Glucose time series complexity as a predictor of type 2 diabetes.

Background: Complexity analysis of glucose profile may provide valuable information about the gluco-regulatory system. We hypothesized that a complexity metric (detrended fluctuation analysis, DFA) may have a prognostic value for the development of type 2 diabetes in patients at risk.

Methods: A total of 206 patients with any of the following risk factors (1) essential hypertension, (2) obesity or (3) a first-degree relative with a diagnosis of diabetes were included in a survival analysis study for a diagnosis of new onset type 2 diabetes.

Procalcitonin and C-reactive protein levels as diagnostic tools in febrile patients admitted to a General Internal Medicine ward.

Objective: We study the extent to which procalcitonin (Pro-CT) and/or C-reactive protein (CRP) may be helpful in the early triage of febrile patients admitted to a general internal medicine ward.

Methods: This is a prospective, observational study on 62 admitted patients in whom a temperature >38°C had been observed the day before inclusion.

Results: Neither Pro-CT nor CRP was able to discriminate infectious (or bacterial) diseases from the other etiologies as a group, with an area under the ROC curve of 0.