Search

Background: The fecal calprotectin (f-Cal) test is a convenient method used for differentiating inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) from functional bowel disorders. The OC-Sensor Pledia (OC-FCa; Eiken Chemical Co., Tokyo, Japan) is a latex agglutination turbidimetric immunoassay used for f-Cal measurements. We evaluated the clinical performance of OC-FCa and compared the f-Cal levels between OC-FCa and Phadia 250 (Thermo Fisher Scientific, Freiburg, Germany). Methods: We collected 278 stool samples; of these, 158 were taken from patients with suspected IBD, and 120 were taken from healthy individuals. We analyzed the f-Cal distribution in each group and compared the clinical performance and agreement between OC-FCa and Phadia 250. Results: The f-Cal of patients with IBD was significantly different from that of patients without IBD for both OC-FCa and Phadia 250 (p < 0.0001 and p < 0.001, respectively). The concordance between OC-FCa and Phadia 250 was 82.3%, with moderate agreement (kappa = 0.644, 95% confidence interval = 0.525–0.763). OC-FCa and Phadia 250 showed a high correlation (r = 0.90); their diagnostic performance showed moderate accuracy (AUC = 0.873 and 0.866, respectively) and had no significant difference (p = 0.616). Conclusions: Both OC-FCa and Phadia 250 showed a high correlation and good clinical performance. F-Cal measured using OC-FCa was reliable for initial differentiation between patients with IBD and without IBD. Therefore, OC-FCa and Phadia 250 could be alternative devices for measuring f-Cal depending on the laboratory situation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/Objectives: Pancreatic stone protein (PSP) is an emerging biomarker of sepsis that is secreted from pancreas sensing remote organ damages. We explored the diagnostic and prognostic utilities of PSP in patients with suspected sepsis. Methods: In a total of 285 patients (suspected sepsis, n = 148; sepsis, n = 137), we compared PSP with procalcitonin (PCT) and sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) score. Sepsis diagnoses were explored using receiver operating characteristic curve analyses with area under the curves (AUCs). Clinical outcomes (in-hospital mortality, 30-day mortality, and kidney replacement therapy [KRT]) were explored using the Kaplan–Meier method and a multivariate analysis with hazard ratio (HR). Results: PCT and PSP were comparable for sepsis diagnosis (AUC = 0.71–0.72, p < 0.001). The sepsis proportion was significantly higher when both biomarkers increased than when either one or both biomarkers did not increase (89.0% vs. 21.3–47.7%, p < 0.001). Each biomarker quartile (Q1–Q4) differed significantly according to their SOFA score (all p < 0.001). Compared with Q1, the Q2–Q4 groups showed worse clinical outcomes (p = 0.002–0.041). Both biomarkers added to the SOFA score showed higher HRs than the SOFA score alone (3.3–9.6 vs. 2.8–4.2, p < 0.001–0.011), with nearly 2.5-fold higher HR (9.6 vs. 4.2) for predicting KRT. Conclusions: Although PCT and PSP did not independently predict clinical outcomes in the multivariate analysis, PSP demonstrated diagnostic and prognostic utilities in patients with suspected sepsis, especially for predicting kidney dysfunction. PSP, alone or in combination with PCT, would be a valuable tool that can be added to clinical assessments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

White blood cell (WBC)-related flags are essential for detecting abnormal cells including blasts in automated hematology analyzers (AHAs). Cell population data (CPD) may characterize each WBC population, and customized CPD rules can be also useful for detecting blasts. We evaluated the performance of WBC-related flags, customized CPD rules, and their combination for detecting blasts on the Beckman Coulter DxH 900 AHA (DxH 900, Beckman Coulter, Miami, Florida, USA). In a total of 239 samples from patients with hematologic diseases, complete blood count on DxH 900 and manual slide review (MSR) were conducted. The sensitivity, specificity, and efficiency of the five WBC-related flags, nine customized CPD rules, and their combination were evaluated for detecting blasts, in comparison with MSR. Blasts were detected by MSR in 40 out of 239 (16.7 %) samples. The combination of flags and CPD rules showed the highest sensitivity compared with each of flags and CPD rules for detecting blasts (97.5 vs. 72.5 % vs. 92.5 %). Compared with any flag, the combination of flags and CPD rules significantly reduced false-negative samples from 11 to one for detecting blasts (27.5 vs. 2.5 %, p=0.002). This is the first study that evaluated the performance of both flags and CPD rules on DxH 900. The customized CPD rules as well as the combination of flags and CPD rules outperformed WBC-related flags for detecting blasts on DxH 900. The customized CPD rules can play a complementary role for improving the capability of blast detection on DxH 900. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Aims: This study aimed to validate Helicobacter pylori serological and pepsinogen (PG) assays for detecting infection and gastric neoplasm. Methods: Individuals who underwent serum Chorus H. pylori and HBI PG assays were included from May to September 2023. The GastroPanel test was performed using the same blood sample. HBI assay findings were interpreted with the ABC method using the criteria of corpus atrophy (PG I ≤ 70 ng/mL & I/II ≤3) and advanced corpus atrophy (PG I ≤ 30 ng/mL & I/II ≤2). Results: A total of 144 H. pylori‐infected and 184 non‐infected Koreans were analyzed. The Chorus test (sensitivity 97.2%, specificity 89.1%) showed higher area under the curve (0.993 vs. 0.972, p = 0.003) than the GastroPanel test (sensitivity 95.8%, specificity 86.4%). Using the GastroSoft application, the incidence of gastric neoplasms was highest in the corpus atrophy group (50%), followed by the low acid‐output (25.8%), H. pylori infection (11.6%), and antral atrophy (9.1%) groups. There were no gastric neoplasms in the normal and high acid output groups. Using the ABC method, the incidence of gastric neoplasms was highest in the corpus atrophy groups (23.8% in Groups C and D), followed by Group B (12.3%) and Group A (2.4%). Corpus atrophy interpreted with the GastroSoft showed poor agreement (k = 0.225) with corpus atrophy interpreted with the ABC method, whereas it showed excellent agreement (k = 0.854) with advanced corpus atrophy. Conclusions: Although the Chorus test was more accurate than the GastroPanel test, both assays discriminated high‐risk individuals by detecting atrophy or infection. There were no gastric neoplasms in the normal or high acid‐output groups (GastroSoft application), and gastric neoplasm incidence was lowest in Group A (ABC method). Corpus atrophy determined by GastroSoft application is more consistent with advanced corpus atrophy determined by the ABC method than is corpus atrophy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]