The purpose of the study is to clarify whether serum proteins such as immunoglobullns and others and CRP as well as ESR may be usefull as diagnostic and therapeutic parameters in urinary tract infections. The investigated serum proteins other than IgM, IgG and C
3 are prealbumin (Pre), ceruloplasmin (Cp), α
2HS glycoprotein (α
2HS), transferrin (Tf), C
3-activator (C
3-A), β
2glycoprotein I (β
2I) and CRP.
The levels of these serum proteins and ESR were measured in 140 cases with urinary tract infection (UTI) and 25 healthy adult controls.
The results obtained in this study were as follows:
1. ESR is presumably useful for differential diagnosis between upper and lower UTI except upper UTI with negative CRP. ESR and CRP may reflect the therapeutic effectiveness of upper UTI. Serum IgG level increased in patients with chronic UTI, but the range seems to vary in individuals. On the other hand, the increase of serum IgM level was predominant in the patients with acute UTI, and it was thought to be useful as a diagnostic parameter in acute UTI.
2. A tedency of rising of Cp, C
3 and C
3-A levels was noted in patients with every group of UTI and the degree of elevation of the level was remarkable in febrile patients with upper UTI.
3. The levels of Pre and α
2HS were inclined to decrease in the patients with UTI, and there existed a significant difference between normal controls and febrile patients with upper UTI. Clinical usefulness of Tf was not recognized. The level of β
2I increased only in patients with exacerbation of chronic pyelonephritis (PN), so that the rising of β
2I level is thought to be useful in differential diagnosis between exacerbation of chronic PN and acute simple PN.
4. The level of Pre and α
2HS in patients with chronic PN with positive CRP approximate to those in patients with exacerbation of chronic PN, while the levels of these proteins in patients with chronic PN with negative CRP showed no significant difference from normal controls. Moreover, in patients with chronic PN with negative CRP the mean of Cp, C
3 and C
3-A levels revealed statistically lower than those in patients with chronic PN with positive CRP and with exacerbation of chronic PN. These results indicate that patients with chronic PN with positive CRP was in the latent phase of an exacerbation of chronic PN.
5. As the patients recover from acute simple PN, the level of CRP returns to normal rapidly, and then Pre, α
2HS, C
3 and C
3-A follow in this order. The time point when Cp and ESR return to normal range is presumably later than the other serum proteins. In order to determine clinical healing of acute PN, it is thought that CRP reacts too rapidly and ESR does too late. Accordingly, Pre, α
2HS, C
3 and C
3-A are thought to be clinically valuable as therapeutic parameters of UTI, but more investigation may be necessary to clarify the meaning of them in UTI.
On the other hand, in patients with exacerbation of chronic PN, normalization of these serum protein levels seems to be delayed as compared with that in patients with acute PN. These data suggest that patients with exacerbation of chronic PN have to be treated for a longer period than those with acute PN.
6. The fact that these serum proteins are not specific and necessarily correlate to UTI and react to associated inflammation and infection in other organs is well known. However, the results of the study strongly indicate that these serum proteins closely correlate to clinical course of UTI and may be good parameters in the diagnosis and treatment of UTI.
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