[Early warning scores of clinical deterioration in pediatric patients: a literature review].

Unlabelled: . Early warning scores for clinical deterioration in pediatric patients: a literature review.

Introduction: An early recognition of clinical worsening (the manifestation of signs and symptoms resulting in physiological instability) in pediatric inpatients may prevent the evolution towards cardiorespiratory arrest.

Quantitation of tissue polypeptide antigen (TPA) in hepatic and systemic circulation in patients with chronic liver diseases.

Background And Aim: Abnormal serum tissue polypeptide antigen (TPA) values are commonly found in patients with chronic liver damage and liver cirrhosis even in the absence of malignancies. The aim of this study was to compare serum TPA levels in patients with cirrhosis, to examine correlations between TPA levels and the degree of portal hypertension, and to evaluate TPA concentrations in paired hepatic and peripheral blood samples.

Methods: A total of 128 patients with chronic liver disease of various severity were studied prospectively.

Treatment of hepatitis C virus carriers with persistently normal alanine aminotransferase levels with peginterferon alpha-2a and ribavirin: a multicentric study.

Background/aims: To evaluate, in clinical practice, the efficacy and safety of combined antiviral treatment in hepatitis C virus (HCV) carriers with normal alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels.

Methods: Eighty-eight HCV carriers with persistently normal ALT levels were enrolled. All patients received peginterferon (PEG-IFN) alpha-2a 180 microg once weekly plus ribavirin (RBV) 800 mg/day for 24 weeks (HCV-2 and -3) or 1000-1200 mg/day for 48 weeks (HCV-1).

Quality of life in ambulatory postmenopausal women: the impact of reduced bone mineral density and subclinical vertebral fractures.

Health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis has hitherto been mainly assessed in patients with clinically recognized vertebral fractures. Our study aimed to investigate the QOL perception in 361 asymptomatic ambulant postmenopausal women who came to our center for an osteoporosis screening program planned with their general practitioners. The Quality of Life Questionnaire of the European Foundation for Osteoporosis (QUALEFFO) was administered to all subjects.

Potential clinical utility of a new IRMA for parathyroid hormone in postmenopausal patients with primary hyperparathyroidism.

Background: A new commercially available (so-called second-generation) IRMA for parathyroid hormone (PTH) separately detects intact PTH and its N-truncated fragments; however, no studies have compared the first- and second-generation IRMAs for PTH in patients with primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT) to assess their respective diagnostic accuracies.

Methods: We concomitantly investigated 39 postmenopausal patients with PHPT and a control group of 70 healthy postmenopausal women matched for age, renal function, and vitamin D status. In all individuals, PTH was measured with a classic IRMA (PTH-S; DiaSorin Inc.

Vitamin D status in female patients with primary hyperparathyroidism: does it play a role in skeletal damage?

Objective: Vitamin D deficiency, even subclinical, has been considered to worsen the skeletal damage in primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT). Our study aimed to investigate the impact of vitamin D status on skeletal involvement in PHPT.

Design And Measurements: A cross-sectional study was designed involving 62 female patients with PHPT.

[Clinical aspects of osteoporosis].

The main clinical presentation of osteoporosis is fracture and its consequences. However a number of diseases and factors can induce bone loss and increase the risk of fracture. Therefore the clinical approach should be initially directed to exclude secondary osteoporosis.

Concurrent parathyroid adenomas and carcinoma in the setting of multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1: presentation as hypercalcemic crisis.

We describe a patient with multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 characterized by the simultaneous occurrence of parathyroid cancer, parathyroid adenomas, and pancreatic gastrinoma, who presented with an episode of acute hypercalcemia. The rapid parathyroid hormone assay provided a basis for the diagnosis of parathyroid hyperfunction. Mediastinal metastasis of the parathyroid carcinoma was found at autopsy.