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Monitoring Tests (monitoring + test)

Distribution by Scientific Domains
Medical Sciences75%

Selected Abstracts

Effectiveness of screening and monitoring tests for diabetic retinopathy , a systematic review

DIABETIC MEDICINE, Issue 7 2000
A. Hutchinson
SUMMARY Aims To determine which screening and monitoring tests for diabetic retinopathy are most effective and under what circumstances. Methods A systematic review of the English language literature, published from 1983 to April 1999. Results Available studies are generally limited in their ability to answer the important questions on the effectiveness of tests for early detection of diabetic retinopathy. No randomized controlled trials were identified although primary studies exist for two screening tests: ophthalmoscopy, either direct or indirect, and retinal photography, using either mydriasis or non-mydriasis. Retinal photography under mydriasis appears to be the most effective test, with the majority reporting levels of sensitivity in excess of 80%. However effectiveness is compromised when photographs are ungradable. Ophthalmoscopy can also reach acceptable standards of sensitivity and specificity. Conclusion Based on an assessment of available cohort studies, the most effective strategy for testing is the use of mydriatic retinal photography with the additional use of ophthalmoscopy for cases where photographs are ungradable. This does not exclude the use of ophthalmoscopy alone for opportunistic case finding but there is evidence of considerable variation in effectiveness of this test. [source]

Fate of air toxics and VOCs in the odor control scrubbers at the deer island treatment plant

ENVIRONMENTAL PROGRESS & SUSTAINABLE ENERGY, Issue 4 2000
Thomas Myslinski
Process off-gases at the Deer Island wastewater treatment plant in Boston are collected and treated and its stack emissions regulated for selected gases including volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which are monitored as nonmethane hydrocarbons (NMHC). The air treatment processes of countercurrent wet oxidation scrubbing and granulated activated carbon adsorption are available for emissions control at Deer Island. In addition, since the wastewater treatment process of biochemical oxidation is fully enclosed at the site, microbial destruction of VOCs is an intrinsic treatment process for organic gases. Surveyed results of wastewater research literature indicate that the use of scrubbers for the removal of VOCs is controversial, as the fate of volatile hydrocarbon molecules across odor control scrubbers is complex and not fully understood. Continuous emission monitoring tests across the Deer Island scrubbers have consistently shown a VOC removal efficiency in excess of 50%. The fate of the scrubber inlet VOCs at Deer Island was researched as part of a plant-wide, on-going VOC study. Removal efficiencies across the pure oxygen bioreactors were also investigated. Preliminary results of this study indicate chemical reactions involving VOCs in odor control scrubbers partially oxidize and chlorinate derivatives possibly destroying a fraction of the compounds by complete oxidation. In addition, VOC reduction across the enclosed aerobic bioreactors was found to be significant. This article represents the opinions and(legal) conclusions of the authors and not necessarily those of the MWRA. [source]

Laboratory monitoring of new anticoagulants,

AMERICAN JOURNAL OF HEMATOLOGY, Issue 3 2010
Donna D. Castellone
Maintaining a balance between bleeding and clotting has always been a challenge in treating coagulation disorders. A perturbation in that balance can be associated with substantial morbidity and mortality. As a result, anticoagulant monitoring is extremely important, and inappropriate testing may lead to complications. There are now a variety of new anticoagulant drugs in clinical use including several direct thrombin inhibitors (DTIs), such as argatroban, bivalirudin, and hirudin, as well as a Factor Xa inhibitor, fondaparinux. There are pitfalls associated with some of the currently used laboratory monitoring tests, and newer alternative laboratory monitoring tests have been investigated (Walenga and Hoppensteadt, Semin Thromb Hemost 2004;30:683,695). In addition, laboratory testing can assist with transitioning patients from DTI to warfarin therapy. Am. J. Hematol. 2010. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]