Clin Chem Lab Med
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The differential diagnosis between bacterial and viral meningitis is not easy in some cases. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) analysis is essential for establishing this diagnosis. The objectives were to quantitate lactic acid (LA) concentrations in bacterial and viral meningitis, and other central nervous system (CNS) diseases in order to evaluate the diagnostic utility of CSF LA for discriminating bacterial from viral meningitis. ⋯ CSF LA is a powerful test to discriminate bacterial from viral meningitis with high sensitivity, specificity and predictive values. CSF LA can help in the cases with diagnostic uncertainty.
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Comparative Study
Evaluation of analytical performance of the Pathfast cardiac troponin I.
Cardiac troponins are considered the cornerstone for risk stratification and diagnosis of patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS). Following Clinical Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) guidelines, we assessed the analytical performances of the Pathfast (Mitsubishi, Japan) cTnI method. ⋯ The data indicate that the cTnI Pathfast method may be suitable for helping clinicians in the management of patients with ACS.
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Brain natriuretic peptide (BNP), N-terminal proBNP (NT-proBNP) and to a lesser extent prohormone proBNP are recognized as biochemical markers of left ventricular dysfunction. In renal failure, interpretation of natriuretic peptide remains unclear, as natriuretic peptide levels may be not only be dependent on cardiac function and dimensions but also on renal function, fluid volume and removal by dialysis procedure including hemodiafiltration (HDF). The purpose of this study was (i) to assess BNP, NT-proBNP and proBNP levels and their correlation with clinical and echocardiographic data in chronic hemodialysis patients, and (ii) to investigate basal level alteration following HDF. ⋯ Despite their elimination, BNP, NT-proBNP and proBNP could be potential markers of left ventricular remodeling in chronic renal failure patients on hemodialysis. According to these results, their cut-off values, however, need to be re-evaluated.
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Authors are usually invited to follow the instructions to authors in scientific journals, because this section is likely to contain unique requirements, such as the references style requested. Authors not only must accurately check the instructions, but are also expected to verify references against the original documents before submitting the article, consuming a considerable amount of time. ⋯ A variety of international, peer-reviewed journals currently requires a rather different style, especially for the numbers of authors to be cited, the placing of the year of publication, the style of the journal title. A broad implementation of reasonable standards of practice and consensus guidelines for the format of manuscript references should be promoted for an advantageous process for both the journals and the authors.
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Adenosine deaminase (ADA) catalyzes the irreversible hydrolytic deamination of adenosine to inosine. The purpose of this study was to determine the plasma activities of total adenosine deaminase (ADA T), and its isoenzymes, ADA1 and ADA2, and ADA1/ADA2 ratio of male and female ischemic stroke patients. ⋯ Our results suggest that the primary mechanism in men with ischemic stroke might involve the reduction of ADA1 activity. The reduction is probably an adaptation mechanism for induced increase in adenosine availability and protection of brain to ischemic injury.