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Criteria Alone (criterion + alone)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Medical Sciences	75%

Selected Abstracts

NON-GYNAECOLOGICAL CYTOLOGY: THE CLINICIAN'S VIEW

CYTOPATHOLOGY, Issue 2006
I. Penman
There is increased recognition of the importance of accurate staging of malignancies of the GI tract and lung, greater use of neoadjuvant therapies and more protocol-driven management. This is particularly important where regional lymph node involvement significantly impacts on curability. Multidetector CT and PET scanning have resulted in greater detection of potential abnormalities which, if positive for malignancy, would change management. There is also a greater recognition that many enlarged nodes may be inflammatory and that size criteria alone are unreliable in determining involvement. In other situations, especially pancreatic masses, not all represent carcinoma as focal chronic pancreatitis, autoimmune pancreatitis etc can catch out the unwary. A preoperative tissue diagnosis is essential and even if unresectable, oncologists are increasingly reluctant to initiate chemotherapy or enroll patients into trials without this. The approach to obtaining tissue is often hampered by the small size or relative inaccessibility of lesions by percutaneous approaches. As such novel techniques such as endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) guided FNA have been developed. A 120cm needle is passed through the instrument and, under real-time visualisation, through the gastrointestinal wall to sample adjacent lymph nodes or masses. Multiple studies have demonstrated the safety and performance of this technique. In oesophageal cancer, confirmation of node positivity by has a major negative influence on curative resection rates and will often lead to a decision to use neoadjuvant chemotherapy or a non-operative approach. Sampling of lymph nodes at the true coeliac axis upstages the patient to M1a status (stage IV) disease and makes the patient incurable. In NSCLC, subcarinal lymph nodes are frequently present but may be inflammatory. If positive these represent N2 (stage IIIA) disease and in most centres again makes the patient inoperable. Access to these lymph nodes would otherwise require mediastinosocopy whereas this can be done simply, safely and quickly by EUS. Overall the sensitivity for EUS , FNA of mediastinal or upper abdominal lymph nodes is 83,90% with an accuracy of 80,90%. In pancreatic cancer performance is less good but pooled analysis of published studies indicates a sensitivity of 85% and accuracy of 88%. In a recent spin-off from EUS, endobronchial ultrasound (EBUS) instruments have been developed and the ability to sample anterior mediastinal nodes has been demonstrated. It is likely that this EBUS , FNA technique will become increasingly utilised and may replace mediastinoscopy. The development of techniques such as EUS and EBUS to allow FNA sampling of lesions has increased the role of non-gynaecological cytology significantly in recent years. Cytology therefore remains important for a broad range of specialties and there is ongoing need for careful and close co-operation between cytologists and clinicians in these specialties. References:, 1. Williams DB, Sahai AV, Aabakken L, Penman ID, van Velse A, Webb J et al. Endoscopic ultrasound guided fine needle aspiration biopsy: a large single centre experience. Gut. 1999; 44: 720,6. 2. Silvestri GA, Hoffman BJ, Bhutani MS et al. Endoscopic ultrasound with fine-needle aspiration in the diagnosis and staging of lung cancer. Ann Thorac Surg 1996; 61: 1441,6. 3. Rintoul RC, Skwarski KM, Murchison JT, Wallace WA, Walker WS, Penman ID. Endobronchial and endoscopic ultrasound real-time fine-needle aspiration staging of the mediastinum ). Eur Resp J 2005; 25: 1,6. [source]

Gadolinium-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging.

INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASES, Issue 2 2004
A useful radiological tool in diagnosing pediatric IBD
Abstract Background Recent advances in gadolinium-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (G-MRI) have been developed to enhance the resolution of the intestinal mucosa and facilitate the differentiation of ulcerative colitis (UC) from Crohn's disease (CD). The objective of this study is to apply this technology in Pediatrics. Methods A G-MRI was performed on 58 consecutive children with suspected IBD between 1999 and 2002 using intravenous gadolinium, fat suppression, and respiration-suspended sequences to enhance the resolution of the intestinal wall. The sensitivity and specificity in diagnosing either UC or CD was determined by comparing the G-MRI to the established histologic diagnosis. Results G-MRI confirmed the diagnosis of either CD (21) or UC (7) with a sensitivity and specificity of 96% and 92%, respectively. Among the 21 patients with CD, 14 showed proximal small bowel involvement by G-MRI. In total, 17 patients were diagnosed with indeterminate colitis (IC) based on histologic criteria alone, and among these patients, G-MRI had a significantly lower non-classification rate (P < 0.02). In comparison, endoscopy was less sensitive (57%), but more specific (100%) than either histology or G-MRI in diagnosing IBD. G-MRI also showed a strong concordance with computed tomography in diagnosing CD (P = 0.001). Conclusion G-MRI is a both a sensitive and specific radiologic tool in diagnosing pediatric IBD. In patients with CD, G-MRI may be useful in identifying proximal small bowel involvement. Longitudinal follow-up studies are needed in those patients diagnosed with IC to determine the predictive value of G-MRI testing. [source]

Systematic review: accuracy of symptom-based criteria for diagnosis of irritable bowel syndrome in primary care

ALIMENTARY PHARMACOLOGY & THERAPEUTICS, Issue 7 2009
P. JELLEMA
Summary Background, Despite the trend towards making a positive diagnosis of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), many health care providers approach IBS as a diagnosis of exclusion. Aim, To summarize available evidence on the diagnostic performance of symptom-based IBS criteria in excluding organic diseases, and of individual signs and symptoms in diagnosing IBS and to additionally assess the influence of sources of heterogeneity on diagnostic performance. Methods, We searched PubMed and EMBASE and screened references. Studies were selected if the design was a primary diagnostic study; the patients were adults consulting because of non-acute abdominal symptoms; the diagnostic test included an externally validated set of IBS criteria, signs, or symptoms. Data extraction and quality assessment were performed by two reviewers independently. The review adhered to the most recent guidelines as described in the Cochrane Diagnostic Reviewers' Handbook. Results, A total of 25 primary diagnostic studies were included in the review. The performance of symptom-based criteria in the exclusion of organic disease was highly variable. Patients fulfilling IBS criteria had, however, a lower risk of organic diseases than those not fulfilling the criteria. Conclusions, With none of the criteria showing sufficiently homogeneous and favourable results, organic disease cannot be accurately excluded by symptom-based IBS criteria alone. However, the low pre-test probability of organic disease especially among patients who meet symptom-based criteria in primary care argues against exhaustive diagnostic evaluation. We advise validation of the new Rome III criteria in primary care populations. [source]

Flexible Designs for Genomewide Association Studies

BIOMETRICS, Issue 3 2009
André Scherag
Summary Genomewide association studies attempting to unravel the genetic etiology of complex traits have recently gained attention. Frequently, these studies employ a sequential genotyping strategy: A large panel of markers is examined in a subsample of subjects, and the most promising markers are genotyped in the remaining subjects. In this article, we introduce a novel method for such designs enabling investigators to, for example, modify marker densities and sample proportions while strongly controlling the family-wise type I error rate. Loss of efficiency is avoided by redistributing conditional type I error rates of discarded markers. Our approach can be combined with cost optimal designs and entails a greater flexibility than all previously suggested designs. Among other features, it allows for marker selections based upon biological criteria instead of statistical criteria alone, or the option to modify the sample size at any time during the course of the project. For practical applicability, we develop a new algorithm, subsequently evaluate it by simulations, and illustrate it using a real data set. [source]