Background: Several studies have shown that serum procalcitonin levels increase conspicuously in acute and systemic inflammatory diseases. However, there is insufficient information concerning its activity in chronic infectious diseases such as tuberculosis. In this study, we aimed to assess serum level of procalcitonin in patients with active pulmonary tuberculosis and in medical staff at high risk due to close patient contact (high-risk staff).
Methods: For this purpose, 30 patients (6 female, 24 male) and 20 staff (8 female, 12 male) were evaluated. Twenty eight healthy blood donors (9 female, 19 male) made up the control group.
Results: Serum procalcitonin level in patients with tuberculosis was 0.76 +/- 0.20 ng/mL. Procalcitonin levels in active tuberculosis patients and staff were not significantly different (p=0.381); however, differences between active tuberculosis patients and control group were significant (p<0.001). In addition, serum procalcitonin levels were also different in staff and control groups (p<0.001).
Conclusions: This study showed that procalcitonin levels increased both in patients with pulmonary tuberculosis and in the staff. This result considered that procalcitonin could be a good indicator of inflammation in patients with chronic diseases and in persons exposed to long-lasting infections.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0188-4409(03)00050-X | DOI Listing |
J Med Internet Res
January 2025
Department of Cardiology, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Background: Efficient emergency patient transport systems, which are crucial for delivering timely medical care to individuals in critical situations, face certain challenges. To address this, CONNECT-AI (CONnected Network for EMS Comprehensive Technical-Support using Artificial Intelligence), a novel digital platform, was introduced. This artificial intelligence (AI)-based network provides comprehensive technical support for the real-time sharing of medical information at the prehospital stage.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAnn Med
December 2025
Department of General Practice, Hainan affiliated Hospital of Hainan Medical University, Hainan General Hospital, Haikou, China.
Background: Although existing studies have identified some genetic loci associated with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) susceptibility, many variants remain to be discovered. The aim of this study was to further explore the potential relationship between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and COPD risk.
Methods: Nine hundred and ninety-six subjects were recruited (498 COPD cases and 498 healthy controls).
Br J Surg
December 2024
Department of Anaesthesiology, Nara Medical University, Nara, Japan.
Background: The WHO Disability Assessment Schedule (WHODAS) 2.0 is widely used for detecting postoperative functional disability. Its responsiveness for detecting disability has been evaluated at 1 year after surgery, with no long-term evaluation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAnn Med
December 2025
Department of Critical Care Medicine, Taihe Hospital, Hubei University of Medicine, Shiyan, Hubei, China.
Background: This study was aimed to explore the global burden and trends of Clostridioides difficile infections (CDI) associated diseases.
Methods: Data for this study were obtained from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021. The burden of CDI was assessed using the age-standardized rates of disability-adjusted life years (ASR-DALYs) and deaths (ASDRs).
Transl Vis Sci Technol
January 2025
School of Optometry and Vision Science, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to develop and validate a deep-learning model for noninvasive anemia detection, hemoglobin (Hb) level estimation, and identification of anemia-related retinal features using fundus images.
Methods: The dataset included 2265 participants aged 40 years and above from a population-based study in South India. The dataset included ocular and systemic clinical parameters, dilated retinal fundus images, and hematological data such as complete blood counts and Hb concentration levels.
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