Late pulmonary sequela following burns: persistence of hyperprocalcitonemia using a 1-57 amino acid N-terminal flanking peptide assay

Seven patients were evaluated at a mean duration of 8.4 yr after sustaining inhalational injury associated with burns. At the time of re-examination, the patients were asymptomatic and had normal chest X-rays, and arterial blood gases. Three of the seven patients had abnormally elevated serum calcitonin levels. The spirometry (FEV1) measurements showed an inverse trend to that of the serum calcitonin levels. The elevated calcitonin levels had an abnormal predominance of the procalcitonin component as assessed by several region specific antisera. The serum calcitonin also showed a significant correlation with the hormone level which had been obtained at the time of prior discharge from the hospital (r = 0.91). Although there appears to be no or minimal chronic pulmonary sequela to inhalational injury in burns by pulmonary testing, we speculate that the hyperprocalcitonemia in some of the patients may reflect a long-term hyperplastic response of the bronchio-epithelial pulmonary neuroendocrine cells. The potential significance of this and other lung-associated endocrine markers is discussed.

Serum calcitonin may be a marker for inhalation injury in burns

One of the principal causes of death from burns is inhalation injury. The pulmonary neuroendocrine cell contains and secretes immunoreactive calcitonin (iCT), and, under the influence of various irritative stimuli, can be induced to secrete iCT in excess. A prospective study of serum iCT levels in 41 patients with burns was undertaken. Mean serum iCT levels were four times normal values at the time of admission and reached 31 times normal values by 24 hours after injury. These levels did not correlate specifically with burn size. However, serum iCT had a very strong positive correlation with mortality, and in addition, was highest in patients who died early after injury compared with those who died late after injury. Patients who were clinically suspected to have pulmonary injury and who died had markedly higher levels of iCT than those who survived. In addition, serum iCT correlated positively with the need for mechanical ventilation and the amount of pulmonary shunting. Although other factors may also play a role in hypercalcitoninemia, serum iCT may be an important marker for the presence of inhalation injury, as well as a prognostic indicator.

Potential role of parathyroid hormone as an inhibitor of erythropoiesis in the anemia of renal failure

Patients with varying degrees of renal insufficiency and patients with end-stage renal disease receiving continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis or regular hemodialysis therapy were studied to assess the independent relationship between serum parathyroid hormone concentration, and both severity of anemia and degree of serum inhibition of erythropoiesis. In patients with renal insufficiency not receiving dialysis, a significant curvilinear relationship between serum parathyroid hormone and creatinine concentrations was present (r = 65, p less than 0.001). Serum parathyroid hormone (by radioimmunoassay) also correlated with hematocrit level (r = -0.54, p less than 0.001) and degree of serum inhibition of in vitro erythroid progenitor cell growth in fetal mouse liver cultures (r = -0.45, p less than 0.001). However, multiple linear regression analysis revealed that after controlling for the effect of creatinine, m-parathyroid hormone is no longer a significant predictor of hematocrit level or erythroid progenitor cell growth. On the other hand, when a restricted population of patients with creatinine values between 1 and 4 mg/dl was analyzed separately, controlling for the effect of creatinine, there was still a significant correlation between hematocrit level and m-parathyroid hormone, but no such relationship was seen when participants with parathyroid hormone levels of less than or equal to 1000 pg/ml were analyzed. No significant correlation was seen between hematocrit level or inhibition of erythroid colony growth and serum parathyroid hormone concentrations in patients receiving either regular hemodialysis or continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis. In 13 patients given regular hemodialysis studied before and after parathyroidectomy, there was no significant change in serum erythropoietin (by radioimmunoassay) or serum inhibition of erythropoiesis, although hematocrit levels increased in six of the 13 patients. The 1-34 human parathyroid hormone, 1-84 bovine parathyroid hormone, and 1,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol had no effect on in vitro erythroid burst-forming unit growth. Parathyroid hormone (8 mu/ml) inhibited and 1,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol (4.0 ng/ml) stimulated erythroid colony-forming unit growth only in the absence of exogenous erythropoietin in culture. In summary, it was not possible to demonstrate a significant relationship between serum parathyroid hormone levels and anemia or inhibition of erythropoiesis in patients with uremia either before starting dialysis or after receiving long-term dialysis treatment.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)