No abstract

To investigate the predictive value of neuron-specific enolase (NSE) on intensive care unit (ICU) mortality in patients with septic shock. Seventy-five patients with septic shock hospitalized in the emergency intensive care unit (EICU) of Hebei General Hospital from March 2020 to September 2021 were included, and the patients’ baseline characteristics and laboratory findings were collected. NSE levels on the first and fourth days after admission were retrieved. NSE% [(NSEday1 – NSEday4)/NSEday1 × 100%] and δNSE (NSEday1 – NSEday4) were calculated. The outcome indicator was ICU mortality. The patients were divided into the survivors group (n = 57) and the nonsurvivors group (n = 18). Multivariate analysis was performed to assess the relationship between NSE and ICU mortality. The predictive value of NSE was evaluated using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. There were no significant differences in age, gender, systolic blood pressure (SBP), heart rate (HR), acute physiology and chronic health evaluation II score (APACHE II score), source of infection, and comorbidities between the 2 groups (all P > .05). Interleukin-6 (IL-6), NSE (day1), and NSE (day4) were significantly higher in patients in the nonsurvivors group (all P < .05), and there were no statistical differences in other laboratory tests between the 2 groups (all P > .05). APACHE II score, IL-6, lactate (Lac), total bilirubin (TBil), NSE (day1), and NSE (day4) showed a weak positive correlation with ICU mortality in patients with septic shock (all P < .05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis demonstrated that APACHE II score (odds ratio [OR] = 1.166, 95% confidence interval [95% confidence interval [CI]] 1.005–1.352, P = .042), IL-6 (OR = 1.001, 95% CI 1.000–1.001, P = .003) and NSE (day4) (OR = 1.099, 95% CI 1.027–1.176, P = .006) were independently associated with the ICU mortality of sepsis shock patients. The area under the curve (AUCs) of APACHE II score, IL-6, NSE (day1), and NSE (day4) for predicting prognosis were 0.650, 0.694, 0.758 and 0.770, respectively (all P < .05). NSE(day4) displayed good sensitivity and specificity (Sn = 61.11%, Sp = 91.23%) for predicting ICU mortality with a cutoff value of 25.94 ug/L. High-level NSE (day4) is an independent predictor of ICU mortality in sepsis shock patients, which may become a good alternate option for evaluating sepsis severity. More extensive studies are needed in the future to demonstrate the prognosis value of NSE.

Background : Group A rotavirus is a major cause of severe diarrhea in children throughout the world. For the proper management of rotavirus infections, it will be helpful to know their clinical characteristics according to the G and P genotypes of the infecting virus.Methods : The diarrheal stool specimens from patients hospitalized in Chosun University Hospital during 2002-2003 were tested for rotavirus by Dipstick 'Eiken' Rota kit. Rotavirus antigen-positive stool specimens were analyzed for group A rotavirus by RT-PCR, and the group A-positive PCR products were genotyped for P and G types by PCR.Results : Among the 119 specimens analyzed for genotypes, the predominant strain was genotype G4P[6] (51.3%), followed by G2P[4] (19.3%), G1P[8] (7.6%), G3P[8] (5.0%), and G9P[8] (4.2%). To examine the characteristics of each rotavirus genotype, a clinico-epidemiological study was performed for 100 patients whose medical records were available. The frequencies of diarrhea, vomiting, dehydration, and fever; the rates of nosocomial infection and transfer from other hospitals; and the mean severity scores were significantly different among the patients infected with different types of rotavirus. Especially, patients with G4P[6] type were more likely than those infected with other genotypes to show the following distinct features: Most patients showed milder symptoms and were neonates transferred from other obstetric hospitals and 68.4% of the cases were nosocomial infection. Conclusions : Many features of rotavirus infections including the epidemic period, rate of nosocomial infection, age and severity of symptoms were different according to the genotypes of the infecting virus. (Korean J Lab Med 2006;26:86-92)

The aim of this study was to investigate the associations between the levels of neuron-specific enolase (NSE) and S100B protein and coma duration, and evaluate the optimal cut-off values for prediction coma duration ≥ 72 hours in patients with acute carbon monoxide poisoning (ACOP). A total of 60 patients with ACOP were divided into 3 following groups according to their status of consciousness and coma duration at admission: Awake group [Glasgow Coma Scale score (GCS score) ≥ 13 points], Coma < 72 hours group (GCS score < 13 points and coma duration < 72 h), and Coma ≥ 72 hours group (GCS score < 13 points and coma duration ≥ 72 h). The levels of serum NSE and S100B protein were measured after admission. There were significant differences in GCS score, carbon monoxide (CO) exposure time, NSE, and S100B levels between the Coma ≥ 72 h group and the Awake group, and between the Coma < 72 h group and the Awake group. Significant differences in GCS score, NSE, and S100B levels were also found between Coma ≥ 72 h group and Coma < 72 h group. Correlation analysis showed that NSE and S100B were positively correlated ( r s = 0.590, P < .01); NSE and S100B were negatively correlated with GCS score ( r s = -0.583, r s = -0.590, respectively, both P < .01). The areas under the curve (AUCs) of NSE, S100B, and GCS score to predict the coma duration ≥ 72 hours were 0.754, 0.791, and 0.785, respectively. Pairwise comparisons did not show differences among the 3 groups (all P > .05). The sensitivity and specificity of NSE prediction with a cut-off value of 13 μg/L were 80% and 64%, respectively, and those of S100B prediction with a cut-off value of 0.43 μg/L were 70% and 88%, respectively. The NSE and S100B protein levels were significantly correlated with the degree of impaired consciousness and had the same clinical value in predicting coma duration of ≥ 72 hours in patients with ACOP.