Search results for "Diagnostic techniques"
showing 10 items of 122 documents
CAT score single item analysis in patients with COPD: results from COSYCONET
2019
Abstract The COPD Assessment Test (CAT) is in widespread use for the evaluation of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). We assessed whether the CAT items carry additional information beyond the sum score regarding COPD characteristics including emphysema. Patients of GOLD grades 1 to 4 from the COPD cohort COSYCONET (German COPD and Systemic Consequences - Comorbidities Network) with complete CAT data were included (n = 2270), of whom 493 had chest CT evaluated for the presence of emphysema. Comorbidities and lung function were assessed following standardised procedures. Cross-sectional data analysis was based on multiple regression analysis of the single CAT items ag…
Molecular diagnostics in gastric cancer.
2014
Despite recent advances in individualised targeted therapy, gastric cancer remains one of the most challenging diseases in gastrointestinal oncology. Modern imaging techniques using endoscopic filter devices and in vivo molecular imaging are designed to enable early detection of the cancer and surveillance of patients at risk. Molecular characterisation of the tumour itself as well as of the surrounding inflammatory environment is more sophisticated in the view of tailored therapies and individual prognostic assessment. The broad application of high throughput techniques for the description of genome wide patterns of structural (copy number aberrations, single nucleotide polymorphisms, meth…
Characterization and multicentric validation of a common standard for Toxoplasma gondii detection using nucleic acid amplification assays.
2014
ABSTRACT The molecular diagnosis of toxoplasmosis essentially relies upon laboratory-developed methods and suffers from lack of standardization, hence the large diversity of performances between laboratories. Moreover, quantifications of parasitic loads differ among centers, a fact which prevents the possible prediction of the severity of this disease as a function of parasitic loads. The objectives of this multicentric study performed in eight proficient laboratories of the Molecular Biology Pole of the French National Reference Center for Toxoplasmosis (NRC-T) were (i) to assess the suitability of a lyophilized preparation of Toxoplasma gondii as a common standard for use in this PCR-base…
Residential Exposure to Outdoor Air Pollution during Pregnancy and Anthropometric Measures at Birth in a Multicenter Cohort in Spain
2011
Background: A growing body of research suggests that prenatal exposure to air pollution may be harmful to fetal development. We assessed the association between exposure to air pollution during pregnancy and anthropometric measures at birth in four areas within the Spanish Children’s Health and Environment (INMA) mother and child cohort study. Methods: Exposure to ambient nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and benzene was estimated for the residence of each woman (n = 2,337) for each trimester and for the entire pregnancy. Outcomes included birth weight, length, and head circumference. The association between residential outdoor air pollution exposure and birth outcomes was assessed with linear regress…
Molecular detection of Helicobacter pylori in oral samples from patients suffering digestive pathologies
2010
Objective: to determine the simultaneous presence of H. pylori in both the oral cavity and gastric mucosal in patients suffering digestive pathologies and to establish the possible association between the presence of H. pylori in the oral cavity and the gingivoperiodontal pathology. Study design: Patients with gastric symptoms (case group) and asymptomatic patients (control group) seen at the Gastroenterology Department of Dr. Julio C. Perrando Hospital (Resistencia, Argentina) were selected. Dental plaque and saliva samples from both groups were obtained. In the case group, gastric biopsy samples were also taken. H. pylori was detected in gastric biopsies by histological stains, and Polyme…
Nationwide Analysis on Surgical Staging Procedures and Systemic Treatment for Patients With Endometrial Cancer in Germany
2012
ObjectiveIn 2009 and 2006, the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Gynäkologische Onkologie evaluated therapeutic approaches for endometrial carcinoma (EC) in Germany.Methods and MaterialsA questionnaire was developed and sent to 775 German gynecologic departments in 2009 (500 in 2006). The results of the questionnaires were compared with each other and with the recommendations of the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Gynäkologische Onkologie’s guideline. Subgroup analyses were performed, dividing the participating centers into small and large centers and into centers with less and more experience with EC.ResultsResponses were available in 33.3% in 2009 and 35.8% in 2006. Comparing 2009 with 2006, it became apparent tha…
Patients' and physicians' preferences for type 2 diabetes mellitus treatments in Spain and Portugal: a discrete choice experiment.
2015
Objective: To assess Spanish and Portuguese patients' and physicians' preferences regarding type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) treatments and the monthly willingness to pay (WTP) to gain benefits or avoid side effects. Methods: An observational, multicenter, exploratory study focused on routine clinical practice in Spain and Portugal. Physicians were recruited from multiple hospitals and outpatient clinics, while patients were recruited from eleven centers operating in the public health care system in different autonomous communities in Spain and Portugal. Preferences were measured via a discrete choice experiment by rating multiple T2DM medication attributes. Data were analyzed using the cond…
Ultrastructural myopathology in the molecular era.
2013
Electron microscopy is an essential component of myopathology, both in diagnostics and research of neuromuscular diseases. Although recently reduced in the diagnostic armamentarium, it has greatly been expanded to mouse models in research. Mostly it is descriptive, but a few additional techniques in combination with transmission electron microscopy have been employed. Foremost among them is immunoelectron microscopy, which assists in guiding molecular analysis in hereditary conditions, but may be vital in diagnostics of certain acquired entities, e.g., undulating tubules in dermatomyositis and in those congenital myopathies where genes and mutations remain to be identified, as in cylindrica…
Treatment of tumors of the pancreatic head with suspected but unproved malignancy: is a nihilistic approach justified?
1999
The aim of the present prospective observational study was to evaluate the accuracy of preoperative imaging studies and the outcome of patients after pancreaticoduodenectomy for suspected but unproved malignancy. Pancreaticoduodenectomy was performed in 186 patients with a suspected but histologically unproved malignancy of the pancreatic head: 86 with a ductal pancreatic carcinoma, 56 with a periampullary tumor, 18 with a cystadenocarcinoma, 13 with a rare malignant tumor or a metastasis, and 13 with a benign tumor. An accurate differentiation between a ductal pancreatic carcinoma and a nonductal tumor or a benign tumor was neither possible with tumor marker CA 19-9 nor with diagnostic ima…
Comparison of body mass index (BMI) with the CUN-BAE body adiposity estimator in the prediction of hypertension and type 2 diabetes
2016
BACKGROUND: Obesity is a world-wide epidemic whose prevalence is underestimated by BMI measurements, but CUN-BAE (Clínica Universidad de Navarra - Body Adiposity Estimator) estimates the percentage of body fat (BF) while incorporating information on sex and age, thus giving a better match. Our aim is to compare the BMI and CUN-BAE in determining the population attributable fraction (AFp) for obesity as a cause of chronic diseases. METHODS: We calculated the Pearson correlation coefficient between BMI and CUN-BAE, the Kappa index and the internal validity of the BMI. The risks of arterial hypertension (AHT) and diabetes mellitus (DM) and the AFp for obesity were assessed using both the BMI a…