A novel biomarker in acute cholecystitis: YKL-40

Background: The lack of a specific biomarker that can be used in the diagnosis of acute cholecystitis, a common cause of admission to the emergency department, delays physician efforts to diagnose and treat these patients. Therefore, the aim of this study was to measure plasma YKL-40 levels and investigate their diagnostic value in patients with acute cholecystitis (AC). Methods: This study was carried out between February 2020 and September 2020 in the adult emergency department of a tertiary university hospital. Permission was obtained from the Ethics Committee of Scientific Research on 03/02/2020 with Decision No. 03/16. The study included 80 patients who were diagnosed with acute cholecystitis and 80 healthy volunteers without known chronic diseases. Results: The median YKL-40 protein level was 798.66 pq/mL in the patient group and 392.45 pq/mL in the control group. A statistically significant difference in YKL-40 protein levels was found between the two groups. YKL-40 protein levels were significantly higher in patients diagnosed with acute cholecystitis than in healthy individuals (p < 0.001). A positive correlation was found between YKL-40 protein levels and ALT, AST, LDH, and GGT levels (r = 0.272, p = 0.015; r = 0.397, p < 0.001; r = 0.386, p < 0.001; and r = 0.264, p = 0.018; respectively). Conclusion: When evaluated together with physical examination, radiological imaging and other laboratory parameters, we think that plasma YKL-40 levels can be used effectively in the diagnosis of acute cholecystitis. (c) 2023 Asian Surgical Association and Taiwan Robotic Surgery Association. Publishing services by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ by/4.0/).

Automated summary

This study aimed to measure plasma YKL-40 levels and investigate their diagnostic value in patients with acute cholecystitis. The results showed a significant difference in YKL-40 protein levels between patients with acute cholecystitis and healthy volunteers, and a positive correlation with ALT, AST, LDH, and GGT levels. Therefore, plasma YKL-40 levels can be effectively used in the diagnosis of acute cholecystitis when evaluated together with physical examination, radiological imaging, and other laboratory parameters.