Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Jae Ha Lee, Seong-Ho Kim, Ji Hoon Jang, Jin Han Park, Kyung Min Jo, Tae-Hoon No, Hang-Jea Jang, Hyun-Kyung Lee
Summary: This study evaluated the role of biomarkers in the diagnosis of sepsis and septic shock in the emergency department. The results showed that procalcitonin was a useful biomarker for predicting sepsis and septic shock. Higher levels of lactic acid, predisposing chronic pulmonary diseases, and high SAPS III scores were associated with a greater mortality risk in patients with sepsis.
Article
Pediatrics
Vinod H. Ratageri, Puspha Panigatti, Aparna Mukherjee, Rashmi R. Das, Jagdish Prasad Goyal, Javeed Iqbal Bhat, Bhadresh Vyas, Rakesh Lodha, Deepak Singhal, Prawin Kumar, Kuldeep Singh, Samarendra Mahapatro, Bashir Ahmad Charoo, S. K. Kabra, K. R. Jat
Summary: The role of serum procalcitonin in diagnosing pediatric community-acquired pneumonia remains controversial. This study aimed to investigate the utility of serum procalcitonin in differentiating bacterial and non-bacterial respiratory infections in children and to assess its usefulness in diagnosing pneumonia. The study found that elevated procalcitonin was significantly associated with radiographic pneumonia, but not with pneumonia based on WHO criteria. However, it can act as a surrogate marker for severe pneumonia.
Article
Critical Care Medicine
Lisa M. Hessels, Esther Speksnijder, Nienke Paternotte, Astrid van Huisstede, Willemien Thijs, Margot Scheer, Marielle van der Steen-Dieperink, Lieve Knarren, Joop P. van Den Bergh, Kristien Winckers, Ronald Henry, Suat Simsek, COVID Predict Study Grp
Summary: PCT-guided antibiotic prescription reduces antibiotic prescription rates in hospitalized patients with COVID-19, without major safety concerns.
Article
Geriatrics & Gerontology
Gaetan Gavazzi, Sabine Drevet, Matthieu Debray, Jean Luc Bosson, Fatah Tidadini, Marc Paccalin, Benoit de Wazieres, Thomas Celarier, Marc Bonnefoy, Virginie Vitrat
Summary: The PROPAGE study evaluated the use of procalcitonin (PCT) measurements to reduce the duration of antibiotic therapy in old patients with pneumonia. The study found that monitoring PCT levels and using PCT-based algorithms could help shorten antibiotic treatment duration without negative effects.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Imad El Majzoub, Nour Kalot, Malak Khalifeh, Natalie Estelly, Tharwat El Zahran
Summary: This study aimed to determine the predictors of in-hospital mortality in COVID-19 positive cancer patients who present to the emergency department. The study found that adult cancer patients with COVID-19 infection are at higher risks of mortality if they presented with tachypnea, had a recent chemotherapy, history of congestive heart failure, high CRP, and high procalcitonin levels at presentation.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Ana Sofia Herrera-Van Oostdam, Julio Castaneda-Delgado, Juan Jose Oropeza-Valdez, Juan Carlos Borrego, Joel Monarrez-Espino, Jiamin Zheng, Rupasri Mandal, Lun Zhang, Elizabeth M. Soto-Guzman, Julio Cesar Fernandez-Ruiz, Fatima S. Ochoa-Gonzalez, Flor Trejo Medinilla, Jesus Adrian Lopez, David Wishart, Jose A. Enciso-Moreno, Yamile Lopez-Hernandez
Summary: The term viral sepsis accurately describes the multisystem dysregulation in COVID-19 patients. Metabolomic and cytokine analyses revealed distinct metabolic and inflammation patterns between mild and critically ill patients, leading to the development of powerful models for diagnosis, prognosis, and mortality prediction of COVID-19 induced sepsis.
Review
Medicine, General & Internal
Susmita Sinha, Santosh Kumar, Mahendra Narwaria, Arya Singh, Mainul Haque
Summary: Bronchial asthma is a prevalent disease that affects individuals' health worldwide and has a significant economic impact on society. While global guidelines do not recommend routine use of antimicrobial agents for asthma management, antibiotics are advised in cases of high-grade fever, chest consolidation on radiograph, and purulent sputum with polymorphs. However, distinguishing between viral and bacterial infections in asthma patients remains challenging due to the lack of clinical or radiological markers. Serum procalcitonin values have been found to effectively reduce antibiotic usage in severe acute asthma cases. Evaluation of biomarkers like C-reactive protein and white blood cell count can potentially aid in diagnostics and treatment strategies, but their precise role and scope are yet to be defined.
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Sabina S. Bayramova, Konstantin Yu Nikolayev, Oksana Tsygankova
Summary: The use of a new semi-quantitative rapid test for procalcitonin can optimize the diagnosis of complications of community-acquired pneumonia, determine the high risk of multisegmental pneumonia, and is associated with disease complications.
TERAPEVTICHESKII ARKHIV
(2021)
Article
Infectious Diseases
Kjersti Oppen, Thor Ueland, Annika E. Michelsen, Pal Aukrust, Trude Steinsvik, Oyvind Skadberg, Cato Brede, William Ward Siljan, Einar Husebye, Jan Cato Holter, Lars Heggelund
Summary: The study found that low levels of hepcidin in hospitalized patients with community-acquired pneumonia can predict 5-year overall mortality, but not short-term adverse outcomes.
INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2022)
Review
Infectious Diseases
Raquel Carbonell, Gerard Moreno, Ignacio Martin-Loeches, Maria Bodi, Alejandro Rodriguez
Summary: Pneumonia is a significant global problem, with viruses being a common cause and mixed viral and bacterial pneumonia posing a risk for severe disease. Biomarkers, such as procalcitonin (PCT) and C-reactive protein (CRP), can provide valuable information for early diagnosis and prognosis. This review analyzes the available evidence and provides recommendations for the use of biomarkers in influenza and SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia. The authors propose a practical PCT algorithm for guiding antibiotic initiation in these cases.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Brent Tyler Aloysius Prim, Ismail Sikander Kalla, Jarrod Zamparini, Farzahna Mohamed
Summary: In a study of 605 hospitalized patients with moderate to severe COVID-19 in a tertiary state hospital in South Africa, the utility of severity scores in predicting critical outcomes was evaluated. The NEWS2 and ISARIC-4C scores showed good performance in predicting in-hospital mortality, while the CURB65 score had limitations in the South African setting due to unexplained risk factors.
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Zodwa Dlamini, Mzwandile Mbele, Tshepiso J. Makhafola, Rodney Hull, Rahaba Marima
Summary: Globally, HIV/AIDS and cancer are significant public health problems, with sub-Saharan Africa bearing the largest burden. While AIDS-defining cancers are decreasing, non-AIDS defining cancers are on the rise in HIV-positive individuals.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Genetics & Heredity
Shengnan Gao, Xinjie Wu, Xiaoying Lou, Wei Cui
Summary: This study classified breast cancer samples into three groups based on glycosylation patterns and identified 23 key molecules to construct a prognostic model. The model showed promising performance in predicting breast cancer prognosis and immune infiltration. This research has important implications for personalized treatment and understanding the heterogeneity of breast cancer.
FRONTIERS IN GENETICS
(2022)
Article
Infectious Diseases
Kenneth Iregbu, Angela Dramowski, Rebecca Milton, Emmanuel Nsutebu, Stephen R. C. Howie, Mallinath Chakraborty, Pascal M. Lavoie, Ceire E. Costelloe, Peter Ghazal
Summary: This review discusses the challenges in diagnosing sepsis in neonates and children in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs), and emphasizes the role of multi-omics and healthcare data in improving the diagnostic accuracy of clinical algorithms. It also raises concerns about ethical, regulatory, and systemic barriers related to the collection and use of big data, and suggests that technologies like cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and medical tricorders could help if collaborated with local communities.
LANCET INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2022)
Review
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Zhao Jing, Kai Chen, Ling Gong
Summary: Esophageal cancer is a common malignancy in China with high mortality, and understanding the role of exosomes in cancer progression can help improve prognosis. Exosomes are small vesicular structures that contain various components involved in cell-to-cell communication and material exchange, playing a role in cancer growth, metastasis, and angiogenesis. They also have potential as diagnostic and prognostic markers in cancer. This review discusses the significance of exosomes in esophageal cancer progression, microenvironment remodeling, therapeutic resistance, and immunosuppression, as well as their utility as diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers and therapeutic tools.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF NANOMEDICINE
(2021)
