Serum adiponectin upon admission to the intensive care unit may predict mortality in critically ill patients.

Purpose: Adiponectin has been proposed as an important regulator of glucose metabolism influencing obesity and insulin resistance, which are important risk factors for the outcome of critically ill patients. Moreover, experimental models of inflammation suggest protective anti-inflammatory properties of adiponectin. We therefore investigated the potential pathogenic role and prognostic value of circulating adiponectin levels in critical illness.

Regulation and prognostic relevance of serum ghrelin concentrations in critical illness and sepsis.

Introduction: Ghrelin has been recently identified as a mediator of various beneficial effects in animal models of sepsis. At present, no data are available concerning specific properties of ghrelin in critically ill patients from large cohorts. In order to identify possible pathogenic functions of ghrelin in critically ill patients and human sepsis from a clinical point of view, we aimed at analyzing ghrelin serum concentrations in a large cohort of well characterized patients with critical illness.

Computer-aided detection of pulmonary embolism: influence on radiologists' detection performance with respect to vessel segments.

The purpose was to assess the sensitivity of a CAD software prototype for the detection of pulmonary embolism in MDCT chest examinations with regard to vessel level and to assess the influence on radiologists' detection performance. Forty-three patients with suspected PE were included in this retrospective study. MDCT chest examinations with a standard PE protocol were acquired at a 16-slice MDCT.