Might simple peripheral blood parameters be an early indicator in the prediction of severity and morbidity of cholecystitis?

Purpose: The aim of this study is to examine the effectiveness of the neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and CRP/albumin ratio (CAR) in evaluating disease severity and predicting clinical outcomes in patients diagnosed with acute cholecystitis (AC). Methods: A total of 186 patients with AC were evaluated retrospectively. NLR, CAR, Mannheim Peritonitis Index (MPI), and P-POSSUM (Portsmouth Physiological and Operative Severity Score for the enUmeration of Mortality and Morbidity) scores were compared with AC severity grade. Results: The rates of the grade 1 patients (group 1) and the grade 2-3 patients (group 2) were 57.5% (n = 107) and 42.5% (n = 79) according to the disease severity according to Tokyo Guidelines criteria (TG) 18/TG13, respectively. The morbidity rates determined in groups 1 and 2 were 26.7% (n = 28) and 51.9% (n = 41), respectively. No mortality was found in group 1, whereas the mortality rate in group 2 was 6.3% (n = 5). According to multivariate analysis, CAR (odds ratio [OR], 1.234; P < 0.001) and MPI (OR, 1.175; P = 0.001) were found to be associated with moderate-severe disease while CAR (OR, 1.109; P = 0.035) and P-POSSUM morbidity (OR, 1.063; P = 0.007) variables were found to be associated with the presence of morbidity. Conclusion: We have demonstrated that CAR can be used in predicting severity of AC and that CAR is an alternative simple parameter of P-POSSUM morbidity score in prediction of morbidity in these cases. In addition to other assessment methods, these scores can provide valuable and complementary information in assessment of disease severity and prognosis in AC.

The association of endothelial nitric oxide synthase gene G894T polymorphism and serum nitric oxide concentration with microalbuminuria in patients with gestational diabetes.

AIM: Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is a glucose intolerant condition that affects 14% of all pregnancies. Diabetes mellitus (DM) occurs in 30 - 70% of patients with GDM after delivery. DM and GDM are associated with structural and functional deterioration of the renovascular system. Our aim is to investigate the association Glu- 298Asp polymorphism of the endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) gene with serum nitric oxide levels and microalbuminuria in patients with GDM and healthy pregnancies. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Serum nitric oxide (NO) levels, urinary excretion of albumin and Glu298Asp polymorphism of the eNOS gene were analyzed in 68 patients with GDM and 73 healthy controls. High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC-Griess) method was used to analyze serum NO levels. Microalbuminuria was evaluated by rate nephelometry method. The Glu298Asp polymorphism of the eNOS gene was determined by polymerase chain reaction and restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP). RESULTS: Nitric oxide, glucose, creatinine, and microalbuminuria were significantly different between the patients and the control subjects (p = 0.001, p = 0.001, p = 0.002, and p = 0.005, respectively). There was a significant difference between groups in terms of the ratio of GG/GT+TT of eNOS gene Glu- 298Asp (p = 0.02). The patients with GT+TT genotype had significantly higher microalbuminuria levels and lower NO concentrations (22.16 vs. 9.51, p = 0.005, and 10.56 vs. 12.73, p = 0.021, respectively). The presence of T allele of eNOS gene is an independent predictor of microalbuminuria (OR: 2.346, 95% confidence interval: 1.247 - 5.238, p = 0.02) as well as serum glucose and NO concentration. CONCLUSION: The G894T polymorphism of eNOS gene and decreased NO concentration seem to be independent predictors of increased urinary excretion of albumin in patients with GDM. Determining the frequency of eNOS gene G894T polymorphism may help to identify pregnancies at increased risk of microalbuminuria.

Prenatal diagnosis of 4p and 4q subtelomeric microdeletion in de novo ring chromosome 4.

Ring chromosomes are unusual abnormalities that are observed in prenatal diagnosis. A 23-year-old patient (gravida 1, para 0) referred for amniocentesis due to abnormal maternal serum screening result in the 16th week of second pregnancy. Cytogenetic analysis of cultured amniyotic fluid cells revealed out ring chromosome 4. Both maternal and paternal karyotypes were normal. Terminal deletion was observed in both 4p and 4q arms of ring chromosome 4 by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). However deletion was not observed in the WHS critical region of both normal and ring chromosome 4 by an additional FISH study. These results were confirmed by means of array-CGH showing terminal deletions on 4p16.3 (130 kb) and 4q35.2 (2.449 Mb). In the 21th week of pregnancy, no gross anomalia, except two weeks symmetric growth retardation, was present in the fetal ultrasonographic examination. According to our review of literature, this is the first prenatal case with 4p and 4q subtelomeric deletion of ring chromosome 4 without the involvement of WHS critical region. Our report describes the prenatal case with a ring chromosome 4 abnormality completely characterized by array-CGH which provided complementary data for genetic counseling of prenatal diagnosis.