Neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin as a biomarker for short-term outcomes among trauma patients: A single-center observational study.

BACKGROUND: Urinary biomarkers for organ dysfunction could predict the outcomes of severe trauma patients. However, the use of neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) as a biomarker of trauma is not well studied. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the association between the short-term prognosis of trauma patients and NGAL levels. METHODS: We conducted a single center study and compared predictive performances between NGAL levels and the trauma severity. RESULTS: A total of 104 patients were included in the study. Patients were divided into two groups based on ISS score of 16. There was no significant difference in patient characteristics based on trauma severity. However, the lactate level was significantly higher in the more severe group. There was a significant association between urinary NGAL levels and trauma severity indicators, such as intensive care unit stay (ICU) (p = 0.005) and emergency care unit (ECU) stay (p = 0.049). In addition, receiver operating curve analysis showed that as a predictor, NGAL could be used for detecting severity with moderate precision, especially for short-term outcomes (specificity 70.6 for ICU and 69.0 for ECU stay). CONCLUSION: In this study, we revealed that the level of NGAL could predict the degree of invasiveness in trauma patients with moderate precision and estimate the duration of treatment during the acute phase. It is necessary to examine the validity of the findings of this study using a prospective, cohort, and multi-center collaborative study design.

Evaluation of HVHF for the treatment of severe acute pancreatitis accompanying MODS.

Systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) prevention is key to severe acute pancreatitis (SAP) treatment and the assessment of high-volume hemofiltration (HVHF) for treating SAP accompanying multiple organ dysfunction syndromes.In this prospective controlled study, 40 SAP patients were divided into 2 groups: control (n = 22, treated with fasting, decompression, and intravenous somatostatin) and HVHF (n = 18, HVHF administration in addition to the treatment in the control group) groups; and were assessed for serum and urine amylase, WBC, C-reactive protein (CRP), and hepatic and renal functions. Vital signs and abdominal symptoms were recorded, and complications and mortality were analyzed.APACHE II scores in the HVHF group were significantly lower than in the control group at 3 and 7 days (6.3 ±â€Š1.7 vs 9.2 ±â€Š2.1 and 3.3 ±â€Š0.8 vs 6.2 ±â€Š1.7, respectively). Compared with controls, serum, and urine amylase, WBC, CRP, and organ functions significantly improved after HVHF treatment. Meanwhile, mortality (16.7% vs 31.8%) and complication (11.1% vs 40.9%) rates were significantly reduced.The other clinical parameters were significantly ameliorated by HVHF. HVHF rapidly reduces abdominal symptoms and improves prognosis, reducing mortality in SAP patients; and is likely through systemic inflammatory response syndrome attenuation in the early disease stage.

Microproteinuria Predicts Organ Failure in Patients Presenting with Acute Pancreatitis.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: The disease course of acute pancreatitis (AP) ranges from mild and self-limiting to severe inflammation, associated with significant morbidity and mortality. At present, there are no universally accepted and reliable predictors for severity. Microproteinuria has been associated with the presence of systemic inflammatory response syndrome as well as trauma, although its association with AP is not well understood. The aim of this study was to investigate the value of microproteinuria to predict development of organ failure in AP. METHODS: Consecutive AP patients were prospectively enrolled. Urine samples were collected upon admission, 12-24 h after admission, and 3 months post-discharge for calculation of urine α1-microglobulin-, albumin-, IgG-, and IgM/creatinine ratios. Data regarding AP etiology, severity, and development of organ failure were registered. RESULTS: Overall, 92 AP patients were included (14 % with organ failure; 6 % with severe AP). The α1-microglobulin-, albumin-, and IgG/creatinine ratios correlated with high-sensitivity C-reactive protein 48 h after admission (r = 0.47-0.61, p < 0.001 for all). They were also significantly higher in patients with versus without organ failure (p < 0.05 for all). The α1-microglobulin/creatinine ratio upon admission predicted organ failure [adjusted odds ratio 1.286, 95 % confidence interval (CI) 1.024-1.614] with similar accuracy (AUROC 0.81, 95 % CI 0.69-0.94) as the more complex APACHE II score (AUROC 0.86, 95 % CI 0.70-1.00). CONCLUSION: The α1-microglobulin/creatinine ratio upon presentation with AP is related to inflammation and predicts development of organ failure. Further studies are warranted to evaluate its potential usefulness in predicting outcome for AP patients.

[Case report: sepsis and multi organ dysfunction syndrome in a patient returning from holiday on the Canary Islands: a difficult diagnosis]. / Kasuistik interaktiv: Lanzarote-Urlauber mit Sepsis und Multiorganversagen - Ein langer Weg bis zur richtigen Diagnose.

UNLABELLED: A forty-five year old male tourist suffers a febrile illness, delirium and severe abdominal pain on the fifth day of his holiday trip to the Canary Islands (Spain). After hospitalization he presents a surgical abdomen which requires emergency laparotomy however without detectable pathology. Progressing critical illness and septic shock leads to multiple organ failure, but focus identification is not possible. Well after return to Germany diagnostic uncertainty persists due to recurrent fever and possible travel-associated infections. Finally, besides a simple pararectal abscess, manifestation of acute intermittent porphyria is diagnosed. CONCLUSION: Clinicians should consider acute intermittent porphyria as a rare cause of a surgical abdomen. Its clinical presentation include abdominal pain, life-threatening neurovisceral, neurological and psychiatric symptoms, hypertension, tachycardia, hyponatriemia and reddish urine.

Neopterin as a prognostic biomarker in intensive care unit patients.

PURPOSE: The present study was undertaken to evaluate urinary neopterin in intensive care unit patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Urinary neopterin levels were determined in systemic inflammatory response syndrome (n = 10), sepsis (n = 18), septic shock (n = 9), and multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (n = 5). It was tested whether neopterin is a differential parameter among the patient groups. Furthermore, the results were also evaluated by comparing with a healthy control group (n = 30), and the relationship between neopterin and mortality or Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II scores were investigated. RESULTS: Neopterin levels of the control group and patients were detected as 111 +/- 11 and 3850 +/- 1081 mumol/mol creatinine, respectively (P < .05). It was significantly increased in the sepsis and septic shock groups compared to the systemic inflammatory response syndrome group (P < .05). Neopterin levels were significantly higher in the patients with mortality and lower Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II scores. CONCLUSION: This study showed that monitoring of urinary neopterin profile can be used in intensive care units to show the degree and prognosis of the disease.

Transaldolase deficiency: a new cause of hydrops fetalis and neonatal multi-organ disease.

Transaldolase (TALDO) deficiency is a newly recognized metabolic disease, which has been reported so far in 2 patients presenting with liver failure and cirrhosis. We report a new sibship of 4 infants born to the same consanguineous parents; all presented at birth or in the antenatal period with dysmorphic features, cutis laxa and hypertrichosis, hepatomegaly, splenomegaly, liver failure, hemolytic anemia, thrombocytopenia, and genitourinary malformations. The clinical courses were variable: the first child died of liver failure at 4 months of age; the second pregnancy was medically terminated at 28 weeks gestation because of hydrops fetalis with oligohydramnios. The third child is doing well at age 7 with liver fibrosis and mild kidney failure. The fourth child is now 21 months old and has hepatosplenomegaly, mild anemia, and thrombocytopenia. Urine assessment of polyols showed elevations of erythritol, arabitol, and ribitol consistent with TALDO deficiency. TALDO activity was undetectable in the patients' tissues, and mutation in the TALDO1 gene was found in the 4 patients.

Organ failure, infection, and the systemic inflammatory response syndrome are associated with elevated levels of urinary intestinal fatty acid binding protein: study of 100 consecutive patients in a surgical intensive care unit.

BACKGROUND: Intestinal mucosal ischemia and subsequent barrier dysfunction have been related to the development of organ dysfunction and death in the critically ill. We hypothesized that urine concentrations of intestinal fatty acid binding protein (IFABP), a sensitive marker of intestinal ischemia, might predict the development of the systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) and organ dysfunction. METHODS: One hundred consecutive critically ill patients were prospectively studied for the development of infectious complications, organ dysfunction, and SIRS. Urine was collected daily for measurement of IFABP. RESULTS: A total of 58 males and 42 females (mean age, 56 years; range,16-85 years) were studied. Of these 100 patients, 40 patients developed complications and 5 patients developed SIRS. IFABP was significantly elevated in all patients with SIRS, and IFABP levels peaked an average of 1.4 days (range, 0-7 days) before the diagnosis of SIRS. CONCLUSION: Elevated concentrations of urine IFABP correlated with the clinical development of SIRS. Studies to assess the utility of IFABP as a predictor of organ dysfunction and SIRS in the critically ill are warranted.

[Urine viscosity in the evaluation of homeostasis in heart surgery patients in the early postoperative period]. / Viazkost' mochi kak otsenka gomeostaza kardiokhirurgicheskikh bol'nykh v rannem posleoperatsionnom periode.

A total of 100 dynamic measurements of the urinary viscosity were carried out in 38 patients subjected to open-heart surgery. Biochemical parameters and levels of electrolytes were measured in the cystic urine. The viscosity of the urine was found to be unchanged from 10 to 300 sec-1. A significant increase of its level was observed only in acute renal failure and led to the development of multiorgan abnormalities. The results indicate that urine viscosity in the early postoperative period was due to pH values (r = 0.47, p < 0.05) and free hemoglobin level (r = -0.52, p < 0.01) in coronary patients and due to concentrations of sodium (r = -0.57, p < 0.01) and chloride ions (r = 0.38, p < 0.01), osmolarity (r = -0.53, p < 0.1), and protein levels (e = -0.37, p < 0.1) in patients with acquired heart diseases. These causal relations were conditioned by the postoperative directions of regular reactions of homeostasis, because in coronary disease it is virtually the same as before surgery. Contrariwise, renal perfusion has a great impact on homeostasis stabilization in new bloodflow state in patients subjected to open-heart surgery for acquired heart diseases. As molecular and cellular disorders anticipate the clinical symptoms, we came to a conclusion that increase of urine viscosity may be an early sign predicting the development of multiorgan abnormalities.

Elevated urinary leukotriene E4 excretion in patients with ARDS and severe burns.

Increased synthesis of peptidoleukotrienes may occur in a variety of inflammatory diseases. To test this theory, hospitalized patients with a variety of diseases were studied and urine LTE4 quantitated as an index of total body peptidoleukotriene synthesis. 10 patients with ARDS, 7 of which had additional organ involvement, and 5 patients suffering from severe burn injuries were studied. Patients with uncomplicated ARDS excreted approximately 6-fold higher amounts of LTE4 in urine compared to healthy subjects. When ARDS was complicated by multiple organ failure (MOF), urine LTE4 levels were 2- to 150-fold higher than in healthy volunteers. Patients with severe burn injuries had peak urine LTE4 levels which were approximately 20-fold higher than in healthy volunteers. As additional controls, patients with cardiac arrhythmias (absence of inflammatory disease) and patients with uncomplicated pneumonia (localized inflammation) showed normal or mildly elevated urinary LTE4 levels. The urinary LTE4 levels in ARDS patients did not correlate with serum creatinine, bilirubin, or LDH levels, or with the WBC, nor did renal or liver failure by itself predict extremely elevated urinary LTE4 levels. In conclusion, patients with ARDS or ARDS/MOF and patients with severe injuries and sepsis syndrome excrete higher levels of urinary LTE4 than patients healthy volunteers or patients with limited inflammatory disease. In certain situations, urinary LTE4 levels may be useful as a marker of the degree of inflammation.