Serum amylase and lipase levels for prediction of postendoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography pancreatitis.

Background: The aim of the present study was to assess 2- and 4-h postendoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) serum amylase and lipase levels for prediction of post-ERCP, pancreatitis (PEP), and their predictive cutoff values.

Materials And Methods: In this cross-sectional study, we evaluated serum amylase and lipase levels before the procedure, 2 h and 4 h after the procedure, and in patients with persisting abdominal pain, 24 h afterward. A total of 300 adult patients who underwent ERCP procedures from March 2014 to June 2015 in referral hospital in Isfahan were studied.

Correlation of N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide levels and cardiac magnetic resonance imaging T2* in patients with β-thalassaemia major.

Background: Cardiac death secondary to myocardial iron toxicity occurs in 50% of patients with transfusion-dependent β-thalassaemia major. N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) seems to be a useful tool for early detection of cardiac haemosiderosis. We designed this study to determine whether plasma NT-proBNP levels are predictive of cardiac iron concentration, based on heart T2* assessment by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).