Diagnostic value of intestinal fatty acid-binding protein for pneumatosis intestinalis

The Challenge of Pneumatosis Intestinalis: A Contemporary Systematic Review

PURPOSE

Pneumatosis intestinalis is a radiological finding with incompletely understood pathogenesis. To date, there are no protocols to guide surgical intervention.

METHODS

A systematic review of literature, according to PRISMA criteria, was performed. Medline and PubMed were consulted to identify articles reporting on the items "emergency surgery, pneumatosis coli, and pneumatosis intestinalis" from January 2010 up to March 2022. This study has not been registered in relevant databases.

RESULTS

A total of 1673 patients were included. The average age was 67.1 ± 17.6 years. The etiology was unknown in 802 (47.9%) patients. Hemodynamic instability (246/1673-14.7% of the patients) was associated with bowel ischemia, necrosis, or perforation (p = 0.019). Conservative management was performed in 824 (49.2%) patients. Surgery was performed 619 (36.9%) times, especially in unstable patients with bowel ischemia signs, lactate levels greater than 2 mmol/L, and PVG (p = 0.0026). In 155 cases, surgery was performed without pathological findings.

CONCLUSIONS

Many variables should be considered in the approach to patients with pneumatosis intestinalis. The challenge facing the surgeons is in truly identifying those who really would benefit and need surgical intervention. The watch and wait policy as a first step seems reasonable, reserving surgery only for patients who are unstable or with high suspicion of bowel ischemia, necrosis, or perforation.

The Impact of Biomarkers on the Early Detection of Acute Mesenteric Ischemia

BACKGROUND

acute mesenteric ischemia (AMI) is a life-threatening condition that is caused by inadequate blood flow through the mesenteric vessel and is related to high mortality rates due to systemic complications. This study aims to systematically review the available literature concerning the major findings of possible biomarkers for early detection of acute mesenteric ischemia in the human population.

METHODS

studies that measured the performance of biomarkers during acute mesenteric ischemia were identified with the search of PubMed, Embase, Medline, and Cochrane library.

RESULTS

from a total of 654 articles, 46 articles examining 14 different biomarkers were filtered, falling within our inclusion criteria. Intestinal fatty acid-binding protein (I-FABP) was the most commonly researched biomarker regarding AMI, with sensitivity ranging from 61.5% to 100% and specificity ranging from 40% to 100%. The second most commonly researched biomarker was D-dimer, with a sensitivity of 60-100% and a specificity of 18-85.71%. L-lactate had a sensitivity of 36.6-90.91% and a specificity of 64.29-96%. Several parameters within the blood count were examined as potential markers for AMI, including NLR, PLR, MPV, RDW, DNI, and IG. Citrulline, interleukin 6 (IL-6), and procalcitonin (PCT) were the least-researched biomarkers.

CONCLUSION

different biomarkers showed different accuracies in detecting AMI. I-FABP and D-dimer have been the most researched and shown to be valuable in the diagnosis of AMI, whereas L-lactate could be used as an additional tool. Ischemia-modified albumin (IMA), alpha glutathione S-transferase (αGST), interleukin 6 (IL-6), and citrulline showed potential use in their respective studies. However, further research needs to be done on larger sample sizes and with controls to reduce bias. Several studies showed that neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), mean platelet volume (MPV), red-cell distribution width (RDW), delta neutrophil index (DNI), and immature granulocytes (IGs) might be useful, as well at the same time be widely distributed and affordable in combination with other markers presenting higher specificity and sensitivity.

FABP1 and FABP2 as markers of diabetic nephropathy

Background: Diabetes mellitus is the leading cause of diabetic nephropathy and a major public health issue worldwide. Approximately 20-30% of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) have renal impairment. Fatty acid-binding protein 1 (FABP1) is expressed in renal proximal tubule cells and released into urine in response to hypoxia caused by decreased peritubular capillary blood flow, and FABP2 is responsible for the transport of free fatty acids in the intestinal endothelium cells. There is increasing evidence that FABP1 and FABP 2 play a role in the development and progression of chronic kidney disease. The aim of this study was to investigate the relation of circulating FABP1 and FABP2 levels to nephropathy in patients with T2DM. Methods: For this study, 268 subjects with T2DM who were enrolled in a disease management program were stratified according to urinary microalbumin and serum creatinine measurements. The plasma FABP1 and FABP2 concentrations were examined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Demographic and potential metabolic confounding factors were analyzed with logistic regression to calculate the effects of FABP1 and FABP2 levels on diabetic nephropathy. Results: The FABP1 and FABP2 levels increased in parallel with the advancement of diabetic nephropathy. Increasing concentrations of FABP1 and FABP2 were independently and significantly associated with diabetic nephropathy. Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed FABP1 and FABP2 as an independent association factor for diabetic nephropathy, even after full adjustment of known biomarkers. Furthermore, receiver operating characteristic curve analysis showed that a FABP1 level of >33.8 ng/mL and a FABP2 level of >2.8 ng/mL were associated with diabetic nephropathy. Conclusion: Our results suggest that FABP1 and FABP2 may be novel biomarkers of diabetic nephropathy.

Intestinal fatty acid-binding protein levels in patients with chronic renal failure

BACKGROUND

Intestinal fatty acid-binding protein (I-FABP), a biomarker of enterocyte injury, has been reported to be a diagnostic marker of intestinal ischemia and a prognostic marker in critically ill patients. However, the kinetics of I-FABP in renal failure patients is unknown. We sought to identify I-FABP levels in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) on hemodialysis (HD) and to identify the manner in which the I-FABP levels change.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Adult patients who were admitted for elective cardiac surgery with either normal renal function (NRF), CKD, or ESKD on HD were enrolled. Serum I-FABP levels in NRF and CKD patients and in ESKD patients before and after HD were determined.

RESULTS

A total of 124 patients were evaluated: 47 NRF, 53 CKD, and 24 ESKD. The I-FABP levels of the CKD patients and pre-HD ESKD patients were significantly higher than those of the NRF patients (P = 0.018 and P <0.001, respectively). I-FABP levels were significantly negatively correlated with the estimated glomerular filtration rate in NRF and CKD patients (Spearman's ρ = -0.313, P = 0.002). In addition, I-FABP levels in ESKD patients were significantly lower after HD than those before HD (P <0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

I-FABP levels in CKD and pre-HD ESKD patients were significantly higher than those in NRF patients. In addition, I-FABP was significantly eliminated by HD in patients with ESKD. Clinicians and researchers should consider this aspect of I-FABP when using it as a diagnostic and prognostic marker in patients with renal insufficiency.

Diagnostic accuracy of novel serological biomarkers to detect acute mesenteric ischemia: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Laparotomy remains the gold standard for diagnosis of acute mesenteric ischemia (AMI), but is often unhelpful or too late due to non-specific clinical and radiological signs. This systematic review and meta-analysis aims to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of the novel serological biomarkers intestinal fatty acid-binding protein (I-FABP), α-glutathione S-transferase (α-GST), D-lactate, ischemia modified albumin (IMA), and citrulline to detect AMI. A systematic search of electronic databases was performed to identify all published diagnostic accuracy studies on I-FABP, α-GST, D-lactate, IMA, and citrulline. Articles were selected based on pre-defined inclusion and exclusion criteria. Risk of bias and applicability were assessed. Two-by-two contingency tables were constructed to calculate accuracy standards. Summary estimates were computed using random-effects models. The search yielded 1925 papers, 21 were included in the final analysis. Pooled sensitivity and specificity for investigated biomarkers were: I-FABP (Uden); 79.0 (95% CI 66.5-88.5) and 91.3 (87.0-94.6), I-FABP (Osaka); 75.0 (67.9-81.2) and 79.2 (76.2-82.0), D-lactate; 71.7 (58.6-82.5) and 74.2 (69.0-79.0), α-GST; 67.8 (54.2-79.5) and 84.2 (75.3-90.9), IMA; 94.7 (74.0-99.9) and 86.4 (65.1-97.1), respectively. One study investigated accuracy standards for citrulline: sensitivity 39% and specificity 100%. The novel serological biomarkers I-FABP, α-GST, IMA, and citrulline may offer improved diagnostic accuracy of acute mesenteric ischemia; however, further research is required to specify threshold values and accuracy standards for different aetiological forms.

Pediatric Celiac Disease: Follow-Up in the Spotlight

The follow-up of celiac disease (CD) is challenging due to the scarcity of published data and the lack of standardized evidence-based protocols. The worldwide frequency and methods of CD follow-up appear to be heavily influenced by expert opinions of the individual physicians who assess children with CD. The aim of this review was to summarize the available studies on CD follow-up in children. We conducted a literature search with the use of PubMed, Medline, and Embase (from 1900 to 15 December 2016) for terms relevant to this review, including CD, follow-up, dietary adherence or dietary compliance, nutrition, comorbidities, complications, and quality of life. The aims of follow-up are as follows: to ensure strict adherence to a gluten-free diet, to ensure nutritional adequacy, to improve quality of life, and to prevent disease complications. For the correct evaluation of children with CD at follow-up, a clinical and biochemical evaluation is necessary on a regular basis. It is advisable to assess compliance, nutrition, comorbidities, or possible complications once a year at the referral center. Laboratory tests might be useful for a thorough evaluation of any patient with CD to rule out a micronutrient deficiency (full blood count, ferritin, folic acid, vitamin B-6, and vitamin B-12) and possible cardiovascular risk factors (glucose, LDL cholesterol, triglycerides). Biochemical evaluation is essential when there are clinical problems and should be customized on the basis of the specific clinical suspicion. Associated autoimmune thyroiditis should also be screened for yearly by measuring thyroid-stimulating hormone and thyroid autoantibody concentrations, regardless of symptoms, because hypothyroidism is often subtle and methods for early treatment are available and desirable. Although evidence-based recommendations for follow-up of pediatric patients with CD have not yet been established, we advise a yearly follow-up visit as the safest approach.