Validation of the riboleukogram to detect ventilator-associated pneumonia after severe injury.

Objective: We hypothesized that circulating leukocyte RNA profiles or “riboleukograms” detect ventilator-associated pneumonia after blunt trauma.

Summary Background Data: A pilot microarray study of 11 ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) patients suggested that 85 leukocyte genes can be used to diagnose VAP. Validation of this gene set to detect VAP was tested using data from an independent patient cohort.

Glucose metabolism in patients with schizophrenia treated with olanzapine or quetiapine: a frequently sampled intravenous glucose tolerance test and minimal model analysis.

Objective: Clozapine and olanzapine treatment has been associated with insulin resistance in non-obese schizophrenia patients. Much less is known regarding other agents such as quetiapine. The objective of this study was to compare matched olanzapine- and quetiapine-treated schizophrenia patients and normal controls on measures of glucose metabolism.

Higher urine desmosine levels are associated with mortality in patients with acute lung injury.

Desmosine is a stable breakdown product of elastin that can be reliably measured in urine samples. We tested the hypothesis that higher baseline urine desmosine would be associated with higher mortality in 579 of 861 patients included in the recent Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome Network trial of lower tidal volume ventilation (1). We also correlated urine desmosine levels with indexes of disease severity.

Clozapine, diabetes mellitus, hyperlipidemia, and cardiovascular risks and mortality: results of a 10-year naturalistic study.

Objective: The goal of this 10-year naturalistic study was to examine, in clozapine-treated patients, the change in cardiovascular risk factors following clozapine initiation and the mortality estimates from cardiovascular disease.

Method: Data were collected from medical records from January 1992 to December 2003 and included age, gender, race, diagnosis, family history of diabetes, and age at clozapine initiation for clozapine-treated patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder (DSM-IV criteria). Clozapine dosage and laboratory results were recorded at 12-month intervals.