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Low Serum Albumin (low + serum_albumin)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Medical Sciences	100%

Selected Abstracts

Carbohydrate-deficient glycoprotein syndrome 1b: A new answer to an old diagnostic dilemma

JOURNAL OF PAEDIATRICS AND CHILD HEALTH, Issue 5 2001
DF Kelly
Abstract: A patient with carbohydrate-deficient glycoprotein syndrome type 1b (CDGS1b) is reported. The patient presented at 5 months of age with failure to thrive, prolonged diarrhoea, hepatomegaly and elevated serum liver transaminases. Liver biopsy showed steatosis. A low serum albumin and elevated serum liver transaminases persisted throughout childhood during which he had repeated infectious illnesses. From the age of 10 years he had oesophageal and duodenal ulceration together with recurrent bacterial cholangitis. Liver biopsy demonstrated hepatic fibrosis. CDGS1b was suspected, supported by the finding of a protein-losing enteropathy and finally confirmed by showing a reduced phosphomannoseisomerase activity. This case illustrates a rare condition with a wide range of presentations. [source]

Study of portal vein thrombosis in patients with idiopathic portal hypertension in Japan

LIVER INTERNATIONAL, Issue 5 2005
Shoichi Matsutani
Abstract: Background/Aims: The aim of this study was to elucidate the incidence and clinical manifestations of portal vein thrombosis (PVT) in patients with idiopathic portal hypertension (IPH) in Japan during long-term follow-up. Patients and Methods: Twenty-two patients with IPH were examined for PVT by sonography during a follow-up of 12±6 years. Clinical manifestations and patient outcome related to PVT were studied. Seventy patients with liver cirrhosis were examined by sonography as an incidence control of thrombosis. Results: Nine IPH patients had portal thrombosis (9/22, 41%), a higher incidence than in liver cirrhosis patients (7/70, 10%). Those with thrombosis showed ascites, marked hypersplenism, and low serum albumin. Four patients with thrombosis died. Patients without thrombosis showed less clinical problems after long-term follow-up. Plasma antithrombin III and protein C activity decreased in almost half of the patients. However, there were no differences in these parameters between patients with and without thrombosis. Conclusions: In Japan, IPH patients had a high incidence of portal thrombosis, a significant factor for poor prognosis. Whether the management of PVT contributes to an improvement of a clinical course of IPH or not should be clarified in further study. [source]

Prognostic model to predict outcomes in nonsmall cell lung cancer patients treated with gefitinib as a salvage treatment

CANCER, Issue 7 2009
Min Jae Park MD
Abstract BACKGROUND: A prognostic model based on clinical parameters for nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients treated with gefitinib (250 mg/day) as a salvage therapy was devised. METHODS: Clinical data regarding a total of 316 metastatic or recurrent NSCLC patients who were treated with gefitinib were analyzed. RESULTS: Poor prognostic factors for overall survival (OS) by multivariate analysis were an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status of 2 to 3 (hazards ratio [HR] of 2.07; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.57-2.73 [P < .001]), the presence of intra-abdominal metastasis (HR of 1.76; 95% CI, 1.33-2.34 [P < .001]), elevated serum alkaline phosphatase (HR of 1.50; 95% CI, 1.13-2.00 [P = .005]), time interval from diagnosis to gefitinib therapy of ,12 months (HR of 1.48; 95% CI, 1.12-1.95 [P = .005]), low serum albumin (HR of 1.45; 95% CI, 1.09-1.92 [P = .009]), progression-free interval for previous chemotherapy of ,12 weeks (HR of 1.40; 95% CI, 1.0-1.84 [P = .015]), white blood cell >10,000/,L (HR of 1.38; 95% CI, 1.02-1.85 [P = .032]), and ever-smoker (HR of 1.33; 95% CI, 1.02-1.75 [P = .033]). Of the 272 patients applicable to this prognostic model, 41 patients (15%) were categorized as a good prognosis group (0-1 risk factors), 100 patients (37%) as an intermediate prognosis group (2-3 risk factors), 81 patients (30%) as a poor prognosis group (4-5 risk factors), and 50 patients (16%) as a very poor prognosis group (,6 risk factors). The median OS from the time of gefitinib treatment for the good, intermediate, poor, and very poor prognosis groups were 18.0 months, 11.2 months, 4.0 months, and 1.3 months, respectively (P < .001). CONCLUSIONS: This prognostic model based on easily available clinical variables would be useful to identify patients who might derive more benefit from gefitinib treatment and to make decisions in clinical practice. Cancer 2009. © 2009 American Cancer Society. [source]

Treatment outcomes of small cell carcinoma of the prostate

CANCER, Issue 8 2007
A single-center study
Abstract BACKGROUND. The current study was conducted to determine the clinical characteristics and prognostic features associated with prostatic small cell carcinoma (SCC). METHODS. Between January 1985 and May 2005, 83 patients with SCC of the prostate were identified. Univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazards modeling were used to assess the prognostic significance of the clinical parameters associated with disease-specific outcomes. RESULTS. Twenty-one patients had no evidence of distant metastasis at the time of the diagnosis of SCC, with the remaining patients demonstrating radiologic or biopsy-proven evidence of metastatic disease. Compared with patients with metastases, patients without metastases at the time of diagnosis were older (P = .001) and had a lower serum lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) level at the time of diagnosis (P = .002). On multivariate analysis, an elevated serum LDH level and low serum albumin at the time of SCC diagnosis was found to be predictive of inferior progression-free survival (P = .02 and P = .008, respectively) and inferior disease-specific survival (DSS) (P = .02 and P = .01, respectively). At the time of last follow-up, 72 patients (87%) had died of disease, with a median DSS duration of 13.1 months (range, 10.7,17.1 months). There was a statistically significant difference noted with regard to the median DSS of patients with nonmetastatic versus those with metastatic SCC (17.7 months [95% confidence interval (95% CI), 12.1,39.2 months] vs 12.5 months [95% CI, 8.1,16.1 months], respectively; P = .03). CONCLUSIONS. SCC of the prostate is a highly aggressive tumor, with serum LDH and albumin levels at the time of diagnosis believed to be predictive of disease-related outcomes. Although palliative, current systemic therapy does not result in cure and does not provide long-term survival for patients with metastases. For patients with nonmetastatic disease, a strategy utilizing systemic and local therapies should be evaluated further. Cancer 2007. © 2007 American Cancer Society. [source]