The value of procalcitonin, a novel inflammatory marker, in the diagnosis of myocardial infarction and evaluation of acute coronary syndrome patients.

Background: Procalcitonin is a calcitonin precursor that is used as an inflammatory biomarker in the plasma of patients with sepsis.

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the diagnostic accuracy of emergency department (ED) point-of-care blood procalcitonin testing in identifying myocardial infarction (MI) in patients with chest pain of presumed ischemic origin.

Methods: Patients over 18 years of age who presented to the ED with MI-typical chest pain of presumed ischemic origin were included in the study.

Effect of varicocele on testicular artery blood flow in men--color Doppler investigation.

Objective: Varicocele can be defined as an abnormal tortuosity and dilatation of the veins of the pampiniform plexus. Contradictory results have been obtained from experimental animal models and a few clinical human studies on testicular arterial blood flow in varicocele. The purpose of this study was to determine the changes in testicular arterial blood flow parameters in patients with varicocele.