Background: Interpretation laboratory analyses are crucial when assessing the patient’s condition. Reference intervals from apparently healthy and disease-free individuals may cause problems when outcomes from elderly patients with chronic diseases and on medications are being interpreted. Elderly individuals are a heterogeneous group ranging from individuals managing their daily life independently to individuals with diseases and impairment, in need of nursing care around the clock, that is, frail; a term widely used although there is no consensus on the definition.

Aims and Objectives: The aim of the study was to study the effect of classification of elderly into healthy, moderately healthy, and frail, based on activities of daily living (ADL) and Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) or frailty index (FI), on the interpretation of outcomes regarding: Albumin, alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), creatinine, and gamma-glutamyltransferase (γ-GT) levels.

Materials and Methods: Individuals ≥80 years (n=568) were classified either on ADL and MMSE or number of deficits, (FI).

Results: Individuals classified as frail based on FI had lower mean levels for ALT, creatinine and γ-GT than individuals classified based on ADL and MMSE (P<0.05).

Conclusion: The model to define health status to some extent affected laboratory analyte levels in ≥80 years old, classified as healthy, moderately healthy, and frail based on ADL and MMSE versus FI.

BackgroundIn patients undergoing neurosurgeries, inflammation and infection are strongly related; however, inflammation can be present without infection. Midregional proadrenomedullin (MR-proADM) is a relatively new sepsis biomarker that is rarely used clinically. Recently, the concept of DiffTemp was introduced, that is, a >1°C rise from individual normal temperature accompanied by malaise, as a more accurate definition of temperature assessed as fever. The aim of the present study was to examine the importance of C-reactive protein (CRP), white blood cells, procalcitonin, and MR-proADM levels and DiffTemp.MethodsThis prospective, comparative study had a quantitative approach. Forty-two patients, aged >18 years and presenting with severe cerebral trauma were included from a neurosurgical intensive care unit. The outcome variable was infection; group 0, no infection (n=11); group 1, suspected infection (n=15); and, group 2, confirmed infection (n=16). Group assignments were performed using biomarkers, medical records, bacterial cultures, and International Classification of Diseases-10, and by the clinical assessment of criteria for nosocomial infections by a neurosurgeon.ResultsOn comparing groups 1 and 2, MR-proADM and DiffTemp were associated with a higher risk of confirmed infection (odds ratio, 5.41 and 17.14, respectively). Additionally, DiffTemp had a 90.9% specificity in patients with no infection and a 93.8% sensitivity in patients with confirmed infections. CRP and procalcitonin levels were not associated with an increased risk of confirmed infection.ConclusionIncreased levels of MR-proADM were associated with a higher risk of confirmed infection. DiffTemp was associated with a higher risk of having a confirmed infection.

INTRODUCTION: A coeliac disease (CD) diagnosis is likely in children with levels of tissue transglutaminase autoantibodies (anti-TG2) >10 times the upper reference value, whereas children with lower anti-TG2 levels need an intestinal biopsy to confirm or rule out CD. A blood sample is easier to obtain than an intestinal biopsy sample, and stabilised blood is suitable for routine diagnostics because transcript levels are preserved at sampling. Therefore, we investigated gene expression in stabilised whole blood to explore the possibility of gene expression-based diagnostics for the diagnosis and follow-up of CD.

DESIGN: We performed RNA sequencing of stabilised whole blood from active CD cases (n=10), non-CD cases (n=10), and treated CD cases on a gluten-free diet (n=10) to identify diagnostic CD biomarkers and pathways involved in CD pathogenesis.

RESULTS: No single gene was differentially expressed between the sample groups. However, by using gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA), significantly differentially expressed pathways were identified in active CD, and these pathways involved the inflammatory response, negative regulation of viral replication, translation, as well as cell proliferation, differentiation, migration, and survival. The results indicate that there are differences in pathway regulation in CD, which could be used for diagnostic purposes. Comparison between GSEA results based on stabilised blood with GSEA results based on small intestinal biopsies revealed that type I interferon response, defence response to virus, and negative regulation of viral replication were identified as pathways common to both tissues.

CONCLUSIONS: Stabilised whole blood is not a suitable sample for clinical diagnostics of CD based on single genes. However, diagnostics based on a pathway-focused gene expression panel may be feasible, but requires further investigation.

Background. NSAIDs are a known source of increased faecal calprotectin (FC) levels. Currently, there is a lack of knowledge about how long it takes for an increased FC level to return to normal after NSAID intake. Objective. The aim was to investigate how oral diclofenac intake affects FC levels and assess how long it takes for an increased FC level to return to normal after oral diclofenac intake. Material and methods. Thirty healthy volunteers received diclofenac 50 mg three times daily for 14 days. Participants provided a stool sample on Days 0, 2, 4, 7, 14 during intake and Days 17, 21, 28 after discontinuation. FC levels were then followed at 7-day intervals until normalization. Results. During diclofenac intake, eight participants (27%) had FC levels exceeding the upper limit of normal (median, 76 mu g/g; range, 60-958 mu g/g), corresponding to 8.3% of measurements. FC was not constantly increased and became normal in most participants during diclofenac intake. FC levels were on average significantly higher during intake (M = 9.5, interquartile range (IQR) = 13.4) than on baseline (M = 7.5, IQR = 0.0), p = 0.003. After discontinuation, two participants had increased FC on Days 17 and 21, respectively. No significant differences in FC levels were found between baseline and measurements after discontinuation. Two weeks after discontinuation, all participants had normal FC levels. Conclusions. Short-term oral diclofenac intake is associated with increased FC levels. However, the likelihood of an increased test result is low. Our results suggest that 2 weeks of diclofenac withdrawal is sufficient to get an uninfluenced FC test result.

When we say that someone has a fever, what do we really mean? Most people only take their temperature when they have a fever, and with good reason: fever is part of a larger response in the body.

Assessment of Fever, a problem-based learning (PBL) textbook, uses inter-professional discussions of scenarios from clinical practice to examine the question of body temperature. The authors start by examining the historical perspective and go on to consider technical measurement accuracy and thermoregulation from a physiological and immunological perspective. They address evaluations of body temperature and inflammatory activity in various conditions. They end by discussing how evidence-based knowledge can inform clinical practice, looking at different scenarios in the shape of case histories and realistic situations from clinical practice. These clinical scenarios are pertinent both in an inter-professional perspective in clinical practice and in the advanced education of health-care professionals, research scientists, and technicians. Each chapter concludes with a number of reflections and additional questions that the reader will be able to answer using the material presented in the book.

Background

Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is a chronic, relapsing gastrointestinal disorder,that affects approximately 10% of the general population and the majority are diagnosed  in primary care. IBS has been reported to be associated with altered psychological and cognitive functioning such as mood disturbances, somatization, catastrophizing or altered visceral interoception by negative emotions and stress. The aim was to  investigate the psychosocial constructs of self-esteem and sense of coherence among IBS patients compared to non-IBS patients in primary care.     

Methods

A case–control study in primary care setting among IBS patients meeting the ROME III         criteria (n = 140) compared to controls i.e. non-IBS patients (n = 213) without any         present or previous gastrointestinal complaints. The data were collected through self-reportedquestionnaires of psychosocial factors.     

Results

IBS-patients reported significantly more negative self-esteem (p < 0.001), lower scores         for positive self-esteem (p < 0.001), and lower sense of coherence (p < 0.001) than the controls. The IBS-cases were also less likely to report ‘good’ health status (p < 0.001) and less likely to report a positive belief in the future (p < 0.001). After controlling for relevant confounding factors in multiple regressions, the elevation  in negative self-esteem among IBS patients remained statistically significant (p =0.02), as did the lower scores for sense of coherence among IBS cases (p = 0.04).     

Conclusions

The more frequently reported negative self-esteem and inferior coping strategies among         IBS patients found in this study suggest the possibility that psychological therapies         might be helpful for these patients. However these data do not indicate the causal         direction of the observed associations. More research is therefore warranted to determine whether these psychosocial constructs are more frequent in IBS patients.

Background: Signs and symptoms of infection in frail elderly are atypical, causing delay in diagnosis and treatment. To improve communication between healthcare staff of signs and symptoms of infection we developed an instrument, using qualitative data from observations by nursing assistants when they suspected infection. The aim of this study was to assess the validity of nursing assistants observations by developing and testing the instrument for early detection of infection in elderly nursing home residents. Methods: The early detection of infection (EDIS) instrument was based on data from focus interviews with nursing assistants. Over one year the nursing assistants used EDIS to document episodes of suspected early signs and symptoms of infection in 204 nursing home residents. Two physicians classified documented episodes as "no infection", "possible infection", and "infection". The content validity of the 13 items of the EDIS was established to explore the relationships between the items. The construct validity was used to explore the relationship between the items and the presence or absence of infection. The predictive value of the developed model was evaluated by the percentage of correct classifications of the observed cases. Generalized linear model (ordinal multinomial distribution and logit link) was used. Results: Of the 388 events of suspected infection, 20 % were assessed as no infection, 31 % as possible infection and 49 % as infection. Content validity analysis showed that 12/13 of the items correlated significantly with at least one other statement. The range in number of significant inter-correlations was from 0 ("pain") to 8 ("general signs and symptoms of illness"). The construct validity showed that the items "temperature", "respiratory symptoms" and "general signs and symptoms of illness" were significantly related to "infection", and these were also selected in the model-building. These items predicted correct alternative responses in 61 % of the cases. Conclusion: The validation of EDIS suggests that the observation of "general signs and symptoms of illness", made by nursing assistants should be taken seriously in detecting early infection in frail elderly. Also, the statement "He/She is not as usual" should lead to follow-up.

Signs and symptoms of infection in Nursing Home Residents (NHR) are often atypical with a lack of specific ones, causing a delay in diagnosis and treatment. The complexity of detecting infections in NHR can be explained by difficulties in understanding and interpreting non-specific signs and symptoms and co-existing chronic diseases that blur the clinical picture. The case of Mr. Nilsson illustrates the process from the first signs and symptoms of infection to diagnosis in an elderly person with severe cognitive decline and physical impairment. What we can learn from this case is to reflect on changed behavior from habitual status and/or non-specific symptoms as possible suspected infection, and to consider a rise from individual baseline temperature, so called DiffTemp™, instead of traditional decided cut-off values for fever.

Background: Blood-based diagnostics has the potential to simplify the process of diagnosing celiac disease (CD). Although high levels of autoantibodies against tissue transglutaminase (anti-TG2) are strongly indicative of active CD, several other scenarios involve a need for additional blood-based CD markers. Methods: We investigated the levels of messenger RNA (mRNA) in whole blood (n = 49) and protein in plasma (n = 22) from cases with active CD (n = 20), with confirmed CD and normalized histology (n = 15), and without a CD diagnosis (n = 14). Group differences were analyzed using Kruskal-Wallis one-way analysis of variance by ranks. We also investigated correlations between levels of potential markers, histopathology according to the modified Marsh scale, and CD risk gradient based on HLA type, using Spearman rank correlation. The relation between HLA-DQ2 gene dose effect and the expression levels of selected blood-based markers was investigated using the Mann-Whitney U test. Finally, the diagnostic performance of anti-TG2, potential blood-based CD markers, and logistic regression models of combined markers was evaluated using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. Results: CXCL11 protein levels and TNFRSF9 and TNFSF13B mRNA levels were identified as potential CD markers. These are all affected by or involved in the regulation of the NF-kappa B complex. CXCL11 protein levels and IL21 and IL15 mRNA levels were correlated with histopathology according to the modified Marsh scale, as were the established CD markers. HLA genotype risk and HLA-DQ2 gene dose effect did not show any significant relations with either the potential CD markers or the established CD markers. ROC curve analysis revealed a slight, non-significant increase in the area under the curve for the combined use of anti-TG2 and different constellations of potential blood-based CD markers compared to anti-TG2 alone. Conclusions: The CD markers identified in this study further emphasize the significance of components related to NF-kappa B regulation in relation to CD. However, the relevance of CXCL11, TNFSF13B, TNFRSF9, and other NF-kappa B interacting proteins recognized by pathway analysis, needs to be further investigated in relation to diagnosis and monitoring of CD.

Assessment of body temperature is important for decisions in nursing care, medical diagnosis, treatment and the need of laboratory tests. The definition of normal body temperature as 37°C was established in the middle of the 19th century. Since then the technical design and the accuracy of thermometers has been much improved. Knowledge of physical influence on the individual body temperature, such as thermoregulation and hormones, are still not taken into consideration in body temperature assessment. It is time for a change; the unadjusted mode should be used, without adjusting to another site and the same site of measurement should be used as far as possible. Peripheral sites, such as the axillary and the forehead site, are not recommended as an assessment of core body temperature in adults. Frail elderly individuals might have a low normal body temperature and therefore be at risk of being assessed as non-febrile. As the ear site is close to the hypothalamus and quickly responds to changes in the set point temperature, it is a preferable and recommendable site for measurement of body temperature.