Longitudinal changes of angiogenic factors as a potential predictive tool in women with suspected preeclampsia.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate whether longitudinal changes of angiogenic factors (AF) sFlt-1, PlGF, and the sFlt-1/PlGF ratio, measured following identification of symptoms of preeclampsia (PE), could provide complementary information to the isolated measurements used in current clinical practice. STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective observational study. Sixty women with suspected PE and two AF results measured before gestational week (GW) 34 were included. Daily variation (DV) of AF was calculated from delta values and days elapsed between measurements. Through ROC analysis, the predictive performance of DV for PE-related events was estimated. Kaplan-Meier survival curves resulting from applying cutoff values were assessed. RESULTS: The sFlt-1, PlGF, and sFlt-1/PlGF ratio baseline levels showed significant differences between women without PE and women who developed early-onset PE (P < 0.001). DV of sFlt-1 and sFlt-1/PlGF ratio increased according to the severity of PE, showing significant differences in both pairs of groups compared (p < 0.001), so they were selected as potential predictors. Higher AUC values resulting from ROC analysis were 0.78 for early-onset PE, 0.88 for early-onset severe PE, 0.79 for occurrence of adverse maternal outcomes, and 0.89 for delivery before 37 GW, with sensitivity and specificity values higher than 0.71 and 0.80, respectively. The Kaplan-Meier analysis yielded significantly different curves (log-rank < 0.05), with shorter time-to-delivery as DV increased. CONCLUSION: Our results support the existence of a correlation between a progressive PlGF and sFlt-1 imbalance and a more aggressive clinical course of PE, detectable from the finding of PE symptoms. Its monitoring could be a useful predictive tool in women with suspected PE.

Evaluation of the Premier Hb9210 instrument for HbA1c determination.

Background: Glycated hemoglobin measurements are a valuable tool for long-term blood glucose monitoring and the diagnosis of diabetes. Its widespread use has been made possible due to the development of new analytical methods with improved performances and standardization with reference materials. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the Trinity Biotech Premier Hb9210 analyzer for the measurement of HbA1c.Methods: The precision was assessed using the CLSI EP-15A3 and EP-10A3 protocols. The latter was also used to investigate linearity, carryover, and linear drift. The comparison study was performed between Premier Hb910 and Tosoh HLC-723 G8 through Passing-Bablok regression and the Bland-Altman plot. The Fleiss Kappa index was used to assess the degree of agreement. The interference of Hb variants was investigated using samples with Hb variants S, C, D, E, J, and Seville.Results: Within-run and between-run imprecision fell between 0.37% and 1.16%. No statistically significant nonlinearity, carry-over, and/or drift were observed. The resulting regression line of the Passing-Bablok analysis was y = 0.00 + 1.00x. The Pearson correlation coefficient was 0.997. In the Bland-Altman plot, the relative bias was 0.01%. The overall Fleiss Kappa index was 0.9. No interference from hemoglobin variants was observed.Conclusion: The Premier Hb9210 demonstrated a high degree of automation, reproducibility, good agreement, minimal carry-over effect, and excellent linearity across the wide range of HbA1c levels commonly found in diabetic patients and was not influenced by Hb variants.

Premier Hb9210 can be used as an alternative to monitor glycemic status.Premier Hb9210 is not affected by common hemoglobin variants.Premier Hb9210 can correctly classify diabetic patients.

Long-term follow-up with a clinical decision support system based on laboratory reports to manage patients with biochemical recurrence after radical prostatectomy.

INTRODUCTION: Currently, prostate cancer (PCa) is the second most common cause of cancer death, and radical prostatectomy (RP) remains the primary treatment for localized PCa. Although there is no consensus on an optimal strategy, the determination of total serum prostate-specific antigen (tPSA) is the cornerstone for the detection of postoperative biochemical recurrence (BCR). The aim of this study was to evaluate the prognostic utility of serial tPSA levels together with other clinicopathological factors and to assess the impact of a commentary algorithm implemented in our laboratory information system. METHODS: A descriptive and retrospective study of patients with clinically localized PCa who underwent RP. BCR-free survival was calculated over time (Kaplan-Meier analysis), and the ability of different clinicopathological factors to predict BCR was studied (univariate and multivariate analyses) with Cox models. RESULTS: A total of 203 patients underwent RP, of whom 51 presented with BCR during follow-up. In the multivariate model, doubling of tPSA, the Gleason score, tumour stage and tPSA nadir were detected as independent predictors of BCR. CONCLUSION: A patient with undetectable tPSA after 1959 days of RP is unlikely to develop BCR, regardless of preoperative or pathologic risk factors. Furthermore, doubling of tPSA in the first 2 years of follow-up was the main prognostic factor for BCR in patients undergoing RP. Other prognostic factors included a tPSA nadir detectable after surgery, a Gleason score ≥ 7 and a tumour stage T ≥ 2c.