Background and Aim. Early assessment of severity in acute pancreatitis (AP) is a key measure to provide rational and effective management. The aim of our study is to determine the prognostic value of interleukins (IL) 6, 8, and 10, soluble receptor for tumor necrosis factor (sTNFr), pancreatic elastase (E1), and C-reactive protein (CRP) as predictors of systemic complications in AP. Patients and Methods. A hundred and fifty patients with confirmed AP were enrolled in the study. The severity of AP was defined according to Atlanta criteria. Measurements of interleukins and sTNFr were performed on the first day of admission. CRP and E1 levels were assessed on admission and after 48 hours. ROC analysis was performed for all parameters. Results. Interleukins and sTNFr significantly differentiated patients with systemic complications from those without. Elevation of IL-6 showed the highest significance as a predictor (P = 0.001). CRP and elastase levels did not differ between mild and severe cases on admission, but reached statistical significance when measured on the third day (P = 0.002 and P = 0.001, resp.). Conclusion. Our study confirmed that IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, and sTNFr measured on admission, and CRP and pancreatic elastase measured on third day of admission represent valuable prognostic factors of severity and systemic complications of AP.

Our prospective study supported the potential importance of IL-6 in the early assessment of complicated acute pancreatitis, but also suggested that pancreatitis classified as complicated in a large number of patients could not be correctly predicted with the Ranson, Glasgow, and APACHE II scoring systems.

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the association between prenatal exposure to mercury (Hg) and neurodevelopment of the child, taking into account genetic polymorphism of apolipoprotein E (Apoe) and other relevant confounders. Six hundred and one mother-child pairs were recruited from the central Slovenia region and 243 from Rijeka, on the Croatian coast of the northern Adriatic. The total Hg in cord blood, Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development, Third Edition (Bayley-III) assessment at 18 months of age and Apoe genotyping was performed on 361 children; 237 of them were from Slovenia and 124 from Croatia. The results showed negative association between low-to-moderate Hg exposure in children with normal neurodevelopmental outcome and cognitive and fine motor scores at 18 months of age as assessed by Bayley III. The Hg-related decrease in cognitive score was observed only in children carrying at least one Apoe ε4 allele, while the decrease in fine motor scores was independent of the Apoe genotype. Adjusting for selenium (Se) and lead (Pb) levels, a positive association between Se and the language score and a negative association between Pb and the motor score was observed, but not in the subgroup of children carrying the ε4 allele.

182 Ab stra ctIn tro duc tion: Co bas 6000 (Roc he, Ger ma ny) is bioc he mis try ana lyzer for spec trop ho to met ric, im mu no tur bi di met ric and io n-se lec ti ve de ter mi nation of bioc he mi cal ana lytes. He re by we pre se nt ana lytical va li da tion wi th em pha sis on met hod per for man ce jud gme nt for rou ti ne ope ra tion. Ma te ria ls and met ho ds: Va li da tion was ma de for 30 ana lytes (me ta bo li tes, en zymes, tra ce ele men ts, speci fi c pro tei ns and elec tro lytes). Re sear ch in clu ded de ter mi na tion of withi n-run (N = 20) and be twee n-run im precision (N = 30), inac cu ra cy (N = 30) and met hod com pa ri son wi th rou ti ne ana lyzer (Bec kman Coul ter AU640) (N = 50). For va li da tion of com ple te ana lyti cal pro ce ss we cal cu la ted to tal er ror (TE). Re sul ts we re jud ged ac cording to qua li ty spe ci fi ca tion cri te ria gi ven by Eu ro pean Wor ki ng Group. Re sul ts: Wit hi n-run im pre ci sion CVs we re all be low 5% exce pt for cho les te rol, trig lyce ri des, IgA and IgM. Be twee n-run CVs for all ana lytes we re be low 10%. Ana lytes that did not meet the requi red spe ci fi ca tio ns for im pre ci sion we re: to tal pro tein, al bu min, cal cium, so dium, chlo ri de, im munog lo bu li ns and HDL cho les te rol. Ana lytes that did not ful fi ll requi re men ts for inac cu ra cy we re: to tal pro tein, cal cium, so dium and chlo ri de. Ana lytes that de via ted from qua li ty spe ci fi ca tio ns for to tal er ror were: to tal pro tein, al bu min, cal cium, so dium, chlo ri de and IgM. Pas si ng-Bab lok reg res sion ana lysis pro vi ded li near equa tion and 95% con fi den ce in ter val for in ter ce pt and slo pe. Com ple te ac cor dan ce with rou ti ne ana lyzer Bec kman Coul ter AU640 showed sma ll num ber of ana lytes. Ot her ana lytes showed sma ll pro por tio nal and/or sma ll con sta nt diff e ren ce and the re fo re need to be adjus ted for rou ti ne ope ra tion. Con clu sio ns: Re gar di ng low CV va lues, tes ted analyzer has sa tis fac to ry ac cu ra cy and pre ci sion and is extre me ly stab le. Exce pt for ana lytes that are co he re nt on bo th ana lyze rs, so me ana lytes requi re ad jus tmen ts of slo pe and in ter ce pt for com ple te ac cor dan ce. Key wor ds: vali da tion stu dy; che mis try tec hniques, ana lyti cal; Co bas 6000 ana lyzer; to tal er ror; Pas si ng and Bab lo ck reg res sion Original article In tro duc tionIt is we ll do cu men ted that rou ti ne la bo ra to ry wo rk is not er ror free and eff or ts ha ve been ma de to impro ve who le la bo ra to ry tes ti ng cycle and re du ce er ro rs (1). Althou gh the ana lyti cal pha se is the lea st pro ne to er ro rs, it sti ll has room for im pro ve me nt (2). For that pur po se ma ny gui de li nes, pro to co ls and spe ci fi ca tio ns for va li da tion of ana lyti cal systems are avai lab le. They all are qui te si mi lar, but some discre pan cies exi st usual ly in ac cep tan ce cri teria de pen di ng on sour ce (3-5). Qua li ty pa ra me te rs, inac cu ra cy and im pre ci ...