Publications by authors named "Leire Azurmendi"

Objectives: The objective of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of point-of-care testing (POCT) devices for N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) measurement in prehospital settings, with the aim of improving the speed and accuracy of stroke diagnosis, thereby facilitating quicker and more effective patient care.

Methods: Prehospital blood samples were collected from suspected stroke patients, and NT-proBNP levels were measured using a POCT device in ambulances and hospitals. Results from the NT-proBNP POCT and smartphone images were analyzed.

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Purpose: Elderly patients with suspected pneumonia represent a significant proportion of hospital admissions, which is a prognostic challenge for physicians. Our research aimed to assess the prognosis of patients with pneumonia using soluble urokinase plasminogen activator receptor (suPAR) combined with clinical data.

Methods: In a prospective observational study including 164 patients > 65 years (mean age 84.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study examines the effectiveness of heart fatty-acid binding protein (H-FABP) in differentiating transient ischemic attacks (TIA) from similar conditions using data from 175 patients.
  • Results showed higher H-FABP levels in TIA patients compared to mimic cases, with a significant p-value indicating a strong difference.
  • H-FABP demonstrated good diagnostic capabilities, with a sensitivity of 100% and specificity of 23.30%, suggesting its potential as a useful biomarker for TIA in clinical settings like emergency departments.
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Objectives: Long-term mortality is increased in older patients with pneumonia. We aimed to test whether residual inflammation is predictive of one-year mortality after pneumonia.

Methods: Inflammation biomarkers (C-reactive protein [CRP], interleukin [IL]-6 and IL-8, tumor necrosis factor-α, serum amyloid A, neopterin, myeloperoxidase, anti-apolipoprotein A-1, and anti-phosphorylcholine IgM) were measured at admission and discharge in older patients hospitalized for pneumonia in a prospective study.

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Background: A hospitalization for community-acquired pneumonia results in a decrease in long-term survival in elderly patients. We assessed biomarkers at admission to predict one-year mortality in a cohort of elderly patients with pneumonia.

Methods: A prospective observational study included patients >65 years hospitalized with pneumonia.

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Article Synopsis
  • There is significant interest in using blood biomarkers as quick and objective diagnostic tools for traumatic brain injury (TBI) during critical care.
  • A study conducted at Turku University Hospital involved adult TBI patients and assessed several biomarkers to determine their effectiveness in distinguishing between different severities of TBI.
  • Results showed that while there were notable differences in biomarker levels among severity classes, none could effectively differentiate between moderate and severe TBI, nor discern CT-positive from CT-negative cases in patients with mild TBI.
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Objective: To validate a panel of blood biomarkers to differentiate between ischemic stroke (IS) and intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) in patients with suspected stroke.

Methods: Patients with suspected stroke admitted within 4.5 hours after onset were enrolled.

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Blood biomarkers may enhance outcome prediction performance of head computed tomography scores in traumatic brain injury (TBI). To investigate whether admission levels of eight different protein biomarkers can improve the outcome prediction performance of the Helsinki computed tomography score (HCTS) without clinical covariates in TBI. Eighty-two patients with computed tomography positive TBIs were included in this study.

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Objective: The diagnosis of pneumonia based on semiology and chest X-rays is frequently inaccurate, particularly in elderly patients. Older (C-reactive protein (CRP); procalcitonin (PCT)) or newer (Serum amyloid A (SAA); neopterin (NP)) biomarkers may increase the accuracy of pneumonia diagnosis, but data are scarce and conflicting. We assessed the accuracy of CRP, PCT, SAA, NP and the ratios CRP/NP and SAA/NP in a prospective observational cohort of elderly patients with suspected pneumonia.

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Patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) exhibit a variable and unpredictable outcome. The proteins interleukin 10 (IL-10) and heart fatty acid-binding protein (H-FABP) have shown predictive values for the presence of intracranial lesions. To evaluate the individual and combined outcome prediction ability of IL-10 and H-FABP, and to compare them to the more studied proteins S100β, glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), and neurofilament light (NF-L), both with and without clinical predictors.

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To confirm the diagnostic accuracy of candidate biomarkers in stroke-associated pneumonia (SAP), we prospectively enrolled ischemic stroke patients with NIHSS ≥ 10 on admission from March-2016 to August-2017. Blood samples were collected at baseline, 24 and 48 h after stroke onset. Biomarkers (MR-proADM, suPAR, SAA) were determined by immunoassays.

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OBJECT Aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH) is associated with high rates of mortality and morbidity. The main predictor for the poor outcome is the World Federation of Neurosurgical Societies (WFNS) scale. However, this scale does not take into account proinflammatory events, such as infection occurring after the aSAH, which could modify the long-term status of patients.

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Aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH) is associated with high rates of mortality and morbidity. Nosocomial infections, such as pneumonia or urinary tract infections, are among the main causes of worsening outcomes and death. The aim of this study was to discover a biomarker to predict infection in aSAH patients.

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Background: Glioma is the most aggressive tumor of the brain and the most efficient treatments are based on radiotherapy. However, tumors are often resistant to radiotherapy due to an enhanced DNA repair activity. Short and stabilized DNA molecules (Dbait) have recently been proposed as an efficient strategy to inhibit DNA repair in tumor.

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