This study was undertaken to evaluate the diagnostic and prognostic values of pentraxin‐3 (PTX‐3) in patients with infected diabetic foot ulcers (IDFU) as well as to assess the association between PTX‐3 levels and IDFU severity. This study included 60 IDFU patients (Group 1), 45 diabetic patients without DFU (Group 2), and 45 healthy controls. Patients with IDFU were divided into mild, moderate, and severe subgroups based on classification of clinical severity. Patients who underwent amputation were also documented. Blood samples were collected to determine PTX‐3 levels. PTX‐3 levels in healthy controls, Group 1, and Group 2 were 5.83 (3.41‐20) ng/mL, 1.47 (0.61‐15.13) ng/mL, and 3.26 (0.67‐20) ng/mL, respectively. A negative correlation between plasma PTX‐3 and glucose levels was found. There were significant differences in terms of procalcitonin (PCT) and PTX‐3 levels in the subgroup analysis of Group 1. The PTX‐3 level in patients who did or did not undergo amputation was 4.1 (0.8‐13.7) and 1 (0.6‐15.1) ng/mL, respectively. Results suggest that PTX‐3 is a particularly effective marker in patients with IDFU, both in terms of predicting disease severity and assisting in the decision to perform amputation.

SummaryBackground: The aim of this study was to determine the level of serum cystatin C (CysC) in patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) during exacerbation and stable periods and to investigate its potential diagnostic value and the relationship between CysC levels and the pulmonary function test (PFT). Methods: One hundred twenty-six patients with COPD (68 in stable periods, 58 during exacerbation periods) and 50 healthy subjects were included in the study. PFT, body mass index (BMI), white blood cell counts, C-reactive protein (CRP), serum urea and creatinine levels were evaluated in both groups of patients. CysC levels were measured in all participants. Results: Serum CysC levels were statistically higher in both COPD groups than the control group (p<0.001 for both) although there was no statistically significant difference between COPD groups (p>0.05). CysC levels showed negative correlation with forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV 1 ) and a positive correlation with C-reactive protein (CRP) levels in patients with stable COPD. There was a positive correlation between serum CysC levels and serum urea, creatinine, CRP levels in patients with COPD exacerbation (r=0.333, p=0.011; r=0.260, p=0.049; r=0.414, p<0.01 respectively). When stable COPD and control groups were evaluated, serum CysC had an area under the curve (AUC) in the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve of 0.951 (0.909-0.994 95% CI: p<0.001).

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The clinical symptoms of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)-associated pneumonia are similar. Effective predictive markers are needed to differentiate COVID-19 pneumonia from CAP in the current pandemic conditions. Copeptin, a 39-aminoacid glycopeptide, is a C-terminal part of the precursor pre-provasopressin (pre-proAVP). The activation of the AVP system stimulates copeptin secretion in equimolar amounts with AVP. This study aims to determine serum copeptin levels in patients with CAP and COVID-19 pneumonia and to analyze the power of copeptin in predicting COVID-19 pneumonia. The study consists of 98 patients with COVID-19 and 44 patients with CAP. The basic demographic and clinical data of all patients were recorded, and blood samples were collected. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was generated and the area under the ROC curve (AUC) was measured to evaluate the discriminative ability. Serum copeptin levels were significantly higher in COVID-19 patients compared to CAP patients (10.2 ± 4.4 ng/ml and 7.1 ± 3.1 ng/ml; p < .001).

The mean age of patients was 69.21 ± 10.62, and 15 of these patients were females. There was no significant difference between the two COPD groups in terms of age and sex (P > .05). There was no difference in PaO , SaO , FEV and FEV /FVC values between the two COPD groups (P > .05). Serum ADMA levels were similar in the control and the COPD group (0.42 ± 0.13 vs 0.43 ± 0.15), but it was significantly higher in the COPD-PH group compared to the control and the COPD group (0.49 ± 0.14). A negative correlation was determined between serum ADMA levels and SaO levels (r = -.247, P = .028). A significant positive correlation observed between ADMA and systolic pulmonary artery pressure values (r = .627, P < .001) CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, high levels of serum ADMA levels may be able to determine the presence of PH.