Acute chest syndrome (ACS) is the leading cause of death in sickle cell disease. Severe ACS often develops in the course of a vaso-occlusive crisis (VOC), but currently there are no predictors for its development. Secretory phospholipase A(2) (sPLA(2)), a potent inflammatory mediator, is elevated in ACS, and previous work suggests that sPLA(2) predicts impending ACS. We prospectively evaluated ...

Background. The sparse reporting of abdominal compartment syndrome (ACS) in the pediatric literature may reflect inadequate awareness and recognition among pediatric healthcare providers (HCP). Purpose. To assess awareness of ACS, knowledge of the definition and intraabdominal pressure (IAP) measurement techniques used among pediatric HCP. Method. A written survey distributed at two pediatric c...

Coronary heart disease remains the leading cause of death in the developed world. Advanced age is the single strongest risk factor for coronary artery disease (CAD) and independent predictor for poor outcomes following an acute coronary syndrome (ACS). ACS refers to a spectrum of conditions compatible with acute myocardial ischemia and/or infarction due to various degrees of reduction in corona...

BACKGROUND Long pentraxin 3 (PTX3) is a component of the pentraxin superfamily and a potential marker of vascular damage and inflammation, associated with negative outcome in patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS). Obesity is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease and PTX3 production is reported in abdominal adipose tissue. Low PTX3 is however reported in the obese population, and obesi...

BACKGROUND Acute coronary syndrome (ACS) is highly prevalent in Korea and is the third-leading cause of death in Korea; however, the economic cost of ACS on Korean society has not been investigated. This study examined the economic effect of ACS on the Korean population during the period 2004 to 2009. METHODS The analysis used the cost of illness (COI) framework. Data on direct medical costs,...

OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to assess the results of troponin I (cTnI) in non- acute Coronary Syndrome (ACS) patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). We also examined the risk factors for elevated cTnI in non-ACS patients with CKD and whether stage 5 CKD modifies the associations of elevated cTnI and the risk factors in non-ACS patients with CKD. METHODS A retrospective study was p...

BACKGROUND It is not clear why some plaque ruptures lead to acute coronary syndromes (ACS) but others do not. METHODS AND RESULTS We analyzed 80 plaque ruptures in 74 patients and compared culprit lesions of ACS patients with nonculprit lesions of ACS patients and lesions of non-ACS patients; both culprit and nonculprit plaque ruptures were studied in 6 of 54 ACS patients. Intravascular ultra...

In multicellular organisms, the surface barrier is essential for maintaining the internal environment. In mammals, the barrier is the stratum corneum. Fatty acid transport protein 4 (FATP4) is a key factor involved in forming the stratum corneum barrier. Mice lacking Fatp4 display early neonatal lethality with features such as tight, thick, and shiny skin, and a defective skin barrier. These sy...

OBJECTIVE To compare outcomes of appendectomy in an Acute Care Surgery (ACS) model to that of a traditional home-call attending surgeon model. SUMMARY BACKGROUND DATA Acute care surgery (ACS, a combination of trauma surgery, emergency surgery, and surgical critical care) has been proposed as a practice model for the future of general surgery. To date, there are few data regarding outcomes of ...

The acute chest syndrome (ACS) is the main cause of mortality among adult patients with sickle cell disease (SCD). Its pathophysiology is still unclear. Using positron emission tomography (PET) with F-fluorodeoxyglucose [18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (F-FDG)], we explored the relationship between regional lung density and lung metabolism, as a reflection of lung neutrophilic infiltration during ACS.Pa...