Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0020639 (hypoproteinemia)
 1,134 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

We evaluated diagnostic utility of the hematological, biochemical and serological tests comprised in the "essential laboratory tests" advocated by the Japan Society of Clinical Pathology in 1,026 new patients visiting the outpatient unit of Comprehensive Medicine, National Defense Medical College. Of 750 evaluable patients, 52 showed anemia associated with such conditions as ulcer or cancer of digestive tract, inflammatory disease, or renal failure. Leukocytosis (greater than 9,000/microliters) was found only in 25 of 112 CRP-positive (greater than 0.3 mg/dl) patients, suggesting bacterial infection. Forty-four patients showed hypoproteinemia and/or hypoalbuminemia indicating chronic conditions including liver and inflammatory disease. Elevation of serum creatinine level was found in 4 patients subsequently diagnosed with renal failure, whereas 32 patients demonstrated elevated BUN. After application of the "essential laboratory tests", 97 patients were diagnosed with hyperlipidemia (total cholesterol greater than 230 mg/dl and/or triglyceride greater than 250 mg/dl). Determination of serum enzyme activity was useful not only for the diagnosis of liver dysfunction or biliary tract disease but also for those of hematological malignancies or myogenic disorders; however, in patients with abnormal values of LDH, gamma-GT and ALP, clinical significance was not clarified in 53%, 38% and 59%, respectively. These results indicate that the "essential laboratory tests" are useful in the following aspects of primary care medicine: for (1) estimation of the degree or nature of infection or inflammatory status; (2) classification of anemia and its relation to underlying diseases; (3) evaluation of patient general condition and protein-producible function of liver; (4) evaluation of renal function; (5) ambulatory screening for metabolic diseases such as hyperlipidemia; and (6) diagnosis of liver and biliary tract diseases.
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PMID:[Laboratory tests in primary care medicine: "essential laboratory tests" (2). Usefulness of hematological, biochemical and serological tests in diagnosis of new outpatients]. 159 65

A young woman presented with high fever and edema in January, 1984, and was diagnosed as having systemic lupus erythematosus. Prednisolone administration failed to improve her symptoms. In May she was admitted to hospital because of elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), hypoproteinemia, hypogammaglobulinemia, hypocomplementemia, positive antinuclear antibody, elevated immune complex level, and diarrhea. Edema disappeared following administration of diuretics and albumin, although the pathogenesis was still undetermined. In September, she was referred to our institution because of severe watery diarrhea and hypoproteinemia. Endoscopic examination showed a diffuse inflammatory lesion in the duodenum and the colon. Radioisotopic 51Cr-albumin study results were compatible with protein-losing enteropathy. Hypoproteinemia and inflammatory changes of the intestine were improved by antibiotics, suggesting that the inflammatory lesion was caused by bacterial infection. Despite the improvements in clinical symptoms and laboratory findings, the serum IgA level was still low and the thrombocytopenia remained. The morphological characteristics of the megakaryocytes were consistent with idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura. In May, 1986, the thrombocytopenia deteriorated, causing purpura. Prednisolone was administered again, and this resulted in normalization of the platelet count, although the IgA level remained low. Finally the prednisolone was stopped, and the IgA level gradually recovered, with the improvement of the enterocolitis. The exact pathogenesis of the whole picture in this case is unclear, but an 8-year-long clinical course suggests that the protein-losing was caused by an infectious enterocolitis superimposed on IgA deficiency.
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PMID:A case of protein-losing enteropathy in idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura with decreased IgA. 806 5