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The Value of Signal Peptide‐CUB‐EGF Domain‐containing Protein‐1 (SCUBE1) in the Diagnosis of Pulmonary Embolism: A Preliminary Study
Author(s) -
Turkmen Suha,
Sahin Aynur,
Gunaydin Mucahit,
Sahin Sinan,
Mentese Ahmet,
Turedi Suleyman,
Karahan Suleyman Caner,
Ozsu Savas,
Gunduz Abdulkadir
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
academic emergency medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.221
H-Index - 124
eISSN - 1553-2712
pISSN - 1069-6563
DOI - 10.1111/acem.12721
Subject(s) - medicine , receiver operating characteristic , pulmonary embolism , confidence interval , gastroenterology , area under the curve , surgery
Objectives The diagnosis of pulmonary embolism ( PE ) in the emergency department still poses difficulties because symptoms and signs are nonspecific. There is a need for more reliable noninvasive diagnostic tests to support clinical suspicion before the costly invasive procedures with complication risks still used in the diagnosis of PE . Signal peptide‐ CUB (complement C1r/C1s, Uegf, and Bmp1)‐ EGF (epidermal growth factor) domain‐containing protein 1 ( SCUBE 1) is a novel, secreted cell surface protein expressed during early embryogenesis. The goal of this study was to compare the SCUBE 1 levels between PE patients and healthy subjects and also investigate the value of SCUBE 1 in the diagnosis of PE . Methods Eleven patients diagnosed with PE using spiral computerized tomographic pulmonary angiography were included in the study. A control group of 23 age‐matched, healthy volunteers served as a reference for biochemical parameters. Results Mean (± SD ) SCUBE 1 levels were 72.0 (±32.6) ng/ mL in the patients with PE and 31.4 (±13.8) ng/ mL in the control group. SCUBE 1 levels were significantly higher in the patients with PE (p = 0.001). Receiver operating characteristic ( ROC ) curve analysis was performed to determine cutoff thresholds in discriminating between PE and control group plasma SCUBE 1 levels. Area under the ROC for that purpose was 0.862 (95% confidence interval [ CI ] = 0.70 to 1). A SCUBE 1 cutoff point in patients with PE > 46 ng/ mL had specificity and sensitivity of 91% (95% CI = 0.70% to 0.98%) and 82% (95% CI = 0.48% to 0.97%), respectively. Conclusions This preliminary study suggests that plasma SCUBE 1 values have a good level of specificity for PE and may be of use in the diagnosis of PE . Further studies involving larger case series and also clinical studies are needed to corroborate these findings.