[Evaluation of the value of urinary calcium to creatinine ratio for predicting pre-eclampsia]

Pre-eclampsia is one of the most serious complications in pregnancy and is one of the major causes of maternal death during pregnancy. Therefore, its prediction has special importance and many studies have been performed on different materials, which may be useful for its prediction. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the urine calcium to creatinine ratio for prediction of pre-eclampsia. A prospective cohort study was performed on 150 pregnant women who were 15-35 years old. A single urine sample was obtained at 20-24 weeks of gestation for measurement of urinary calcium and calcium to creatinine ratio. The women were followed till delivery and this ratio was compared between the women with and without pre-eclampsia. Statistical analysis was performed with t-test, Roc Curve and SPSS version 16. p value < 0.05 was considered as statistically significant. Mean urinary calcium of pre-eclamptic women was significantly lower than normotensive women [179 +/- 35 mg/dl vs 272 +/- 59 mg/dl, p<0.001].Mean calcium to creatinine ratio was significantly lower in pre-eclamptic women [0.07 +/- 0.007 vs 0.16 +/- 0.006, p<0.001].The optimal cut off point for calcium to creatinine ratio was calculated 0.071 with a sensitivity of 77% and specificity of 78%. Urinary calcium and calcium to creatinine ratio are lower in pre-eclamptic women and may be used as a screening test for the prediction of pre-eclampsia

Comparison of polymerase chain reaction and culture for detection of genital mycoplasma in clinical samples from patients with genital infections

Comparison of polymerase chain reaction [PCR] and culture for detection of genital mycoplasma [Mycoplasma hominis, Mycoplasma genitalium, and Ureaplasma urealyticum] in clinical samples from patients with genital infections. Duplicate genital swabs were taken from 210 patients, referred to the gynecology clinic of Rasool Hospital, Tehran, Iran between December 2007 and June 2008. They were transported to the laboratory in a selective mycoplasma transport medium and in phosphate buffer solution. The specimens were inoculated into specific broth and solid medium for culture. Characteristic mycoplasma colonies were determined with Diennes' stain and examined microscopically. For PCR, samples were analyzed with genus specific primers. The primer sets, which were originally designed in our laboratory, amplified a 465 bp fragment [Mycoplasma genitalium], 559 bp fragment [Ureaplasma urealyticum], and 630bp fragment [Mycoplasma hominis]. Samples containing a band of the expected sizes for mycoplasma strains were subjected to digestion with a restriction endonuclease enzyme. Of the 210 samples, mycoplasma strains were isolated from 83 patients [39.5%], [23 mycoplasma isolates, 11%; and 69 ureaplasma isolates, 32.9%] by using a selective mycoplasma isolation media. Using PCR, a total of 120 [57.1%] samples were found to be positive for mycoplasmas [28 mycoplasma spp., 13.3%; and 67 ureaplasma spp., 31.9%] and co-infections with both species were detected in 25 samples [11.9%]. The PCR was found to be highly sensitive when genus specific primers were used for diagnosis of genital mycoplasmas in comparison with culture