1,721,437 research outputs found
Supplementary Material 2, MSJ779951_supplementary_material_2 – Peripheral imbalanced TFH/TFR ratio correlates with intrathecal IgG synthesis in multiple sclerosis at clinical onset
No full textSupplementary Material 2, MSJ779951_supplementary_material_2 for Peripheral imbalanced TFH/TFR ratio correlates with intrathecal IgG synthesis in multiple sclerosis at clinical onset by Marco Puthenparampil, Antonio Zito, Giorgia Pantano, Lisa Federle, Erica Stropparo, Silvia Miante, Giustina De Silvestro, Mario Plebani and Paolo Gallo in Multiple Sclerosis Journal</p
Supplementary Material 3, MSJ779951_supplementary_material_3 – Peripheral imbalanced TFH/TFR ratio correlates with intrathecal IgG synthesis in multiple sclerosis at clinical onset
No full textSupplementary Material 3, MSJ779951_supplementary_material_3 for Peripheral imbalanced TFH/TFR ratio correlates with intrathecal IgG synthesis in multiple sclerosis at clinical onset by Marco Puthenparampil, Antonio Zito, Giorgia Pantano, Lisa Federle, Erica Stropparo, Silvia Miante, Giustina De Silvestro, Mario Plebani and Paolo Gallo in Multiple Sclerosis Journal</p
Supplementary Material 1, MSJ779951_supplementary_material_1 – Peripheral imbalanced TFH/TFR ratio correlates with intrathecal IgG synthesis in multiple sclerosis at clinical onset
No full textSupplementary Material 1, MSJ779951_supplementary_material_1 for Peripheral imbalanced TFH/TFR ratio correlates with intrathecal IgG synthesis in multiple sclerosis at clinical onset by Marco Puthenparampil, Antonio Zito, Giorgia Pantano, Lisa Federle, Erica Stropparo, Silvia Miante, Giustina De Silvestro, Mario Plebani and Paolo Gallo in Multiple Sclerosis Journal</p
Comparison between white blood cell count, procalcitonin and C reactive protein as diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers of infection or sepsis in patients presenting to emergency department
No full textAbstract Background: Procalcitonin (PCT) is currently the most studied infection biomarker and its blood levels seem to mirror the severity of illness and outcome. PCT is widely used together with other biomarkers, such as white blood cells (WBC) count and C reactive protein (CRP), in order to guide antibiotic therapy. This study aimed to verify the diagnostic and prognostic power of WBC, CRP and PCT in patients with suspected infection in emergency department (ED). Methods: A total of 513 patients presenting to the ED with signs/symptoms of local infections or sepsis were enrolled. APACHEII score and in-hospital death were recorded. Patients were subdivided into quartiles by age, and the biomarkers were measured at baseline. Receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curves for evaluating diagnostic and prognostic role of PCT, CRP and WBC were calculated for each variable alone and combined. Results: When compared each other for PCT, CRP, and WBC there was no significant difference between the four subgroups. A direct correlation between PCT and WBC was found in the II, III, and IV quartiles (the highest correlation, r=0.34, p<0.0003). PCT alone or when combined with WBC showed the best diagnostic and prognostic power at ROC analysis. Conclusions: Our data demonstrate that WBC, but more CRP and PCT are reliable diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers, when considered in combination and with severity clinical score. PCT confirms its stronger usefulness as a diagnostic marker of sepsis. A multi-diagnostic tools approach is fundamental to perform a correct and rapid diagnosis of infection and sepsis in ED
Predictive value for death and rehospitalization of 30-day postdischarge B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) in elderly patients with heart failure. Sub-analysis of Italian RED Study.
No full textAbstract Background: Our aim was to determine if, in elderly heart failure (eHF) patients, serial B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) assessments obtained during follow-up after hospital discharge could have prognostic utility for death and rehospitalizations. In eHF patients, BNP assessment at hospital discharge has been demonstrated to have a high prognostic value; however, its predictive role for future cardiovascular events in eHF patients, when assessed in the period after discharge, both for the correct timing and cut-off levels, has not been completely elucidated. Methods: This study is a monocentric subanalysis of the Italian RED (Rapid Emergency Department) study. We studied 180 consecutive patients admitted for acute HF through serial BNP assessments: at hospital arrival; at discharge; and at 30, 90, and 180 days follow-up outpatient visit. Results: Both a BNP >400 pg/mL at 30 days after discharge and the percentage variation of BNP from discharge to 30 days (Δ%BNP), compared with a BNP at discharge >400 pg/mL, showed a higher area under the curve (AUC) and odds ratio (OR) in predicting events [AUC=0.842, p<0.0001; OR 7.9 (3.3-19.0), p<0.001 for 30 days BNP and AUC=0.851, p<0.0001; OR 9.5 (4.065-22.572), p<0.0001 for Δ%BNP compared with AUC=0.638, p<0.002; OR 2.4 (1.1-5.3), p=0.032 for BNP at discharge]. Conclusions: In patients at a high risk for future events, BNP levels assessed 30 days after hospital discharge in the absence of signs and symptoms could be predictive of subsequent hospitalization and death. These patients should be considered for closer monitoring and treatment adjustment
Comparison between admission natriuretic peptides, NGAL and sST2 testing for the prediction of worsening renal function in patients with acutely decompensated heart failure.
No full textAbstract Background: In order to predict the occurrence of worsening renal function (WRF) and of WRF plus in-hospital death, 101 emergency department (ED) patients with acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF) were evaluated with testing for amino-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP), BNP, sST2, and neutrophil gelatinase associated lipocalin (NGAL). Methods: In a prospective international study, biomarkers were collected at the time of admission; the occurrence of subsequent in hospital WRF was evaluated. Results: In total 26% of patients developed WRF. Compared to patients without WRF, those with WRF had a longer in-hospital length of stay (LOS) (mean LOS 13.1±13.4 days vs. 4.8±3.7 days, p<0.001) and higher in-hospital mortality [6/26 (23%) vs. 2/75 (2.6%), p<0.001]. Among the biomarkers assessed, baseline NT-proBNP (4846 vs. 3024 pg/mL; p=0.04), BNP (609 vs. 435 pg/mL; p=0.05) and NGAL (234 vs. 174 pg/mL; p=0.05) were each higher in those who developed WRF. In logistic regression, the combination of elevated natriuretic peptide and NGAL were additively predictive for WRF (ORNT-proBNP+NGAL=2.79; ORBNP+NGAL=3.11; both p<0.04). Rates of WRF were considerably higher in patients with elevation of both classes of biomarker. Comparable results were observed in a separate cohort of 162 patients with ADHF from a different center. Conclusions: In ED patients with ADHF, the combination of NT-proBNP or BNP plus NGAL at presentation may be useful to predict impending WRF (Clinicaltrials.gov NCT#0150153)
Opinion paper on utility of point-of-care biomarkers in the emergency department pathways decision making
No full textAbstract Overcrowding of the emergency department (ED) is rapidly becoming a global challenge and a major source of concern for emergency physicians. The evaluation of cardiac biomarkers is critical for confirming diagnoses and expediting treatment decisions to reduce overcrowding, however, physicians currently face the dilemma of choosing between slow and accurate central-based laboratory tests, or faster but imprecise assays. With improvements in technology, point-of-care testing (POCT) systems facilitate the efficient and high-throughput evaluation of biomarkers, such as troponin (cTn), brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) and neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL). In this context, POCT may help ED physicians to confirm a diagnosis of conditions, such as acute coronary syndrome, heart failure or kidney damage. Compared with classic laboratory methods, the use of cTn, BNP, and NGAL POCT has shown comparable sensitivity, specificity and failure rate, but with the potential to provide prompt and accurate diagnosis, shorten hospital stay, and alleviate the burden on the ED. Despite this potential, the full advantages of rapid delivery results will only be reached if POCT is implemented within hospital standardized procedures and ED staff receive appropriate training
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
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