Publications by authors named "Shaimaa Madkour"
Background: Pediatric CNS infections have been identified as a global health problem, associated with an increased death rate and fatal consequences. Pentraxin 3 (PTX3) is an acute-phase mediator that increases in body fluids and plasma throughout inflammation. Our study was designed to assess the diagnostic and prognostic value of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) PTX3 levels in pediatric patients with different central nervous system (CNS) infections.
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- PTX3 is an acute-phase reactant that increases during inflammation, and this study assessed its effectiveness as a marker for the severity of lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs) in children.
- In a study involving 60 patients at Fayoum University Hospital, PTX3 levels were significantly correlated with factors like peak temperature, duration of hospital stay, and overall illness severity.
- The findings suggest that PTX3 can effectively indicate disease severity and prognosis, achieving a sensitivity of 93.3% and specificity of 70% for diagnosing LRTIs at a specific cut-off value.