Introduction And Aim: Procalcitonin is widely used as a biomarker to distinguish bacterial infections from other etiologies of systemic inflammation. Little is known about its value in acute liver injury resulting from intoxication with paracetamol.
Material And Methods: We performed a single-center retrospective analysis of the procalcitonin level, liver synthesis, liver cell damage and renal function of patients admitted with paracetamol-induced liver injury to a tertiary care children's hospital. Children with acute liver failure due to other reasons without a bacterial or fungal infection served as the control group. Twelve patients with acute paracetamol intoxication and acute liver injury were compared with 29 patients with acute liver failure.
Results: The procalcitonin levels were higher in children with paracetamol intoxication than in patients with acute liver failure without paracetamol intoxication (median 24.8 (0.01-55.57) ng/mL vs. 1.36 (0.1-44.18) ng/mL; p < 0.005), although their liver and kidney functions were better and the liver cell injury was similar in both groups. Outcome analysis showed a trend towards better survival without transplantation in patients with paracetamol intoxication (10/12 vs. 15/29). Within each group, procalcitonin was significantly correlated with alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase but was not correlated with the International Normalized Ratio or paracetamol blood levels in the paracetamol group. In conclusion, paracetamol intoxication leads to a marked increase in procalcitonin serum levels, which are significantly higher than those seen in acute liver failure.
Conclusion: The underlying mechanism is neither caused by infection nor fully explained by liver cell death alone and remains to be determined.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.5604/01.3001.0012.0932 | DOI Listing |
Arch Dis Child
January 2025
Pediatric Emergency Department, Cruces University Hospital Paediatric Emergencies, Barakaldo, Spain
Introduction: Although the administration of activated charcoal (AC) is considered safe, the associated risk of pulmonary aspiration explains certain reluctance of physicians to use this procedure. The objective of this study was to analyse the rate of pulmonary aspiration in children receiving AC after accidental ingestion of a toxic substance.
Methods: We carried out a substudy of a multicentre prospective registry-based cohort study including children presenting with acute poisoning to 58 paediatric emergency department (EDs) members of the Spanish Society of Pediatric Emergency Medicine between 2008 and 2022 on certain previously designated days.
J Ethnopharmacol
January 2025
School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Siksha 'O' Anusandhan Deemed to Be University, Bhubaneswar, 751003, Odisha, India. Electronic address:
Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Argemone mexicana L. (Papaveraceae), a weed that thrives in the tropical and subtropical areas of South and Central America, Mexico, Caribbean Islands and India. In India, it has been used traditionally to treat vesicular calculus, inflammatory conditions, and hepatobiliary disorders.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCurr Pharm Des
December 2024
Materials Laboratory, School of Mechanical Engineering, Yeungnam University, Gyeongsan-38541, Republic of Korea.
Hepatotoxicity is a critical health hazard, primarily contributing to the increased incidence of deaths globally. The liver is one of the major and extremely vital organs of the human body. Autoimmune diseases, viruses, exposure to toxicants such as carcinogens, and changes in eating habits can all cause liver problems, among other things.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWorld J Hepatol
November 2024
Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Geneva University Hospitals, Geneva 1205, Switzerland.
Pharmaceuticals (Basel)
November 2024
Department of Biological Sciences (DECBI), Federal University of Ouro Preto (UFOP), Minas Gerais 35400-000, Brazil.
Hepatic drug intoxication is becoming increasingly common with the increasing use of chronic medications. Piperine has emerged as a promising alternative for protecting the liver against drug-induced injury. We evaluated the prophylactic effects of piperine in C57BL/6 mice with an acute liver injury induced by a paracetamol (APAP) overdose.
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