scholarly journals Microbial Translocation and Perinatal Asphyxia/Hypoxia: A Systematic Review

Diagnostics ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 214
Author(s):  
Dimitra-Ifigeneia Matara ◽  
Abraham Pouliakis ◽  
Theodoros Xanthos ◽  
Rozeta Sokou ◽  
Georgios Kafalidis ◽  
...  

The microbiome is vital for the proper function of the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) and the maintenance of overall wellbeing. Gut ischemia may lead to disruption of the intestinal mucosal barrier, resulting in bacterial translocation. In this systematic review, according to PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis) guidelines, we constructed a search query using the PICOT (Patient, Intervention, Comparison, Outcome, Time) framework. Eligible studies reported in PubMed, up to April 2021 were selected, from which, 57 publications’ data were included. According to these, escape of intraluminal potentially harmful factors into the systemic circulation and their transmission to distant organs and tissues, in utero, at birth, or immediately after, can be caused by reduced blood oxygenation. Various factors are involved in this situation. The GIT is a target organ, with high sensitivity to ischemia–hypoxia, and even short periods of ischemia may cause significant local tissue damage. Fetal hypoxia and perinatal asphyxia reduce bowel motility, especially in preterm neonates. Despite the fact that microbiome arouse the interest of scientists in recent decades, the pathophysiologic patterns which mediate in perinatal hypoxia/asphyxia conditions and gut function have not yet been well understood.

Diagnostics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 363
Author(s):  
Vânia M. Moreira ◽  
Paulo Mascarenhas ◽  
Vanessa Machado ◽  
João Botelho ◽  
José João Mendes ◽  
...  

The rapid and accurate testing of SARS-CoV-2 infection is still crucial to mitigate, and eventually halt, the spread of this disease. Currently, nasopharyngeal swab (NPS) and oropharyngeal swab (OPS) are the recommended standard sampling techniques, yet, these have some limitations such as the complexity of collection. Hence, several other types of specimens that are easier to obtain are being tested as alternatives to nasal/throat swabs in nucleic acid assays for SARS-CoV-2 detection. This study aims to critically appraise and compare the clinical performance of RT-PCR tests using oral saliva, deep-throat saliva/posterior oropharyngeal saliva (DTS/POS), sputum, urine, feces, and tears/conjunctival swab (CS) against standard specimens (NPS, OPS, or a combination of both). In this systematic review and meta-analysis, five databases (PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, ClinicalTrial.gov and NIPH Clinical Trial) were searched up to the 30th of December, 2020. Case-control and cohort studies on the detection of SARS-CoV-2 were included. The methodological quality was assessed using the Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies 2 (QUADAS 2). We identified 1560 entries, 33 of which (1.1%) met all required criteria and were included for the quantitative data analysis. Saliva presented the higher accuracy, 92.1% (95% CI: 70.0–98.3), with an estimated sensitivity of 83.9% (95% CI: 77.4–88.8) and specificity of 96.4% (95% CI: 89.5–98.8). DTS/POS samples had an overall accuracy of 79.7% (95% CI: 43.3–95.3), with an estimated sensitivity of 90.1% (95% CI: 83.3–96.9) and specificity of 63.1% (95% CI: 36.8–89.3). The remaining index specimens could not be adequately assessed given the lack of studies available. Our meta-analysis shows that saliva samples from the oral region provide a high sensitivity and specificity; therefore, these appear to be the best candidates for alternative specimens to NPS/OPS in SARS-CoV-2 detection, with suitable protocols for swab-free sample collection to be determined and validated in the future. The distinction between oral and extra-oral salivary samples will be crucial, since DTS/POS samples may induce a higher rate of false positives. Urine, feces, tears/CS and sputum seem unreliable for diagnosis. Saliva testing may increase testing capacity, ultimately promoting the implementation of truly deployable COVID-19 tests, which could either work at the point-of-care (e.g. hospitals, clinics) or at outbreak control spots (e.g., schools, airports, and nursing homes).


Author(s):  
Alberto Aimo ◽  
Georgios Georgiopoulos ◽  
Giorgia Panichella ◽  
Giuseppe Vergaro ◽  
Claudio Passino ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 79 (OCE2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucy Pritchard ◽  
Mary Hickson ◽  
Stephen Lewis

AbstractVitamin D (vitD) deficiency is the most common nutritional deficiency worldwide. Most patients are treated with oral vitD capsules (either vitD2 or vitD3). A few studies have reported equal efficacy of buccal spray vitD. This is a new formulation that is absorbed via the oral mucosa into the systemic circulation, bypassing the gastrointestinal route. The main objective of this systematic review was to identify RCT evidence for the comparative effectiveness of buccal spray versus oral vitD on serum 25-hydroxyvitaminD [25-OHD] concentrations and any adverse effects of buccal spray vitD. We have published an a priori protocol using Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) methodology (PROSPERO CRD42018118580). A three-step search strategy to identify RCTs was conducted, which reported serum 25-OHD concentrations from five databases from 2008–2018. Retrieved abstracts were screened; included papers imported into JBI SUMARI and assessed for study quality (GRADE) by two authors. Meta-analysis was planned. Three RCTs met our inclusion criteria. Due to heterogeneity of studies, meta-analysis was not possible. In a RCT crossover study, mean serum 25-OHD concentrations were significantly higher in patients with malabsorption syndrome (n = 20) on 1000IU buccal spray + 117.8%(10.46, 95%CI6.89,14.03ng/ml) vs.1000IU oral vitD3 + 36.02%(3.96, 95%CI2.37, 5.56ng/ml) at 30days (p < 0.0001). Mean serum 25-OHD were also significantly higher in healthy adults (n = 20) on buccal spray + 42.99%(7.995, 95%CI6.86,9.13ng/ml)vs.oral vitD3 + 21.72%(4.06, 95%CI3.41,4.71ng/ml) at 30days (p < 0.0001). In another RCT crossover study, ANCOVA revealed no significant difference in the mean and SD change from baseline total 25-OHD concentrations in adults (n = 22) on 3000IU buccal spray vs. 3000IU oral vitD3 + 44%,26.15 (SD17.85) vs. + 51%,30.38 (SD17.91)nmol/l, respectively;F = 1.044, adjusted r20.493,p = 0.313 at 4 weeks. In a RCT, 800IU buccal spray was equally effective as 750IU oral vitD3 in children with neurodisabilities(n = 24) at 3 months. Both groups had a significant increase in 25-OHD; 11.5 ng/ml(median8–19) to 26.5(13.6–39)ng/ml and 15.5ng/ml(8–20) to 34.5(22–49)ng/ml, respectively (z = 150;p < 0.0001). The overall certainty of evidence was very low to moderate. No adverse effects were reported. The evidence from these studies suggests that 800IU-3000IU doses of buccal spray vitD3 given daily may be an effective alternative as oral vitD3 in obtaining short-term haematological responses in serum 25-OHD concentrations. Buccal spray vitD3 may be a useful alternative for patients with intestinal malabsorption or dysphagia. Future research should compare buccal spray VD3 to intramuscular injections and confirm these findings in well-designed trials.


2019 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. e4.2-e4
Author(s):  
Caitlin Wilson ◽  
Clare Harley ◽  
Stephanie Steels

BackgroundPre-hospital clinicians are involved in examining, treating and diagnosing patients. The accuracy of pre-hospital diagnoses is evaluated using diagnostic accuracy studies. We undertook a systematic review of published literature to provide an overview of how accurately pre-hospital clinicians diagnose patients compared to hospital doctors. A bivariate meta-analysis was incorporated to examine the range of diagnostic sensitivity and specificity.MethodsWe searched MEDLINE, CINAHL, Embase, AMED and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews from 1946 to 7th May 2016 for studies where patients had been given a diagnosis by pre-hospital clinicians and hospital doctors. Key words focused on study type (‘diagnostic accuracy’), outcomes (sensitivity, specificity, likelihood ratio?, predictive value?) and setting (paramedic*, pre-hospital, ambulance, ‘emergency service?’, ‘emergency medical service?’, ‘emergency technician?’). The sole researcher screened titles and abstracts to ensure eligibility criteria were met, as well as assessing methodological quality using QUADAS-2.Results2941 references were screened by title and/or abstract. Eleven studies encompassing 3 84 985 patients were included after full-text review. The types of diagnoses in one of the studies encompassed all possible diagnoses and in the other studies focused on sepsis, stroke and myocardial infarction. Sensitivity estimates ranged from 32%–100% and specificity estimates from 14%–100%. Eight of the studies were deemed to have a low risk of bias and were incorporated into a meta-analysis, which showed a pooled sensitivity of 0.74 (0.62, 0.82) and a pooled specificity of 0.94 (0.87, 0.97).ConclusionsCurrent published research suggests that diagnoses made by pre-hospital clinicians have high sensitivity and even higher specificity. However, the paucity and varying quality of eligible studies indicates that further pre-hospital diagnostic accuracy studies are warranted especially in the field of non-life-threatening conditions and trauma.


2020 ◽  
Vol 55 (11) ◽  
pp. 2924-2939
Author(s):  
Viraraghavan Vadakkencherry Ramaswamy ◽  
Tapas Bandyopadhyay ◽  
Debasish Nanda ◽  
Prathik Bandiya ◽  
Kiran More ◽  
...  

2022 ◽  
Vol 38 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Liping Lu ◽  
Xuming Pan

Non-contrast MRI is used for identifying patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), especially among high-risk patients with cirrhosis or chronic viral hepatitis. The accuracy of non-contrast MRI has been investigated with varying results. We performed this meta-analysis to consolidate the evidence on the accuracy of non-contrast MRI for the detection of HCC. We conducted a systematic search in the databases of PubMed Central, SCOPUS, MEDLINE, EMBASE and Cochrane from inception till November 2020. We used the STATA software “Midas” package for meta-analysis. We included 15 studies with 3,756 patients. The pooled sensitivity and specificity of non-contrast MRI for HCC detection were 84% (95%CI, 78%-88%) and 94% (95%CI, 91%-97%). The positive likelihood ratio was 14.9 (95% CI, 9.0-24.7) and the negative one 0.17 (0.12-0.23). The overall quality of the studies was high. We found significant heterogeneity based on chi-square test results and I2 statistic > 75%. Deek’s test showed the absence of publication bias. We found that non-contrast MRI has high sensitivity and specificity as a tool for detecting HCC. Studies exploring its accuracy in different ethnic populations are required to strengthen the evidence. doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.38.3.5142 How to cite this:Lu L, Pan X. Accuracy of Non-Contrast MRI for the Detection of Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Pak J Med Sci. 2022;38(3):---------. doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.38.3.5142 This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.


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