scholarly journals Cost-Saving Early Diagnosis of Functional Pain in Nonmalignant Pain: A Noninferiority Study of Diagnostic Accuracy

2016 ◽  
Vol 2016 ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rafael J. A. Cámara ◽  
Christian Merz ◽  
Barbara Wegmann ◽  
Stefanie Stauber ◽  
Roland von Känel ◽  
...  

Objectives. We compared two index screening tests for early diagnosis of functional pain: pressure pain measurement by electronic diagnostic equipment, which is accurate but too specialized for primary health care, versus peg testing, which is cost-saving and more easily manageable but of unknown sensitivity and specificity. Early distinction of functional (altered pain perception; nervous sensitization) from neuropathic or nociceptive pain improves pain management. Methods. Clinicians blinded for the index screening tests assessed the reference standard of this noninferiority diagnostic accuracy study, namely, comprehensive medical history taking with all previous findings and treatment outcomes. All consenting patients referred to a university hospital for nonmalignant musculoskeletal pain participated. The main analysis compared the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves of both index screening tests. Results. The area under the ROC curve for peg testing was not inferior to that of electronic equipment: it was at least 95% as large for finger measures (two-sided p=0.038) and at least equally as large for ear measures (two-sided p=0.003). Conclusions. Routine diagnostic testing by peg, which is accessible for general practitioners, is at least as accurate as specialized equipment. This may shorten time-to-treatment in general practices, thereby improving the prognosis and quality of life.

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. e0245683
Author(s):  
Vanessa Hax ◽  
Rafaela Cavalheiro do Espírito Santo ◽  
Leonardo Peterson dos Santos ◽  
Mirian Farinon ◽  
Marianne Schrader de Oliveira ◽  
...  

Introduction In view of the method of diagnosing sarcopenia being complex and considered to be difficult to introduce into routine practice, the European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People (EWGSOP) recommends the use of the SARC-F questionnaire as a way to introduce assessment and treatment of sarcopenia into clinical practice. Only recently, some studies have turned their attention to the presence of sarcopenia in systemic sclerosis (SSc).There is no data about performance of SARC-F and other screening tests for sarcopenia in this population. Objective To compare the accuracy of SARC-F, SARC-CalF, SARC-F+EBM, and Ishii test as screening tools for sarcopenia in patients with SSc. Methods Cross-sectional study of 94 patients with SSc assessed by clinical and physical evaluation. Sarcopenia was defined according to the revised 2019 EWGSOP diagnostic criteria (EWGSOP2) with assessments of dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, handgrip strength, and short physical performance battery (SPPB). As case finding tools, SARC-F, SARC-CalF, SARC-F+EBM and Ishii test were applied, including data on calf circumference, body mass index, limitations in strength, walking ability, rising from a chair, stair climbing, and self reported number of falls in the last year. The screening tests were evaluated through receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. Standard measures of diagnostic accuracy were computed using the EWGSOP2 criteria as the gold standard for diagnosis of sarcopenia. Results Sarcopenia was identified in 15 (15.9%) patients with SSc by the EWGSOP2 criteria. Area under the ROC curve of SARC-F screening for sarcopenia was 0.588 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.420–0.756, p = 0.283). The results of sensitivity, specificity, positive likelihood ratio (+LR), negative likelihood ratio (-LR) and diagnostic Odds Ratio (DOR) with the EWGSOP2 criteria as the gold standard were 40.0% (95% CI, 19.8–64.2), 81.0% (95% CI, 71.0–88.1), 2.11 (95% CI, 0.98–4.55), 0.74 (95% CI, 0.48–1.13) and 2.84 (95% CI, 0.88–9.22), respectively. SARC-CalF and SARC-F+EBM showed better sensitivity (53.3%, 95% CI 30.1–75.2 and 60.0%, 95% CI 35.7–80.2, respectively) and specificity (84.8%, 95% CI 75.3–91.1 and 86.1%, 95% CI 76.8–92.0, respectively) compared with SARC-F. The best sensitivity was obtained with the Ishii test (86.7%, 95% CI 62.1–96.3), at the expense of a small loss of specificity (73.4%, 95% CI 62.7–81.9). Comparing the ROC curves, SARC-F performed worse than SARC-CalF, SARC-F+EBM and Ishii test as a sarcopenia screening tool in this population (AUCs 0.588 vs. 0.718, 0.832, and 0.862, respectively). Direct comparisons between tests revealed differences only between SARC-F and Ishii test for sensitivity (p = 0.013) and AUC (p = 0.031). Conclusion SARC-CalF, SARC-F+EBM, and Ishii test performed better than SARC-F alone as screening tools for sarcopenia in patients with SSc. Considering diagnostic accuracy and feasibility aspects, SARC-F+EBM seems to be the most suitable screening tool to be adopted in routine care of patients with SSc.


2006 ◽  
Vol 45 (01) ◽  
pp. 49-56 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Özdemir-Sahin ◽  
P. Hipp ◽  
W. Mier ◽  
M. Eisenhut ◽  
J. Debus ◽  
...  

Summary Aim was to evaluates the diagnostic accuracy of the SPECTtracers 3-123I-α-methyl-L-tyrosine (IMT) and 99mTc(I)- hexakis(2-methoxyisobutylisonitrile) (MIBI) as well as the PET-tracer 2-18F-2-deoxyglucose (FDG) for detecting tumour progression in irradiated low grade astrocytomas (LGA). Patients, methods: We examined 91 patients (56 males; 35 females; 44.7 ± 11.5 years), initially suffering from histologically proven LGAs (mean WHO grade II) and treated by stereotactic radiotherapy (59.0 ± 4.6 Gy). On average 21.9 ± 11.2 months after radiotherapy, patients presented new Gd-DTPA enhancing lesions on MRI, which did not allow a differentiation between progressive tumour (PT) and non-PT (nPT) at this point of time. PET scans (n=82) were acquired 45 min after injection of 208 ± 32 MBq FDG. SPECT scans started 10 min after injection of 269 ± 73 MBq IMT (n=68) and 15 min after injection of 706 ± 63 MBq MIBI (n=34). Lesions were classified as PT and nPT based on prospective follow-up (clinically, MRI) for 17.2 ± 9.9 months after PET/SPECT. Lesion-to-normal ratios (L/N) were calculated using contra lateraly mirrored reference regions for the SPECT examinations and reference regions in the contra lateral grey (GM) and white matter (WM) for FDG PET. Ratios were evaluated by Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) analysis. Results: In the patient groups nPT and PT, L/N ratios for FDG (GS) were 0.6 ± 0.3 vs. 1.2 ± 0.5 (p = 0.003), for FDG (WS) 1.2 ± 0.4 vs. 2.6 ± 0.4 (p <0.001), for IMT 1.1 ± 0.1 vs. 1.8 ± 0.4 (p <0.001) and for MIBI 1.6 ± 0.7 vs. 2.6 ± 2.2 (p = 0.554). Areas under the non-parametric ROC-curves were: 0.738 ± 0.059 for FDG (GS), 0.790 ± 0.057 for FDG (WS), 0.937 ± 0.037 for IMT and 0.564 ± 0.105 for MIBI. Conclusion: MIBI-SPECT examinations resulted in a low accuracy and especially in a poor sensitivity even at modest specificity values. A satisfying diagnostic accuracy was reached with FDG PET. Using WM as reference region for FDG PET, a slightly higher AUC as compared to GM was calculated. IMT yielded the best ROC characteristics and the highest diagnostic accuracy for differentiating between PT and nPT in irradiated LGA.


Diabetes ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 67 (Supplement 1) ◽  
pp. 1579-P
Author(s):  
MICHELLE GOULD ◽  
FARID H. MAHMUD ◽  
ANTOINE B. CLARKE ◽  
ESTHER ASSOR ◽  
AMISH PARIKH ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 2627
Author(s):  
Pierre-Edouard Fournier ◽  
Sophie Edouard ◽  
Nathalie Wurtz ◽  
Justine Raclot ◽  
Marion Bechet ◽  
...  

The Méditerranée Infection University Hospital Institute (IHU) is located in a recent building, which includes experts on a wide range of infectious disease. The IHU strategy is to develop innovative tools, including epidemiological monitoring, point-of-care laboratories, and the ability to mass screen the population. In this study, we review the strategy and guidelines proposed by the IHU and its application to the COVID-19 pandemic and summarise the various challenges it raises. Early diagnosis enables contagious patients to be isolated and treatment to be initiated at an early stage to reduce the microbial load and contagiousness. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, we had to deal with a shortage of personal protective equipment and reagents and a massive influx of patients. Between 27 January 2020 and 5 January 2021, 434,925 nasopharyngeal samples were tested for the presence of SARS-CoV-2. Of them, 12,055 patients with COVID-19 were followed up in our out-patient clinic, and 1888 patients were hospitalised in the Institute. By constantly adapting our strategy to the ongoing situation, the IHU has succeeded in expanding and upgrading its equipment and improving circuits and flows to better manage infected patients.


Author(s):  
Nasr Mohamed Osman ◽  
Mohamed Aboul-fotouh Mourad

Abstract Background Cervical cancer still one of the most common causes of tumor-related death in developing countries presented in younger women. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the value of diffusion-weighted MRI in early diagnosis of malignant cervical lesions, to assess metastatic adenopathy, peritoneal dissemination, and possible tumor recurrence, and determine treatment response. This study included 60 patients with abnormal vaginal bleeding and suspected cervical lesion by US. A histopathological biopsy was done. Pelvic MR with DWI and dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI were done for all patients. Results According to the histopathological findings, we divided our studied 60 patents into two groups: group I, malignant lesions (46 lesions; 76.7%), and group II, benign lesions (14 lesions; 23.3%). Multiparametric MRI could detect all cervical lesions but with poor pathologic characterization, achieving 72.37% sensitivity, 37.50% specificity, 63.33% accuracy, 76.19% PPV, and 33.33% NPV. When compared with DWI with ADC value measurements at high b value (b = 800) to MRI exam, it showed a higher diagnostic accuracy with good lesion pathological characterization that achieved 95.65% sensitivity, 71.43% specificity, 90% accuracy, 91.67 PPV, and 83.33% NPV. The mean ADC value for malignant lesions was 0.86–1.1, mean = 0.92 ± 0.71 × 10−3 mm2/s, while the mean ADC value in the benign lesion group was 1.18 ± 0.1 × 10–3 mm2/s. Conclusion Comparing DWI with ADC values measurements at high b value to the multiparametric MRI examination of the female pelvis increases the sensitivity, specificity, and diagnostic accuracy of characterization and early diagnosis of cervical malignant focal lesions and reduces the need for intravenous contrast administration.


2010 ◽  
Vol 70 (3) ◽  
pp. 434-439 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eugenio de Miguel ◽  
Santiago Muñoz-Fernández ◽  
Concepción Castillo ◽  
Tatiana Cobo-Ibáñez ◽  
Emilio Martín-Mola

ObjectiveTo determine the sensitivity and specificity of enthesis ultrasound for the diagnostic classification of early spondyloarthritis.MethodsA cross-sectional, blinded and controlled study. Standardised bilateral ultrasound of six entheses (Madrid sonography enthesitis index (MASEI)) was performed. Accepted diagnostic classification criteria were used as the gold standard. Validity was analysed by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. Values of p<0.05 were considered significant.Results113 early spondyloarthritis patients were included (58 women/55 men), 57 non-inflammatory control individuals (29 women/28 men) and 24 inflammatory control individuals (11 women/13 men). The evolution time of spondyloarthritis was 10.9±7.1 months. At least some grade of sacroiliitis on x-ray was present in 59 patients, but only five fulfilled the radiographic sacroiliitis New York criteria. Human leucocyte antigen B27 (HLA-B27) was positive in 42% of patients. No statistical differences were found for the enthesis score among diagnostic spondyloarthritis subtypes form of presentation (axial, peripheral or mixed) or HLA-B27 positivity. The MASEI score achieved statistical significance for gender. The ultrasound score was 23.36±11.40 (mean±SD) in spondyloarthritis patients and 12.26±6.85 and 16.04±9.94 in the non-inflammatory and inflammatory control groups (p<0.001), respectively. The ROC area under the curve was 0.82, and a cut-off point of ≥20 points achieved a likelihood ratio of 5.30 and a specificity of 89.47%.ConclusionsEntheses are affected early in spondyloarthritis, and the incidence of involvement is higher in men and independent of the spondyloarthritis diagnostic subtype, HLA-B27 status or presentation pattern. The enthesis ultrasound score seems to have diagnostic accuracy and may be useful for improving the diagnostic accuracy of early spondyloarthritis.


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