutritional status (p<0.05), and between age and acceptance of the illness (p=0.044). Conclusions. The better the quality of life was in all the domains, the better the level of acceptance of illness was. The less malnourished the patient was, the better their quality of life was in all the domains.

Introduction. Diabetes mellitus is one of the most common chronic diseases with a high number of sufferers worldwide. Diabetic neuropathy and diabetic angiopathy lead to serious infectious complications which are very difficult to combat and may finally lead to the amputation of a lower limb. The aim of the study was to evaluate the quality of life, the level of acceptance of the illness and the nutritional status of patients after lower limb amputation due to diabetes. Methods. Ninety nine patients (23 men and 76 women) were enrolled into the study. They had all undergone lower limb amputation due to diabetic foot and were treated in the Department of General and Oncological Surgery. The following questionnaires were used: the WHO Quality of Life-BREF (WHOQOL–BREF), the Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA), the Acceptance of Illness Scale (AIS) and the anonymous specific socio-demographic characteristics questionnaire.Results: The diabetes-related amputees were revealed to have a higher QoL within the social domain (mean score 64.48), an intermediate QoL – within the environmental domain (mean score 63.04) and the mental domain (mean score 59.61), and a lower QoL – within physical (somatic) domain (mean score 54.69). There was no statistical correlation between genders or between all the domains of QoL (p>0.05). The mean MNA score was 22.66, which means that patients were at risk of malnutrition. There were statistical differences between women and men as regards nutritional status (p=0.034). The mean AIS score was 27.65 (27.09 women and 29.48 men), which means that the respondents accept their disease. There was no statistical correlation between gender and the acceptance of the disease (p=0.288). There was not statistical correlation between age and QoL (p>0.05). There were statistical differences between age and nutritional status (p<0.05), and between age and acceptance of the illness (p=0.044).Conclusions: The better the quality of life was in all the domains, the better the level of acceptance of illness was. The less malnourished the patient was, the better their quality of life was in all the domains.