Evaluation of tubal patency with hysterosalpingo-contrast sonography using sodium alginate solution and the subsequent fertility outcomes in repeat breedercattle

Cardiac troponin I (cTnI) correlates with severity of myocardial injury. Nonspecific inflammation in congestive heart failure (CHF) could be assessed by C-reactive protein (CRP), haptoglobin (Hp), and ceruloplasmin (Cp) measurements. The aim of the study was to determine whether serum cTnI, CRP, Hp, and Cp concentrations differ among various stages of mitral valve disease (MVD) in dogs. Dogs with MVD were allocated to 3 groups (I - asymptomatic; II - mild to moderate CHF; III advanced CHF) according to the scheme of the International Small Animal Cardiac Healthy Council (ISACHC). Concentrations of cTnI, CRP, Cp, and Hp were measured in all dogs upon admission, and cTnI and CRP were measured bimonthly during a 4-month follow-up period. In total 46 dogs with MVD were enrolled for the cross-sectional part (21 Group I, 11 Group II, 14 Group III), and 35 dogs were included in the longitudinal study. Initial mean Cp concentrations were similar among all groups. There was a statistically significant difference in Hp and CRP concentrations between group I (n = 21, P = .019) and III (n = 14, P < .001). There was a statistically significant decrease in CRP (P = .033) and cTnI (P = .009) concentrations over the longitudinal study (all groups). CRP concentrations were significantly higher in group I than III (P = .004). During the 6-month monitoring period of 35 dogs, there was a statistically significant positive correlation between cTnI and CRP (P < .001). Differences in CRP concentrations between clinical stages of MVD suggest a clinically and therapeutically relevant inflammatory component.

Limited data exist regarding the ethnic differences in C-reactive protein (CRP) concentrations, an inflammatory marker associated with risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). We hypothesized that known CVD risk factors, including anthropometric characteristics, would explain much of the observed ethnic variation in CRP. We performed a cross-sectional analysis of 3154 women, without known CVD and not receiving hormone therapy, enrolled in the Study of Women's Health Across the Nation (SWAN), a multiethnic prospective study of pre- and perimenopausal women. The study population was 47.4% white, 27.7% African-American, 8.5% Hispanic, 7.7% Chinese, and 8.6% Japanese; mean age was 46.2 years. African-American women had the highest median CRP concentrations (3.2 mg/L), followed by Hispanic (2.3 mg/L), white (1.5 mg/L), Chinese (0.7 mg/L), and Japanese (0.5 mg/L) women (all pairwise P < 0.001 compared with white women). Body mass index (BMI) markedly attenuated the association between ethnicity and CRP. After adjusting for age, socioeconomic status, BMI, and other risk factors, African-American ethnicity was associated with CRP concentrations >3 mg/L (odds ratio 1.37, 95% CI 1.07-1.75), whereas Chinese and Japanese ethnicities were inversely related (0.58, 0.35-0.95, and 0.43, 0.26-0.72, respectively). Modifiable risk factors, particularly BMI, account for much but not all of the ethnic differences in CRP concentrations. Further study is needed of these ethnic differences and their implications for the use of CRP in CVD risk prediction.

AIUM Practice Parameter for the Performance of Sonohysterography and Hysterosalpingo-Contrast Sonography.

Evaluation of tubal patency by hysterosalpingo-contrast Sonography (HyCoSy): Controversies, dilemmas and considerations

Maternal and fetal C-reactive protein genotype and first trimester CRP concentrations in maternal plasma

Contrast Ultrasonography for Tubal Patency

Objective. Ectopic pregnancy adversely affects the patency of the fallopian tube and consequently the future pregnancy. There are different options of conservative treatment of tubal pregnancy such as methotrexate and salpingostomy [1]. There is little information on the success rate of maintaining tubal patency after methotrexate and salpingostomy [2]. Therefore, the aim of this study is to evaluate the ipsilateral tubal patency using HyCoSy after treatment of tubal pregnancy with methotrexate therapy versus salpingostomy. Patients and methods. This was a case-series study conducted in Ain Shams and Al-Azhar University Maternity Hospitals to evaluate the ipsilateral tubal patency using hysterosalpingo-contrast sonography (HyC0Sy) following salpingostomy and medical treatment of tubal pregnancy. This study included patients who were admitted to Ain Shams and Al-Azhar University Maternity Hospitals for having tubal pregnancy and were treated either with methotrexate or salpingostomy over a 4-year period between January 2017 and December 2020. The patients seeking fertility were re-evaluated for fallopian tubes patency by hysterosalpingogram 3 months after discharge. The study included 2 groups of women: group I (n = 200): women who were treated with methotrexate, and group II (n = 140): women who underwent salpingostomy. Results. HSG was performed in 200 cases of patients with tubal pregnancy who were treated with methotrexate and 140 cases of patients who underwent salpingostomy. The patency of the ipsilateral tube was 85% after methotrexate treatment and 84.2% after salpingostomy. There was no statistically significant difference between the two groups. Conclusion. The findings suggest similar success rate in maintaining the patency of the fallopian tube with either methotrexate or salpingostomy. Key words: ectopic pregnancy, hysterosalpingography, methotrexate, infertility, salpingostomy

Evaluation of tubal status is one of the initial steps in the diagnostic work-up of infertile women. Hysterosalpingo- contrast sonography (HyCoSy), currently performed as part of the infertility work-up to assess tubal patency by transvaginal ultrasound (TVS) 1 , is based on the introduction of fluid into the uterine cavity and Fallopian tubes. To evaluate the Fallopian tubes, a sonographic enhancing positive-contrast medium may be used. Air, albumin with micro air bubbles, and galactose with micro air bubbles have been studied. These positive- contrast agents outline the course of the Fallopian tubes, producingahyperechoicappearance.Themostsimpleand inexpensive positive-contrast medium is saline solution mixed with air. When this solution is shaken, it generates as uspension of air bubbles that is easily identif ied sonographically when injected into the uterine cavity and Fallopian tubes 2-4 with spillage around the ovaries. However, while two-dimensional (2D) TVS HyCoSy with saline solution mixed with air appears to be an accurate and inexpensive screening tool to assess tubal patency, it is highly observer-dependent and is accurate only in the hands of experienced investigators 2-5 . In addition,

Eligibility for rosuvastatin treatment for cardiovascular disease prevention includes a C-reactive protein (CRP) concentration >2 mg/L. Most observational studies of CRP and cardiovascular disease have been in Europeans. We evaluated the influence of ancestry on population CRP concentration to assess the implications for statin targeting in non-Europeans. In a systematic review and meta-analysis among 221 287 people from 89 studies, geometric mean CRP was 2.6 mg/L (95% credible interval, 2.27 to 2.96) in blacks resident in the United States (n=18 585); 2.51 mg/L (95% CI, 1.18 to 2.86) in Hispanics (n=5049); 2.34 mg/L (95% CI, 1.99 to 2.8) in South Asians (n=1053); 2.03 mg/L (95% CI, 1.77 to 2.3) in whites (n=104 949); and 1.01 mg/L (95% CI, 0.88 to 1.18) in East Asians (n=39 521). Differences were not explained by study design or CRP assay and were preserved after adjustment for age and body mass index. At age 60 years, fewer than half of East Asians but more than two thirds of Hispanics were estimated to have CRP values exceeding 2 mg/L. HapMap frequencies of CRP polymorphisms known to associate with CRP concentration but not coronary heart disease events differed by ancestry. In participant data from the Wandsworth Heart and Stroke Study including European, South Asian and African, and Caribbean-descent subjects, body mass index, systolic blood pressure, and smoking contributed to between-group differences in CRP, but the majority of the difference in CRP was unexplained. Differences in CRP concentration in populations of diverse ancestry are sufficiently large to affect statin eligibility, based on a single CRP threshold of 2 mg/L, and only partially influenced by differences in variables related to cardiovascular risk. A single threshold value of CRP for cardiovascular risk prediction could lead to inequalities in statin eligibility that may not accurately reflect underlying levels of cardiovascular risk.

To determine whether severity of periodontal disease (PD) was associated with systemic health indices in dogs and whether treatment of PD altered systemic health indices. Prospective cohort study. 38 dogs. Healthy dogs with clinical signs of PD were included in the study. Physical examination, serum biochemical analysis, a CBC, urine evaluation, measurement of serum C-reactive protein (CRP) concentration, and a microalbuminuria test were performed prior to treatment of PD. All tooth roots were scored for gingivitis and attachment loss, and appropriate treatment of PD was performed. Laboratory data were obtained 4 weeks after treatment. The Spearman rank correlation and Wilcoxon signed rank test were used for statistical analysis. Analyses of the correlation of several variables with attachment loss or gingivitis or of differences before and after treatment revealed significant results for several variables. After applying Bonferroni corrections for family-wise error rate, significant rank correlations were found between attachment loss and platelet number (r = 0.54), creatinine concentration (r = -0.49), and the within-dog difference in CRP concentrations before and after treatment (r = 0.40). The BUN concentration was significantly higher after treatment than before treatment. Increasing severity of attachment loss was associated with changes in systemic inflammatory variables and renal indices. A decrease in CRP concentration after treatment was correlated with the severity of PD. The BUN concentration increased significantly after treatment of PD. There is a need for continued research into the systemic impact of PD.

C-reactive protein (+1444C > T) polymorphism influences CRP response following a moderate inflammatory stimulus

Measurement of low concentrations of C-reactive protein (CRP) in dogs has previously been performed with nonautomated assays. The aim of this study was to validate an automated high-sensitivity CRP (hsCRP) assay, developed by modifying a routinely used canine-specific immunoturbidimetric CRP test (cCRP). Imprecision, linearity under dilution, limit of blank (LOB), limit of detection (LOD), and limit of quantification (LOQ) were determined for the hsCRP test, as well as the presence of prozone effect and interferences. The imprecision, measured as intra-assay variation, was ≤2.7%. The assay was acceptably linear under dilution. An analytically relevant prozone effect was present for samples with CRP concentration >150 mg/L, and there were mild interferences from hemolysis and lipemia. The LOB, LOD, and LOQ were 0.10 mg/L, 0.22 mg/L, and 0.50 mg/L, respectively. A method comparison study with a canine-specific enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was performed, showing poor agreement between the hsCRP test and the ELISA. An additional aim of the study was to apply the hsCRP test to clinical research samples. Serum samples from 7 dogs undergoing ovariohysterectomy were collected pre- and postoperatively, and CRP was measured with both the cCRP and hsCRP assay. The expected postoperative increase in CRP was detected earlier with the hsCRP test, compared with the cCRP test. The hsCRP assay was further applied on samples from 6 lean and 9 overweight dogs. There was no significant difference in CRP concentration between the groups (P = 0.06). In conclusion, the hsCRP test had acceptable analytical performance, and the assay was successfully applied to clinical research samples.

C-reactive protein (CRP) in a concentration of 0.02-13.5 mg/l was regularly demonstrated in sera obtained from apparently healthy children and adults of both sexes. CRP must therefore be considered a normal constituent of serum. A weak positive correlation was found between CRP concentration and age. No significant difference in CRP concentration was demonstrable between men and non-pregnant women. Neither was any such difference found between females using oral contraceptives and controls.

Additive effect of interleukin-6 and C-reactive protein ( CRP) single nucleotide polymorphism on serum CRP concentration and other cardiovascular risk factors

Objective: The aim of the present study was to investigate the role of neopterin (NP), C-reactive protein (CRP) and myeloperoxidase (MPO) in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting with or without cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). Patients and Methods: Forty patients submitted for elective coronary artery bypass grafting were included in this prospective study. Patients were divided into two groups of 20 individuals, those who did not undergo CPB (group 1), aged 54.1 ± 13.5 years, and those who did (group 2), aged 60.2 ± 11.7 years. In group 1, there were 17 males and 3 females, while in group 2, there were 16 males and 4 females. Serum CRP, serum and urine NP and leukocyte MPO activity were measured preoperatively, at the end of surgery, and 4, 24 and 72 h after surgery using high-performance liquid chromatography, immunoturbidimetry and the reduction in o-dianizidine, respectively. Results: The level of serum NP was higher preoperatively and at the end of surgery (0 h), 4, 24, and 72 h after the operation in those who underwent CPB compared to those who did not. However, there was no significant difference in NP concentrations between the two groups at any time except 24 h after surgery (p = 0.002). Urine NP concentrations showed similar values preoperatively but increased postoperatively in both groups of patients. The only significant difference in urine NP concentration between the two groups occurred at 0 and 24 h after surgery (p = 0.001, p = 0.000). Serum CRP concentrations showed similar values preoperatively, at the end of surgery and 72 h after the operation and increased at 4 and 24 h postoperatively in both groups. The only significant difference in CRP concentration between the two groups occurred 4 and 24 h after surgery (p = 0.024 and p = 0.000, respectively). MPO levels were found to be increased in the CPB patients when compared to those patients who did not undergo CPB. However, the difference between the groups was not statistically significant. Conclusion: Our data show that CPB induced a rise in NP and CRP levels.