iTRAQ-based proteomic analysis reveals potential serum biomarkers of allergic and nonallergic asthma.

Background: Asthma is heterogeneous disease with different phenotypes, endotypes and severities. Definition of these subgroups requires the identification of biomarkers in biological samples, and serum proteomics is a useful and minimally invasive method for this purpose. Therefore, the aim of this study was to detect serum proteins whose abundance is distinctively associated with different asthma phenotypes (allergic vs nonallergic) or severities.

Validation of Calprotectin As a Novel Biomarker For The Diagnosis of Pleural Effusion: a Multicentre Trial.

Discriminating between malignant pleural effusion (MPE) and benign pleural effusion (BPE) remains difficult. Thus, novel and efficient biomarkers are required for the diagnosis of pleural effusion (PE). The aim of this study was to validate calprotectin as a diagnostic biomarker of PE in clinical settings.

Obesity Does Not Increase the Risk of Asthma Readmissions.

The relationship between obesity and asthma exacerbations is still under debate. The aim of our work is to analyse the relationship between obesity and hospital re-admissions in asthmatics. A review was retrospectively performed on all hospital admissions of adult patients due to asthma exacerbation occurring in our hospital for 11 years.

Diagnosis of infectious pleural effusion using predictive models based on pleural fluid biomarkers.

Introduction: Diagnosis of pleural infection (PI) may be challenging. The purpose of this paper is to develop and validate a clinical prediction model for the diagnosis of PI based on pleural fluid (PF) biomarkers.

Methods: A prospective study was conducted on pleural effusion.

Blood eosinophils could be useful as a biomarker in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease exacerbations.

Introduction The aim of analysing the usefulness of the blood eosinophil count (BEC) as a prognostic marker in exacerbations of patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), evaluating its relationship with hospital mortality, the length of stay and the early and late re-admissions. Materials and Methods We have carried out a retrospective study including all patients who required hospital admission from 1 January 2008 to 31 December 2009, with a diagnosis on hospital discharge of COPD exacerbation. These patients were classified using three cut-off points of BEC: less than 200 vs ≥ 200/µL, less than 300 vs ≥ 300/µL and less than 400 vs ≥ 400/µL.

Expansion of different subpopulations of CD26 T cells in allergic and non-allergic asthmatics.

CD26 displays variable levels between effector (TH ≫ TH > TH > Treg) and naïve/memory (memory > naïve) CD4 T lymphocytes. Besides, IL-6/IL6R is associated with TH-differentiation and asthma severity. Allergic/atopic asthma (AA) is dominated by TH responses, while TH immunity might either modulate the TH-dependent inflammation in AA or be an important mechanism boosting non-allergic asthma (NAA).

The MEGA Project: A Study of the Mechanisms Involved in the Genesis and Disease Course of Asthma. Asthma Cohort Creation and Long-Term Follow-Up.

The general aim of this study is to create a cohort of asthma patients with varying grades of severity in order to gain greater insight into the mechanisms underlying the genesis and course of this disease. The specific objectives focus on various studies, including imaging, lung function, inflammation, and bronchial hyperresponsiveness, to determine the relevant events that characterize the asthma population, the long-term parameters that can determine changes in the severity of patients, and the treatments that influence disease progression. The study will also seek to identify the causes of exacerbations and how this affects the course of the disease.

Association between blood eosinophil count with asthma hospital readmissions.

Introduction: The presence of eosinophils in asthma inflammation is a relevant factor in the pathophysiology of the disease, however the relationship between the blood eosinophil count (BEC) with asthma severity and prognosis is still under debate. The aim of this work is to analyze the relationship between the BEC levels and hospital readmissions in patients with asthma.

Material And Methods: A review was retrospectively carried out on all admissions of patients over 18 years old due to exacerbation of asthma occurring in our hospital between the years 2000 and 2010.

Unilateral or Bilateral Thoracocentesis for Bilateral Pleural Effusion. A Prospective Study.

Introduction: In the absence of firm recommendations, we analyzed whether unilateral thoracic puncture is sufficient for bilateral pleural effusion (PE), or if the procedure needs to be performed in both sides.

Materials And Methods: Prospective study of patients seen consecutively for bilateral PE during a period of 3 years and 9 months. All patients underwent simultaneous bilateral thoracocentesis.

Management of Parapneumonic Pleural Effusion in Adults.

Pleural infections have high morbidity and mortality, and their incidence in all age groups is growing worldwide. Not all infectious effusions are parapneumonic and, in such cases, the organisms found in the pleural space are not the same as those observed in lung parenchyma infections. The diagnostic difficulty lies in knowing whether an infectious effusion will evolve into a complicated effusion/empyema, as the diagnostic methods used for this purpose provide poor results.

Usefulness of triglyceride levels in pleural fluid.

The determination of pleural fluid triglycerides (PF-TRIG) is useful in the diagnosis of chylothorax, but its diagnostic value for other causes of pleural effusions is unknown. The aim of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of PF-TRIG in the diagnosis of other pleural effusions and investigate the origin of their increase in these fluids. We studied 390 pleural effusions (75 tuberculous, 107 neoplastic, 39 parapneumonic, 30 miscellaneous, 42 idiopathic, and 97 transudates).

Diagnosing tuberculous pleural effusion using clinical data and pleural fluid analysis A study of patients less than 40 years-old in an area with a high incidence of tuberculosis.

Background: Tuberculous pleural effusions (TPE) are common. The diagnosis is often problematic. As the determination of ADA is often unavailable in some countries, the aim of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic usefulness of other data from pleural fluid analysis, in young patients from populations with high prevalence of tuberculosis (TB).