Estimated excretion and clearance of uric acid as optimal surrogate indices for daily urinary uric acid excretion.

OBJECTIVES: Daily uric acid excretion is an essential index for patients with gout/hyperuricemias. We identified alternative indices most correlated with 24-hour uric acid clearance (Cua 24h) and 24-hour uric acid excretion (Eua 24h) using data from the reference interval of urinary clearance and excretion of urate study. METHODS: The subjects were indoor workers aged 20 to 65 who met the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute Guidelines C28-A3c. Alternative indices using spot urine were urine uric acid creatinine ratio, uric acid clearance - creatinine clearance ratio (Cua/Ccr), uric acid excretion - creatinine clearance ratio (Eua/Ccr), estimated uric acid clearance (eCua), and estimated uric acid excretion (eEua). eCua and eEua are the values obtained by multiplying Cua/Ccr and Eua/Ccr by the estimated glomerular filtration rate. RESULTS: The final number of subjects analyzed was 739. Among the indices using spot urine, eCua and eEua showed the highest correlation with Cua 24h and Eua 24h, respectively. Compared with Cua 60min and Eua 60min obtained from 60-minute urine collection, eCua and eEua showed lower root means squared error, lower bias, and significantly higher accuracy of within 30% and within 15%. CONCLUSIONS: The newly proposed eCua and eEua may be appropriate from a practical perspective.

Aseptic Meningitis after Amenamevir Treatment for Herpes Zoster in the First Branch of the Trigeminal Nerve.

Amenamevir has been approved for the treatment of herpes zoster (HZ); however, its therapeutic efficacy against central nervous system (CNS) infection may be insufficient due to its low spinal fluid permeability. We herein report a case of aseptic meningitis in a 91-year-old Japanese man treated with amenamevir for HZ in the trigeminal nerve region. Several cases of CNS infection have been reported in patients receiving amenamevir treatment for HZ. Patients with CNS complications often have skin rashes near the trigeminal region. Thus, we should be alert for signs of CNS infection when administering amenamevir to patients with such rashes.

Neutrophil CD64 level as a rapid and promising diagnostic tool for infectious diseases in elderly patients.

AIM: We examined the utility of the neutrophil CD64 level as a rapid and sensitive diagnostic marker for infections in febrile aged patients. METHODS: The expression level of CD64 per neutrophil was quantitatively measured with flow cytometry using a QuantiBrite kit in samples from febrile (aged >65 years) patients. Information about the presence or absence of infectious disease was retrospectively obtained from each patient's medical record in which attending physicians were obliged to write down a tentative diagnosis after resolution of manifestations. RESULTS: With receiver operating characteristic curve evaluation using the results, a CD64 level >2000 molecules per neutrophil was sensitive and specific for detecting infection. Among 102 patients suspected of having infection, 72 patients were diagnosed with infectious diseases, and 30 patients had non-infectious diseases. The sensitivity and specificity of determination of the neutrophil CD64 level were 88% and 63%, respectively. However, considering the high frequency of infections in elderly patients (71% in the present study), the post-test probability reached as high as 93%. The positive likelihood ratio was 2.4, and the negative likelihood ratio was 0.2. CONCLUSIONS: Considering the frequency of infectious diseases in elderly patients, determination of the neutrophil CD64 level helps detect infectious diseases.

Prospective clinical study of R-CMD therapy for indolent B cell lymphoma and mantle cell lymphoma from the Hokuriku Hematology Oncology Study Group.

Standardized treatments for indolent B cell lymphoma primarily consisting of follicular lymphoma (FL) and for mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) have yet to be established. Here the Hokuriku Hematology Oncology Study Group conducted a multicenter prospective study to investigate the efficacy and safety of a combination regimen of rituximab, cladribine, mitoxantrone, and dexamethasone (R-CMD) in indolent B cell lymphoma and MCL. A total of 33 CD20-positive patients who received care between January 2008 and August 2011 were investigated. These patients' illnesses were FL (n = 21), nodal marginal zone B cell lymphoma (NMZB, n = 3), MCL (n = 3), splenic marginal zone B cell lymphoma (n = 2), hairy cell leukemia (n = 1), Waldenstrom macroglobulinemia (WM, n = 1), and lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma (LPL, n = 2). Patients received four 21-day cycles of rituximab 375 mg/m(2) (day 1), cladribine 0.10 mg/kg (days 1-3), mitoxantrone 8 mg/m(2) (day 1), and dexamethasone 8 mg/body (days 1-3), with four additional rituximab doses at 4-week intervals. Of the 33 patients, 26 achieved complete response/unconfirmed complete response, and six achieved a partial response (4 with FL, 1 with NMZB, 1 with WM). One had progressive disease (FL), and four relapsed after remission (1 with FL, 2 with MCL, 1 with LPL). R-CMD therapy was relatively convenient and effective in indolent B cell lymphoma and MCL. Nonetheless, to suppress the number and function of both B cells and T cells, comprehensive infection prevention and follow-up are necessary in the future.