Point of care with serial N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) for heart failure in patients with acute decompensation. An invited commentary.

Point-of-care (POC) Testing (POCT) is a medical diagnostic approach carried out outside the clinical laboratory and close to the patient. The results are used for the immediate clinical decision to improve patient care. Accreditation Canada and Diagnostic Accreditation Programs regulatory standards and the College of the American Pathologists for POCT have implemented several guidelines and certifications.

NLRP-3 Inflammasome: A Key Target, but Mostly Overlooked following SARS-CoV-2 Infection.

The last two years have shown many political and scientific debates during the current Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic [...

Biliary Atresia: A Complex Hepatobiliary Disease with Variable Gene Involvement, Diagnostic Procedures, and Prognosis.

The diagnosis of biliary atresia is still terrifying at the 3rd decade of the 21st century. In a department of neonatal intensive care unit, parents and physicians face a challenge with a jaundiced baby, who may or may not have a surgically correctable hepatopathy. The approach has been systematically evaluated, but the etiology remains ambiguous.

Insulin Growth Factor Binding Protein 7 (IGFBP7)-Related Cancer and IGFBP3 and IGFBP7 Crosstalk.

The insulin/insulin-like growth factors (IGFs) have crucial tasks in the growth, differentiation, and proliferation of healthy and pernicious cells. They are involved in coordinated complexes, including receptors, ligands, binding proteins, and proteases. However, the systems can become dysregulated in tumorigenesis.

Epigallocatechin-3-Gallate Toxicity in Children: A Potential and Current Toxicological Event in the Differential Diagnosis With Virus-Triggered Fulminant Hepatic Failure.

The use of nutraceuticals is considerably increasing worldwide with a demand for organic and clean foods in the last two decades, which is probably incomparable with other periods of our civilization. The consistent application of nutraceuticals and so-called "superfood" may have remarkable effects on the prevention of several chronic diseases, including cancer. Moreover, the increased rate of overweight and obesity in Western countries does not spare childhood and youth, and the number of parents using natural remedies for preventing pediatric illness is vastly increasing worldwide.

Customer Care in Pediatric Cardiac Transplant Pathology: Basic Concepts and Critical Analysis in the Setting of Precision Medicine.

Customer care relies on Quality Control and the following script is a critical analysis of Pediatric Heart Transplantation Programs seen through the eyes of a pediatrician and pathologist. This narrative (non-systematic) script entails protocols that may be considered transferable to other transplantation services. A blueprint for the evaluation of processes following the obtainment of cardiac tissue biopsies is crucial to identify the pitfalls in the healthcare process involving organ transplantation.

EPAS 1, congenital heart disease, and high altitude: disclosures by genetics, bioinformatics, and experimental embryology.

The high-altitude environment is a challenge for human settlement. Low oxygen concentrations, extreme cold, and a harsh arid climate are doubtlessly challenges for the colonization of the Tibetan plateau. I am delighted to comment on the article of Pan et al.

Cardiovascular dysfunction in sepsis at the dawn of emerging mediators.

Subcellular dysfunction and impaired metabolism derived from the complex interaction of cytokines and mediators with cellular involvement are on the basis of the cardiovascular response to sepsis. The lethal consequences of an infection are intimately related to its ability to spread to other organ sites and the immune system of the host. About one century ago, William Osler (1849-1919), a Canadian physician, remarkably defined the sequelae of the host response in sepsis: "except on few occasions, the patient appears to die from the body's response to infection rather than from it.

Increased detection of rotavirus using a real time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay in stool specimens from children with diarrhea.

Six-hundred and twenty-six stool specimens collected from children with diarrhea over a 12-month period were tested for rotavirus using a real time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay, a conventional nested PCR assay and by electron microscopy (EM). A fragment of 87 bp in a highly-conserved region of non-structural protein 3 (NSP3) in rotavirus genome was amplified by a single-step RT-PCR protocol in a closed-tube system. Rotavirus was detected in 123 samples (20%) with the real time RT-PCR assay, 113 samples (18%) with the nested-PCR assay, and 79 samples (13%) with EM.