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Biomedical subjects

F Turci

Publications and source records attributed to F Turci.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1990

Urinary red blood cell volume analysis in the investigation of haematuria.

The mean cellular volume (MCV) of urinary red blood cells was measured with an autoanalyser in 85 patients with definite causes of haematuria (31 had glomerulonephritis, 54 urological disorders). We found that red blood cells of glomerular origin had a smaller volume than non-glomerular cells (59.4 +/- 10.23 vs 87.35 +/- 11.17 fl; P less than 0.001). If an MCV equal to 70 fl was taken as the cut-off value between glomerular and non-glomerular haematuria, a correct assessment of the site of bleeding was made in 78 (91.7%) of the 85 patients studied. 'Microcytic' haematuria (i.e., MCV less than 70 fl) was present in 34 patients and correlated strongly with the diagnosis of glomerulonephritis (five false positives, specificity 90.7%; two false negatives, sensitivity 93.5%). Conversely, the presence of larger red blood cells in the urine coincided with the diagnosis of urological disorders in 96.1% (49/51) of the cases.

Diagnostic Errors↗
PubMed1990

Elevated serum levels of C-reactive protein in hemodialysis patients.

Serum C-reactive protein (CRP) levels were measured by nephelometry in 30 healthy subjects (controls) and in 99 patients with uncomplicated terminal uremia on conservative therapy (group 1, n = 30) or chronic hemodialysis (group 2, n = 69). Whereas there was no difference between controls and group 1, both the mean concentration of CRP and the incidence of elevated levels were significantly higher in group 2 in comparison with both controls and group 1. Moreover, the degree of increase in these patients was directly correlated with the duration of hemodialysis. The abnormality, therefore, is somehow related to chronic hemodialysis per se. From a practical standpoint, we concluded that this test cannot be recommended as an acute-phase reactant in this clinical setting.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

Elevated acute phase reactants in hemodialysis patients.

The incidence of elevated acute phase reactants, measured by nephelometry, was examined in 69 otherwise uncomplicated hemodialysis patients in comparison with 30 healthy subjects. Increased C-reactive protein was found in 40.6% of the patients (p less than 0.001 vs controls) and the degree of increase was correlated with the duration of hemodialysis. Haptoglobin was increased in 33.3% (p less than 0.01 vs controls). High levels of alpha-1-acid glycoprotein and alpha-1-proteinase inhibitor were present in 15.9% and 2.9%, respectively; these frequencies were not significantly different from controls. No differences between pre- and postdialysis values were observed. It is concluded that, unlike C-reactive protein, both alpha-1-acid glycoprotein and alpha-1-proteinase inhibitor maintain an excellent specificity in hemodialysis patients. Vice versa, haptoglobin may be unreliable as an acute phase reactant in these patients because of the unacceptably high false-positive rate.

Acute-Phase Proteins↗
PubMed1990

Immune response to a recombinant hepatitis B vaccine in hemodialysis patients.

A 20-microgram dose of a recombinant hepatitis B vaccine was given at 0, 1, 2 and 6 months to 24 hemodialysis patients. From month 7 (i.e., 1 month after the fourth injection), 58.3% (14/24) of the patients had developed protective levels of antibodies against hepatitis B surface antigen (anti-HBs). In patients responding to vaccination, the fourth injection led to an abrupt rise of the anti-HBs titres which reached their maximum 2 months later, that is, in month 8. At that time, the geometric mean titre of anti-HBs was 145.79 mlU/ml. Eighteen months after the start of vaccination, 50% (12/24) of the patients were maintaining protective levels of anti-HBs antibodies. It is noteworthy that these results could be obtained with a considerably lower dosage than previously recommended.

Female↗
PubMed1990

[Osteo-articular amyloidosis caused by dialysis. Clinical and radiologic aspects].

Twenty-nine patients who had received chronic hemodialysis for more than 5 years provided the material for the present study. In 12 of them (41%) there were radiological findings of dialysis related amyloidosis, mainly destructive spondyloarthropathy of the cervical spine (n = 11) and geodes of the shoulder (n = 5). When compared with negative patients, these patients were significantly older (p less than 0.001 and had been dialyzed for longer periods of time (p less than 0.01). Moreover, in such patients there was an higher incidence of carpal tunnel syndrome (p less than 0.025) and shoulder pain (p less than 0.001). Our results confirm that osteoarticular amyloidosis is a frequent long-term complication of chronic hemodialysis and underline the correlation between clinical and radiological findings.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

[Significance of serum levels of beta-2-microglobulin in dialysis patients].

beta 2M has been shown to be a major constituent of the amyloid deposits developing in uremic patients undergoing long-term hemodialysis. In this study, serum levels of beta 2M were determined in 67 hemodialysis patients and a mean +/- SD concentration of 57.8 +/- 18.5 mg/L was obtained. There was no difference in the concentration of the substance between the patients with evidence of dialysis-related amyloidosis and those without it. Moreover, no correlation between beta 2M levels and duration of hemodialysis was found. Interestingly, the patients with residual diuresis had a significantly lower mean beta 2M concentration than the anuric patients (35.0 +/- 13.1 vs 62.8 +/- 15.8 mg/L, p less than 0.001). Not surprisingly, a significant decrease in the predialysis serum concentration of the substance was obtained after changing treatment from cuprophan hemodialysis to hemodialysis with high-permeable membranes (delta beta 2M = -16.1 +/- 14.4 mg/L at month 6, p less than 0.01). These results suggest the possible long-term use of these membranes to reduce risk of dialysis-related amyloidosis.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Red blood cell volume distribution width (RDW) in uraemic patients on chronic haemodialysis.

Red blood cell volume distribution width (RDW) was obtained with the Coulter counter in 60 haemodialysis patients and 55 normal individuals. RDW tended to be higher in the former and the degree of increase was to some extent correlated with the underlying nephropathy. Although RDW failed to correlate with conventional tests of iron status, it was observed that iron administration could produce a decrease toward normal in RDW and a parallel increase in haemoglobin when the initial RDW was increased. In contrast, the response to iron was negligible in the patients with normal RDW basally. It was concluded that high RDW is an acceptable indicator of iron deficiency in haemodialysis patients.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Detection of glomerular bleeding by urinary-red-cell-size distribution.

Midstream urine specimens from 60 consecutive patients with hematuria were examined with an autoanalyzer to determine whether the source of bleeding could be predicted on the basis of the size distribution of urinary red blood cells. In 54 patients a definite diagnosis was made which correlated with the urinary-red-cell-size distribution in 93.7% (15/16) of cases for whom hematuria was considered to be glomerular and in 100% (38/38) of cases of nonglomerular hematuria. It is concluded that this method can greatly help the clinician in distinguishing between glomerular and nonglomerular bleeding in patients with hematuria and channeling such patients towards the most appropriate investigations.

Erythrocytes↗
PubMed1988

Effect of different dialyzer membranes on serum angiotensin-converting enzyme during hemodialysis.

The effects of different dialyzer membranes on serum concentration of angiotension-converting enzyme (ACE) and white blood cells during hemodialysis were examined on a cross-over basis in 20 chronically uremic patients. Hemodialysis with cuprophane membranes was associated with a significant (p less than 0.001) fall in the mean leukocyte count during the 1st hour of treatment. The use of polymethylmethacrylate membranes resulted in a more attenuated form of leukopenia and with polyacrylonitrile membranes no change was observed during hemodialysis. Hemodialysis with each membrane caused a comparable, significant (p less than 0.005) increase in serum ACE, independent of the degree of leukopenia but significantly (p less than 0.001) correlated with the increases in serum proteins. We conclude that this increase in serum ACE concentration after hemodialysis does not reflect acute damage of the pulmonary vascular endothelium during treatment and most probably is a result of hemoconcentration. Therefore, serum ACE analysis is not an indicator of dialyzer membrane biocompatibility.

Acrylic Resins↗