OBJECTIVE:: A biphasic activated partial thromboplastin time waveform predicts sepsis and disseminated intravascular coagulation in adults. This has not been previously investigated in children. Our aim is to ascertain whether there are changes in the activated partial thromboplastin time waveform in children with meningococcal disease and to compare its diagnostic use with ...

BackgroundSepsis and complications to sepsis are major causes of mortality in critically ill patients. Rapid treatment of sepsis is of crucial importance for survival of patients. The infectious status of the critically ill patient is often difficult to assess because symptoms cannot be expressed and signs may present atypically. The established biological markers of inflammation (leucocytes, ...

Bacterial Infections; Bacteremia; Meningitis; Urinary Tract Infection; Mastoiditis; Lobar Pneumonia; Septic Arthritis; Cellulitis; Osteomyelitis

ObjectiveThe Pneumonia Severity Index (PSI) and CURB-65 predict outcomes in community acquired pneumonia (CAP), but have limitations. Procalcitonin, a biomarker of bacterial infection, may provide prognostic information in CAP. Our objective was to describe the pattern of procalcitonin in CAP, and determine if procalcitonin provides ...

A 63-year-old patient presented to our emergency unit two days after returning from India suffering from watery diarrhea, nausea, fever and headache. On admission we found a maculopapular rash on his trunk and forehead. Laboratory findings revealed a leuko-thrombopenia and elevated levels of CRP and procalcitonin. We started treatment with ciprofloxacin. ...

Objectives. Our objective is to compare maternal plasma procalcitonin concentrations in preterm premature rupture of membranes (pPROM) and premature rupture of membranes (PROM) at term with their levels in uncomplicated pregnancy, and to determine whether these concentrations are useful in the diagnosis of pPROM cases suspected of infection and in the ...

Patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) in the hospital setting exhibit markedly abnormal levels of various biomarkers of infection, inflammation and coagulation. CAP is a well characterized disease, relatively homogeneous and amenable to management according to defined protocols. Hence, this group of patients represents an opportunity to ...

OBJECTIVE: Levels of procalcitonin, midregional pro-atrial natriuretic peptide (MR-proANP), C-terminal provasopressin (copeptin), and C-reactive protein (CRP), as well as Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) scores, are associated with severity and described as predictors of outcome in ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP). This study sought to ...

The purpose of this systematic review was to assess the evidence for use of routine procalcitonin testing to diagnose the presence of sepsis in the burn patient. The electronic databases MEDLINE, Cochrane, CINAHL, ProQuest, and SCOPUS were searched for relevant studies using the MeSH terms burn, infection, procalcitonin, and meta-analysis. The focus of the ...

IntroductionClinicians are in need of better diagnostic markers in diagnosing infections and sepsis. We studied the ability of procalcitonin, lipopolysaccharide-binding protein, IL-6 and C-reactive protein to identify patients with infection and sepsis.MethodsPlasma and serum samples were obtained on admission from patients with suspected community-acquired infections and ...

PURPOSE: The aim of the present study was to determine if blood procalcitonin can serve as an aid to differentiate between bacterial and nonbacterial cause of fever in children after cardiac surgery. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A nested case-control study of children who underwent open cardiac surgery in critical care units of fourth-level pediatric hospital ...

OBJECTIVE:: For patients in intensive care units, sepsis is a common and potentially deadly complication and prompt initiation of appropriate antimicrobial therapy improves prognosis. The objective of this trial was to determine whether a strategy of antimicrobial spectrum escalation, guided by daily measurements of the biomarker procalcitonin, could reduce the time to ...

BackgroundMost clinicians in developed, non-malaria endemic countries have limited or no experience in making clinical assessments of malaria disease severity and subsequent decisions regarding the need for parenteral therapy or high-level monitoring in febrile patients with imported malaria. In the present study, the diagnostic accuracy of plasma soluble Triggering Receptor ...

Abstract Background: Preeclampsia is characterized by hypertension and proteinuria that begins in the second half of pregnancy. Endothelial dysfunction and trophoblastic hypoperfusion seen in preeclampsia suggested to be part of an increased maternal inflammatory response to pregnancy. In this study, we aimed to evaluate some inflammatory markers in pre-eclamptic and normotensive pregnants. ...

Can the use of serum procalcitonin levels safely reduce antimicrobial use in intensive care unit (ICU) patients? We performed a systematic literature review that identified 6 published randomized controlled trials comparing PCT-guided antimicrobial therapy to usual care in ICU patients, extracting data on ICU and patient characteristics, PCT guideline ...

Previous randomized controlled trials suggest that using clinical algorithms based on procalcitonin levels, a marker of bacterial infections, results in reduced antibiotic use without a deleterious effect on clinical outcomes. However, algorithms differed among trials and were embedded primarily within the European health care setting. Herein, we summarize ...

Antiepileptic hypersensitivity syndrome (AHS) is a potentially life-threatening syndrome in pediatric cases. It is associated with aromatic anticonvulsivant drugs and others antibiotics with or without associated reactivation of virus. The pathogenesis of the process is not clear. Clinical feature of this syndrome include cutaneous reactions, fever and lymphadenopathies, but different organs can ...

... A genetic abnormality results in abnormal transport of amino acids in the kidney. The high levels of the amino acid cystine in the urine lead to stone ...

IntroductionPostoperative care after oesophageal tumour resection holds a high risk of respiratory complications. We therefore aimed to determine the value of systemic inflammatory markers in predicting arterial hypoxaemia as the earliest sign of developing lung injury after oesophageal tumour resection.MethodsIn a prospective observational study, 33 consecutive patients were observed for three ...

BackgroundSerum procalcitonin (PCT) is considered useful in predicting the likeliness of developing bacterial infections in emergency setting. In this study, we describe PCT levels overtime and their relationship with bacterial infection in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) critically ill patients with pneumonia.MethodsWe conducted a prospective ...

Background. Sepsis is an important cause of mortality in newborns. However, a single reliable marker is not available for the diagnosis of neonatal late-onset sepsis (NLS). The aim of this study is to evaluate the value of serum amyloid A (SAA) and procalcitonin (PCT) in the diagnosis and follow-up of NLS. Methods. 36 septic and healthy newborns were included in the study. ...

Sensitive markers of infection are rare or of limited validity in neutropenic patients. Procalcitonin (PCT), a precursor protein of calcitonin, is a specific and sensitive marker of severe bacterial infections during short-term neutropenia. Because the value of PCT measurements among patients undergoing long periods of neutropenia remains uncertain and because several ...

There are very few data on serum procalcitonin (PCT) levels in pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) patients who are negative for HIV. We assessed serum PCT in consecutive patients diagnosed with pulmonary tuberculosis or community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) on admission to discriminate between PTB and CAP, and examined the value of prognostic factors in PTB. 102 ...

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OBJECTIVE:: Increased inflammatory response is related to severity and outcome in community-acquired pneumonia, but the role of inflammatory biomarkers in deciding intensive care unit admission is unknown. We assessed the relationship between inflammatory response, prediction for intensive care unit admission, delayed intensive care unit admission, and outcome in patients with community-acquired ...

IntroductionSystemic inflammatory response syndrome is common after surgery, and it can be difficult to discriminate between infection and inflammation. We performed a review of the literature with the aims of describing the evolution of serum procalcitonin (PCT) levels after uncomplicated cardiac surgery, characterising the role of PCT as a tool in ...

Rapid and early diagnosis of systemic infections is very important for acting on time with an adequate therapy. The aim of this study is to determine the diagnostic importance of procalcitonin (PCT) and C-reactive protein (CRP) of bacterial infections in different stages of sepsis.PCT and CRP have been determined in 45 newborns, 1-21 days of age, with different stages of ...

BackgroundProcalcitonin (PCT) is an established laboratory marker for disease severity in patients with infection and sepsis. In addition, PCT has been shown to be an effective marker for a limited number of localized infections. However, whether or not PCT has any diagnostic value for acute appendicitis, still remains unclear. The purpose of this prospective bicenter study ...

Early differentiation between bacterial infections and disease flares in autoimmune disease patients is important due to different treatments. Seventy-nine autoimmune disease patients with symptoms suggestive of infections or disease flares were collected by retrospective chart review. The patients were later classified into two groups, disease flare and infection. C-reactive protein (CRP) and ...

Methods for the use of Pin1 as a marker of abnormal cell growth are disclosed. In one embodiment, the method includes detecting a level of Pin1 to stage an abnormal cell growth, such as breast or prostate cancer. In another embodiment, the method includes...

Diabetic ketoacidosis is rarely encountered in acromegaly. We present a unique patient with refractory diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) as a first presentation of acromegaly. In addition to an insulin drip and intravenous fluids, our patient was managed with octreotide therapy. As he developed acute renal failure in the context of renal hypoperfusion, continuous venovenous hemofiltration (CVVH) was ...

INTRODUCTION:: High serum procalcitonin (PCT) levels (?0.5 ng/mL) commonly occur with systemic bacterial and fungal infections. Although several studies suggested that measuring serum PCT levels may serve as a useful marker to distinguish between active antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCA)-associated diseases and invasive ...

... risk for a heart attack is low. Why did the researchers do this particular study? To see ... participants with and without abnormal lipid levels. What did the researchers find? Participants with worse lipid levels ...

...to measure magnesium levels in serum and plasma. Magnesium measurements are used in...treatment of hypomagnesemia (abnormally low plasma levels of magnesium) and hypermagnesemia (abnormally high plasma levels of magnesium). (b)...

... Ranges Evidence-based Medicine Test Reliability Genetic Tests Forensic Tests Pharmacogenomics Collecting Samples Tests into Practice FDA ...

Abstract Aims: To determine the normal value ranges of procalcitonin (PCT) in women with uncomplicated pregnancies. Methods: This prospective cohort study was conducted between May 2009 and February 2010 among 60 women without signs of clinical infection (31 vaginal deliveries, 29 cesarean sections) attending the maternity unit of the University of Geneva Hospitals. Sequential ...

Background:In children with meningitis, there is a difficulty to verify the etiology as viral or bacterial. Therefore, intensive research has been carried out to find new and rapid diagnostic methods for differentiating bacterial from viral meningitis.Objectives:The aim of this work was to study the behavior of procalcitonin (PCT) and whether it can be used to differentiate ...

PurposeProcalcitonin (PCT) is a current, frequently used marker for severe bacterial infection. The aim of this study was to assess the ability of PCT levels to differentiate bacteremic from nonbacteremic patients with fever. We assessed whether PCT level could be used to accurately rule out a diagnosis of bacteremia.Materials and ...

Despite the advances in perinatal and neonatal care and use of newer potent antibiotics, the incidence of neonatal sepsis remains high and the outcome is still severe. For years, investigators have sought a test or panel of tests able to identify septic neonates accurately and rapidly in order to obtain an early diagnosis and develop a specific effective treatment for a successful outcome. In ...

A short-cut review was performed to evaluate whether inflammatory markers such as C reactive protein (CRP), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), white cell count (WCC) and procalcitonin (PCT) are able to discriminate between streptococcal and viral tonsillitis, enabling a reduction in the overuse of antibiotics. Eight studies with a total of 1031 participants were found. The ...

We studied the usefulness of serum procalcitonin (PCT), interleukin-6 (IL-6), lipopolysaccharide binding protein (LBP) levels and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels, in differentiating between systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) and sepsis in critically ill patients. Methods. In this single centre prospective observational ...

Background/Aims: The aim of this study is to assess serum procalcitonin (PCT) for early prediction of severe acute pancreatitis compared with multiple scoring systems and biomarkers. Methods: Forty-four patients with acute pancreatitis confirmed by radiological evidences, laboratory assessments, and clinical manifestation were prospectively enrolled. All blood samples and ...

The patient population at risk pulmonary infections has increased during the last decade. The spectrum of organisms causing infections has also grown, most of them are viruses Baseline diagnostic assessment include history, clinical examination, radiography and measurements of procalcitonin (PCT), highly sensitive C-reactive protein (hsCRP) and leukocyte count. PCT represents ...

The Federal Aviation Administration's Office of Aviation Medicine (OAM) is responsible for the certification of pilots with diabetic conditions. Therefore, it is essential for OAM to monitor pilots involved in fatal accidents for abnormal glucose levels, ...

Clinical signs of infection do not allow for correct identification of bacterial and viral aetiology in acute respiratory infections. A valid tool to assist the clinician in identifying patients who will benefit from antibiotic therapy, as well as patients with a potentially serious infection, could greatly improve patient care and limit excessive antibiotic prescriptions. ...

Context: Calcitonin (CT) is the main medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC) tumor marker. However, it has several limitations, including a concentration-dependent biphasic half-life, sensitivity to rapid in vitro degradation, and the presence of different isoforms/fragments. Procalcitonin (PCT), the prohormone of calcitonin, is free of these limitations but is currently used only ...

There is a universally recognized need to identify new, reliable markers of inflammation that can aid in the rapid diagnosis of orthopaedic joint prosthesis infections (OJP-Is). Since prompt diagnosis is key to timely intervention in the course of infection, different molecules have been studied. In this study, we examined three groups of patients: those with prosthesis infection, those without ...

Symptoms of cough, fever, chest pain, and shortness of breath are common reasons that patients seek medical care, and they can be due to a variety of medical conditions, including lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI). Only a small proportion of these patients will actually have a bacterial etiology, but many will receive antibiotic treatment because physicians cannot readily determine the ...

The objective of the study was to evaluate arterial morphologic changes of early atherosclerosis and changes in procalcitonin (PCT) levels in patients with acromegaly according to disease activity. Thirty-three active and 20 inactive acromegaly patients followed at Endocrinology-Metabolism out-patient clinic of Cerrahpasa Medical Faculty between 2004 and ...

The hypothesis that stuttering partly results from neural abnormalities leading to impaired readout of motor commands for well-learned syllables was investigated with GODIVA and DIVA, neurobiological models of speech production. Two brain abnormalities associated with stuttering were investigated: elevated dopamine levels, and ...

... systematically analyzed these mice at various ages at the anatomical and histological level for abnormalities in prostate development and histology ...

... since they were returned to ground level for a few minutes each day when they ... no metabolic abnormality and responded to cortisone injec- tions ...

Neural Tube Defects; Congenital, Hereditary, and Neonatal Diseases and Abnormalities; Nervous System Malformations

... There was no associated abnormal increase in mortality nor alterations in serum, blood urea nitrogen, or creatinine levels. ...

or middle agent is abnormal, agent-based system may occur erroneous behaviors. The abnormal situations can) is defined as following. A = (C-F)/C where: C means Complexity; F = Number of links connected to abnormal: agent coordination level, individual agent behavior level, and agent-oriented ...

pathological condition occurred. As a result, they may classify diabetes as an abnormal blood sugar level diabetes as an abnormality in metabolism, and another specialist may classify diabetes as a lifestyle. pathological condition of metabolic disorders is an abnormal state consisting of a metabolic ...

Procalcitonin (PCT) has been reported to differentiate between bacterial and viral causes of respiratory tract infections. We aimed to assess its ability to discriminate between viral and bacterial infection during the H1N1 pandemic of 2009. The design of this study was a retrospective single centre case series review. Subjects were 17 adult patients admitted to the intensive ...

In order to evaluate the use of an algorithm based on a procalcitonin (PCT) cut-off value as a means of guiding antibiotic therapy, 319 hospitalised children with uncomplicated community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) were randomised 1:1 to be treated on the basis of the algorithm or in accordance with standard guidelines. The children in the PCT group did not receive antibiotics if ...

The assay of infection markers can improve diagnostic sensitivity in neonatal sepsis. We determined the levels of neutrophilic CD64 (nCD64), procalcitonin (PCT) and interleukin 10 (IL-10) in infants with neonatal sepsis. Forty-nine newborn infants who met the criteria of sepsis were subjected to a routine sepsis evaluation as well as measurement of PCT and ...

AIMS: The diagnosis of osteomyelitis is a key step of diabetic foot management. Previous studies showed that procalcitonin (PCT), a novel infection marker, is superior to conventional infection markers in the diagnosis of diabetic foot infection. This study aimed to investigate the serum levels of PCT and other conventional infection markers in diabetic ...

ObjectiveProcalcitonin (PCT) and C reactive protein (CRP) have been used as infection parameters. PCT increase correlates with the infection's severity, course, and mortality. Post-cardiocirculatory arrest syndrome may be related to an early systemic inflammatory response, and may possibly be associated with an endotoxin tolerance. Our objective was to report the time profile ...

BackgroundThe role of procalcitonin in diagnosing bacterial infection has mainly been studied in patients with severe infections. There is no study on the value of procalcitonin measurements in adults with lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI) treated in primary care.AimTo evaluate the accuracy of plasma procalcitonin in predicting ...

... The Effects of Repeated Low-Level Sarin ... H&E staining revealed no brain lesions in either sarin group, and there were no cardiac abnormalities. ...

Objective:The identification of biological markers in order to assess different aspects of COPD is an area of growing interest. The objective of this study was to investigate whether levels of procalcitonin (PCT), C-reactive protein (CRP), and neopterin in COPD patients could be useful in identifying the etiological origin of the exacerbation and assessing ...

Aims: Members of the toll-like receptor (TLR) family have been shown to play important roles in inflammatory responses. Single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) altering receptor activity may either have detectable effects or might be without results due to compensatory mechanisms. We determined the genotype frequencies of functionally relevant SNPs in TLR2, 4 and 5 in critically ill patients ...

Context:Rapid treatment of sepsis is of crucial importance for survival of patients. Specific and rapid markers of bacterial infection have been sought for early diagnosis of sepsis. One such measurement, Procalcitonin (PCT), has recently become of interest as a possible marker of the systemic inflammatory response to infection.Aims:This study was done to find out the common ...

This cross sectional observational study was done in the division of neonatology, department of pediatrics, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) in the year 2007. The study population was 50 newborns in total who needed evaluation of sepsis on clinical suspicion. The main objective of this study was to assess serum procalcitonin (PCT) as a better diagnostic ...

Increasing worldwide development of antimicrobial resistance and the association of resistance development and antibiotic overuse make it necessary to seek strategies for safely reducing antibiotic use and selection pressure. In a first step, in a non-interventional study, the antibiotic prescription rates, initial procalcitonin (PCT) levels and outcome of ...

BackgroundPneumonia is the major cause of mortality and morbidity in children worldwide. Procalcitonin (PCT) and C-reactive protein (CRP) are used in developed countries to differentiate between viral and bacterial causes of pneumonia. Validity of these markers needs to be further explored in Africa.Methodology and Principal FindingsWe assessed the utility of PCT and CRP to ...

BackgroundProcalcitonin (PCT) has been proposed as a diagnostic and prognostic sepsis marker, but has never been validated in febrile patients with prolonged ICU stay.MethodsPatients were included in the study provided they were hospitalised in the ICU for > 10 days, were free of infection and presented a new episode of SIRS, with fever >38�C being obligatory. Fifty ...

Liver scans with technetium-99m sulfur colloid were obtained in 48 subjects with hyperlipoproteinemia who were being treated with various lipid- lowering drug regimens or were receiving no therapy. Twenty-seven of the 48 liver scans were abnormal, but the abnormalities could not be firmly attributed to a specific lipoprotein phenotype or treatment ...

This research has demonstrated behavioral abnormalities and inappropriate responses in lobsters exposed to levels of 0.1-1.0 parts per million (ppm) of oil in water. Such abnormalities can lead to lack of feeding and population decline; they occur at expo...

The role of x rays as a teratogenic factor was studied experimentally in female white rats irradiated on the eleventh day of pregnancy with a single dose of 200 R. The facial and eye abnormalities resulting in the baby rats were described. The simultaneous localization at the level of the eye and the facial bones was discussed. (JSR)

... That means the baby's blood alcohol level stays elevated longer than the mother's. This is very dangerous, ... during pregnancy may also result in: Abnormal heart structure Abnormal brain structure Behavior problems Complications seen in ...

Radiological and Environmental Research Division annual report, July 1972-June 1973. A detailed study of both stable and unstable chromosome abnormalities in a single patient with a body burden of /sup 226/Ra is presente This patient was selected for detailed study because he had been the subject of previous detailed cytogenetic analysis, and was examined for evidence ...

This study was undertaken to determine whether concentrations of procalcitonin in the blood of neonates with nosocomial infections depend on the type of pathogen. Qualification for the study group was based on the clinical signs of infection. We found that infections with Gram-positive (chiefly coagulase-negative staphylococci) and Gram-negative bacteria are accompanied by ...

BackgroundMost studies on risk factors for development of coronary heart disease (CHD) have been based on the clinical outcome of CHD. Our aim was to identify factors that could predict the development of ECG markers of CHD, such as abnormal Q/QS patterns, ST segment depression and T wave abnormalities, in 70-year-old men, irrespective of clinical ...

IntroductionAdditional biomarkers in sepsis are needed to tackle the challenges of determining prognosis and optimizing selection of high-risk patients for application of therapy. In the present study, conducted in a cohort of medical intensive care unit patients, our aim was to compare the prognostic value of mid-regional pro-atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) levels with those ...

Sepsis is one of the most frequent causes of death after major burn injury. Usually, sepsis appears as a consequence of a gram-negative bacteriaemia with release of endotoxins. In this study, the plasma endotoxin levels of seven patients (three female, four male; average age 51.3 +/- 23.8 years) with burns between 43.5 and 78 % Total Body Surface Area (Abbreviated Burn ...

The presence of abnormalities in fibromyalgia muscle using current methodological approaches is well established. The more serious abnormalities are demonstrated by histologic studies particularly on electron microscopy: disorganisation of Z bands and abnormalities in the number and shape of mitochondria. Biochemical studies and P 31 ...

There are not many studies pertaining to the spinal or limb abnormalities in people with intellectual disabilities, without a clear profile of these deformities of them, efforts to understand its characters and improve their quality of life will be impossible. Therefore, this paper aims to describe the prevalence and related factors of spinal and limb ...

For some time, dystonia has been seen as purely a motor disorder. Relatively novel concepts published approximately 10 years ago also presumed that in the development of dystonic dyskinesias, only motor behaviour was abnormal. Neurophysiological observations of various types of dystonic disorders, which were performed using sophisticated electromyography, polymyography, ...

Invasive pneumococcal diseases were reduced after introduction of pneumococcal conjugate vaccine, but infections due to non-vaccine serotypes persisted. The pneumococcal origin of community-acquired pneumonia remains difficult to affirm, but high procalcitonin and C-reactive protein blood levels and duration of fever 48 h or less after initial antibiotic ...

Unsatisfactory results of surgery in the late course of pancreatic necrosis made us search for indications and variants of operation in the early phase of the disease. As early surgical intervention, the universal approach was used in 7 patients with necrotizing pancreatitis who had a different prevalence of the inflammatory process in the retroperitoneal space. The drainage proved to be effective ...

You are concerned about the escalating use of antibiotics in your intensive care unit (ICU). This has put a strain on the ICU budget and is possibly resulting in the emergence of resistant bacteria. You review the situation with your team and one suggestion is to consider using biomarkers such as procalcitonin to better guide appropriate antibiotic decision making.

The aims of this study were to investigate the usefulness of serum C-reactive protein, procalcitonin, tumor necrosis factor alpha, interleukin-6, and interleukin-8 as postmortem markers of sepsis and to compare C-reactive protein and procalcitonin values in serum, vitreous humor, and cerebrospinal fluid in a series of sepsis cases and control subjects, in ...

abnormal electrolyte and hormone levels Blood tests for syphilis and other infections Drug screens MRI of the brain Treatment Treatment depends on the cause of the psychosis....

... of all patients with MG will have abnormally elevated serum levels of these antibodies." Sarcoidosis typically appears ... with a titer, which is a type of elevated antibody test. "HTLV-1 affects the spinal cord ...

... BCES-mediated abnormalities in cell surface carbohydrates, in keratin maturation, and in insulin-binding require higher levels of exposure than ...