Evaluation of stable coronary artery disease by multiple cardiac biomarkers

Effective management of stable coronary artery disease [SCAD] relies on early detection of coronary atherosclerosis. The objective was to evaluate diagnostic accuracy and risk stratification of SCAD patients by high sensitivity C reactive protein [hs CRP], Myeloperoxidase [MPO] and Pregnancy Associated Plasma Protein-A [PAPP-A]. validation study was conducted at Pathology Department of the Army Medical College, in collaboration with Armed Forces Institute of Cardiology [AFIC/NIHD] Rawalpindi. Total 122 subjects consisting of 61 patients of SCAD and 61 angio-negative controls were included. The levels of biomarkers were measured before angiography by using kits provided by Siemens [UK] for hs CRP and Abbott for MPO on Immulite 1000 and Architect Analyzer respectively, whereas serum PAPP-A was measured by an ELISA based method using kit provided by IBL Germany. The mean age of the patients was 56.57 +/- 8.35 years and consisted of 53 [86.9%] males and 8 [13%] females. Area under curve [AUC] and 95% CI of hs CRP 0.817 [0.736-.881] was significantly higher than that of MPO 0.685 [0.594-0.766] [p=0.018] and PAPP-A 0.565 [0.472-0.655] [p<0.001] for the diagnosis of SCAD. Patients in the highest quartile of PAPP-A were at the highest risk for adverse events as PAPP-A had the highest Hazard Ratio [HR] of 3.4 [p=0.004], as compared to hs CRP 1.124 [p=0.191] and MPO 0.998 [p=0.176]. hs CRP has superior diagnostic ability for detection of SCAD than MPO whereas PAPP-A is a more reliable marker for risk stratification among the cardiac biomarkers

Black dot tinea affecting the eyebrows in an adult female

Tinea capitis is the invasion of the hair by dermatophytic species. It is predominantly an infection of children, although adult cases have been reported particularly with Trichophyton tonsurans. We report an adult female patient with black dot variety of tinea capitis involving the eyebrows along with scalp, body and nails