[IQWiG evidence report on psychological consequences of abortion].

The Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) was commissioned by the Federal Ministry of Health to provide support for the further development of the S2k guideline on first-trimester abortion into an S3 guideline. To this end, the responsible guideline group formulated research questions that were answered in IQWiG evidence reports. One of the questions to be addressed was the evidence regarding the psychological consequences of an abortion in the first trimester compared to no abortion in the first trimester in pregnant women who wish to have an abortion.

Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D deficiency; a risk factor for chronic kidney disease in ambulatory indigent patients.

Objective: To assess whether 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH]D) deficiency is a risk factor for chronic kidney disease (CKD) in ambulatory indigent patients.

Methods: Data for all serum 25(OH)D concentrations measured during 2010 in our ambulatory nondialysis-dependent patients were analyzed along with CKD-related parameters. Patients were stratified into groups based on 25(OH)D levels of <10, 10 to 19, 20 to 29, and ≥30 ng/mL.

Vitamin D deficiency in urban indigent patients in Southern California.

Objective: To determine the prevalence of 25-hydroxy (OH) vitamin D deficiency in ambulatory and hospitalized patients from a large urban county medical center in Southern California, and assess the effects of season, ethnicity, age, location of care, and comorbidities on prevalence.

Methods: Data for all serum 25(OH)-D2 and -D3 concentrations measured during 2010, along with associated demographic characteristics and comorbidity data, were analyzed. 25(OH) D concentrations were measured using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.

Investigation of hypercalcemia.

Hypercalcemia is a relatively common clinical finding. Primary hyperparathyroidism, hypercalcemia associated with malignancy and chronic renal failure (with calcium and vitamin D metabolite treatment or tertiary hyperparathyroidism) are the most common causes. Less common causes of hypercalcemia include vitamin D-related (granulomatous diseases, lymphoma, vitamin D intoxication), other endocrine (thyrotoxicosis), medications (milk-alkali, thiazides, lithium) and other causes (immobilization, familial hypocalciuric hypercalcemia).

Comparison of fresh frozen serum to proficiency testing material in College of American Pathologists surveys: alpha-fetoprotein, carcinoembryonic antigen, human chorionic gonadotropin, and prostate-specific antigen.

Context: Most proficiency testing materials (PTM) contain an artificial matrix that may cause immunoassays to perform differently with this material than with clinical samples. We hypothesized that matrix effects would be reduced by using fresh frozen serum (FFS).

Objective: To compare the performance of an FFS pool to standard PTM for measurement of alpha-fetoprotein, carcinoembryonic antigen, human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), and prostate-specific antigen (PSA).

Comparison of fresh frozen serum to traditional proficiency testing material in a College of American Pathologists survey for ferritin, folate, and vitamin B12.

Context: Comparison of different analytical methods in proficiency surveys may be affected by the artificial nature of the survey material.

Objective: To compare intermethod differences in proficiency survey results between 2 types of survey material, conventional proficiency testing material (PTM) and fresh frozen human serum (FFS), for 3 markers of anemia: ferritin, folate, and vitamin B12.

Design: Data were gathered from a 2003 survey event in the College of American Pathologists Ligand ("K") Series, in which the specimens to be tested by each participating laboratory included 1 vial of FFS and 2 vials of PTM with different analyte concentrations.

Limitations of direct estradiol and testosterone immunoassay kits.

Estradiol (E2) and testosterone (T) are biologically active hormones that serve as important diagnostic markers in serum of premenopausal and postmenopausal women and in men. These hormones are measured frequently by immunoassay in clinical laboratories and the test results are used in the diagnosis and treatment of patients. For measuring the hormones by immunoassay, most laboratories utilize commercially available reagents that are packaged in the form of a kit and are used either in an automated instrument or manually.

Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal activity among Armenian adolescents with PTSD symptoms.

This study evaluated basal levels and responsiveness to exercise of plasma adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), and serum thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), growth hormone (GH) and cortisol among adolescents from two differentially exposed groups 6 1/2 years after the 1988 earthquake in Armenia. Severity of total PTSD and Category C and D symptoms were negatively correlated with baseline cortisol. Preexercise ACTH was significantly lower, and preexercise TSH higher, among adolescents with more exposure.

Immunoreactive parathyroid hormone levels in platyrrhini and catarrhini: A comparative analysis with three different assays.

Serum concentrations of the hormonal form of vitamin D-1,25-dihydroxy-vitamin D [1,25-(OH)-D]-are elevated in many genera of platyrrhines when compared to catarrhines; this elevation is presumed to result from a decrease in the ability of the target cell receptor effectively to recognize 1,25-(OH)-D. The activity of the renal 25-hydroxyvitumin D-1α-hydroxylase, the mammalian enzyme which synthesizes the majority of the circulating 1,25-(OH)-D, is accelerated by parathyroid hormone (PTH). In order to determine whether the elevated serum concentrations of 1,25-(OH)-D in platyrrhines were the result of relative hyperparathyroidism, we measured serum levels of immunoreactive parathyroid hormone (iPTH) in normocalcemic platyrrhines, catarrhines, and human subjects with assays that recognize different domains of the human PTH molecule.