Search results for "PRECURSORS"
showing 10 items of 151 documents
Procalcitonin and long-term prognosis after an admission for acute heart failure
2014
Abstract Background Traditionally, procalcitonin (PCT) is considered a diagnostic marker of bacterial infections. However, slightly elevated levels of PCT have also been found in patients with heart failure. In this context, it has been suggested that PCT may serve as a proxy for underrecognized infection, endotoxemia, or heightened proinflammatory activity. Nevertheless, the clinical utility of PCT in this setting is scarce. We aimed to evaluate the association between PCT and the risk of long-term outcomes. Methods and results We measured at admission PCT of 261 consecutive patients admitted for acute heart failure (AHF) after excluding active infection. Cox and negative binomial regressi…
Low preoperative cholesterol level is a risk factor of sepsis and poor clinical outcome in patients undergoing cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary b…
2014
Systemic inflammatory response syndrome and sepsis frequently occur after cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether preoperative cholesterol levels can predict sepsis onset and postoperative complications in patients undergoing cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass.Prospective observational study.Surgical ICU of a French university hospital.Two hundred and seventeen consecutive patients older than 18 years admitted for planned cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass.Measurements of plasma blood lipids and inflammation markers before anesthesia induction (baseline), at cardiopulmonary bypass start, at cardiopulmonary bypass…
Procalcitonin and C-reactive protein as early predictors of anastomotic leak in colorectal surgery: a prospective observational study.
2013
Although the early diagnosis of anastomotic leak is a key point in reducing its clinical consequences, in daily practice, anastomotic leak diagnosis is often late.The aim of this study was to determine whether procalcitonin and C-reactive protein are good predictors of anastomotic leak in colorectal surgery.This is a prospective observational study.This study was conducted by a specialized colorectal multidisciplinary team of a tertiary teaching hospital.A series of 205 consecutive patients who underwent elective colorectal surgery in a specialized unit was prospectively analyzed. The following data were collected: demographic, surgical, ASA class, POSSUM, and morbidity. During the first 5 …
Utility of serum procalcitonin and C-reactive protein in severity assessment of community-acquired pneumonia in children
2015
OBJECTIVES: Although the importance of serum Procalcitonin (PCT) levels at diagnosis is well established in adult Community-Acquired Pneumonia (CAP), its use remains controversial in pediatric CAP. The aim of our study is to investigate the role of PCT and C-Reactive Protein (CRP) in the assessment of pediatric CAP severity defined by the extent of consolidation on chest X-rays and the presence of pleural effusion. In this particular setting, no clinical severity score is available at present and chest X-ray, although important for diagnosis confirmation, is not recommended as routine test. DESIGN AND METHODS: The study involved 119 children admitted to the Department of Pediatric Infectiou…
Mr-Proadm Elevation Upon Icu Admission Predicts the Outcome of Septic Patients and is Correlated with Upcoming Fluid Overload.
2017
IF 3.113; International audience; Background: Among septic patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU), early recognition of those with the highest risk of death is of paramount importance. We evaluated the prognostic value of Procalcitonin (PCT), mid regional-proadrenomedullin (MR-proADM), copeptine and CT-proendothelin 1 (CT-ProET 1) concentrations. Methods: This was a prospective cohort study, which included 173 septic patient admitted to one ICU. Blood samples for biomarker measure-ments were obtained upon admission and on day 5. The predictive value of each biomarker regarding the risk of death at day 28 was assessed. The fluid balance was evaluated from admission to day 5. Resu…
Utility of Procalcitonin for Diagnosis of Superimposed Infections in Patients With Acute Heart Failure.
2016
Respiratory infections are well-known precipitant factors for heart failure decompensations. Nevertheless, the diagnosis of life-threatening infections, such as pneumonia, is challenging. Pneumonia and acute heart failure often display overlapping clinical findings and, in other cases, more accurate infection-related findings are missing. In recent years, procalcitonin has emerged as a promising tool for early and accurate diagnosis of pneumonia and, interestingly, for guiding antibiotic therapy in patients with acute heart failure. We discuss two cases of acute heart failure with high procalcitonin on admission and different clinical outcomes. In this setting, procalcitonin may be a useful…
Procalcitonin and community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) in children
2015
The role of procalcitonin (PCT) as a biomarker for sepsis in adults is well documented, while its role in infections affecting neonatal children remains controversial. Among these infections, Community-Acquired pneumonia (CAP) has been studied extensively, because it's the second cause of death in children in developing countries, and one of the most frequent causes of hospitalization in industrialized countries. The PubMed database and the Cochrane Library were used to search for the following keywords: CAP, procalcitonin, and children. Thirteen articles were studied to determine the role of PCT in CAP management, specifically its usefulness for distinguishing pneumococcal infections from …
Procalcitonin levels in plasma in oncohaematologic patients with and without bacterial infections.
2004
Abstract Background: The flogosis markers currently in use show both low sensitivity and specificity, particularly in neoplastic and degenerative diseases. Procalcitonin (PCT) is a pro-peptide of calcitonin produced mainly but not only in the C-cells of the thyroid glands and, as several studies show, PCT levels in plasma increase during infections. Bacterial infections are also the main cause of death in oncological patients. Furthermore, in patients with leukaemia in chemotherapy recovery, infections often induce relapses. The aim of the present study is to detect PCT levels in plasma in oncohaematologic patients with and without infections. Methods: The study was carried out on 54 patien…
Vitamin E transport, membrane incorporation and cell metabolism: Is α-tocopherol in lipid rafts an oar in the lifeboat?
2010
International audience; Vitamin E is composed of closely related compounds, including tocopherols and tocotrienols. Studies of the last decade provide strong support for a specific role of alpha-tocopherol in cell signalling and the regulation of gene expression. It produces significant effects on inflammation, cell proliferation and apoptosis that are not shared by other vitamin E isomers with similar antioxidant properties. The different behaviours of vitamin E isomers might relate, at least in part, to the specific effects they exert at the plasma membrane. alpha-Tocopherol is not randomly distributed throughout the phospholipid bilayer of biological membranes, and as compared with other…
Carotenoid binding sites in LHCIIb
2000
The major light-harvesting complex of photosystem II can be reconstituted in vitro from its bacterially expressed apoprotein with chlorophylls a and b and neoxanthin, violaxanthin, lutein, or zeaxanthin as the only xanthophyll. Reconstitution of these one-carotenoid complexes requires low-stringency conditions during complex formation and isolation. Neoxanthin complexes (containing 30–50% of the all-trans isomer) disintegrate during electrophoresis, exhibit a largely reduced resistance against proteolytic attack; in addition, energy transfer from Chl b to Chl a is easily disrupted at elevated temperature. Complexes reconstituted in the presence of either zeaxanthin or lutein contain nearly …