In this study we were able to develop and validate a tuberculosis prognostic score.

In patients with SAP, administration of a large fluid volume within the first 24 hours is associated with decreased mortality.

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Patients with pancreatic carcinoma are at an increased risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE), which is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in various types of cancer. The aim of this study was to determine the incidence and clinical significance of VTE in patients with pancreatic carcinoma, and to identify biomarkers for the detection of VTE in these patients. The eligibility criteria were chemo-naïve patients with primary pancreatic carcinoma, an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status of 0–2, and adequate organ function. All patients were screened for VTE using compression ultrasonography and dynamic computed tomography. The primary endpoint was the incidence of VTE, which we hypothesized would be between 10.0–20.0% for symptomatic and asymptomatic patients combined. Associations between clinical presentation and VTE were evaluated. VTE-associated markers were also investigated for their role in predicting prognosis. In total, 103 patients met the eligibility criteria. The overall cumulative incidence rate of VTE in patients with previously untreated pancreatic carcinoma was 16.5%. VTE occurrence was strongly associated with elevated serum D-dimer, fibrin degradation product, thrombin/antithrombin III complex, and prothrombin fragment 1 + 2 levels. The median overall survival time of VTE-positive and VTE-negative patients was 427 and 515 days, respectively. Approximately one-sixth of patients with advanced pancreatic carcinoma experienced VTE, although most were asymptomatic. Measurement of serum D-dimer, fibrin degradation product, thrombin/antithrombin III complex, and prothrombin fragment 1 + 2 levels may be useful for the early detection of VTE in patients with advanced pancreatic carcinoma.

Background Few studies have clearly identified the prognostic factors in patients with advanced biliary tract cancer (BTC) receiving gemcitabine plus cisplatin (GC) which is acknowledged as standard chemotherapy regimen. Objectives The aim of this study was to identify predictive factors of the overall survival (OS) in advanced BTC patients receiving GC therapy. Methods Data of 307 patients with advanced BTC who received GC therapy as the first-line chemotherapy at our institution from January 2007 to June 2017 were reviewed retrospectively. The patients were randomly assigned to the investigation or the validation dataset at the ratio of 2:1. Multivariate analysis was conducted to identify the prognostic factors, a prognostic index is proposed from the investigation dataset, and the usefulness of this index was confirmed in the validation dataset. Results Multivariate analysis identified poor performance status, elevated serum lactate dehydrogenase, and elevated neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio as independent unfavorable predictors. The patients could be classified into three groups according to these factors, and it was found that the outcomes differed significantly among the three groups ( P = 0.0002, good- vs. intermediate-prognosis groups; P = 0.005, intermediate- vs. poor-prognosis groups). When this index was applied to the validation dataset, the OS was confirmed to differ significantly among the three groups ( P = 0.04, good- vs. intermediate-prognosis groups, P < 0.0001, intermediate- vs. poor-prognosis groups). Conclusions We identified three predictors of the OS in patients with advanced BTC receiving GC therapy in this study, based on which we could classify the patients into three risk groups.