Procalcitonin (PCT) is a prohormone that has been used as a marker for the diagnosis of bacterial infections. The aim of this study was to survey PCT levels in patients with cirrhosis. Sixty-four patients with hepatic cirrhosis and 32 healthy blood donors were enrolled in this study. Serum PCT levels was detected using immunoluminometric assay. The rate of positive PCT was higher in patients wi...

This is the first part of a paper, in which I invite you to take a step aside current quantum field theory (QFT): QFT has been said to be ”well-established” since the 80’s of the last century by its foremost theorists (see: [10, p.iv]), and the majority of physicists consider it to be essentially complete since the discovery of the Higgs particle. It will be interesting to see, what that really...

Polarization Coherence Tomography (PCT): ................................................................1 A Tutorial Introduction ..................................................................................................1 1.

OBJECTIVE Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) is a major cause of morbidity and biomarkers that predict severity of illness are needed. Procalcitonin (PCT), a serum biomarker with specificity for bacterial infections, has been little studied in CDI. We hypothesized that PCT associated with CDI severity. DESIGN Serum PCT levels were measured for 69 cases of CDI. Chart review was performed to...

BACKGROUND Procalcitonin (PCT)-based algorithms have been used to guide antibiotic therapy in several clinical settings. However, evidence supporting PCT-based algorithms for secondary peritonitis after emergency surgery is scanty. In this study, we aimed to investigate whether a PCT-based algorithm could safely reduce antibiotic exposure in this population. METHODS/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS From Ap...

BACKGROUND Procalcitonin (PCT) has been proposed as a diagnostic and prognostic sepsis marker, but has never been validated in febrile patients with prolonged ICU stay. METHODS Patients were included in the study provided they were hospitalised in the ICU for > 10 days, were free of infection and presented a new episode of SIRS, with fever >38 degrees C being obligatory. Fifty patients fulfil...

PURPOSE Although procalcitonin (PCT) level is useful for the diagnosis of neonatal sepsis, PCT reliability is inconsistent because of the varied conditions encountered in neonatal intensive care units. This study aimed to investigate PCT levels and factors influencing increased PCT levelin newborns without bacterial infection during the first week of life. METHODS In newborns hospitalized bet...

BACKGROUND Patients with an advanced incurable disease are often hospitalised for some time during the last phase of life. Care in hospitals is generally focussed at curing disease and prolonging life and may therefore not in all cases adequately address the needs of such patients. We present the COMPASS study, a study on the effects and costs of consultation teams for palliative care in hospit...