Non-pancreatic hyperlipasemia:A puzzling clinical entity

BACKGROUND Increased lipase level is a serological hallmark of the diagnosis of acute pancreatitis(AP)but can be detected in various other diseases associated with lipase leakage due to inflammation of organs surrounding the pancreas or reduced renal clearance and/or hepatic metabolism.This non-pancreatic hyperlipasemia(NPHL)is puzzling for attending physicians during the diagnostic procedure for AP.It would be clinically beneficial to identify the clinical and laboratory variables that hinder the accuracy of lipase diagnosis with the aim of improve it.A more precise description of the NPHL condition could potentially provide prognostic factors for adverse outcomes which is currently lacking.AIM To perform a detailed clinical and laboratory characterization of NPHL in a large prospective patient cohort with an assessment of parameters determining disease outcomes.METHODS A Hungarian patient cohort with serum lipase levels at least three times higher than the upper limit of normal(ULN)was prospectively evaluated over 31 months.Patients were identified using daily electronic laboratory reports developed to support an ongoing observational,multicenter,prospective cohort study called the EASY trial(ISRCTN10525246)to establish a simple,easy,and accurate clinical scoring system for early prognostication of AP.Diagnosis of NPHL was established based on≥3×ULN serum lipase level in the absence of abdominal pain or abdominal imaging results characteristic of pancreatitis.RESULTS A total of 808 patients[male,n=420(52%);median age(IQR):65(51-75)years]were diagnosed with≥3×ULN serum lipase levels.A total of 392 patients had AP,whereas 401 had NPHL with more than 20 different etiologies.Sepsis and acute kidney injury(AKI)were the most prevalent etiologies of NPHL(27.7%and 33.2%,respectively).The best discriminative cut-off value for lipase was≥666 U/L(sensitivity,71.4%;specificity,88.8%).The presence of AKI or sepsis negatively affected the diagnostic performance of lipase.NPHL was associated with a higher in-hospital mortality than AP(22.4%vs 5.1%,P<0.001).In multivariate binary logistic regression,not lipase but increased amylase level(>244 U/L)and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio(NLR)(>10.37,OR:3.71,95%CI:2.006-6.863,P<0.001),decreased albumin level,age,and presence of sepsis were independent risk factors for in-hospital mortality in NPHL.CONCLUSION NPHL is a common cause of lipase elevation and is associated with high mortality rates.Increased NLR value was associated with the highest mortality risk.The presence of sepsis/AKI significantly deteriorates the serological differentiation of AP from NPHL.

Presepsin teardown- pitfalls of biomarkers in the diagnosis and prognosis of bacterial infection in cirrhosis

AIM To evaluate the diagnostic and prognostic value of presepsin in cirrhosis-associated bacterial infections. METHODS Two hundred and sixteen patients with cirrhosis were enrolled. At admission, the presence of bacterial infections and level of plasma presepsin, serum C-reactive protein(CRP) and procalcitonin(PCT) were evaluated. Patients were followed for three months to assess the possible association between presepsin level and short-term mortality.RESULTS Present 34.7 of patients had bacterial infection. Presepsin levels were significantly higher in patients with infection than without(median, 1002 pg/m L vs 477 pg/m L, P < 0.001), increasing with the severity of infection [organ failure(OF): Yes vs No, 2358 pg/m L vs 710 pg/m L, P < 0.001]. Diagnostic accuracy of presepsin for severe infections was similar to PCT and superior to CRP(AUC-ROC: 0.85, 0.85 and 0.66, respectively, P = NS for presepsin vs PCT and P < 0.01 for presepsin vs CRP). At the optimal cut-off value of presepsin > 1206 pg/m L sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive values and negative predictive values were as follows: 87.5%, 74.5%, 61.8% and 92.7%. The accuracy of presepsin, however, decreased in advanced stage of the disease or in the presence of renal failure, most probably because of the significantly elevated presepsin levels in non-infected patients. 28-d mortality rate was higher among patients with > 1277 pg/m L compared to those with ≤ 1277 pg/m L(46.9% vs 11.6%, P < 0.001). In a binary logistic regression analysis, however, only PCT(OR = 1.81, 95%CI: 1.09-3.01, P = 0.022) but neither presepsin nor CRP were independent risk factor for 28-d mortality after adjusting with MELD score and leukocyte count.CONCLUSION Presepsin is a valuable new biomarker for defining severe infections in cirrhosis, proving same efficacy as PCT. However, it is not a useful marker of short-term mortality.

Gut barrier failure biomarkers are associated with poor disease outcome in patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis

To assess the prevalence of a panel of serologic markers that reflect gut barrier dysfunction in a mixed cohort of pediatric and adult primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) patients. METHODSSera of 67 PSC patients [median age (range): 32 (5-79) years, concomitant IBD: 67% and cirrhosis: 20%] were assayed for the presence of antibodies against to F-actin (AAA IgA/IgG) and gliadin (AGA IgA/IgG)] and for serum level of intestinal fatty acid-binding protein (I-FABP) by ELISA. Markers of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) exposure [LPS binding protein (LBP)] and various anti-microbial antibodies [anti-OMP Plus IgA and endotoxin core IgA antibody (EndoCAb)] were also determined. Poor disease outcome was defined as orthotopic liver transplantation and/or liver-related death during the follow-up [median: 99 (14-106) mo]. One hundred and fifty-three healthy subjects (HCONT) and 172 ulcerative colitis (UC) patients were the controls. RESULTSA total of 28.4%, 28.0%, 9% and 20.9% of PSC patients were positive for AAA IgA, AAA IgG, AGA IgA and AGA IgG, respectively. Frequencies of AAA IgA and AAA IgG (P < 0.001, for both) and AGA IgG (P = 0.01, for both) but not AGA IgA were significantly higher compared to both of the HCONT and the UC groups. In survival analysis, AAA IgA-positivity was revealed as an independent predictor of poor disease outcome after adjusting either for the presence of cirrhosis [HR = 5.15 (1.27-20.86), P = 0.022 or for the Mayo risk score (HR = 4.24 (0.99-18.21), P = 0.052]. AAA IgA-positivity was significantly associated with higher frequency of anti-microbial antibodies (P < 0.001 for EndoCab IgA and P = 0.012 for anti-OMP Plus IgA) and higher level of the enterocyte damage marker (median I-FABPAAA IgA posvsneg: 365 vs 166 pg/mL, P = 0.011), but not with serum LBP level. CONCLUSIONPresence of IgA type AAA identified PSC patients with progressive disease. Moreover, it is associated with enhanced mucosal immune response to various microbial antigens and enterocyte damage further highlighting the importance of the gut-liver interaction in PSC.

Serological biomarkers for management of primary sclerosing cholangitis

Clinical manifestations and progression of primary sclerosing cholangitis(PSC)are heterogeneous,and its pathogenesis is poorly understood.The importance of gut-liver interactions in the pathogenesis has been clinically confirmed and highlighted in different theories.Recent advances regarding biomarkers of biliarygut crosstalk may help to identify clinically relevant PSC subgroups assisting everyday clinical work-up(e.g.,diagnosis,disease stratification,or surveillance)and the exploration of potential therapeutic targets.Alkaline phosphatase produced by the biliary epithelium is consistently associated with prognosis.However,its level shows natural fluctuation limiting its use in individual patients.Inflammatory,cell activation,and tissue remodeling markers have been reported to predict clinical outcome.Elevated immunoglobulin(Ig)G4 level is associated with a shorter transplantation-free survival.IgG type atypical perinuclear anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies(P-ANCAs)are non-specific markers of various autoimmune liver diseases and may reflect an abnormal B-cell response to gut microbial antigens.IgG type atypical P-ANCA identifies PSC patients with particular clinical and genetic(for human leukocyte antigens)characteristics.The presence of IgA type anti-F-actin antibody(AAA)may predict a progressive disease course,and it is associated with enhanced mucosal immune response to various microbial antigens and enterocyte damage.IgA type anti-glycoprotein 2(GP2)antibodies identify patients with a severe disease phenotype and poor survival due to enhanced fibrogenesis or development of cholangiocarcinoma.Elevated soluble vascular adhesion protein-1(sVAP-1)level is associated with adverse disease outcomes in PSC.High sVAP-1 levels correlate with mucosal addressin cell adhesion molecule-1(MAdCAM-1)expression in the liver that contributes to gut activated T-cell homing to the hepatobiliary tract.In the present paper,we review the evidence on these possible serological markers that could potentially help address the unmet clinical needs in PSC.