title: Elastase: a predictive marker of inflammation and/or infection.
abstract: The present study was undertaken to estimate elastase in biological fluids and assess its usefulness as an indicator of inflammation/infection. Elastase was measured in seminal plasma, serum, urine, and cervical specimens using a specific substrate and was expressed in arbitrary units (AU). It was found to be stable over a period of 3 weeks. The intra- and interassay variation of elastase assay was between 2.3 to 6.8% and 7.3 to 9.9%, respectively. The assay was validated by comparing it with other methods that are available for the detection of infections. Sensitivity of the assay indicating inflammation/infection in these samples varied between 70.9 to 87.3%. The results obtained suggest that the presence of elastase in specimens may be used as a nonspecific indicator and could be used to screen inflammation/infection in a limited resource setting.
authors.affiliation: National Institute for Research in Reproductive Health, Indian Council of Medical Research, Mumbai, India. jayantijem@rediffmail.com
authors.forename: Jayanti
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mania-Pramanik
authors.forename: Shobha S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Potdar
authors.forename: Ashok
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Vadigoppula
authors.forename: Shankar
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sawant
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000201:enzymology*; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000032:analysis*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007247:Infertility, Female / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000382:microbiology; D007248:Infertility, Male / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000382:microbiology; D007249:Inflammation / Q000201:enzymology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010196:Pancreatic Elastase / Q000032:analysis*; D012661:Semen / Q000201:enzymology / Q000382:microbiology; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014019:Tissue Donors; D014556:Urine / Q000382:microbiology; D014626:Vaginal Smears
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D010196:Pancreatic Elastase