A regional survey of serum creatinine measurement methods and estimated glomerular filtration rate reporting.

Background: Only limited data are available on the diffusion of isotope dilution mass spectrometry (IDMS)-traceable methods used for serum creatinine measurement and on estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) reporting.

Methods: A questionnaire was addressed to accredited laboratories in Lombardy, Italy, including the following issues: method of creatinine measurement, instrument model, IDMS calibration traceability, reference intervals reported by sex and age, eGFR reporting, eGFR formula used and information about the eGFR value reported in patient records. A parallel questionnaire was addressed to nephrology centers and included the following: knowledge of methods for serum creatinine measurement in their center, usefulness of eGRF reporting and opinions on the need for educational initiatives.

Bacteriuria screening by automated whole-field-image-based microscopy reduces the number of necessary urine cultures.

We evaluated a new automated urine sediment analyzer that provides whole-field images for the screening of urine samples prior to bacterial culture. Sterile urine samples from 1,011 male and female outpatients and inpatients (mean age 54.7) with a urinary tract infection prevalence of 18.

Comparison of 1-year effects of left ventricular and biventricular pacing in patients with heart failure who have ventricular arrhythmias and left bundle-branch block: the Bi vs Left Ventricular Pacing: an International Pilot Evaluation on Heart Failure Patients with Ventricular Arrhythmias (BELIEVE) multicenter prospective randomized pilot study.

Background: Little is known on the chronic effects of left ventricular pacing (LV) in heart failure.

Methods: Seventy-four patients with LBBB, QRS >130 milliseconds, New York Heart Association class (Bradley DJ, Bradley EA, Braughman KL, et al. Cardiac resynchronization and death from progressive heart failure: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Epidermal growth factor induces intracellular Ca2+ oscillations in microvascular endothelial cells.

An increase in intracellular Ca(2+) concentration ([Ca(2+)](i)) may play a role in the proliferative effect of several growth factors. In this study, the changes in [Ca(2+)](i) elicited by epidermal growth factor (EGF) in rat cardiac microvascular endothelial cells (CMEC) have been investigated by using fura-2 conventional and confocal microscopy. A large heterogeneity in the latency and in the pattern of the Ca(2+) response was found at each dose of EGF (2.

Ca2+ uptake by the endoplasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPase in rat microvascular endothelial cells.

In non-excitable cells, many agonists increase the intracellular Ca(2+) concentration ([Ca(2+)](i)) by inducing an inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP(3))-mediated Ca(2+) release from the intracellular stores. Ca(2+) influx from the extracellular medium may then sustain the Ca(2+) signal. [Ca(2+)](i) recovers its resting level as a consequence of Ca(2+)-removing mechanisms, i.