Objective To determine the role of serum procalcitonin(PCT)and C-reactive protein (CRP)in predicting spontaneous bacterial peritonitis(SBP)in patients with liver cirrhosis combined with ascites. Methods Ninety-eight patients with liver cirrhosis combined with ascites were enrolled, including 48 cases with SBP(SBP group)and 50 cases without SBP(non-SBP group).The levels of serum PCT and CRP were compared between 2 groups.The receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curves were used to evaluate the diagnostic SBP value of PCT and CRP levels in patients with liver cirrhosis combined with ascites.Results The serum PCT and CRP levels in SBP group were significantly higher than those in non-SBP group:3.90(6.95)μg/L vs.0.50(0.43)μg/L and 20.80(11.27)mg/L vs.10.87(6.22)mg/L, and there were statistical differences(P<0.01).The ROC cures results showed that the areas under the curve of serum PCT and CRP levels were 0.924(95% CI 0.860-0.987)and 0.852(95% CI 0.777-0.926), and the optimal cut-off of predicting SBP in patients with liver cirrhosis combined with ascites were 0.81 μg/L and 13.89 mg/L. The sensitivity was 91.7% and 85.4%, and the specificity was 80.0%and 70.0% respectively.The mortality in SBP group was significant higher than that in non-SBP group:20.83%(10/48)vs.6.00%(3/50),and there was statistical difference(P<0.05).In SBP group,the serum PCT and CRP levels in death patients were significant higher than those in survival patients: 13.00 (10.90) μg/L vs. 2.50 (5.30) μg/L and 35.40 (31.22) mg/L vs. 18.05(10.15) mg/L, and there were statistical differences(P<0.01 or<0.05).Conclusions The increase of serum PCT and CRP levels can be used as an important diagnostic index for SBP in patients with liver cirrhosis combined with ascites, and has predictive value for prognosis.

Objective To explore the impact of glucocorticoid on coagulation through administrating on rats with smoke inhalation.Methods Totally 150 male S-D rats were randomly (random number) divided into 5 groups:control group (ambient air inhalation),smoke group (smoke inhalation for 30 min),smoke+high dosage methyl prednisolone group(MP 40 mg/kg,intraperitoneal injection,s+HMP group),smoke+medium dosage MP (4 mg/kg) group (s+MMP group),smoke+low dosage MP (0.4 mg/kg) group (s+LMP group) (all n=30).Survival rates were calculated 24 h after smoke inhalation.Lung tissues were collected for histopathology and wet to dry (W/D) ratio.Arterial blood was collected for blood gas test.Coagulation factors in lung and plasma were tested.Results Survival rates of three MP groups were markedly improved compared with the smoke group (all P＜0.05),and was significantly higher in the medium dosage group(85.17％) than those in the low and high dosage groups (65.73％ and 60.07％,all P＜0.05).The W/D ratio and blood gas test were markedly improved in the high and medium groups (all P＜0.05).Tissue factor (TF) and thrombin-antithrombin complex (TAT-c) in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) increased dramatically after SI (P＜0.01,P=0.005) with a remarkable drop of factor Ⅱ (F Ⅱ) (P=0.007),all of which were attenuated by MP with dosage dependence.The mRNA expression of TF increased dramatically after SI and recovered significantly with MP administration,while the expression of thrombomodulin (TM) recovered in the opposite direction with MP,all of which were in a dosage dependent manner.TF,fibrinogen (FIB),TAT-c increased significantly in plasma after smoke inhalation (P＜0.01,P=0.027,P=0.005).F Ⅷ ％ increased with MP administration and TF was raised by high dosage MP compared with the smoke group.FIB and TAT-c were decreased in all MP groups,which were significant higher in the high and middle dosage groups.The change of TM and endothelial cell protein C receptor (EPCR) in circulation were similar with FIB or TAT-c with or without MP.Protein C (PC％) and antithrombin (AT Ⅲ ％) dropped dramatically after SI,high and middle dosages of MP could restore the activity significantly,while low dosage would restore AT Ⅲ ％ but not PC％.Conclusions Glucocorticoid can significantly improve local and systemical coagulation disorder caused by smoke inhalation,and high-and medium-dosage hormones are effective.The regulation of hormones on the coagulation system is an important mechanism in the treatment of smoke inhalation induced lung injury.