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Receiver-operating Characteristic Curve (receiver-operating + characteristic_curve)
Selected AbstractsEvaluation of host genetic and viral factors as surrogate markers for HTLV-1-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis in Peruvian HTLV-1-infected patientsJOURNAL OF MEDICAL VIROLOGY, Issue 3 2010Michael Talledo Abstract Human T-lymphotropic virus 1 (HTLV-1)-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP) is a complication that affects up to 5% of HTLV-1-infected individuals. Several host genetic and viral factors have been associated with the risk of HAM/TSP. The aim of this study was to evaluate the performance of a prognostic model for HAM/TSP developed in Japan in a Peruvian population of 71 HAM/TSP patients and 94 asymptomatic carriers (ACs). This model included age, proviral load (PVL), the presence of HLA-A*02 and HLA-Cw*08 alleles, SDF-1 +801, and TNF -, ,863 polymorphisms, and viral subgroup. We describe frequencies for the four host genetic markers and demonstrate the presence of the HTLV-1 tax B subgroup in Peru. Using cross-validation, we show that the predictive ability of the prognostic model, as characterized by the area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve (AUC), does not differ from a model containing PVL only (both AUC,=,0.74). We found some suggestive evidence of a protective effect of the HLA-A*02 allele but failed to replicate the associations with the other three genetic markers and with viral subgroup. A logistic model containing PVL, age, gender, and HLA-A*02 provided the best predictive ability in the Peruvian cohort (AUC,=,0.79). J. Med. Virol. 82:460,466, 2010. © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] The role of prolactin levels in the sexual activity of married men with erectile dysfunctionBJU INTERNATIONAL, Issue 6 2006Jae-Seung Paick OBJECTIVE To evaluate the effects of risk factors for erectile dysfunction (ED) including anthropometry, hormones, metabolic profiles and lifestyle, on sexual activity in married men with ED. PATIENTS AND METHODS The study included 261 men (mean age 53.7 years, range 23,80), who were evaluated for anthropometry, hormone levels, metabolic profiles and lifestyle factors. Erectile function was evaluated using the self-administered International Index of Erectile Function. Patients were classified into two groups based on the six-item erectile-function domain, as those with sexual activity and those without. RESULTS Of all patients, 62.5% (163 of 261) had no sexual activity (erectile-function domain score <6). There was a significant difference in mean (sem) prolactin level between patients with and with no sexual activity, at 4.8 (0.4) vs 6.8 (0.7) (P = 0.013). Of all patients, 73.7% (42 of 57) with diabetes had no sexual activity, while 59.3% (121 of 204) without diabetes had (P = 0.048). In a multivariate model, a higher prolactin level was associated with a greater likelihood of sexual inactivity (odds ratio 1.094; 95% confidence interval, 1.010,1.185; P = 0.028) but diabetes lost its statistical significance. The area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve for prolactin was 60.5% (95% confidence interval, 52.9,68.1%; P = 0.009) for sexual inactivity. No other factors were significant in this regard. CONCLUSION Our findings suggest that prolactin levels might play a role in sexual activity in men with ED. [source] Noninvasive assessment of liver fibrosis in thalassaemia major patients by transient elastography (TE) , lack of interference by iron depositionBRITISH JOURNAL OF HAEMATOLOGY, Issue 3 2010Vito Di Marco Summary The correlation between liver stiffness, measured by transient elastography, liver fibrosis, using the histological METAVIR score, and iron overload, measured by atomic absorption spectrometry was evaluated in 56 homozygous-,-thalassaemics. Liver stiffness increased proportionally to liver fibrosis staging (r = 0·70; P > 0·001) independently of liver iron concentration (r = 0·01; P = 0·932). The area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve for prediction of cirrhosis was 0·997 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0·925,1·000) with cut-off of 13 kPa with 100% sensitivity (95% CI: 69·0,100·0) and 95% specificity (95% CI: 84·2,99·3). Transient elastography is a reliable non-invasive tool for diagnosing advanced liver fibrosis in homozygous-,-thalassaemics, regardless of the degree of iron overload. [source] Prospective Evaluation of Two Clinical Scores for Acute Asthma in Children 18 Months to 7 Years of AgeACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE, Issue 6 2010FRCPC, Serge Gouin MDCM Abstract Objectives:, The objective was to evaluate the discriminatory ability of two clinical asthma scores, the Preschool Respiratory Assessment Measure (PRAM) and the Pediatric Asthma Severity Score (PASS), during an asthma exacerbation. Methods:, This was a prospective cohort study in an academic pediatric emergency department (ED; 60,000 visits/year) conducted from March 2006 to October 2007. All patients 18 months to 7 years of age who presented for an asthma exacerbation were eligible. The primary outcome was a length of stay (LOS) of >6 hours in the ED or admission to the hospital. Clinical findings and components of the PRAM and the PASS were assessed by a respiratory therapist (RT) at the start of the ED visit and after 90 minutes of treatment. Results:, During the study period, 3,845 patients were seen in the ED for an asthma exacerbation. Of these, 291 were approached to participate, and eight refused. Moderate levels of discrimination were found between a LOS of >6 hours and/or admission and PRAM (area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve [AUC] = 0.69, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.59 to 0.79) and PASS (AUC = 0.70, 95% CI = 0.60 to 0.80) as calculated at the start of the ED visit. Significant similar correlations were seen between the physician's judgment of severity and PRAM (r = 0.54, 95% CI = 0.42 to 0.65) and PASS (r = 0.55, 95% CI = 0.43 to 0.65). Conclusions:, The PRAM and PASS clinical asthma scores appear to be measures of asthma severity in children with discriminative properties. ACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE 2010; 17:598,603 © 2010 by the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine [source] Association between asthma control and bronchial hyperresponsiveness and airways inflammation: a cross-sectional study in daily practiceCLINICAL & EXPERIMENTAL ALLERGY, Issue 12 2009V. Quaedvlieg Summary Background The primary end-point in the management of asthma is to obtain optimal control. The aim of this study was to assess the relationships between the markers of airway inflammation (sputum eosinophilia and exhaled nitric oxide), bronchial hyperresponsiveness (BHR) and asthma control. Methods One hundred and thirty-four patients were recruited from our asthma clinic between January 2004 and September 2005 [mean age: 42 years, mean forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1): 86% predicted]. Eighty-six of them were treated by inhaled corticosteroids, 99 were atopic and 23 were current smokers. They all underwent detailed investigations including fractional-exhaled nitric oxide (FENO) measurement, sputum induction and methacholine challenge when FEV1 was >70% predicted, and filled in a validated asthma control questionnaire (ACQ6 Juniper). Results When dividing patients into the three groups according to their level of asthma control determined by ACQ [well-controlled asthma (ACQ score 0.75), borderline (0.75
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