ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: LDL cholesterol (LDL-C) is regarded as a significant therapeutic target and a known risk factor for atherosclerosis. It can be calculated using the results of the other lipid tests or tested directly. Despite its shortcomings, the Friedewald formula is most frequently utilized since it is simple and practical. Until now, several formulae have been proposed for calculating LDL-C; however, their accuracy has not been evaluated across different populations. We sought to evaluate the validity of calculated LDL-C by comparing the findings with values acquired by the direct homogeneous technique, utilizing 13 distinct formulae from the literature. METHODS: This study was a retrospective observational study conducted for a year at SRIHER, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. From the total 25 043 patients who had their serum lipid profile tested, 16 314 participants had their fasting blood sugar and fasting lipid profile measured simultaneously, and they were chosen for the research. RESULTS: The de Cordova, Chen, Martin/Hopkins (initial), and Teerakanchana equations correlated well with the direct LDL-C assay. When the dataset was stratified according to triglycerides, the Chen and Martin/Hopkins initial equations had the better measurement of agreement compared to other equations. The Martin/Hopkins initial equation outperformed all the other equations when the whole dataset irrespective of the triglyceride population was considered. CONCLUSIONS: Our study suggests that the Martin/Hopkins initial equation outperformed all the other equations and can be used as an alternative to direct LDL-C measurement in a South Indian population.
ABSTRACT
CONTEXT: The diagnosis of an ectopic pregnancy (EP) requires the usage of serial beta-human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) measurements and ultrasonography to locate the gestational sac. With the rising trends in its incidence, a rapid, noninvasive biomarker to detect this condition at the earliest can aid in decreasing the morbidity and mortality linked with EP. AIMS: This study was performed to determine the serum level of soluble FMS-like tyrosine kinase-1 (sFLT-1) at 4-10-week gestation in EP and normal pregnancy and to identify whether it can be used as a biomarker to distinguish an EP from a normal intrauterine pregnancy. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: This was a prospective case-control study conducted over 2 years from 2015 to 2017 in 280 women between the age groups of 19 and 38 years at a tertiary level hospital. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Levels of sFLT-1 in sera of 140 women with EP and 140 women with normal pregnancy were assayed by a sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay at Sri Ramachandra Medical College and Research Institute, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: Statistical analyses were performed with SPSS software version 16.0, and P ≤ 0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: The median sFLT-1 level in EP was 419 pg/ml. This was significantly lower than the value of 898 pg/ml in normal pregnancy. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis showed that at a cutoff of 623 pg/ml, sFLT-1 was able to distinguish an EP from a normal intrauterine pregnancy with a sensitivity of 98.6% and a specificity of 90.7%. CONCLUSIONS: The present study showed the significant early lowering of sFLT-1 in EP and may be considered as an effective biomarker compared to beta-hCG.
