Clinical biochemistry
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Clinical biochemistry · Oct 2013
Impact of alloantibody strength in crossmatch negative DSA positive kidney transplantation.
The clinical relevance of pre-transplant "low-level" donor specific anti-HLA antibodies (DSAs) in crossmatch negative kidney transplant recipients remains unclear. To determine what level of DSA associates with antibody mediated rejection (AMR) could be the way to measure the clinical relevance of pre-transplant "low-level" donor specific anti-HLA antibodies (DSAs) in crossmatch negative kidney transplant recipients. ⋯ Overall, this data supports using the single antigen bead to detect "low-level" DSA both pre- and post- as having a positive and persistent DSA may be predictive of higher AMR rates and poorer graft survival.
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Clinical biochemistry · Oct 2013
Ischemia-modified albumin, a predictive marker of major adverse cardiovascular events in continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis patients.
The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficiency of ischemia-modified albumin (IMA) for predicting major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) in continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) patients. ⋯ CAPD patients with high levels of IMA had a high incidence rate of MACE. IMA was a good predictive marker of MACE and might be important in cardiovascular risk stratification of CAPD patients.
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Clinical biochemistry · Oct 2013
Plasma neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin as a biomarker for acute kidney injury in critically ill patients with suspected sepsis.
The aim of this study was to investigate the diagnostic utility of plasma neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) as an early objective biomarker to predict acute kidney injury (AKI) in critically ill patients with suspected sepsis, for whom procalcitonin (PCT) was used for the diagnosis and staging of sepsis. ⋯ Plasma NGAL seems to be a highly sensitive and objective predictor of AKI in patients with sepsis. Plasma NGAL can be added for the diagnosis and staging of renal failure in sepsis.
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Clinical biochemistry · Oct 2013
The new collaborative path in medical device development: the medical device innovation consortium.
The United States medical device market is the world's largest with over $100 billion in sales in 2011. Despite robust industry growth, the efficiency of the FDA approval process for moderate-risk (Class II) and high-risk devices (Class III) requiring 510(k) submission or pre-market approval (PMA) has been criticized. ⋯ Clinical chemists and clinical laboratory scientists have several unique opportunities to contribute to the MDIC. These laboratory professionals have invaluable experience with the real-life performance of a variety of medical devices and their expertise can recognize unmet needs and contribute towards the acceleration of device development.
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Clinical biochemistry · Oct 2013
Procalcitonin as a diagnostic marker in differentiating parapneumonic effusion from tuberculous pleurisy or malignant effusion.
Differential diagnosis of exudative pleural effusions can be difficult, despite the use of several biomarkers. Serum procalcitonin (s-PCT) is a well-known biomarker for systemic bacterial infections. However, the usefulness of pleural fluid procalcitonin (pf-PCT) in clinical practice has not been established. This study evaluated the usefulness of PCT measurements in differentiating parapneumonic effusion (PPE) from tuberculous (TB) pleurisy or malignant effusion. ⋯ Measurement of s-PCT and pf-PCT is useful in differentiating PPE from TB pleurisy and malignant effusion. Both s-PCT and pf-PCT may be useful biomarkers in the differential diagnosis of exudative pleural effusions.