Search results for "Predictive value"
showing 10 items of 927 documents
Fecal Calprotectin in Clinical Practice
2012
Background: Surrogate markers of colorectal inflammation are increasingly being recognized as important in differentiating organic from functional intestinal disorders. Fecal calprotectin (FC) can be easily measured in the stool, being released by leukocytes in inflammatory conditions. Aim: We evaluated FC as an index of inflammation in consecutive outpatients referred for colonoscopy for chronic, nonbloody diarrhea. Methods: Stool specimens of 346 outpatients with chronic, nonbloody diarrhea, referred for colonoscopy, were measured for FC levels. The proportion of patients correctly diagnosed with the test and the relationship with endoscopic and histologic findings were measured. Results:…
First-trimester screening for trisomy-21 using a simplified method to assess the presence or absence of the fetal nasal bone.
2005
Objective To determine the benefit of including nasal bone assessment in addition to standard first-trimester markers (nuchal translucency, free beta human chorionic gonadotropin and pregnancy-associated plasma protein A) as a screening test for Down syndrome, using a strict criterion for classification of nasal bone absence. Study design Nasal bone assessment was conducted in 2411 patients with crown-rump length between 45 and 84 mm, including 15 patients with Down syndrome. A patient was considered to have an absent nasal bone only if there was no evidence of present nasal bone. Unlike other studies, nasal bone was classified as present when there was evidence of a thin echogenic line und…
Multicenter, double-blind, randomized, intraindividual crossover comparison of gadobenate dimeglumine and gadopentetate dimeglumine for Breast MR ima…
2011
To intraindividually compare 0.1 mmol/kg doses of gadobenate dimeglumine and gadopentetate dimeglumine for contrast material-enhanced breast magnetic resonance (MR) imaging by using a prospective, multicenter double-blind, randomized protocol.Institutional review board approval and patient informed consent were obtained. One hundred sixty-two women (mean age, 52.8 years ± 12.3 [standard deviation]) enrolled at 17 sites in Europe and China between July 2007 and May 2009 underwent at least one breast MR imaging examination at 1.5 T by using three-dimensional spoiled gradient-echo sequences. Of these, 151 women received both contrast agents in randomized order in otherwise identical examinatio…
Evolution of indeterminate hepatocellular nodules at Gd-EOB-DPTA-enhanced MRI in cirrhotic patients
2018
To retrospectively analyze the evolution of indeterminate hepatocellular nodules in cirrhotic patients on serial Gd-EOB-DPTA-enhanced MRI, and to identify predictors of HCC development. This IRB approved study included 33 cirrhotic patients with 69 indeterminate hepatocellular nodules (mean diameter 1.1 cm) at baseline Gd-EOB-DPTA-enhanced MRI and a Gd-EOB-DPTA-enhanced-MRI follow-up of at least 2 years. Two radiologists evaluated size and signal intensity of each nodule at baseline and follow-up. Age, cirrhosis etiology, and HCC history were recorded. Data were compared between nodules that became HCCs at follow-up (HCC) and those that did not (no-HCC). On follow-up, 5/69 nodules became HC…
Cardiac MR enables diagnosis in 90% of patients with acute chest pain, elevated biomarkers and unobstructed coronary arteries
2015
To assess the diagnostic value of cardiac MRI (CMR) in patients with acute chest pain, elevated cardiac enzymes and a negative coronary angiogram.This study included a total of 125 patients treated in the chest pain unit during a 39-month period. Each included patient underwent MRI within a median of 3 days after cardiac catheterization. The MRI protocol comprised cine, oedema-sensitive and late gadolinium-enhancement imaging. The standard of reference was a consensus diagnosis based on clinical follow-up and the synopsis of all clinical, laboratory and imaging data.MRI revealed a multitude of diagnoses, including ischaemic cardiomyopathy (CM), dilated CM, myocarditis, Takotsubo CM, hyperte…
Different Pattern of Inflammatory and Atrophic Changes in the Gastric Mucosa of the Greater and Lesser Curvature.
2015

 
 
 
 
 
 Background & Aims: Appropriate biopsy sampling is important for the classification of gastritis, yet the extent of inflammation and atrophy of different regions of the stomach with chronic gastritis have been addressed only in a few studies. The aim of our study was to analyze the inflammatory, atrophic and metaplastic changes in the greater and lesser curvature of the antrum and corpus mucosa.
 Methods: 420 patients undergoing upper endoscopy were enrolled in the study. Four expert gastrointestinal pathologists graded biopsy specimens according to the updated Sydney classification.
 Results: The obtained results showed that the mononu…
Prevalence of Helicobacter pylori infection and atrophic gastritis in Latvia.
2012
Helicobacter pylori infection and atrophic gastritis are related to an increased risk for gastric cancer. There is a decrease in global H. pylori prevalence. We analyzed the prevalence of H. pylori infection in Latvia by the plasma IgG test and the presence of atrophy by means of pepsinogen testing.This subanalysis was carried out on a randomly selected cross-sectional sample of a general population of adults to access cardiovascular risk factors. Plasma samples were screened for H. pylori IgG (cutoff value 24 U/ml), and pepsinogens (Pg) I and II. Pg cutoff values of PgI/PgII ≤ 3 and PgI ≤ 70 ng/ml were used to assess the prevalence of atrophy of any grade and PgI/PgII ≤ 2 and PgI ≤ 30 ng/m…
The extent of HLA-DR expression on HLA-DR+Tregs allows the identification of patients with clinically relevant borderline rejection
2013
Regulatory T cells (Tregs) were shown to be involved into the pathogenesis of acute rejection after transplantation. The suppressive activity of the total regulatory T cell pool depends on its percentage of highly suppressive HLA-DR(+) -Treg cells. Therefore, both the suppressive activity of the total Treg pool and the extent of HLA-DR expression of HLA-DR(+) -Tregs (MFI HLA-DR) were estimated in non transplanted volunteers, patients with end-stage renal failure (ESRF), healthy renal transplant patients with suspicion on rejection, due to sole histological Bord-R or sole acute renal failure (ARF), and patients with clinically relevant borderline rejection (Bord-R and ARF). Compared to patie…
Motion index: A new parameter to evaluate the diastole by M-Mode imaging
2009
AIM: Heart failure with normal left ventricle (LV) ejection fraction is commonly understood as diastolic heart failure because this expression implies the presence of LV diastolic dysfunction diagnosed by specific echocardiographic findings, such as slow LV relaxation and increased LV stiffness. In this work the authors propose a new parameter named Motion Index, which is measurable by M-Mode technique and it is likely linked to diastolic dysfunction. METHODS: A patient population composed by 134 subjects was enrolled. They all were in New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class II. Echocardiogram carried out in all patients allowed the authors to distinguish 2 patient arms depending…
Genome-based in silico identification of new Mycobacterium tuberculosis antigens activating polyfunctional CD8+ T cells in human tuberculosis.
2011
Although CD8(+) T cells help control Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection, their M. tuberculosis Ag repertoire, in vivo frequency, and functionality in human tuberculosis (TB) remains largely undefined. We have performed genome-based bioinformatics searches to identify new M. tuberculosis epitopes presented by major HLA class I supertypes A2, A3, and B7 (covering 80% of the human population). A total of 432 M. tuberculosis peptides predicted to bind to HLA-A*0201, HLA-A*0301, and HLA-B*0702 (representing the above supertypes) were synthesized and HLA-binding affinities determined. Peptide-specific CD8(+) T cell proliferation assays (CFSE dilution) in 41 M. tuberculosis-responsive donors ide…