1.Diagnostic performance of prostate health index (PHI) in predicting prostate cancer on prostate biopsy
The Malaysian Journal of Pathology 2020;42(2):209-214
Prostate health index (PHI) has been shown to have better diagnostic accuracy in
predicting prostate cancer (PCa) in men with total prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels between
4-10ng/ml. However, little is known of its value in men with elevated PSA beyond this range. This
study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic performance of PHI in Malaysian men with elevated PSA
values ≤ 20ng/ml. Materials and Methods: From March 2015 to August 2016, all men consecutively
undergoing transrectal ultrasound (TRUS)-guided prostate biopsy with total PSA values ≤ 20ng/
ml were recruited. Blood samples were taken immediately before undergoing prostate biopsy.
The performance of total PSA, %fPSA, %p2PSA and PHI in determining the presence of PCa on
prostate biopsy were compared. Results: PCa was diagnosed in 25 of 84 patients (29.7%). %p2PSA
and PHI values were significantly higher (p<0.05) in patients with PCa than those without PCa.
The areas under the receiver operating characteristic curves for total PSA, %fPSA, %p2PSA and
PHI were 0.558, 0.560, 0.734 and 0.746, respectively. At 90% sensitivity, the specificity of PHI
(42.4%) was five times better than total PSA (8.5%) and two times better than %fPSA (20.3%).
By utilising PHI cut-off >22.52, 27 of 84 (32.1%) patients could have avoided undergoing biopsy.
Conclusion: Findings of our study support the potential clinical effectiveness of PHI in predicting
PCa in a wider concentration range of total PSA up to 20ng/ml.
2.A Case Report on Biochemical Aberrations in Disseminated Histoplasmosis: The Clues Toward Addison’s Disease
Izzatul Aliaa Badaruddin ; Dian Nasriana Nasuruddin ; Hanita Othman ; Munirah Mansor
Malaysian Journal of Medicine and Health Sciences 2020;16(No.1):348-350
The incidence of Addison’s disease (AD) is rare. One of the most common causes of AD in developed countries is autoimmune. On the other hand, in developing countries, infective causes still predominate. The symptoms are mostly insidious in onset and non-specific, making it challenging to diagnose AD. The delay in starting the right treatment predisposes to high mortality due to Addison’s crisis. Hence, biochemical parameters play a vital role in diagnosing AD since they usually will present with prominent hyponatraemia, hyperkalaemia and hypoglycaemia. Here, we report a case of a 66-year-old man with multiple co-morbidities and disseminated histoplasmosis who presented with asymptomatic hyponatraemia and hyperkalaemia and was eventually diagnosed with Addison’s disease. Although the non-specific symptoms from his multiple co-morbidities obscured the diagnosis of AD, comprehensive biochemical tests have helped in establishing the diagnosis.