The Relationship between Acute Rejection, Hemoglobin Level, and BK Virus Infection Among Renal Transplant Recipients.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to explore the risk factors for BK virus (BKV) infection in renal transplant recipients (RTRs) routinely treated with tacrolimus. METHODS: Forty-two cases with BKV infections and 51 patients without BKV infections were enrolled in the study. Eighty-seven healthy individuals and 77 patients undergoing dialysis were randomly included as controls. A logistic regression model was used to analyze potential variables in order to evaluate factors related to BKV infection in the renal transplant recipients. RESULTS: The number of individuals with acute rejection in BKV positive RTRs is significantly higher than that in BKV negative RTRs. Hemoglobin levels in BKV positive RTRs were significantly lower than those in BKV negative RTRs (109.61 ± 20.11 vs. 130.16 ± 26.297, p < 0.001). There was a positive correlation between tacrolimus levels and hemoglobin concentration in RTRs (r = 0.329, p = 0.023). The results of a multivariate regression analysis indicated that a history of acute rejection (OR = 4.157, p = 0.031) and low hemoglobin (OR = 0.963, p < 0.001) were risk factors for BKV infection. CONCLUSIONS: Acute rejection and low hemoglobin were risk factors for BKV infection after renal transplantation.

A comparison of the chemiluminescence immunoassay and Crithidia luciliae immunofluorescence test in detecting anti-dsDNA antibodies and assessing the activity of systemic lupus erythematosus.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to compare the YHLO chemiluminescence immunoassay (CLIA) with the Crithidia luciliae immunofluorescence test (CLIFT) to detect anti-dsDNA antibodies and its correlation with disease activity in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). METHOD: In total, 208 patients diagnosed with SLE, 110 other autoimmune patients, 70 infectious disorders patients, and 105 healthy people were enrolled in this study. Serum samples were tested using CLIA in a YHLO chemiluminescence system and CLIFT. RESULTS: The overall agreement between YHLO CLIA and CLIFT was 76.9% (160/208), with a moderate correlation (kappa = 0.530, p < 0.001). The sensitivity of YHLO CLIA and CLIFT were 58.2% and 55.3%, respectively. The specificity of YHLO CLIA and CLIFT were 95.1% and 99.3%, respectively. The sensitivity of YHLO CLIA was increased to 66.8% with a specificity of 93.6% when the cut-off value was set at 24 IU/mL. Spearman's correlation coefficient between the quantitative results of YHLO CLIA and the titers of CLIFT was 0.59 (p < .01). A significant correlation was found between the anti-dsDNA results detected by YHLO CLIA and the SLE Disease Activity Index 2000 (SLEDAI-2K). Spearman's correlation coefficient between YHLO CLIA and SLEDAI-2K (r = 0.66, p < .01) was higher than that of CLIFT (r = 0.60, p < .01). CONCLUSIONS: Good correlation and agreement were found between YHLO CLIA and CLIFT. In addition, there was a significant correlation between YHLO CLIA and the SLE Disease Activity Index, which was superior to that of CLIFT. The YHLO chemiluminescence system is recommended for the assessment of disease activity.

Association of CD44 polymorphisms and susceptibility to HBV-related hepatocellular carcinoma in the Chinese population.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to determine whether CD44 polymorphisms were correlated with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and to reveal a new potential target for early prediction, prevention, and diagnosis of HCC. METHOD: This study involved 96 cases with chronic hepatitis B (CHB), 96 cases with hepatitis B virus-related liver cirrhosis (LC), 204 cases with HCC related to the hepatitis B virus, and 210 healthy controls. The genotype of rs8193 was determined using the restriction fragment length polymorphism method, while the genotypes of rs10836347 and rs13347 were determined by direct sequencing. RESULTS: The results showed that patients with the CD44 rs13347 TT and T allele polymorphisms exhibited higher risks of LC than those carrying the CC genotype and C allele. The CD44 rs13347 CT and TT genotypes and T allele were significantly associated with an increased risk of HCC after adjusting for gender, age, smoking, and alcohol consumption (for CT: odds ratio [OR] = 1.626, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.057-2.500, P = .027; for TT: OR = 1.965, 95% CI = 1.043-3.702, P = .037; and for T: OR = 1.461, 95% CI = 1.091-1.956, P = .011). In the rs13347 site of the female population, the CT and TT genotypes were related to the high occurrence of HCC. In the population aged ≥50 years, carriers of the CD44 rs13347 CT and TT alleles were more susceptible to HCC compared with CC carriers. Those who consumed alcohol who carried the rs10836347 CT genotype exhibited a risk factor for HCC. CONCLUSION: For the CD44 rs13347 site, mutations in the T allele might be a risk factor for HCC.

The Relationship between Bilirubin Levels and Patients with Lupus Nephritis.

BACKGROUND: Bilirubin acts as an antioxidant. In this study, we assessed the relationship between the bilirubin level and lupus nephritis (LN). METHODS: We included 50 newly diagnosed LN patients and 74 healthy individuals. Patients with LN were divided into three groups according to pathological classification. According to the activity index (AI), 42 LN patients were divided into two additional groups: AI < 4 and AI ≥ 4. We evaluated the changes in the bilirubin levels in 4 LN patients after glucocorticoid treatment. RESULTS: The bilirubin levels in the LN patients were significantly lower than those in the controls. The bilirubin levels in the patients with active LN were lower than those in the patients with non-active LN. The levels of bilirubin in the AI ≥ 4 group were lower than those in AI < 4 group. Moreover, bilirubin was negatively correlated with the 24-hour urine protein, but it was positively correlated with the glomerular filtration rate. The glucocorticoid treatment reduced the 24-hour urine protein level, and it increased the bilirubin level. CONCLUSIONS: The serum bilirubin level in the LN patients was decreased significantly, and this was related to the disease activity.

A Comparison Study Between Point-of-Care Testing Systems and Central Laboratory for Determining Blood Glucose in Venous Blood.

BACKGROUND: Diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disease that is characterized by hyperglycemia. Blood glucose (BG) is helpful for the diagnosis and treatment of diabetes and an important part of the management of diabetes. Point-of-care testing (POCT) is generally used by patients themselves or medical personnel to monitor BG. The objective of this article was to evaluate the accuracy and consistency of POCT on venous blood samples and compare it with the central laboratory system to determine the reliability of POCT measurement results as diagnostic criteria. METHOD: A total of 162 venous whole blood samples were pooled in this study, which included different concentrations and were determined by three POCT systems randomly. The results were compared with the central laboratory system, which uses the Glucose GOD-PAP method (HITACHI 7600-120). The accuracy was evaluated by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 15197:2013. RESULT: Bland-Altman and Passing-Bablok regression analysis showed three POCT systems that were comparable with the reference method (0.65, 95% CI: -0.57 to 1.86, Y = -0.11 + 0.95X for ACCU-CHEK® Performa; 0.40, 95% CI: -1.3 to 2.1, Y = 0.036 + 0.96X for ACCU-CHEK® Active; 0.70, 95% CI: -0.44 to 1.83, Y = -0.073 + 0.95X for OneTouch ® UltraVue). According to ISO 15197:2013, all POCT systems showed 100% of the results within 0.83 mmol/l (15 mg/dl) at BG concentrations <5.55 mmol/l (100 mg/dl); 92%, 89.2%, and 95.7% of the measurement results within 15% at BG concentrations ≥5.55 mmol/l (100 mg/dl) for ACCU-CHEK® Performa, ACCU-CHEK® Active, and OneTouch® UltraVue, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The POCT system cannot replace the central laboratory system as a provider of a standard result in clinical diagnosis. It can only be used as a screening test.

The Relationship between Inflammatory Marker Levels and Hepatitis C Virus Severity.

Background. Red cell distribution width (RDW) and platelet-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) have been studied in a variety of etiological diseases. We aim to investigate the relationship between RDW and PLR and the severity of hepatitis C virus- (HCV-) related liver disease. Methods. We included fifty-two chronic HCV and 42 HCV-related cirrhosis patients and 84 healthy controls. Hematological and virological parameters and liver function biomarkers of HCV-related patients at admission were recorded. Results. RDW, RDW-to-platelet (RPR), and 1/PLR values in HCV-related cirrhosis patients were significantly higher than in chronic HCV patients and healthy controls (all P < 0.001). The aspartate aminotransferase (AST)/alanine aminotransferase (ALT) ratio (AAR), AST-to-platelet ratio index (APRI), and fibrosis index based on the four factors (FIB-4) scores in HCV-related cirrhosis patients were significantly higher than in chronic HCV patients (all P < 0.001). The areas under the curve of the RDW, RPR, and 1/PLR for predicting cirrhosis were 0.791, 0.960, and 0.713, respectively. Bivariate logistic regression analysis showed that RDW could independently predict the presence of cirrhosis in chronic HCV patients. Conclusions. RDW, RPR, and PLR may be potential markers for estimating HCV severity.