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We present transmission optical coherence tomography (transmission OCT) as a versatile tool to measure optical material properties of turbid media. The transmission OCT signal is described in detail and it is demonstrated how the group refractive index (n(g)), group velocity dispersion (GVD) and optical attenuation can be determined from this signal. We experimentally validate the refractive index properties of glasses, liquids and glucose water solutions in terms of n(g) and GVD. Measurements of scattering coefficients are determined using transmission OCT for suspensions of silica particles. Quantitative agreement is obtained with a dependent scattering model, both for the average as well as the wavenumber resolved optical attenuation coefficient. Good agreement is observed between our measurements and literature values.

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Artificial neural networks (ANNs) are techniques of nonlinear data modeling that have been studied in a wide variety of medical applications. An ANN was developed to assist in the diagnosis of acute rejection in liver transplant recipients. We investigated the diagnostic accuracy of this ANN on a new data set of patients from the same hospital. In addition, we compared the diagnostic accuracy of the ANN with that of the individual input variables (alanine aminotransferase [ALT] and bilirubin levels and day posttransplantation). Clinical and biochemical data were collected retrospectively for 124 consecutive liver transplantations (117 patients) over the first 3 months after transplantation. Diagnostic accuracy was calculated using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. The ANN differentiated rejection from rejection-free episodes in the new data set over the first 3 months posttransplantation with an area under the ROC curve of 0.902 and sensitivity and specificity of 80.0% and 90.1% at the optimum decision threshold, respectively. The ANN was significantly more specific than ALT or bilirubin level or day posttransplantation at their corresponding optimum decision thresholds (P <.0001). Peak ANN output occurred 1 day earlier than peak values for either ALT or bilirubin (P <.005). The diagnostic accuracy of the ANN was greater than that of any of the individual variables that had been used as inputs. It would be a useful adjunct to conventional liver function tests for monitoring liver transplant recipients in the early postoperative period.

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Recipients of organ transplants remain particularly dependent on prednisolone as part of their maintenance immunosuppression. Despite this, the pharmacokinetics of prednisolone have never been fully characterized in these patients, and consequently dosing remains empirical. Accurate monitoring of prednisolone, its primary metabolite prednisone, and endogenous cortisol suppression in such patients may provide a means of improving the clinical outcome by adjusting for variability in prednisolone pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics. Measurement of endogenous cortisol may provide an independent marker of prednisolone pharmacodynamics. A simple isocratic reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography procedure, using betamethasone as an internal standard, was developed to quantify plasma prednisolone, prednisone, and cortisol simultaneously. The steroids were extracted from 0.5 mL plasma with 3 mL (1:1 v/v) ethyl acetate/tert-methyl butyl ether and 0.1 mL phosphoric acid, washed in 0.1 mol/L NaOH before a final drying step and reconstitution in mobile phase for injection. Separation was achieved using a Supelcosil LC-18-DB, 150 x 4.6-mm, 5-microm particle size, reverse-phase column attached to a Newguard 15 x 3-mm, RP8 guard column maintained at 25 degreesC, with ultraviolet detector set at 254 nm. The mobile phase consisted of 16% isopropanol in water containing 0.1% trifluoroacetic acid, set at a flow rate of 1.2 mL/min. The assay was linear up to 1,002 microg/L for prednisolone, 982 microg/L for prednisone, and 545 microg/L for cortisol. Mean intra-assay and interassay imprecision levels were 6.0% and 7.2%, respectively, for prednisolone, 5.8% and 7.2% for prednisone, and 5.6% and 7.9% for cortisol. Intra-assay inaccuracy was <7% of nominal values for prednisolone, prednisone, and cortisol. The lower limit of quantification was 7 microg/L for prednisolone and prednisone and 10 microg/L for cortisol. Corticosteroid recoveries were 73%, 74%, and 90% for prednisolone, prednisone, and cortisol, respectively. The authors describe a robust, inexpensive, and simple method suitable for therapeutic drug monitoring or pharmacokinetic studies of prednisolone; it may also be used to measure the suppression of endogenous cortisol production.

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In the early postoperative period after solid organ transplantation, the patient is monitored intensively to detect the early development of surgical and infectious complications or allograft rejection. Laboratory tests form an essential component of the routine monitoring protocol-particularly those that are of diagnostic value in assessing graft function. In this paper, we illustrate how a new liver-function test, alpha-glutathione S-transferase immunoassay, was subjected to systematic technical and clinical evaluation in the liver-transplant population, including a randomized, controlled trial that provided the evidence for its introduction into the routine laboratory. We also illustrate how the carefully controlled monitoring in a clinical trial is difficult to reproduce under routine circumstances and the crucial role of audit in ensuring that recommendations governing the use of a new diagnostic test are adhered to in clinical practice. Finally, we describe an "equivalence study," whereby our rigorous validation of the alpha-glutathione S-transferase assay has enabled us to fast-track the development of a simpler and cheaper liver function test (fructose 1,6-bisphosphatase), which shares similar diagnostic characteristic to alpha-glutathione S-transferase, without the requirement for a further clinical trial.

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BACKGROUND: Increases in blood eosinophil counts (EOS) beyond 0.06 x 10(9)/liter precede treated heart allograft rejection. An oral prednisolone dose of 0.35 mg/kg/day usually suppresses EOS below this threshold. METHODS: We designed a randomized trial to compare our empirical protocol for steroid dose adjustment with a novel protocol guided by EOS monitoring during the first 3 months after heart transplantation. Eighty patients were randomized to either have their EOS reported and used for steroid dose adjustment (RG; n=40), or not reported (NG; n=40). RG patients had their steroid dosage increased if EOS exceeded 0.06 x 10(9)/liter. RESULTS: RG patients had an 83% lower risk of treated rejection (P=0.035) and lower median intravenous dose of methyl-prednisolone (P=0.017) than NG during the first 6 postoperative weeks. The proportion of diagnostic increases in EOS that were followed within 2 weeks by treated rejection was 42% greater in NG than RG (P=0.0001), compatible with a direct impact of EOS-guided prednisolone dose adjustment on the risk of subsequent rejection. Overall, RG had less than half the risk of rejection of any grade (P<0.001) and significantly more rejection-free biopsies than NG (P=0.001). The mean oral prednisolone dosage was significantly greater in RG than NG during the first (P=0.014) and second (P=0.001) 6 weeks of follow-up. This did not increase the incidence of serious steroid-related side effects. CONCLUSIONS: EOS monitoring is a simple, cheap, and effective means of optimizing steroid immunosuppression. Restriction of the EOS-guided steroid dosing protocol to periods of prolonged hospitalisation during the first 3 postoperative months should limit the requirement for higher prednisolone dosage without affecting immunosuppressive efficacy.

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This paper explores the potential for the application of neurocomputing in on-line monitoring in the liver transplantation domain. It extends our previously documented work to provide both an assessment of the performance gains achievable by incorporating temporal and dynamical information about the measurements made on a patient as well as presenting a novel computerized clinical decision aid for this domain. A comparison of the performance of linear and nonlinear classification system is made and used to motivate the final selection of the diagnostic inputs.

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BACKGROUND: Transforming growth factor beta-1 (TGFbeta1) is pro-fibrotic in addition to being a potent immunosuppressive cytokine. Cyclosporine (cyclosporin A[CsA]) has been found to increase circulating TGFbeta1 levels in patients (1, 2). To determine whether tacrolimus (FK506) similarly increases TGFbeta1 we have measured TGFbeta levels in blood samples from liver graft recipients who were of known TGFbeta1-responder status. METHODS: Sequential serum and plasma samples were obtained from liver transplant recipients in the UK trial of tacrolimus versus microemulsified CsA, with a follow up period of between 50 and 265 days. Twelve patients received CsA and 13 received tacrolimus. Active and total TGFbeta1 protein were measured and plasma beta thromboglobulin (betaTG) levels were used as an indirect indication of platelet-derived TGFbeta contamination of samples. RESULTS: We found no correlation between trough drug levels and active TGFbeta1 levels in serum of either set of patients. Plasma beta thromboglobulin was detected in platelet-depleted plasma samples, indicative of platelet damage before plasma separation. CONCLUSION: Neither CsA nor tacrolimus induced active TGFbeta1 blood levels in liver transplant recipients during a follow up period of < or = 265 days.

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The increasing interest in the measurement of serum C-reactive protein in relation to the risk stratification of patients with chest pain has demonstrated the need for more sensitive routine methods of measurement and an accurate definition of the reference range. We report the determination of a reference range in serum samples from 491 blood donors using a particle enhanced turbidimetric immunoassay that has been modified to offer better imprecision within the reference range. The median values were found to be 2.40 and 2.20 mg/l for males and females, respectively with 95th percentile range of 1.20-5.20 and 0.40-5.40 mg/l, respectively.

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The greater and more consistent absorption of cyclosporine from the microemulsion formulation (Neoral; Novartis Pharmaceuticals Ltd., Frimley, UK) when compared with that from the original form (Sandimmune; Novartis Pharmaceuticals Ltd., Frimley, UK) results in greater systemic exposure. Lung transplant recipients could particularly benefit from this enhanced exposure, but not at the expense of excessive cyclosporine toxicity. We compared the pharmacodynamics of Neoral and Sandimmune over the first postoperative year in 50 lung transplant recipients. Twenty-eight patients were randomly selected to receive Neoral and 22 to receive Sandimmune. Nine patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) were randomly selected independently (5, Neoral; 4, Sandimmune). Patients were maintained on similar trough blood cyclosporine concentrations (C0) throughout the 12-month follow-up. A limited blood sampling strategy was adopted to compare the pharmacokinetics of the two formulations at the end of weeks 1 to 4, and of weeks 13, 26, 39, 52. The influence of any difference between the pharmacokinetics of Neoral and Sandimmune on either efficacy or toxicity of the drug was investigated during the follow-up period. Patients in the Neoral and the Sandimmune groups were matched demographically. There were no differences in dose-normalized blood cyclosporine concentrations measured predose (C0) or 6 hours postdose between the two groups. However, the measurement at 2 hours postdose (C2) and the total AUC0-6 were significantly greater in the Neoral group in both CF and non-CF patients at all visits (p < 0.001). Non-CF patients required 9% lower doses of Neoral to achieve comparable C0 measurements to those patients receiving Sandimmune. However, patients with CF required 2 to 3 times the dose of both Neoral and Sandimmune to achieve the same C0 as non-CF patients. The linear rejection rate in the Sandimmune group was 1.87 episodes per patient year, which was similar to the rejection rate of 1.97 episodes per patient year in the Neoral group. Serial lung function, blood biochemistry and hematology, mortality and the incidence of severe renal dysfunction, hypertension, infection, seizures, and new-onset diabetes were all similar in the two groups. Despite equivalent C0, those in the Neoral group were consistently exposed to greater blood cyclosporine concentrations during the dosing interval than those in the Sandimmune group. This did not increase the incidence of serious cyclosporine-associated side effects or influence the rate of acute rejection either. When data from the Neoral and Sandimmune groups were combined, measurements of C0 but not C2 or C6 were associated with the risk of acute lung allograft rejection.

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Patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection are often asymptomatic with few clinical signs of liver disease. Recognition of the presence of fibrosis or cirrhosis is difficult without liver biopsy, but with the availability of effective treatments, such as interferon, and the potential for progression to hepatoma in some cases, an accurate measure of the stage of disease is important. Serum hyaluronic acid (HA) has been identified as a potential marker of fibrosis or cirrhosis in other settings. In a prospective study in 130 chronic HCV carriers therefore, serum HA concentrations were compared with conventional liver function tests (including alanine aminotransferase (ALT), a-glutathione-S transferase (GST) and serum HCV RNA in order to determine which identified the stage of liver fibrosis as assessed by liver biopsy most accurately. The median HA concentrations according to the stage of fibrosis 0, 1 & 2, 3 and 4 & 5 were 17 g l-1 (range 5-37), 17 g l-1 (5-80), 30 g l-1 (10-105) and 350 g l-1 (20-800) respectively. The median HA concentration in stage 4 & 5 was significantly greater than in stages 0, 1 & 2 or 3. Serum HA concentration rose with age, but even when adjusted for age the median HA at stage 4 & 5 was greater than all other groups (95% CI of difference between the medians exceeded 0). Thus, serum HA gave a sensitivity and specificity for stage 4 & 5 fibrosis of 85% and 88% respectively, exceeding those for ALT or GST. In contrast, serum ALT or GST levels were not correlated with the stage of fibrosis although ALT was significantly greater in the cirrhotic group when compared to the group with no fibrosis (stage 0). There was no correlation between serum HA and either the grade of inflammatory changes or serum HCV RNA. These results suggest that serum hyaluronic acid is a useful marker of liver fibrosis in patients with chronic HCV infection. It could therefore be used to monitor patients at risk of progressive fibrosis, in controlled clinical trials, as a measure of response to antifibrotic therapy and in those in whom liver biopsy is difficult or contraindicated.

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BACKGROUND: Portal tract eosinophil infiltration and an increase in the blood eosinophil count (EOS) have been shown to be specific markers of liver allograft rejection. The graft eosinophil infiltration is associated with the local release of eosinophil cationic protein. Therefore, serum eosinophil cationic protein concentration (ECP) is a potential marker for acute allograft rejection. We investigated the chronological relationship among and diagnostic value of serial changes in EOS, ECP, and liver function tests (LFTs) following liver transplantation. METHODS: EOS, ECP, serum alpha-glutathione S-transferase concentration, and conventional LFTs were measured in serial samples collected over the first 3 postoperative months following 58 liver transplants. The diagnostic potential of each test, alone or in combination, was reviewed over the entire follow-up period. RESULTS: EOS and ECP increased at a median period of 3.5 and 4 days, respectively, before the diagnosis of acute rejection, and this increase was significantly earlier than the corresponding changes in LFTs (P<0.05). There was a significant correlation between the day of the first increase in EOS and alpha-glutathione S-transferase (rs=0.535; P=0.009) and EOS and alanine transaminase (rs=0.629; P=0.004). The optimum combination of tests for the diagnosis of acute rejection was an increase in both EOS and GST with a predictive efficiency of 84%. CONCLUSIONS: Increases in EOS and ECP are early indicators of acute liver allograft rejection and precede evidence of hepatocellular damage. However, an increase in ECP was also frequently associated with infection. Therefore, we recommend the regular monitoring of EOS in conjunction with routine LFTs after liver transplantation as an aid to the early diagnosis of acute rejection.

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BACKGROUND: Peripheral blood eosinophilia is a particularly early and specific marker of both renal and hepatic allograft rejection. Therefore we evaluated the relationship between blood eosinophil counts and cardiac and pulmonary allograft rejection. METHODS: Differential blood counts were available within 3 days before 383 endomyocardial biopsy specimens in 56 heart transplant recipients. Blood counts were also available before 84 treated rejection episodes and 28 transbronchial biopsy specimens showing no rejection in 58 lung transplant recipients. RESULTS: Cardiac allograft rejection: There was a significant association between the mean maximum blood eosinophil count and treated acute rejection (p < 0.01) and a linear relationship between this eosinophil count and the histologic grade of rejection (p < 0.01). The first increase in eosinophils occurred at a median of 4 days before treated rejection. Pulmonary allograft rejection: The mean maximum blood eosinophil count was 0.14 x 10(9)/L (95% confidence interval = 0.10, 0.18) preceding treated rejection, and this was significantly greater than the mean maximum blood eosinophil count of 0.07 x 10(9)/L (confidence interval = 0.05, 0.09) measured when there was no rejection or during infection (p = 0.01). The first increase in eosinophil occurred at a median of 5 days before treated rejection. There was no relationship between blood neutrophil counts and either cardiac or pulmonary allograft rejection. CONCLUSIONS: An increase in peripheral blood eosinophils but not neutrophils is a specific and early marker of clinically significant rejection of both cardiac and pulmonary allografts. Furthermore, the maximum blood eosinophil count measured in the 3 days before rejection is linearly related to the severity of cardiac allograft rejection.

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BACKGROUND: An increase in serum alpha-glutathione S-transferase concentration (GST) has been shown to be a more sensitive and specific marker of hepatocellular damage than equivalent increases in transaminase activities. A randomized clinical trial of 60 liver transplants in 49 patients was carried out to assess the clinical benefits of GST monitoring as a supplementary test to routine liver function tests during the first 3 postoperative months after liver transplantation. METHODS: Mortality and morbidity were compared in graft recipients who had their GST reported daily to the ward (reporting group) and graft recipients who did not. RESULTS: The 3-month survival rate was significantly greater in the reporting group (P=0.033) and the risk of graft loss was halved (relative hazard ratio=0.50; P=0.29). The reporting group also had significantly more patients who spent less than 3 weeks in the hospital throughout the follow-up period (P=0.036). In addition, the reporting group experienced a lower frequency of biopsies per graft (P=0.038), less severe rejection (P=0.015), and a lower incidence of infection episodes per graft (P=0.03). GST increased by >50% above the upper limit of the reference range at a median of 1 day before the equivalent change in alanine transaminase in association with allograft rejection in the combined groups (95% confidence interval=1 to 2 days) but was lower on the day of diagnosis of rejection in the reporting group (P=0.02). This is compatible with the earlier diagnosis of rejection in the reporting group. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that the monitoring of GST may improve patient care, reducing both mortality and morbidity.

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We have attempted to determine the optimal clinical use of cyclosporine during the first 3 months after heart transplantation. We used multiple logistic regression to quantify how blood cyclosporine concentrations and other potential risk factors influence the risk of histologically confirmed acute rejection in 111 heart transplant recipients. A 50% increase in cyclosporine concentration was associated with a 15% reduction in risk of rejection in the subsequent 5 days (P=0.002). Increasing oral corticosteroid dose also protected against rejection (P=0.01). Rejection was over 2.5 times more likely during the first 20 postoperative days, and patients with 2 HLA-DR mismatches who were transplanted for cardiomyopathy or who had multiple previous rejection episodes were predisposed to further rejection (P<0.01). High short-term variability in cyclosporine concentrations was weakly associated with risk of rejection (P=0.1). Investigation of threshold levels for the cyclosporine concentration-effect relationship suggested that concentrations above 375 microgram L(-1) provide optimal protection against acute cardiac allograft rejection. This result yields an objectively defined therapeutic threshold for targeting early cyclosporine concentrations following heart transplantation, although the upper end of the range will depend on the individual's susceptibility to nephrotoxicity and infection.

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We have attempted to quantify the optimal clinical use of cyclosporine during the first 3 months after heart-lung transplantation. We used multiple logistic regression to investigate the influence of blood cyclosporine concentrations and other potential risk factors on histologically confirmed acute lung rejection in 50 heart-lung transplant recipients. A 50% increase in cyclosporine concentration was associated with a 25% reduction in risk of rejection in the subsequent 5 days (P=0.008). Increasing oral corticosteroid dose also protected against rejection (P=0.006). Rejection was over 4 times more likely to occur during the first 20 postoperative days (P=0.002). After 20 days, an FEV1 < or = 70% of the age-, sex-, and height-adjusted expected score was associated with a 4-fold increase in risk of rejection (P=0.01). Patients who had multiple previous rejection episodes were also predisposed to further rejection (P=0.005). An investigation of threshold levels for the cyclosporine concentration-effect relationship suggested that cyclosporine concentrations above 500 microg L(-1) provide optimal protection against acute lung allograft rejection. This result provides an objectively defined therapeutic threshold for targeting early cyclosporine concentrations following heart-lung transplantation.

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A commercially available enzyme-immunometric assay for serum alpha-glutathione S-transferase (GST) was evaluated. Endogenous serum alpha-GST diluted linearly within the calibration range. However, we recommend that the sample and second antibody reagent are always added sequentially in the assay to avoid hook effect. Between-assay variability was below 7% across the calibration range and the upper limit of the reference range in adults (n = 219) was 11.4 micrograms/L. Within-individual variability in serum alpha-GST concentrations measured over a 4-6 week period in 4 healthy adults was small. Serum alpha-GST concentrations did not change significantly 6 h after a therapeutic dose of paracetamol. Studies in two patients after liver transplantation showed that serum alpha-GST is a better discriminant of acute changes in liver function than conventional tests. Serum alpha-GST concentrations were unaffected by gross muscle damage, extrahepatic inflammation, or haemolysis and thus appear to be more liver specific than transaminase activities. The effect of renal impairment on serum alpha-GST concentrations requires further investigation.

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