{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,21]],"date-time":"2026-02-21T09:37:35Z","timestamp":1771666655334,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":29,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"4","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2023,2,18]],"date-time":"2023-02-18T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1676678400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"\u201cIuliu Ha\u021bieganu\u201d University of Medicine and Pharmacy Cluj-Napoca, Romania, Doctoral Research Program","award":["PCD 1529\/50"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["PCD 1529\/50"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["JCM"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Gallstones are a common surgical pathology. Laparoscopic cholecystectomy represents the elective treatment. Complicated cases can increase the rate of conversion, the duration, and the difficulty of the intervention, along with the hospitalization period. A prospective cohort study was conducted on 51 patients with gallstones. Only subjects with normal renal, pancreatic, and hepatic functions were included. The severity of cholecystitis was evaluated by considering the ultrasound examination, intraoperative findings, and pathology report. We evaluated two potential biomarkers, namely neopterin and chitotriosidase, by comparing their levels before and after the intervention for chronic (n = 36) and complicated (n = 15) cases, as well as their eventual association with the hospitalization period. Subjects with complicated cholecystitis had significantly higher (p = 0.01) neopterin levels at presentation (16.82 nmol\/L vs. 11.92 nmol\/L, median values), but the differences in chitotriosidase activity between complicated (170.00 nmol\/mL\/h) and chronic (160.00 nmol\/mL\/h) cases were not significant (p = 0.66). Patients with neopterin levels above the cut-off value 14.69 nmol\/L had a 3.34 times higher risk of complicated cholecystitis. Twenty-four hours after the laparoscopic cholecystectomy, the differences in neopterin level and chitotriosidase activity between chronic and complicated cases were not significant. A significant decrease in chitotriosidase activity was observed after the intervention, only for complicated cases (190 nmol\/mL\/h vs. 145 nmol\/mL\/h, p = 0.007); for neopterin, the postoperative decrease was not statistically significant (19.42 nmol\/L vs. 10.92 nmol\/L, p = 0.06). No significant association with the hospitalization period was observed. Neopterin may be a useful biomarker for complicated cholecystitis, and chitotriosidase may have prognostic utility in early patient follow-up.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/jcm12041641","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,2,20]],"date-time":"2023-02-20T02:02:09Z","timestamp":1676858529000},"page":"1641","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":6,"title":["Chitotriosidase and Neopterin as Potential Biomarkers for the Evaluation of Complicated Cholecystitis\u2014A Pilot Study"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"12","author":[{"given":"Vlad-Ionu\u0163","family":"Nechita","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medical Informatics and Biostatistics, Iuliu Ha\u021bieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Louis Pasteur Str. No. 6, 400349 Cluj-Napoca, Romania"},{"name":"Octavian Fodor Regional Institute of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, 400162 Cluj-Napoca, Romania"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Nadim Al","family":"Hajjar","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Octavian Fodor Regional Institute of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, 400162 Cluj-Napoca, Romania"},{"name":"Department of Surgery, Iuliu Ha\u021bieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Croitorilor Str. No. 19\u201321, 400162 Cluj-Napoca, Romania"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9136-2530","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Cristina","family":"Drugan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medical Biochemistry, Iuliu Ha\u0163ieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Louis Pasteur Str. No. 6, 400349 Cluj-Napoca, Romania"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Cristina-Sorina","family":"C\u0103tan\u0103","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medical Biochemistry, Iuliu Ha\u0163ieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Louis Pasteur Str. No. 6, 400349 Cluj-Napoca, Romania"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Emil","family":"Moi\u015f","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Octavian Fodor Regional Institute of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, 400162 Cluj-Napoca, Romania"},{"name":"Department of Surgery, Iuliu Ha\u021bieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Croitorilor Str. No. 19\u201321, 400162 Cluj-Napoca, Romania"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Mihaela-Ancu\u0163a","family":"Nechita","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Ion Chiricu\u021b\u0103 Oncology Institute, Republicii Str. No. 34\u201336, 400015 Cluj-Napoca, Romania"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5887-3408","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Florin","family":"Graur","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Octavian Fodor Regional Institute of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, 400162 Cluj-Napoca, Romania"},{"name":"Department of Surgery, Iuliu Ha\u021bieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Croitorilor Str. No. 19\u201321, 400162 Cluj-Napoca, Romania"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,2,18]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"Sorrentino, S.A. (2022, November 27). Gallstones. Radiology Reference Article. 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