The clinical value of peripheral immune cell counts in pancreatic cancer.

BACKGROUND: Elevated neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) is linked to poor overall survival (OS) in pancreatic cancer. We aim to investigate the association of the various hematologic markers, in particular NLR among others, with distant metastases, a common feature in pancreatic cancer. METHODS: Clinical data from 355 pancreatic cancer patients managed at King Hussein Cancer Center (Amman-Jordan) have been reviewed. We examined the relationship between absolute neutrophil count (ANC), absolute lymphocyte count (ALC), absolute eosinophilic count (AEC), absolute monocytic count (AMC), NLR, monocyte to lymphocyte ratio (MLR) and platelet to lymphocyte ratio (PLR) with the presence of baseline distant metastases and OS. Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was plotted to identify the NLR optimum cutoff value indicative of its association with distant metastases. RESULTS: On univariate and multivariate analyses patients whom on presentation had high NLR (≥3.3) showed more baseline distant metastases compared to patients with low NLR (<3.3), (p-value: <0.0001 and <0.0001, respectively). Patients with high baseline ANC (≥5500/µL), AMC (≥600/µL), MLR (≥0.3) had more baseline distant metastases in comparison to patients with lower values (p-value: 0.02, 0.001, and <0.0001, respectively). High ANC, NLR, MLR, and PLR and low ALC were associated with poorer OS, (p-value: <0.0001, <0.0001, <0.0001, 0.04, and 0.01, respectively). CONCLUSION: This study presents additional evidence of the association of some of the hematologic markers; in particular ANC, NLR, AMC, and MLR, with baseline distant metastases and poor outcome in pancreatic cancer. Whether these immune phenomena can help in identifying patients at higher risk for the subsequent development of distant metastases is unknown.

Comparison of clinical associations and laboratory abnormalities in children with moderate and severe dehydration.

OBJECTIVES: To search for possible early clinical associations and laboratory abnormalities in children with severe dehydration in northern Jordan. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We prospectively evaluated 251 children with acute gastroenteritis. Dehydration assessment was done following a known clinical scheme. Probable clinical associations and laboratory abnormalities were examined against the preassigned dehydration status. RESULTS: Children with severe dehydration had significantly more hypernatremia and hyperkalemia, less isonatremia, and higher mean levels of urea, creatinine, and glucose (P < 0.005). Receiver operating characteristic curves showed statistically significant area under the curve values for laboratory variables. These area under the curve values were 0.991 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.980-1.001) for serum urea, 0.862 (95% CI 0.746-0.978) for sodium, 0.850 (95% CI 0.751-0.949) for creatinine, 0.69 (95% CI 0.555-0.824) for potassium, and 0.684 (95% CI 0.574-0.795) for glucose (P < 0.05 for all). Certain independent serum cutoff levels of urea, creatinine, sodium, glucose, and potassium had high negative predictive value (100%), whereas other cutoff values for each, except potassium, had high positive predictive value (100%) for severe dehydration. Historic clinical characteristics of patients did not correlate to dehydration degree. CONCLUSIONS: Serum urea, creatinine, sodium, potassium, and glucose were useful independently in augmenting clinical examination to diagnose the degree of dehydration status among children presenting with gastroenteritis. Serum urea performed the best among all. On the contrary, none of the examined historical clinical patterns could be correlated to the dehydration status. Larger and multicenter studies are needed to validate our results and to examine their impact on final outcomes.

Extended Spectrum beta-Lactamases among Gram-Negative Bacterial Isolates from Clinical Specimens in Three Major Hospitals in Northern Jordan.

Background and Objectives. Extended spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) production is increasing all over the world, and organisms other than E. coli and K. pneumoniae are acquiring this character. ESBL production is detectable by automation, E-test, double disk diffusion (DDD), and PCR. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of ESBL production among clinical isolates of gram-negative rods, and to evaluate the effectiveness of augmentation of clavunate with Cefotaxime, Ceftazoxime, Aztreonam, Ceftriaxone, and Cefpodoxime in detecting ESBL production. Methods. 472 clinical gram-negative isolates identified by standard methods were tested for ESBL-production by (DDD) method using six cephalosporins and amoxicillin-clavulinate discs. Results. 108/472 (22.9%) of the isolates were ESBL producers, and were prevalent in tertiary care hospitals. 88.2% of E. cloacae, 71.4% of K. pneumoniae, 28.6% of K. oxytoca, 12.5% of C. freundii, 11.1% of A. calcoacceticus, and 10.8% of E. coli were ESBL producers. The DDD test demonstrated some variations in the efficacy of the different cephalosporins in detecting all the ESBL producers. The inclusion of ceftizoxime discs increased the efficacy of the test. It is concluded that ESBL-producing bacteria were prevalent among our hospitalized patients, and involved genera other than Klebsiella and Escherichia, and the inclusion of ceftizoxime increased the efficacy of ESBL detection by the DDD test.

Seroprevalence of rubella among Jordanian women of childbearing age.

This study was conducted to assess immunity (seroprevalence) to rubella among Jordanian women of childbearing age. A multistage cluster sampling was used to recruit 1125 women of childbearing age (15-49 year) from the 12 Governorates of Jordan. Anti-rubella antibody titers were measured using enzyme-linked immunoassays. The overall immunity rate to rubella among women in childbearing age was 90.9% (CI: 88.8-92.9). However, the immunity rate was significantly lower in younger women aged 15-19 years (83%) compared to the whole cohort (P

Enteroviral meningitis in Northern Jordan: prevalence and association with clinical findings.

During the summer-autumn of 1999, 390 specimens of cerebrospinal fluid were taken from infants and children younger than 15 years of age. They were suspected of having meningitis and were admitted to Princess Rahma Hospital, Northern Jordan. They were investigated for the presence of enteroviruses using shell vial culture and indirect immunofluorescence assays. Most cases (46.9%) occurred in children younger than 1 year of age in which males represented 71.9%. The common symptoms were fever, vomiting, and headache. Enteroviruses were isolated from 32 (8.2%) cases, coxsackievirus B types 2, 4, and 5 from 15 (46.9%) cases, and echovirus 9 (31.3%) was the most common identified serotype. The virus isolation rate was directly proportional to the number of leukocytes in the cerebrospinal fluid. However, enteroviral isolation was demonstrated in 4 (12.5%) of 32 cerebrospinal fluid specimens without pleocytosis. Leukocyte differential count revealed a predominance of polymorphonuclear cells in 71.4% of the cases. Hospitalization ranged from 1 day to 25 days with a mean of 7 days. The majority of enterovirus-infected patients (88.9%) were treated with at least one type of antibiotic. These results emphasize the importance of shell vial culture assay for diagnosing enteroviruses, especially in laboratories that do not have access to advanced techniques such as polymerase chain reaction.