Search results for "predictive"
showing 10 items of 1373 documents
Minimal Change Esophagitis: Prospective Comparison of Endoscopic and Histological Markers between Patients with Non-Erosive Reflux Disease and Normal…
2004
<i>Introduction:</i> More than half the patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) show no endoscopic abnormality or minimal change esophagitis (non-erosive reflux disease, NERD). We investigated the value of endoscopic and histological markers for the prediction of NERD before and after treatment with 20 mg esomeprazole. <i>Methods:</i> Between July and October 2002, consecutive patients presenting for upper endoscopy were stratified into GERD and non-reflux patients (control group) with the help of a questionnaire. The endoscopist was blind to the presence of reflux symptoms. Using magnifying endoscopes minimal change esophagitis was defined by the presen…
Predicting conversion to dementia in mild cognitive impairment by volumetric and diffusivity measurements of the hippocampus.
2005
In our prospective study of diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), we measured hippocampal mean diffusivity (MD) and volumes in amnestic mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Thirteen MCI patients were followed-up by clinical assessment over a mean 112-year period. MCI patients who converted to dementia (6 of 13) during the observation period had slightly elevated left hippocampal mean diffusivity at baseline compared with MCI patients who remained clinically stable. Hippocampal volumes as well as baseline verbal memory and MMSE did not differ significantly between stable MCI patients and converters. Hippocampal diffusivity was superior to hippocampal volumes for prediction of conversion to dementia in…
Early detection of pneumonia in febrile neutropenic patients: use of thin-section CT.
1997
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of thin-section CT for early detection of pneumonia in neutropenic patients with an unknown site of infection and normal or nonspecific findings on chest radiographs.Eighty-seven patients with febrile neutropenia that persisted for more than 2 days despite empiric antibiotic treatment underwent 146 prospective examinations. If findings on chest radiographs were normal (n = 126) or nonspecific (n = 20), thin-section CT (1-mm collimation, 10-mm increment) was done. If thin-section CT scans showed opacities, bronchoalveolar lavage was recommended.Findings on chest radiographs were nonspecific for pneumonia in 20 (14%) of 146 cases, and C…
Myocardial and lymphocytic expression of eNOS and nNOS before and after heart transplantation: Relationship to clinical status
2013
Abstract Aims The present study investigates the expression and clinical relevance of the constitutive NO synthases in heart and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) obtained from heart failure patients. Main methods mRNA and protein levels (qRT-PCR and immunoblot) of eNOS and nNOS were determined in: i) Left ventricle (LV, n = 4) and PBMCs (n = 10) from healthy donors; ii) LV, right ventricle (RV) and PBMCs of heart failure (HF) patients (n = 32); and iii) biopsies and PBMCs of the HF patients after cardiac transplant (n = 15). Key findings Expression of constitutive NOS isoforms in heart exhibits wide variability in HF patients, but this variability was not related to aetiology, dis…
Interleukin 6 plasma levels predict with high sensitivity and specificity coronary stenosis detected by coronary angiography
2007
SummaryIn recent years new biomarkers able to measure the coronary atherosclerotic burden have been investigated. The aim of the present study was: i) to measure plasma levels of four biomarkers: C reactive protein (CRP), soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (sICAM-1), interleukin 6 (IL-6), 8-isosprostane (8-ISO),in a series of patients undergoing coronary angiography; ii) to assess the power of the biomarkers to predict critical coronary stenosis detected by angiography. The study population consisted of a group of 438 subjects undergoing coronary angiography; 160 patients with 0, 1, 2, or 3 critical vessels were selected, and biomarkers plasma levels were measured in plasma samples o…
Circulating Cell Adhesion Molecules and Death in Patients With Coronary Artery Disease
2001
Background —Vascular cell adhesion molecule (VCAM)-1, intercellular adhesion molecule (ICAM)-1, and E-selectin mediate adhesion and transmigration of leukocytes to the vascular endothelial wall and may promote plaque growth and instability. In a prospective study, we evaluated the effect of soluble adhesion molecules on the risk of future cardiovascular events among patients with angiographically documented coronary artery disease (CAD). Methods and Results —We obtained baseline samples from a prospective cohort of 1246 patients with CAD. Besides various markers of inflammation, soluble VCAM-1 (sVCAM-1), sICAM-1, and sE-selectin were determined. Follow-up information on cardiovascular even…
Immuno-inflammatory and thrombotic/fibrinolytic variables associated with acute ischemic stroke diagnosis.
2008
Abstract Introduction Accumulating evidence suggests that inflammation plays an important role in the development of acute cerebrovascular disease. The aim of this study is to evaluate the predictive value of a series of candidate serum immuno-inflammatory and thrombotic/fibrinolitic molecules towards diagnosis of acute ischemic stroke. Materials and methods We enrolled 120 consecutive patients with a diagnosis of acute ischemic stroke and 123 consecutive hospitalized control patients without a diagnosis of acute ischemic stroke. We evaluated plasma levels of IL-1β, TNF-β, IL-6 and IL-10, E-selectin, P-selectin, sICAM-1 and sVCAM-1 as markers of immuno-inflammatory activation, vWF plasma le…
Hsp60 and heme oxygenase-1 (Hsp32) in acute myocardial infarction
2011
Heat shock proteins (Hsps) are produced in response to various stressors, including ischemia-reperfusion, and they can exit cells and reach the blood. In this pilot study, we determined serum levels of Hsp60 and heme-oxygenase-1 (HO-1; also named Hsp32) in subjects with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) to assess their clinical significance and potential prognostic value. We also performed a bioinformatics analysis of the 2 molecules in search of structural clues on the mechanism of their release from cells. We studied 40 patients consecutively admitted for AMI (male:female patient ratio = 20:20, mean age: 64 ± 13 years) and 40 matched controls. A blood sample was drawn for biochemical anal…
Applicability of Echocardiographic Strict Negative Criteria for Suspected Infective Endocarditis.
2021
Echocardiography is the cornerstone imaging technique in the diagnosis of infective endocarditis (IE) but is often misused in clinical practice. Recently, strict negative criteria have been proposed to avoid unnecessary follow-up echocardiograms. We aimed to evaluate the use of echocardiography in real-world clinical daily practice and the usefulness of these criteria in the diagnosis of IE. We retrospectively retrieved every echocardiogram performed in our center for suspected IE between 2014 and 2018, including 905 transthoracic echocardiograms (TTEs). Of these, 451 (49.8%) fulfilled the strict negative criteria (group 1). In this group, IE was seldom diagnosed (n = 4, 0.9%). In 338 patie…
Tissue optical perfusion pressure: a simplified, more reliable, and faster assessment of pedal microcirculation in peripheral artery disease
2020
Oscillometry is an alternative to continuous-wave Doppler (cw-Doppler) to determine peripheral artery disease (PAD) severity using the ankle-brachial index (ABI). cw-Doppler ABI differentiates systolic pressure of ATP and ADP where either one of both values in most patients is higher (high) and the other value is lower (low). In contrast, oscillometric ABI measures the strongest signal and hence misses the lower value. Both do not take pedal perfusion into consideration. Simultaneous determination of tissue microperfusion cares for pedal PAD. ABI was determined by cw-Doppler and oscillometry. Tissue optical perfusion pressure (TOPP) was taken from the first toe using photoplethysmography. 3…