Clinica chimica acta; international journal of clinical chemistry
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Fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) is a common chronic widespread pain syndrome mainly affecting women. Genetic risk factors are known to contribute to the etiology of the syndrome. Clinical features show that FMS and familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) have some overlapping symptoms. Mediterranean fever (MEFV) gene has already been identified as being responsible for FMF. The aim of this study was to explore the frequency and clinical significance of missense mutations and a common polymorphism of MEFV gene in a cohort of Turkish patients with FMS. ⋯ The results of this study suggest that MEFV gene mutations and polymorphism are positively associated with predisposition to develop FMS. Further studies with larger populations will be required to confirm these findings.
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To achieve sufficient and safe anticoagulation with unfractionated heparin (UFH) a close and reliable drug monitoring is necessary. In general, the activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) is used for this purpose. In acute phase response, however, the APTT test procedure might be unreliable e.g. with false low results in the presence of elevated factor VIII. In this so called heparin resistance, measurement of anti-Xa activity is recommended over APTT to avoid potentially harmful dose escalation. A combination of anti-Xa measurement and global hemostatic testing with ROTEM® employing the anti-Xa sensitive PiCT® reagent showed high correlation with enoxaparin levels. This test modification could also be suitable for monitoring UFH. Aim of the study was to evaluate the correlation between PiCT®-ROTEM® and levels of UFH. ⋯ As a point-of-care applicable tool ROTEM® is immediately at hand. If further clinical studies confirm sensitivity in heparin resistance, PiCT®-ROTEM® could permit rapid UFH dose adjustments especially required in critical illness with acute phase response.
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Statins reportedly have anti-inflammatory effects aside from their cholesterol-lowering effect. We investigated the effects of statins on serum hs-CRP level and clinical outcome of acute ischemic stroke (IS) patients. ⋯ Statin therapy reduces serum hs-CRP level and may be associated with favorable 3-month outcome in patients after acute IS.
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High-mobility group box 1 (HMGB1), a marker of inflammation, has been associated with poor outcome of critical illness. The present study was undertaken to investigate the plasma HMGB1 concentrations in patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) and to analyze the correlation of HMGB1 with TBI outcome. ⋯ Plasma HMGB1 concentration emerges as a novel biomarker for predicting 1-y clinical outcomes of TBI.
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We compared the diagnostic utilities of procalcitonin (PCT) and C-reactive protein (CRP) for predicting bacteremia diagnosed by blood cultures. PCT was also evaluated as a parameter for differentiating true bacteremia from culture contamination. ⋯ PCT concentration by single testing was more useful for predicting bacteremia than CRP. PCT also exhibited diagnostic utility for ruling out blood culture contamination. Thus, PCT could be helpful in the accurate diagnosis of bacteremia.