Medicine
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Correlation of platelets count with endoscopic findings in a cohort of Egyptian patients with liver cirrhosis.
Screening endoscopy is recommended for early detection of esophageal varices (EVs) in cirrhotic patients with portal hypertension. However, this approach is limited by its invasiveness and cost. The aim of the study was to determine if platelet count can predict the presence of EVs, especially large (grade III, IV) EVs in need of prophylactic therapy, in a cohort of Egyptian patients with liver cirrhosis. ⋯ Platelet count is a noninvasive parameter with high accuracy for prediction of EVs. Cirrhotic patients with normal platelet counts (above 150,000), especially in financially deprived developing countries, can avoid screening endoscopy as they are at a low risk for variceal bleeding, and presence of large EVs in these patients is much less common than in those with thrombocytopenia. A 3.175 cut-off value of FIB-4 could be useful as a noninvasive predictor of large varices requiring prophylactic banding in cirrhotic patients.
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Although fluoroquinolones (FQs) are generally well-tolerated antibiotics, increasing numbers of hypersensitivity reactions have been reported. These can be evaluated in vitro by basophil activation tests (BATs); however, sensitivity is not optimal. Many factors could influence sensitivity such as basophil activation markers. ⋯ The best sensitivity-specificity was obtained using a cutoff of 3 and the culprit FQ, using CD203c for moxifloxacin-allergic patients (sensitivity = 36.4%; specificity = 94.4%), and CD63 for ciprofloxacin-allergic patients (sensitivity = 83.3%; specificity = 88.9%). A negative correlation was found between the upregulation of CD63 and CD203c and the time interval between the reaction occurrence and the performance of the test (Spearman r = -0.446; P < 0.001 for CD63 and Spearman r = -0.386; P < 0.001 for CD203c). The performance of BAT for FQ allergy must be optimized for each drug, taking into account possible differences in the stimulation mechanism that leads to the upregulation of different activation markers.
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Observational Study
A Systemic Inflammatory Endotype of Asthma With More Severe Disease Identified by Unbiased Clustering of the Serum Cytokine Profile.
Asthma is considered as a clinical and molecularly heterogeneous disorder. Systemic inflammation is suggested to play an important role in a group of asthma patients. We hypothesized that there is a subgroup of patients with asthma characterized by systemic inflammation. ⋯ More female patients were included, with higher circulating neutrophil counts and more severe symptoms. In conclusion, we identified an endotype of asthma characterized by systemic inflammation and severe symptoms. Increased levels of VEGF, leptin and decreased level of sRAGE may contribute to the systemic inflammation of this asthma endotype.
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Sepsis is a common condition in the emergency department that is associated with high mortality. Red blood cell distribution width (RDW) has been used as a simple prognosis predictor for patients with community-acquired pneumonia, gram-negative bacteremia, and severe sepsis or septic shock. To evaluate the performance of RDW to predict in-hospital mortality among septic patients, we conducted a hospital-based retrospective cohort study in an emergency department of a tertiary teaching hospital. ⋯ RDW could be an independent predictor of mortality among septic patients. Clinicians could classify the septic patients into different risk groups according to RDW quartiles. For more accurate mortality prediction, RDW could be a potential parameter to be incorporated into clinical prediction rules.
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Observational Study
Role of blood gas analysis during cardiopulmonary resuscitation in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest patients.
To determine the relationship between acid-base findings, such as pH, pCO2, and serum lactate levels, obtained immediately after starting cardiopulmonary resuscitation and the return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC). A prospective observational study of adult, nontraumatic out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) patients was conducted at an urban academic teaching institution between April 1, 2013 and March 31, 2015. Arterial blood sample for acid-base data was taken from all OHCA patients on arrival to the emergency department. ⋯ In a multivariate regression analysis, pCO2 was the only independent biochemical predictor for sustained ROSC (OR 0.979; 95% CI 0.960-0.997; P = 0.025) and pCO2 of <75 mmHg was 3.3 times more likely to achieve ROSC (OR 0.302; 95% CI 0.146-0.627; P = 0.001).pCO2 levels obtained during cardiopulmonary resuscitation on ER arrival was associated with ROSC in OHCA patients. It might be a potentially marker for reflecting the status of the ischemic insult. These preliminary results need to be confirmed in a larger population.