Serum sFlt-1/PlGF ratio has better diagnostic ability in early- compared to late-onset pre-eclampsia

2018 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-40 ◽  
Author(s):  
Theng Theng Chuah ◽  
Wan Shi Tey ◽  
Mor Jack Ng ◽  
Edward T.H. Tan ◽  
Bernard Chern ◽  
...  

Abstract Background To establish gestational specific cutoffs for the soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase-1 (sFlt-1) and placental growth factor (PlGF) ratio as a diagnostic tool for pre-eclampsia (PE) in an Asian population. Methods 82 subjects (48 PE patients and 34 controls) were recruited. sFlt-1 and PlGF were analysed on the Roche Cobas e411 analyzer and their ratio was calculated. Diagnostic performance was evaluated using receiver-operating characteristics (ROC) curves. Optimal cutoffs for sFlt-1/PlGF ratio were determined for different gestation phases. Results The most optimal cut-off for the study group is 32 with a sensitivity and specificity of 85.1% and 100% and Youden Index (J) of 0.85. Applying this cutoff for early-onset PE (EO-PE), sensitivity increased to 95.8% while specificity remains at 100% (J=0.96). However, for late onset PE (LO-PE), sensitivity decreases to 73.9% while specificity remains at 100% (J=0.74). Two cutoffs were further determined for EO-PE and LO-PE – the first focusing on high sensitivity; the second focusing on high specificity. For EO-PE, cutoff <17 yielded sensitivity of 100% and specificity of 94.4% (J=0.94) while cutoff ≥32 yielded sensitivity of 95.8% and specificity of 100% (J=0.95). For LO-PE, cutoff <22 has a sensitivity of 82.6% and a specificity of 91.7% (J=0.74) while cutoff ≥32 yielded sensitivity of 73.9% and specificity of 100% (J=0.74). Conclusion While our study found an overall cutoff at 32 regardless of gestation age, it has limited diagnostic accuracy for LO-PE in our study. Multiple cutoffs focusing on either high sensitivity or high specificity enhance the performance of the sFlt-1/PlGF ratio as a diagnostic tool for PE and contribute to the identification of women at risk of PE in our Asian region.

2018 ◽  
Vol 69 (5) ◽  
pp. 739-747 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eui Jin Hwang ◽  
Sunggyun Park ◽  
Kwang-Nam Jin ◽  
Jung Im Kim ◽  
So Young Choi ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Detection of active pulmonary tuberculosis on chest radiographs (CRs) is critical for the diagnosis and screening of tuberculosis. An automated system may help streamline the tuberculosis screening process and improve diagnostic performance. Methods We developed a deep learning–based automatic detection (DLAD) algorithm using 54c221 normal CRs and 6768 CRs with active pulmonary tuberculosis that were labeled and annotated by 13 board-certified radiologists. The performance of DLAD was validated using 6 external multicenter, multinational datasets. To compare the performances of DLAD with physicians, an observer performance test was conducted by 15 physicians including nonradiology physicians, board-certified radiologists, and thoracic radiologists. Image-wise classification and lesion-wise localization performances were measured using area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves and area under the alternative free-response ROC curves, respectively. Sensitivities and specificities of DLAD were calculated using 2 cutoffs (high sensitivity [98%] and high specificity [98%]) obtained through in-house validation. Results DLAD demonstrated classification performance of 0.977–1.000 and localization performance of 0.973–1.000. Sensitivities and specificities for classification were 94.3%–100% and 91.1%–100% using the high-sensitivity cutoff and 84.1%–99.0% and 99.1%–100% using the high-specificity cutoff. DLAD showed significantly higher performance in both classification (0.993 vs 0.746–0.971) and localization (0.993 vs 0.664–0.925) compared to all groups of physicians. Conclusions Our DLAD demonstrated excellent and consistent performance in the detection of active pulmonary tuberculosis on CR, outperforming physicians, including thoracic radiologists.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gijs Berghuis ◽  
Jan Cosyn ◽  
Hugo De Bruyn ◽  
Geert Hommez ◽  
Melissa Dierens ◽  
...  

Abstract Background The aims of this study were (1) to determine the accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity of panoramic and peri-apical radiographs in diagnosing furcation involvement, as well as (2) to evaluate the possible impact of clinical experience on these diagnostic parameters. Methods An existing radiographic dataset of periodontitis patients requiring implant surgery was retrospectively examined for furcation involvement. Criteria for inclusion were the presence of a CBCT, panoramic and peri-apical radiograph of the site of interest within a one-year time frame. All furcation sites were classified using the CBCT, which was considered as the gold standard, according to Hamp’s index (1975). Ten experienced examiners and 10 trainees were asked to assess furcation involvement for the same defects using only the corresponding panoramic and peri-apical radiographs. Absolute agreement, Cohen’s weighted kappa, sensitivity, specificity and ROC-curves were analyzed. Results The study sample included 60 furcation sites in 29 multi-rooted teeth from 17 patients. On average, 20/60 furcations were correctly classified according to the panoramic radiographs, corresponding to a weighted kappa score of 0.209, indicating slight agreement. Similarly, an average of 19/60 furcations were correctly classified according to the peri-apical radiographs, corresponding to a weighted kappa score of 0.211, also indicating slight agreement. No significant difference between panoramic and peri-apical radiography was found (P = 0.903). When recategorizing FI Grades into ‘no to limited FI’ (FI Grade 0 and I) and ‘advanced FI’ (FI Grade II and III), the panoramic and peri-apical radiography showed low sensitivity (0.558 and 0.441, respectively), yet high specificity (0.791 and 0.790, respectively) for identifying advanced FI. The ROC-curves for the panoramic and peri-apical radiographs were 0.79 and 0.69 respectively. No significant difference was found between experienced periodontists and trainees (P = 0.257 versus P = 0.880). Conclusion Panoramic and peri-apical radiography are relevant tools in the diagnosis of FI and provide high specificity. Ideally, they are best used in combination with furcation probing, which shows high sensitivity. Furthermore, clinical experience does not seem to improve the accuracy of a radiological diagnosis of furcation sites. Trial registration Patient radiographic datasets were retrospectively analyzed.


2013 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 81 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jinpeng Zhong ◽  
Yonghong Wang ◽  
Xiaoling Wang ◽  
Fengzeng Li ◽  
Yulei Hou ◽  
...  

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the ability of cardio-ankle vascular index (CAVI), high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) levels and homocysteine (Hcy) levels to screen for subclinical arteriosclerosis (subAs) in an apparently healthy population, with the view to obtaining an optimal diagnostic marker or profile for subAs. Methods: Subjects (152) undergoing routine health examinations were recruited and divided into two groups: carotid arteriosclerosis (CA) and non-carotid arteriosclerosis (NCA), according to carotid intima-media thickness (CMIT). CAVI was calculated based on blood pressure and pulse wave velocity. Serum hs-CRP and Hcy levels were also measured. A Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve was plotted to evaluate the efficacy of each in carotid arteriosclerosis screening. Ten parameter combinations, designated W1 to W10, were compared in terms of sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV). Results: The levels of all three parameters were significantly higher in the CA group, compared with the NCA group. ROC curves showed that the area under the curve (AUC) for CAVI was 0.708 (95%CI: 0.615-0.800), which is significantly larger than that of either hs-CRP (0.622) or Hcy (0.630), respectively (P < 0.001). Maximum sensitivity (100%) and NPV (100%) were attained with W10, while maximum specificity (86.2%) and PPV (46.7%) were obtained with W7. With W9, the maximum Youden index (0.416) was obtained, with a sensitivity of 77.8% and specificity of 63.8%. Conclusions: CAVI is more effective than hs-CRP or Hcy for subAs screening. The optimal profile was obtained with a combination of CAVI and other parameters.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yan Liu ◽  
Yu Zhang ◽  
Yue-guo Chen

Abstract PurposeTo evaluate the value of Scheimpflug-based biomechanical analyzer combined with tomography in detecting early keratoconus by distinguishing normal eyes from frank keratoconus (KC) and forme frusta keratoconus (FFKC) eyes in Chinese patients. MethodsThis study included 31 bilateral frank keratoconus patients, 27 unilateral clinical manifest keratoconus patients with very asymmetric eyes, and 79 control subjects with normal corneas. Corneal morphological and biomechanical parameters were measured using the Pentacam HR and Corvis ST (OCULUS, Wetzlar, Germany). The diagnostic capacity of computed parameters reflecting corneal biomechanical and morphological traits [including Belin-Ambrósio deviation index (BAD_D), Corvis biomechanical index (CBI) and tomographic and biomechanical index (TBI)] was determined using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves and compared by DeLong test. Additionally, the area under the curve (AUC), the best cutoff values, and Youden index for each parameter were reported. The novel corneal stiffness parameter (Stress-Strain Index or SSI) was also compared between KC, FFKC and normal eyes.ResultsEvery morphological and biomechanical index analyzed in this study was significantly different between KC, FFKC and normal eyes (p=0.000). TBI was most valuable for detecting subclinical keratoconus (FFKC eyes) with an AUC of 0.928 (P=0.000), and any forms of corneal ectasia (FFKC and frank KC eyes) with an AUC of 0.966 (P=0.000). The sensitivity and specificity of TBI for detecting FFKC was 97.5% and 77.8%, for detecting any KC was 97.5% and 89.7%, with a cut-off value of 0.375. Morphological index BAD_D and biomechanical index CBI were also very useful in distinguishing any KC eyes from normal eyes with an AUC of 0.965 and 0.934, respectively. SSI was significantly different between KC, FFKC and normal eyes (P=0.000), indicating an independent decrease in corneal stiffness in KC eyes.Conclusion Combination of Scheimpflug-based biomechanical analyzer and tomography could increase the accuracy of detecting early keratoconus in Chinese patients. TBI was the most valuable index for detecting subclinical keratoconus with high sensitivity and specificity. Evaluation of corneal biomechanical property in refractive surgery candidates is helpful to recognize potential keratoconic eyes and increase surgical safety.


Author(s):  
Jolanta Grabala ◽  
Michał Grabala ◽  
Dariusz Onichimowski ◽  
Paweł Grabala

Introduction: Purulent lobar pneumonia is an inflammation of pulmonary tissue that may progress to parenchymal necrosis and abscess formation. The authors present a case of purulent lobar pneumonia diagnosed using transthoracic lung ultrasound (TLU). Abscess-type lesions had not been visualized in previous computed tomography (CT) scans. Aim: To analyze the potential of TLU as a diagnostic tool for purulent lobar pneumonia. Case study: A 55-year-old patient with a several-week history of cough, abdominal pain, and diarrhea was admitted to the intensive care unit due to rapidly progressing cardiopulmonary failure. CT revealed merging parenchymal/interstitial densities within the right lung. Broad-spectrum antibiotics were initiated. TLU revealed the presence of lesions characteristic of pneumonia with the development of abscesses and acute respiratory distress syndrome. Despite treatment initiation, the patient’s condition progressively worsened. On the 3rd day of hospitalization, the patient passed away. At autopsy, purulent lobar pneumonia was identified as the direct cause of death. Results and discussion: Despite broad and well-documented knowledge regarding its applicability, ultrasound has not been widely used as a diagnostic tool. Conclusions: TLU is a safe, repeatable, and inexpensive diagnostic tool. The use of ultrasound in diagnosing pneumonia is well documented, and based on specific diagnostic criteria. As a diagnostic tool for pneumonia, dynamic air bronchogram had a high specificity and positive predictive value. The high sensitivity and specificity of TLU, as pertains to detecting necrosis or abscesses in the course of pneumonia, is comparable with CT. TLU facilitated visualization of small-diameter abscesses.


Author(s):  
Jie Lu ◽  
Yan Huang ◽  
Peiyun Wang ◽  
Qing Li ◽  
Ziqiang Li ◽  
...  

Serological markers are important for the diagnosis of hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection. This study aims to compare the diagnostic performance of the anti-HEV IgM and the HEV Antigen (Ag) assays, and establish a multi-factorial model to improve the diagnosis of current HEV infection when HEV RNA detection is not available. A total of 809 serum samples, including 325 anti-HEV IgM-positive and 484 anti-HEV IgM-negative samples, were tested for HEV RNA. The anti-HEV IgM assay had very high sensitivity (99.4%), but moderate accuracy (79.2%) and specificity (74.3%). By retrospective follow-up of 58 patients with sequential samples (n=143) tested for anti-HEV antibodies, we found anti-HEV IgM remained positive for more than 10 months in some HEV-infected patients, when HEV RNA was already undetectable; thus, decision solely based on anti-HEV IgM may lead to misdiagnosis. In contrast, the HEV Ag assay had very high specificity (100%). However, the detection efficiency of HEV Ag greatly diminished when the HEV RNA level was low or the anti-HEV IgG level was high. By logistic regression, a model integrating anti-HEV IgM, alanine aminotransferase and HEV Ag was proposed and the cut-off value was determined based on the testing results of the 143 sequential samples. The model was further evaluated with 67 randomly-selected IgM-positive samples from single-visit patients. Overall, the model outperformed the anti-HEV IgM or the HEV Ag assay in the diagnosis of current HEV infection (sensitivity/specificity/accuracy: 89.5%/95.2%/91.9%). The area under the receiver operating characteristics curve of the model was greater than 0.97.


2019 ◽  
Vol 40 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
T Nestelberger ◽  
L Cullen ◽  
B Lindahl ◽  
T Reichlin ◽  
J Greenslade ◽  
...  

Abstract Objective Patients with suspected acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in the setting of left bundle branch block (LBBB) present an important diagnostic and therapeutic challenge to the clinician. Methods We prospectively evaluated incidence of AMI, and diagnostic performance of specific electrocardiographic (ECG) and high-sensitivity cardiac troponin (hs-cTn) criteria in patients presenting with chest discomfort to 26 emergency departments in three international, prospective, diagnostic studies. Presence of LBBB, ECG criteria, and final diagnoses were centrally adjudicated by two independent cardiologists using the fourth universal definition of myocardial infarction. Results Among 8830 patients, LBBB was present in 247 patients (2.8%). AMI was the final diagnosis in 30% of patients with LBBB, with similar incidence in those with known LBBB versus those with presumably new LBBB (29% vs 35%, p=0.42). ECG criteria had low sensitivity (1–12%), but high specificity (95–100%). The diagnostic accuracy as quantified by the receiver-operating-characteristics curve of hs-cTnT and hs-cTnI concentrations at presentation (AUC 0.91; 95% CI 0.85–0.96 and 0.89; 95% CI 0.83–0.95) as well as that of their 0/1h and 0/2h changes was very high. A diagnostic algorithm (Figure 1) combining ECG criteria with hs-cTnT/I concentrations and their absolute changes at 1h or 2h derived in cohort 1 (45 of 45 (100%) of patients with AMI correctly identified), showed high efficacy and accuracy when externally validated in cohort 2 & 3 (28 of 29 patients, 97%). Figure 1 Conclusion Most patients presenting with suspected AMI and LBBB will be found to have diagnoses other than AMI. Combining ECG criteria with Hs-cTn testing at 0/1h or 0/2h allows early and accurate diagnosis of AMI in LBBB. Acknowledgement/Funding European Union, Swiss National Foundation, University Hospital Basel, University Basel


Author(s):  
Viktoryia Karchynskaya ◽  
Jaroslava Kopcakova ◽  
Daniel Klein ◽  
Aleš Gába ◽  
Andrea Madarasova-Geckova ◽  
...  

Background: Overweight and obesity are mostly monitored via the Body Mass Index (BMI), based on self-reported or measured height and weight. Previous studies have shown that BMI as a measure of obesity can introduce important misclassification problems. The aim of this study was to assess the validity of overweight and obesity classification based on self-reported and on measured height and weight versus the proportion of body fat as the criterion. Methods: We used data on 782 adolescents (mean age = 13.5, 55.8% boys) from the Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children (HBSC) study conducted in 2018 in Slovakia. We obtained self-reported (height and weight) and objective measures (height, weight) and the proportion of fat (as the criterion measure) measured via bioimpedance body composition analysis (BIA) with an InBody 230 from the adolescents. Results: Both measured and self-reported BMI indicated overweight and obesity with relatively low sensitivity (66–82%), but high specificity (90–92%). The superior accuracy of measured BMI in comparison to self-reported BMI was confirmed by the area under the curve (AUC) based on the receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curves (AUC measured/self-reported: 0.94/0.89; p < 0.001). The misclassification of overweight and obesity was significantly higher when using self-reported BMI than when using measured BMI. Conclusion: Both self-reported and measured BMI as indicators of overweight and obesity underestimate the prevalence of adolescents with overweight and obesity.


PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (7) ◽  
pp. e0255358
Author(s):  
Sutopa Talukdar ◽  
Vipa Thanachartwet ◽  
Varunee Desakorn ◽  
Supat Chamnanchanunt ◽  
Duangjai Sahassananda ◽  
...  

Delayed plasma leakage recognition could lead to improper fluid administration resulting in dengue shock syndrome, subsequently, multi-organ failure, and death. This prospective observational study was conducted in Bangkok, Thailand, between March 2018 and February 2020 to determine predictors of plasma leakage and develop a plasma leakage predictive score among dengue patients aged ≥15 years. Of 667 confirmed dengue patients, 318 (47.7%) developed plasma leakage, and 349 (52.3%) had no plasma leakage. Multivariate analysis showed three independent factors associated with plasma leakage, including body mass index ≥25.0 kg/m2 (odds ratio [OR] = 1.784; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.040–3.057; P = 0.035), platelet count <100,000/mm3 on fever days 3 to 4 (OR = 2.151; 95% CI = 1.269–3.647; P = 0.004), and aspartate aminotransferase or alanine aminotransferase ≥100 U/l on fever days 3 to 4 (OR = 2.189; 95% CI = 1.231–3.891; P = 0.008). Because these three parameters had evidence of equality, each independent factor was weighted to give a score of 1 with a total plasma-leak score of 3. Higher scores were associated with increased plasma leakage occurrence, with ORs of 2.017 (95% CI = 1.052–3.869; P = 0.035) for score 1, 6.158 (95% CI = 2.914–13.015; P <0.001) for score 2, and 6.300 (95% CI = 2.419–16.407; P <0.001) for score 3. The area under the receiver operating characteristics curves for predicting plasma leakage was good (0.677 [95% CI = 0.616–0.739]). Patients with a plasma-leak score ≥1 had high sensitivity (88.8%), and those with a plasma-leak score of 3 had high specificity (93.4%) for plasma leakage occurrence. This simple and easily accessible clinical score might help physicians provide early and timely appropriate clinical dengue management in endemic areas.


2011 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 56-64 ◽  
Author(s):  
Remigiusz Szczepanowski

Conscious access to fear-relevant information is mediated by thresholdThe present report proposed a model of access consciousness to fear-relevant information according to which there is a threshold for emotional perception beyond that the subject makes hits with no false alarm. The model was examined by having the participants performed a confidence-ratings masking task with fearful faces. Measures of the thresholds for conscious access were taken by looking at the receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curves generated from a three-state low- and high-threshold (3-LHT) model by Krantz. Indeed, the analysis of the masking data revealed that the ROCs had threshold-like-nature (a two-limb shape) rather continuous (a curvilinear shape) challenging in this fashion the classical signal-detection view on perceptual processing. Moreover, the threshold ROC curve exhibited the specific y-intercepts relevant to conscious access performance. The study suggests that the threshold can be an intrinsic property of conscious access, mediating emotional contents between perceptual states and consciousness.


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