Case Report of Presumed (In)voluntary Capsaicin Intoxication Mimicking an Acute Abdomen

Background. The clinical features of a presumed capsaicin intoxication have not been reported so far. Case Presentation. A 27-year-old man took part in a qualifying for a competition in spicy food tolerance. During this qualifying, he swallowed 4 chili peppers type Bhut jolokia (about 1 million Scoville units) and other extremely spicy foods; the total amount of capsaicin ingested (roughly calculated retrospectively) accounted for at least 600 mg. After 2½ hours, the patient developed severe abdominal pain, which led to hospital admission. In contrast to the severe symptoms, clinical, laboratory, and imaging examinations (ultrasound and plain X-ray of the abdomen) did not reveal any significant abnormalities. Treatment with analgesics resulted in complete regression of the abdominal pain within 30 hours. Conclusions. The clinical picture in the view of pharmacological investigations on intestinal capsaicin infusions suggests that excessive doses of capsaicin can induce severe abdominal pain; the prolonged symptoms were probably due to the failure to vomit. Thus, a capsaicin intoxication must be considered in the differential diagnosis of an acute abdomen

A multicenter evaluation of a new quantitative highly sensitive D-dimer assay for exclusion of venous thromboembolism

D-dimer testing is widely applied for exclusion of deep-vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE). We report on a multicenter performance evaluation of a new particle-enhanced immunoassay, Innovance D-Dimer. Innovance D-Dimer assay was performed in 1,543 frozen samples from outpatients suspected of DVT and/or PE enrolled in three management studies as well as in a routine clinical practice. Samples were assayed on BCS/BCS XP, BCT as well as Sysmex CA-7000, CA-1500 and CA-560 analyzers (cut-off on all analyzers: 0.5 mg/l). Stratus CS D-Dimer and Vidas D-Dimer Exclusion were used for comparison. The precision study indicated total coefficients of variation ranging from 2.1% to 8.4% depending on the analyzer and on the sample. Sensitivity and negative predictive values were above 99% and their lower 95% confidence interval were equal or above 97.4% and 98.6%, respectively. Specificity ranged from 38.2% to 40.4% and the respective lower 95% confidence intervals from 35.5% to 37.7%. Area under the curve was 0.90 for all assay systems except for Innovance D-Dimer with BCT (0.89). Two samples from patients with distal DVT tested negative with all assay systems. One patient with high pre-test clinical probability and proximal DVT tested negative with Vidas D-Dimer Exclusion. Our data indicate that the performances of Innovance D-Dimer, regardless of the analyzer, are similar to the reference methods, and that this assay can be used for the exclusion of venous thromboembolic disease

Role of N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide in risk stratification in patients presenting in the emergency room

Background: Natriuretic peptides are promising markers in diagnosing acute and chronic heart failure and assessing prognosis in these patients. Increasing routine use to unselected patients is challenged by false-positive results. The aims of this study were to assess (a) the distributions of N-terminal B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) values in various diagnostic groups, (b) factors that influence NT-proBNP, and (c) the value of NT-proBNP in risk stratification in unselected emergency room (ER) patients.\ud Methods: NT-proBNP was measured in 876 unselected consecutive patients [mean (SD) age, 58 (18) years; 53% male] attending the ERs of 2 university hospitals and 1 community hospital. Diagnoses, age, sex, hemoglobin, creatinine (CREA), C-reactive protein (CRP), troponin T, and intensity of care were documented. In a subset consisting of all 417 patients at 1 center, in-hospital follow-up was completed with respect to a complicated clinical course, including intensive care treatment and death.\ud Results: NT-proBNP was significantly increased in patients with cardiac diagnoses or histories compared with patients with only pulmonary or other diagnoses. In patients with other diagnoses, NT-proBNP values increased significantly with the number of atherosclerotic risk factors (P = 0.044). Age, renal function, CRP, and to a much lesser extent, hemoglobin significantly influenced NT-proBNP values. The amount of care was positively correlated with NT-proBNP (P <0.001). Classification and regression tree analysis showed a superior impact of NT-proBNP for identification of high-risk patients.\ud Conclusions: NT-proBNP is a promising marker for identification of patients with structural heart disease in the ER and a suitable tool for risk stratification. Its use in the ER should be limited to clearly clinically defined patient groups at present to avoid a potential excess of additional diagnostic procedures in positive but asymptomatic patients

Differences in serum zinc levels in acutely ill and remitted adolescents and young adults with bulimia nervosa in comparison with healthy controls – a cross-sectional pilot study

Background: Research has implicated that changes in zinc (Zn) metabolism may be associated with the biological underpinnings of eating disorders, in particular anorexia nervosa. However, to date research on the role of Zn in patients with bulimia nervosa (BN) is scarce. Objective: We aimed to explore serum Zn concentrations in young patients with BN, with a focus on the stage of the disorder, comparing acutely ill and recovered patients with BN with healthy controls. Methods: Serum Zn concentrations were obtained from healthy controls and from acutely ill and remitted young patients with BN. Mean duration of remission was 4.0±3.5 years. Results: Remitted patients showed elevated serum Zn concentrations when compared to controls (Cohen’s d=2.022), but concentrations were still in the normal range. Acutely ill patients also had higher serum Zn levels when compared to controls (all values still being within the reference range, Cohen’s d=0.882). There was no difference between acutely ill and remitted patients with BN in serum Zn concentrations. Of note, remitted patients had a significantly higher body weight when compared to the other two groups. Overall, there were no significant differences in dietary preferences with regard to Zn containing foods between the groups. Conclusion: The present study provides preliminary evidence that the underlying factors for changes in Zn serum concentrations in young patients with BN do not vary with regard to the stage of illness (acute versus remitted BN). Further prospective research is needed in order to disentangle the possible interplay between serum Zn status and bulimic eating behaviors

Multiple marker approach to risk stratification in patients with stable coronary artery disease

&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;Aims&lt;/b&gt; Multimarker approaches for risk prediction in coronary artery disease have remained inconsistent. We assessed multiple biomarkers representing distinct pathophysiological pathways in relation to cardiovascular events in stable angina.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;Methods and results&lt;/b&gt; We investigated 12 biomarkers reflecting inflammation [C-reactive protein, growth-differentiation factor (GDF)-15, neopterin], lipid metabolism (apolipoproteins AI, B100), renal function (cystatin C, serum creatinine), and cardiovascular function and remodelling [copeptin, C-terminal-pro-endothelin-1, mid-regional-pro-adrenomedullin (MR-proADM), mid-regional-pro-atrial natriuretic peptide (MR-proANP), N-terminal-pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (Nt-proBNP)] in 1781 stable angina patients in relation to non-fatal myocardial infarction and cardiovascular death (n = 137) over 3.6 years. Using Cox proportional hazards models and C-indices, the strongest association with outcome for log-transformed biomarkers in multivariable-adjusted analyses was observed for Nt-proBNP [hazard ratio (HR) for one standard deviation increase 1.65, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.28–2.13, C-index 0.686], GDF-15 (HR 1.59, 95% CI 1.25–2.02, C-index 0.681), MR-proANP (HR 1.46, 95% CI 1.14–1.87, C-index 0.673), cystatin C (HR 1.39, 95% CI 1.10–1.75, C-index 0.671), and MR-proADM (HR 1.63, 95% CI 1.21–2.20, C-index 0.668). Each of these top single markers and their combination (C-index 0.690) added predictive information beyond the baseline model consisting of the classical risk factors assessed by C-index and led to substantial reclassification (P-integrated discrimination improvement &#x3C;0.05).&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;Conclusion&lt;/b&gt; Comparative analysis of 12 biomarkers revealed Nt-proBNP, GDF-15, MR-proANP, cystatin C, and MR-proADM as the strongest predictors of cardiovascular outcome in stable angina. All five biomarkers taken separately offered incremental predictive ability over established risk factors. Combination of the single markers slightly improved model fit but did not enhance risk prediction from a clinical perspective.&lt;/p&gt

CD74-Downregulation of Placental Macrophage-Trophoblastic Interactions in Preeclampsia

Rationale: We hypothesized that cluster of differentiation 74 (CD74) downregulation on placental macrophages, leading to altered macrophage-trophoblast interaction, is involved in preeclampsia. Objective: Preeclamptic pregnancies feature hypertension, proteinuria, and placental anomalies. Feto-placental macrophages regulate villous trophoblast differentiation during placental development. Disturbance of this well-balanced regulation can lead to pathological pregnancies. Methods and Results: We performed whole-genome expression analysis of placental tissue. CD74 was one of the most downregulated genes in placentas from preeclamptic women. By reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction, we confirmed this finding in early-onset (= 34 gestational week, n=24) samples from preeclamptic women, compared with healthy pregnant controls (n=28). CD74 protein levels were analyzed by Western blot and flow cytometry. We identified placental macrophages to express CD74 by immunofluorescence, flow cytometry, and RT-PCR. CD74-positive macrophages were significantly reduced in preeclamptic placentas compared with controls. CD74-silenced macrophages showed that the adhesion molecules ALCAM, ICAM4, and Syndecan-2, as well as macrophage adhesion to trophoblasts were diminished. Naive and activated macrophages lacking CD74 showed a shift toward a proinflammatory signature with an increased secretion of tumor necrosis factor-a, chemokine (C-C motif) ligand 5, and monocyte chemotactic protein-1, when cocultured with trophoblasts compared with control macrophages. Trophoblasts stimulated by these factors express more CYP2J2, sFlt1, TNF alpha, and IL-8. CD74-knockout mice showed disturbed placental morphology, reduced junctional zone, smaller placentas, and impaired spiral artery remodeling with fetal growth restriction. Conclusions: CD74 downregulation in placental macrophages is present in preeclampsia. CD74 downregulation leads to altered macrophage activation toward a proinflammatory signature and a disturbed crosstalk with trophoblasts