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Objectives@#. Calprotectin, a protein released by neutrophils, has been used in many studies as a biomarker showing the presence of inflammation. In this study, it was aimed to investigate the relationship between serum calprotectin level and response to the treatment of idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss (ISSHL). @*Methods@#. The present study is a prospective, cross-sectional historical cohort study. The study group consisted of 44 patients with ISSHL, and the control group consisted of 41 healthy volunteers without ear pathology. At the same time, patients in the study group were divided into three groups according to the response to ISSHL treatment (recovered, partially recovered, unrecovered). The relationship between the groups was statistically evaluated in terms of serum calprotectin levels. @*Results@#. The mean serum calprotectin value was 75.67±19.48 ng/mL in the study group and 50.24±29.14 ng/mL in the control group (P=0.001). Serum calprotectin value according to the severity of hearing loss in the mild, moderate and severe was 66.20±8.82, 70.35±16.77, and 91.23±19.73 ng/mL, respectively. Serum calprotectin value in the severe group was significantly higher compared to the moderate and mild groups (P=0.004, P=0.001, respectively). Serum calprotectin value according to the treatment response in the recovered, partially recovered and unrecovered groups was 63.36±11.54, 80.17±12.06, and 85.33±22.33 ng/mL, respectively. Serum calprotectin value in the recovered group was significantly lower compared to the partially recovered and unrecovered groups (P=0.002, P=0.001, respectively). @*Conclusion@#. Serum calprotectin value informs the clinician about both the severity of hearing loss and the response to treatment. Hence, serum calprotectin can be used as an important biomarker in ISSHL patients for the determination of the prognosis of disease.
RESUMO
Our objective was to evaluate the effectiveness of clomiphene citrate [CC] vs. letrozole [L] plus human menopausal gonadotropin [hMG] in gonadotropin releasing hormone [GnRH] antagonist protocol in poor prognosis women with previous failed ovarian stimulation undergoing intracytoplasmic sperm injection [ICSI]. This retrospective cohort study included cycles with CC and L plus hMG/GnRH antagonist protocols of 32 poor responders who had failed to have ideal follicles to be retrieved during oocyte pick-up [OPU] or embryo transfer [ET] at least for 2 previous in vitro fertilization [IVF] cycles with microdose flare protocol or GnRH antagonist protocol from January 2006 to December 2009. Main outcome measures were implantation, clinical pregnancy and live birth rates per cycle. Duration of stimulation, mean gonadotropin dose used, endometrial thickness, number of mature follicles, serum estradiol [E[2]] and progesterone [P] levels on the day of human chorionic gonadotropin [hCG] administration, number of retrieved oocytes and fertilization rates were also evaluated. A total number of 42 cycles of 32 severe poor responders were evaluated. Total gonadotropin consumption was significantly lower [1491 +/- 873 vs. 2808 +/- 1581 IU, P=0.005] and mean E2 level on the day of hCG injection were significantly higher in CC group than L group [443.3 +/- 255.2 vs. 255.4 +/- 285.2 pg/mL, P=0.03]. ET, overall pregnancy and live birth rates per cycle were significantly higher in CC than L protocol [27.2 vs. 15%, 13.6 vs. 0% and 4.5 vs. 0%, respectively, P=0.05. Severe poor responders who had previously failed to respond to microdose or GnRH antagonist protocols may benefit from CC plus hMG/GnRH antagonist protocol despite high cancellation rate