Impact of Midregional N-Terminal Pro-Atrial Natriuretic Peptide and Soluble Suppression of Tumorigenicity 2 Levels on Heart Rhythm in Patients Treated With Catheter Ablation for Atrial Fibrillation: The Biorhythm Study.

Background We assessed the impact of preprocedural plasma levels of MRproANP (midregional N-terminal pro-atrial natriuretic peptide) and sST2 (soluble suppression of tumorigenicity 2) on recurrence of atrial fibrillation (AF) at 1 year after catheter ablation of AF. Methods and Results This was a prospective, multicenter, observational study including patients undergoing catheter ablation of AF. MRproANP and sST2 were measured in a peripheral venous blood preprocedure, and MRproANP was assessed in the right and left atrial blood during ablation.

Accuracy of calprotectin using the Quantum Blue Reader for the diagnosis of spontaneous bacterial peritonitis in liver cirrhosis.

Aim: We aimed to evaluate the accuracy of the dosage of calprotectin in ascitic fluid (AF) using the Quantum Blue assay, for the prompt diagnosis of spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP).

Methods: We prospectively collected 236 AF samples from 119 cirrhotic patients hospitalized in two French centers between May 2016 and May 2017. Bloody and chylous/cloudy AF, and secondary peritonitis were excluded.

Is Endocan a Diagnostic Marker for Pneumonia After Cardiac Surgery? The ENDOLUNG Study.

Background: Postoperative pneumonia is frequent after cardiac surgery and is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. We tested the hypothesis that endocan is an early biomarker for the detection of pneumonia after cardiac surgery.

Methods: Between January and May 2016, 155 patients scheduled to undergo elective cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass were prospectively included in the study.

Automatic detection of cirrhosis in hospitalized patients: a pragmatic experience.

Background/aim: We evaluated the relevance of a systematic automatic detection of cirrhosis using biochemical markers in hospitalized patients.

Methods: We automatically calculated three free biochemical tests (APRI, Fib-4, and Forns) in patients consecutively hospitalized in our university hospital between July and September, 2010. Patients >18 years not known to suffer from chronic liver disease, were contacted to undergo liver stiffness measurement (LSM) as a reference diagnostic tool.

Serum immunoglobulin G levels and peritonitis in peritoneal dialysis patients.

Background: Peritonitis is a frequent and serious complication of peritoneal dialysis (PD). Whether low immunoglobulin level is associated with PD-related peritonitis is unknown.

Methods: We conducted a prospective study to assess whether immunoglobulin levels at PD onset could predict the occurrence of peritonitis.

Neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin as early predictor of acute kidney injury after cardiac surgery in adults with chronic kidney failure.

Background: To assess the utility of neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) as an early marker of acute kidney injury (AKI) occurring after cardiac surgery in patients with prior chronic kidney failure.

Methods: Patients with preoperative creatinine clearance 60 mL • min(-1) • 1.73 m(-2) or less according to the Cockcroft-Gault formula and scheduled to undergo cardiac surgery were eligible for inclusion.

[Evaluation of a new blood gas analysis system: RapidPoint 500(®)].

We present here evaluation of a new blood gas analysis system, RapidPoint 500(®) (Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics). The aim of this research was to compare the ergonomics and analytical performances of this analyser with those of the RapidLab 1265 for the following parameters: pH, partial oxygen pressure, partial carbon dioxide pressure, sodium, potassium, ionized calcium, lactate and the CO-oximetry parameters: hemoglobin, oxyhemoglobin, carboxyhemoglobin, methemoglobin, reduced hemoglobin, neonatal bilirubin; as well as with the Dimension Vista 500 results for chloride and glucose. The Valtec protocol, recommended by the French Society of Clinical Biology (SFBC), was used to analyze the study results.

Populations at risk for alveolar echinococcosis, France.

During 1982-2007, alveolar echinococcosis (AE) was diagnosed in 407 patients in France, a country previously known to register half of all European patients. To better define high-risk groups in France, we conducted a national registry-based study to identify areas where persons were at risk and spatial clusters of cases. We interviewed 180 AE patients about their way of life and compared responses to those of 517 controls.

30-yr course and favorable outcome of alveolar echinococcosis despite multiple metastatic organ involvement in a non-immune suppressed patient.

We report the 30-yr history of a well-documented human case of alveolar echinococcosis, with a lung lesion at presentation followed by the discovery of a liver lesion, both removed by surgery. Subsequently, within the 13 years following diagnosis, metastases were disclosed in eye, brain and skull, as well as additional lung lesions. This patient had no immune suppression, and did not have the genetic background known to predispose to severe alveolar echinococcosis; it may thus be hypothesized that iterative multi-organ involvement was mostly due to the poor adherence to benzimidazole treatment for the first decade after diagnosis.

Clinical features and evolution of alveolar echinococcosis in France from 1982 to 2007: results of a survey in 387 patients.

Background & Aims: Alveolar echinococcosis (AE) is a rare disease in humans, caused by the larval stage of the fox tapeworm Echinococcus multilocularis.

Methods: We present here 387 detailed AE cases diagnosed in France from 1982 to 2007 actively identified by a retrospective survey performed in 1997-1998 and prospectively thereafter.

Results: Male:female ratio was 1.

Assessment of four serological techniques in the immunological diagnosis of farmers' lung disease.

Farmers' lung disease (FLD) is a pulmonary disease that results from repeated inhalation of antigens from mouldy hay or straw. The objective of this prospective study was to assess the reliability of four serological techniques in FLD diagnosis. Sera from 15 consecutive patients with FLD, 15 healthy control farmers and 30 urban controls were analysed using four serological techniques [electrosyneresis (ES), Ouchterlony double diffusion (DD), ELISA and Western blot (WB)] with four antigens (Absidia corymbifera, Eurotium amstelodami, Wallemia sebi and Saccharopolyspora rectivirgula).

IFN alpha-2a protects mice against a helminth infection of the liver and modulates immune responses.

Background & Aims: Hepatic alveolar echinococcosis (AE), caused by the larval growth of Echinococcus multilocularis, is one of the most lethal helminthic diseases with no satisfactory treatment. Advances in the understanding of the host's immune response (Th2 responses associated with a progressive form of AE), have driven the research towards immune stimulation as an alternative possibility to treat patients. We previously reported clinical stabilization associated with a shift from a Th2 to a Th1 cytokine profile in an AE patient treated with interferon (IFN)alpha.

European echinococcosis registry: human alveolar echinococcosis, Europe, 1982-2000.

Surveillance for alveolar echinococcosis in central Europe was initiated in 1998. On a voluntary basis, 559 patients were reported to the registry. Most cases originated from rural communities in regions from eastern France to western Austria; single cases were reported far away from the disease-"endemic" zone throughout central Europe.

Evaluation of an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) with affinity-purified Em18 and an ELISA with recombinant Em18 for differential diagnosis of alveolar echinococcosis: results of a blind test.

Alveolar echinococcosis (AE) is the most potentially lethal parasitic zoonosis of the nontropical areas in the northern hemisphere, where cystic echinococcosis (CE) is also endemic. Both AE and CE are highly endemic in China, and both serologic detection of echinococcosis, either AE or CE, and differentiation of AE from CE are crucial problems. Evaluation of Western blot analysis (WB) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for the Em18 antigen, using affinity-purified and recombinant Em18, was carried out "blindly" using 60 human sera from patients diagnosed in France.