Search results for "Occult"
showing 10 items of 92 documents
Faecal immunochemical tests: A valuable tool for colorectal cancer screening
2012
Colorectal cancer is a major health problem in industrialized ountries and fulfils the conditions required to justifymass screenng of the general population. Population-based controlled studies erformed in Europe have shown that guaiac faecal occult blood esting (G-FOBT) followed by colonoscopy to detect the cause of leeding can reduce colorectal cancer mortality [1]. Nearly all pubished studies evaluated the Hemoccult II (Beckman Coulter Inc., ea, USA) faecal occult blood test. Screening for colorectal caner using FOBT has, therefore, been included in the European Code gainst Cancer and has been endorsed by the European Commision [2]. Despite its high specificity, Hemoccult has been critic…
Comparison of the yield from two faecal immunochemical tests at identical cutoff concentrations – a randomized trial in Latvia
2016
OBJECTIVE We have compared the performance of two faecal immunochemical tests (FIT) in an average-risk population. MATERIALS AND METHODS Altogether, 10 000 individuals aged 50-74 were selected randomly from the population of Latvia in 2011 and assigned randomly either to OC-Sensor or to FOB Gold single-time testing. Positivity of the test, frequency of colonic lesions, number needed to screen (NNscreen) and scope for the detection of an advanced neoplasm (cancer and advanced adenoma) were compared between the tests using the same cutoff concentrations in µg/g faeces. Confidence intervals (CIs) at 95% were calculated. RESULTS Positivity with the cutoff set at 10 µg/g faeces was 12.8% (95% CI…
Can the serological status of anti-HBc alone be considered a sentinel marker for detection of occult HBV infection?
2008
Some individuals have “occult” infection with hepatitis B virus (HBV), defined as presence of HBV genome in the serum or liver tissue without HBV surface antigen (HBsAg) in the serum. The aim of this study was to investigate whether serum antibodies against HBV core antigen in isolation (“anti-HBc alone”) are a useful marker of “occult” HBV in patients with or without hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. “Anti-HBc alone” was detected in the sera of 119/6,544 (1.8%) asymptomatic outpatients referred to the diagnostic laboratory for routine testing for viral hepatitis, 62/607 (10.2%) drug users, and 42/195 (21.5%) patients with hepatocellular carcinoma. Using three in-house nested-PCR amplifica…
Occult Hepatitis B Infection in the Immigrant Population of Sicily, Italy.
2012
In Italy, about 7 % of the resident population is represented by immigrants originating from geographic regions at high endemicity for hepatitis B virus infection. This study aims to assess the prevalence of occult HBV infection (OBI) including the identification of HBV-genotypes in a population of immigrants serologically negative for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg). Between May 2006 and May 2010, 339 immigrants were tested for markers of HBV, hepatitis C virus (HCV) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections. HBV-DNA was tested by using nested-PCR assays on three different genetic region. HBV-DNA was detected in plasma samples of 11/339 (3.2 %) patients. Most of them had no ser…
Occult hepatitis B virus in liver tissue of individuals without hepatic disease
2008
Abstract BACKGROUND/AIMS: While many data are available concerning occult hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection in patients with hepatic disorders, there is little information about this cryptic infection in individuals without liver disease. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of occult HBV in the general population by examining liver specimens from a large series of HBV-surface-antigen negative individuals with no clinical and biochemical evidence of liver disease. METHODS: The presence of HBV DNA was evaluated by testing, through polymerase chain reaction techniques, DNA extracts from 98 liver-disease-free individuals who underwent liver resection or needle biopsy during …
No detection of occult HBV-DNA in patients with various rheumatic diseases treated with anti-TNF agents: a two-year prospective study.
2013
OBJECTIVES: The widespread use of tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-targeted therapies in patients with rheumatic, digestive and dermatologic diseases has been associated with reports of reactivation of HBV replication and ensuing hepatitis flares both in asymptomatic HBsAg carriers and in subjects with occult HBV infection. The aim of our work was to investigate in a two-year prospective study the potential for HBV reactivation in patients with inflammatory joint diseases undergoing anti-TNF treatment from a southern Mediterranean area. METHODS: Fifty-seven consecutive outpatients attending the Academic Unit of Rheumatology at the University of Palermo (12 with rheumatoid arthritis, 17 with pso…
Occult HBV infection and suppression of HCV replication in the early phase of combination therapy for chronic hepatitis C
2003
Occult HBV infection in subjects with chronic hepatitis C is related to more severe disease outcome. It has been suggested that it might reduce sensitivity to antiviral treatment.To assess in HBsAg negative subjects with chronic hepatitis C any effect of the presence of HBV genomes in the liver on the early kinetics of HCV-RNA under PEG-IFN plus ribavirin.Twenty-two anti-HCV and HCV-RNA positive subjects, with biopsy-proven chronic hepatitis C (M/F 15/7; 50 +/- 8.6 years, 16 genotype 1b) were given PEG-IFN alpha 2b 1.0 microg qw plus ribavirin (800 to 1,200 mg daily according to body weight) for an intended 52 week period. Early virological response was assessed over the first 4 weeks of th…
Prevalence of Occult Hepatitis B Virus Infection in a Cohort of HIV-Positive Patients Resident in Sicily, Italy
2013
Occult hepatitis B virus (OBI) in HIV-infected groups is still debated, as well as the associated risk-factors and clinical significance. In this paper, we examined a total of 405 HBsAg-negative/HIV-infected patients enrolled from January 2007 to December 2009. Overall, the prevalence of OBI was 5.9% (95% confidence interval (CI95%): 3.8–8.7%); it was more frequently associated with “anti-HBc alone” serological marker (11.3%; adjusted odds ratio = 3.7, CI95%: 1.4–9.8), although it was also detected in the absence of any HBV serological marker (4.9%; CI95%: 2.3–9.1%). A low prevalence of anti-HCV-positive patients with OBI was found (3.1%; CI95%: 0.6–8.7%). HIV RNA plasma levels or other imm…
Detection of human immunodeficiency virus-1 DNA, RNA and antibody, and occult blood in inactivated saliva: Availability of the filter paper disk meth…
1996
Eighty three samples of saliva were collected from 60 subjects who were asymptomatic carriers of AIDS related complex (ARC) and AIDS. They included hemophiliacs, homosexuals and heterosexuals. Occult blood, human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) antibody and DNA were assayed after heat treatment at 56 degrees C by strip method, particle agglutination and polymerase chain reaction (PCR), respectively. HIV-1 RNA was assayed by reverse transcription (RT)-PCR after heat treatment at 56 degrees C or 90 degrees C, or after application to filter paper disks with drying and heat treatment at 90 degrees C. Positive results were found in 53% (occult blood), 73% (HIV-1 antibody), 23% (HIV-1 DNA, 56 de…
Sacral spina bifida occulta rare occurrence in Byzantine Belentepe population in Muğla, Turkey: A possible case for adequate folic acid intake.
2018
Spina bifida may occur during the first weeks after conception; folic acid deficiency is strongly related to this anomaly. We argue that the low prevalence rate of spina bifida may indicate a relatively good nutrition state of a population, given that folic acid is found in many food products commonly eaten. The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between folic acid intake and spina bifida occulta prevalence in the Belentepe Byzantine population in Anatolian peninsula, and to compare the prevalence rates with various other ancient Anatolian populations by focusing on sacral spina bifida occulta in the Byzantine population. A total of 62 available human sacra were included in th…