Relationship between Galectin-3 levels and severity of coronary artery disease in ST elevation myocardial infarction.

BACKGROUND: Galectin-3 is a new biomarker assumed to reflect fibrogenesis and inflammation. We aimed to investigate the relation of Gal-3 with the severity of coronary artery disease in patients with ST elevation myocardial infarction. METHODS: The prospective study enrolled 62 patients with ST elevation myocardial infarction who underwent coronary angiography. The burden of atherosclerosis was assessed by the number of involved vessels, the number of coronary lesions with a stenosis diameter more than 50% and the Gensini score. Gal-3 levels were measured on admission on miniVIDAS (BioMérieux). RESULTS: The mean age of the patients was 56±11 years old; 93.5% were males. Diabetes, hypertension and hyperlipidemia were respectively 29%, 35.5% and 24.2%. Among patients, 80.6% were active smokers. Mean level of Gal-3was 17±11 ng/ml and didn't differ significantly from the number of involved coronary vessels (p=0.82) and the Gensini score (p=0.4). There was a positive correlation between the number of coronary lesions with a stenosis diameter greater than 50% and Gal-3 (p=0.04). CONCLUSION: In patient with ST elevation myocardial infarction we found a positive correlation between the number of coronary stenosis and Gal-3 level.

The Diagnostic and Prognostic Values of C-Reactive Protein and Procalcitonin during Bacterial Infections in Decompensated Cirrhosis.

BACKGROUND: Bacterial infection (BI) represents the main cause of decompensation and death in cirrhotic patients. Procalcitonin (PCT) and C-reactive protein (CRP) are two widely used biomarkers that may be helpful for early detection of BI especially in the presence of inflammation. Their accuracy for the diagnosis of BI in patients with chronic liver disease has been a subject of debate. In this study, we aimed to learn whether PCT and CRP would be helpful as early markers of BI in patients with cirrhosis and to evaluate their prognostic value in terms of mortality. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: We retrospectively included 92 adult patients with decompensated cirrhosis. PCT and CRP plasma levels were obtained within the first 24 hours of admission. Their diagnostic and prognostic values were compared using the appropriate statistical analysis. RESULTS: Ninety-two patients were included. BI was diagnosed in 60 patients (65%). Mean white blood cell (WBC) count (p = 0.005) and PCT and CRP serum levels (p < 0.001) were higher in the BI group than in the non-BI (NBI) group. The diagnostic accuracy of CRP and PCT for the diagnosis of BI was better than that of WBC. CRP was the most sensitive marker (70%) while PCT was the more specific (96.6%). No one of those biomarkers was predictive of 3-month mortality in patients with BI. CONCLUSION: Regarding BI in patients with decompensated cirrhosis, CRP maintains efficiency slightly higher than that of the PCT without being discriminative. However, no prognostic value has been established for these markers.