Evaluation of urine L-FABP Point of care kit in the Philippines as predictive marker of clinical severity of COVID-19 (EPOCH COVID study)

Background@#The search for simple clinical and laboratory markers to help predict the clinical severity of patients presenting with COVID-19 has prompted this study to look at the predictive value of urine L-FABP (Liver Type-Fatty Acid Binding Protein) point-of-care test kit at the initial presentation of COVID-19 patients to the hospital.@*Methods@#The validation study prospectively included 109 consecutive patients with mild to moderate COVID-19, mean age of 52.2 years (range 19-84) presenting at the Emergency Rooms of 4 participating Metro-Manila hospitals from February to April 2021, with available data for analysis for 103 patients. Urine L-FABP POC (Point-of-Care) test and other clinical parameters and the level of severity of COVID-19 were determined at Day 0, Day 4 and Day 7. Computations for Sensitivity, Specificity, Positive and Negative Predictive values and Likelihood ratios were performed.@*Results@#Twenty-three patients tested positive for urine L-FABP, out of the 103 patients analyzed, while 80 tested negative. Of the 23 patients who tested positive for urine L-FABP, 6 has progressed in severity, while 17 did not progressed. Of the 80 patients who tested negative for urine L-FABP, 13 progressed, while 67 did not progressed in severity. Giving a Sensitivity of 31.58%, Specificity of 79.76%, Positive predictive value of 26.09%, Negative predictive value of 83.75%. Combining urine L-FABP and initial clinical parameters like SIRS (Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome) criteria to predict progression of severity yielded a higher Specificity of 91.67 % and Negative Predictive value of 84.62%.@*Conclusions@#The study shows the utility of initial urine L-FABP POC test as a negative screening test in triaging adult patients presenting to the ER with mild to moderate COVID-19. Patients at the ER with a negative urine L-FABP test, will most likely not progressed to severe COVID-19. Combining clinical parameters like SIRS Criteria with the urine L-FABP result can increase the negative predictive value.

A comparative study of the effectiveness of tea tree oil and benzoyl peroxide in the treatment of acne vulgaris among Filipino teenagers and adults in Metro Manila / The Health Sciences Journal

Introduction@#The researchers aimed to determine the efficacy of tea tree oil in comparison to benzoyl peroxide in treating mild acne. This study also aimed to identify the side effects of both treatment modalities.@*Methods@#Using a randomized single blinded controlled clinical trial, teenagers and young adults with mild acne vulgaris were allocated to receive tea tree oil gel or benzoyl peroxide for four weeks. The effectiveness of the agents was measured using the Investigator's Global Assessment Scale. Posttreatment scores were compared with the baseline within groups. The difference was compared between the two study arms. Adverse reactions to the two agents were also noted.@*Results @#Both tea tree oil and benzoyl peroxide groups showed a significant decrease in the posttreatment lesion counts compared to the baseline, however when the mean differences were compared between groups, the difference was not significant.@*Conclusion@#Tea tree oil is comparable to benzoyl peroxide in treating mild acne vulgaris among teenagers and young adults.