Performing Colonic Mast Cell Counts in Patients With Chronic Diarrhea of Unknown Etiology Has Limited Diagnostic Use

2015 ◽  
Vol 139 (2) ◽  
pp. 225-232 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aisha Sethi ◽  
Dhanpat Jain ◽  
Bani Chander Roland ◽  
Jason Kinzel ◽  
Joanna Gibson ◽  
...  

Context Mastocytic enterocolitis is a recently described entity defined by chronic diarrhea of unknown etiology and normal colon biopsy results with increased mast cells (MCs) seen on special stains. These patients may benefit from mast cell stabilizers; however, the clinical utility of MC counts remains unknown. Objective To determine the clinical utility of colonic MC counts on normal biopsies in patients with chronic diarrhea of unknown etiology. Design Blinded MC counts using a c-Kit stain were performed in 76 consecutive patients with chronic diarrhea of unknown etiology who had normal colon biopsy results and in 89 consecutive control patients presenting for screening colonoscopy. Mast cells were counted per single high-power field in the highest-density area. A t test was used to compare the counts, and receiver operating characteristic curves were generated to examine sensitive and specific cutoff values. Results Overall, MC counts averaged 31 MCs per high-power field in the study group versus 24 MCs per high-power field in the control group (P < .001). When stratified by location, a significant increase was seen in biopsies from the left colon only. Receiver operating characteristic analysis revealed that overall MC counts, left-sided MC counts, and the difference between right- and left-sided MC counts did not yield discriminatory cutoff values (area under the curve, 0.68, 0.74, and 0.81, respectively). Conclusions Mast cell counts were increased in patients with chronic diarrhea of unknown etiology, primarily in the left colon. However, receiver operating characteristic analysis demonstrates no discriminatory cutoff values. Quantitative MC stains yield little useful diagnostic information, and further studies are necessary to determine whether mastocytic enterocolitis truly represents a distinct entity.

2006 ◽  
Vol 130 (3) ◽  
pp. 362-367 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shriram Jakate ◽  
Mark Demeo ◽  
Rohan John ◽  
Mary Tobin ◽  
Ali Keshavarzian

Abstract Context.—In some adult patients with chronic intractable diarrhea, the diagnosis remains elusive even after detailed evaluations, and colonic or duodenal biopsy specimens may appear unremarkable on routine hematoxylin-eosin staining. Objectives.—To assess the concentration of mast cells in colonic or duodenal biopsy specimens by immunohistochemical analysis for mast cell tryptase from patients with chronic intractable diarrhea and to evaluate their response to drugs affecting mast cell function. Design.—Mast cells per high-power field were assessed in biopsy specimens from 47 patients with chronic intractable diarrhea, from 50 control subjects, and from 63 patients with other specific diseases that cause chronic diarrhea (inflammatory bowel disease, celiac disease, collagenous colitis, and lymphocytic colitis). Patients with chronic intractable diarrhea who had more than 20 mast cells per high-power field were administered drugs affecting mast cell mediator function and release. Results.—The mean ± SD concentration of mast cells in the 50 control subjects was 13.3 ± 3.5 cells per high-power field; hence, patients with more than 20 mast cells per high-power field were considered to have increased mast cells. Thirty-three (70%) of 47 patients with chronic intractable diarrhea had increased mast cells, and symptoms were controlled by drug therapy in 22 (67%) of the 33 patients. No patient had systemic or cutaneous mastocytosis. No increase in mast cells was seen in patients with other common causes of chronic diarrhea. Conclusions.—In chronic intractable diarrhea, colonic or duodenal biopsy specimens may appear unremarkable on routine hematoxylin-eosin staining, but increased mast cells may be demonstrated by immunohistochemistry for mast cell tryptase, with the novel term mastocytic enterocolitis describing this condition. Similar increases in mast cells are not apparent in control populations or in patients with other specific diseases that cause chronic diarrhea. The cause of the increased mast cells remains to be elucidated.


2018 ◽  
Vol 142 (12) ◽  
pp. 1554-1559 ◽  
Author(s):  
Banseok Kim ◽  
Yongjung Park ◽  
Jin-Su Park ◽  
Kyoung Ja Jang ◽  
Hyo Jun Ahn ◽  
...  

Context.— Anticyclic citrullinated peptide antibodies are important serologic markers for the diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis. Several kinds of test reagents for automated immunoassay systems have been developed and used in recent years. Objective.— To evaluate the analytic and diagnostic performance of the new ADVIA Centaur anticyclic citrullinated peptide assay (Siemens Healthineers, Erlangen, Germany) compared with the Elecsys assay (Roche Diagnostics, Mannheim, Germany). Design.— A total of 576 serum samples were collected from subjects, including 156 patients (27%) with rheumatoid arthritis. Precision performance and analytical measurement range for the ADVIA assay were evaluated. Diagnostic performance of the 2 assays was compared based on sensitivity, specificity, and area under the receiver operating characteristic curves. Results.— The ADVIA assay showed a within-laboratory imprecision of 3.4% coefficient of variation for levels of 3.36 and 24.99 U/mL. This assay was demonstrated to be linear from 0.4 to 180.0 U/mL. With default cutoff values, sensitivity and specificity for diagnosing rheumatoid arthritis were 71.2% and 97.9%, respectively, for the ADVIA assay and 73.1% and 96.9%, respectively, for the Elecsys assay. With the best cutoff values from the analyses of the receiver operating characteristic curve, the sensitivity of the 2 assays was the same at 75.6%. However, the specificity of the ADVIA assay was 96.4%, whereas that of the Elecsys assay was 94.3%. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve value for the ADVIA assay was 0.867, which was not significantly different from that of the Elecsys assay (0.865). Conclusions.— The ADVIA Centaur anticyclic citrullinated peptide assay showed good analytic and diagnostic performance in diagnosing rheumatoid arthritis.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sihan Zhu ◽  
Zhuqing Cheng ◽  
Yuanjun Hu ◽  
Zhenghe Chen ◽  
Ji Zhang ◽  
...  

Background: The progression and metastasis of cancers are associated with systematic immune inflammation and nutritional dysfunction. The systemic immune-inflammation index and prognostic nutritional index (PNI) have shown a prognostic impact in several malignancies. Therefore, our study aimed to evaluate immune inflammation and nutritional index prognostic significance in patients with medulloblastoma (MB).Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 111 patients with MB between 2001 and 2021 at our institution. The optimal cutoff values for systemic immune-inflammation index (SII), neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR), monocyte/lymphocyte counts ration (MLR), and PNI were evaluated with receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. Clinical characteristics and SII, NLR, MLR, and PNI were tested with the Pearson's chi-squared test. The Kaplan–Meier survival curves and the Cox proportional hazards model were used to evaluate the effects of immune inflammation and nutritional index on overall survival (OS).Results: Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis determined the optimal SII, NLR, MLR, and PNI cutoff values of 2,278, 14.83, 0.219, and 56.5 that significantly interacts with OS and divided the patients into two groups. Comparative survival analysis exhibited that the high-SII cohort had significantly shorter OS (p = 0.0048) than the low-SII cohort. For the univariate analysis, the results revealed that preoperative hydrocephalus (p = 0.01), SII (p = 0.006), albumin–bilirubin score (ALBI) (p = 0.04), and coSII–PNI were predictors of OS. In the multivariate analysis, preoperative hydrocephalus (p < 0.001), ALBI (p = 0.010), SII (p < 0.001), and coSII–PNI as independent prognostic factors were significantly correlated with OS.Conclusion: The preoperative SII, ALBI, and coSII–PNI serve as robust prognostic biomarkers for patients with MB undergoing surgical resection.


Author(s):  
Kathrin Dolle ◽  
Gerd Schulte-Körne ◽  
Nikolaus von Hofacker ◽  
Yonca Izat ◽  
Antje-Kathrin Allgaier

Fragestellung: Die vorliegende Studie untersucht die Übereinstimmung von strukturierten Kind- und Elterninterviews sowie dem klinischen Urteil bei der Diagnostik depressiver Episoden im Kindes- und Jugendalter. Zudem prüft sie, ob sich die Treffsicherheit und die optimalen Cut-off-Werte von Selbstbeurteilungsfragebögen in Referenz zu diesen verschiedenen Beurteilerperspektiven unterscheiden. Methodik: Mit 81 Kindern (9–12 Jahre) und 88 Jugendlichen (13–16 Jahre), die sich in kinder- und jugendpsychiatrischen Kliniken oder Praxen vorstellten, und ihren Eltern wurden strukturierte Kinder-DIPS-Interviews durchgeführt. Die Kinder füllten das Depressions-Inventar für Kinder und Jugendliche (DIKJ) aus, die Jugendlichen die Allgemeine Depressions-Skala in der Kurzform (ADS-K). Übereinstimmungen wurden mittels Kappa-Koeffizienten ermittelt. Optimale Cut-off-Werte, Sensitivität, Spezifität sowie positive und negative prädiktive Werte wurden anhand von Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) Kurven bestimmt. Ergebnisse: Die Interviews stimmten untereinander sowie mit dem klinischen Urteil niedrig bis mäßig überein. Depressive Episoden wurden häufiger nach klinischem Urteil als in den Interviews festgestellt. Cut-off-Werte und Validitätsmaße der Selbstbeurteilungsfragebögen variierten je nach Referenzstandard mit den schlechtesten Ergebnissen für das klinische Urteil. Schlussfolgerungen: Klinische Beurteiler könnten durch den Einsatz von strukturierten Interviews profitieren. Strategien für den Umgang mit diskrepanten Kind- und Elternangaben sollten empirisch geprüft und detailliert beschrieben werden.


1978 ◽  
Vol 17 (03) ◽  
pp. 157-161 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. T. De Dombal ◽  
Jane C. Horrocks

This paper uses simple receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves (i) to study the effect of varying computer confidence of threshold levels and (ii) to evaluate clinical performance in the diagnosis of acute appendicitis. Over 1300 patients presenting to five centres with abdominal pain of short duration were studied in varying detail. Clinical and computer-aided diagnostic predictions were compared with the »final« diagnosis. From these studies it is concluded the simplistic setting of a 50/50 confidence threshold for the computer program is as »good« as any other. The proximity of a computer-aided system changed clinical behaviour patterns; a higher overall performance level was achieved and clinicians performance levels became associated with the »mildly conservative« end of the computers ROC curve. Prior forecasts of over-confidence or ultra-caution amongst clinicians using the computer-aided system have not been fulfilled.


2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (7-8) ◽  
pp. 221-228
Author(s):  
Shahab Hajibandeh ◽  
Shahin Hajibandeh ◽  
Nicholas Hobbs ◽  
Jigar Shah ◽  
Matthew Harris ◽  
...  

Aims To investigate whether an intraperitoneal contamination index (ICI) derived from combined preoperative levels of C-reactive protein, lactate, neutrophils, lymphocytes and albumin could predict the extent of intraperitoneal contamination in patients with acute abdominal pathology. Methods Patients aged over 18 who underwent emergency laparotomy for acute abdominal pathology between January 2014 and October 2018 were randomly divided into primary and validation cohorts. The proposed intraperitoneal contamination index was calculated for each patient in each cohort. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was performed to determine discrimination of the index and cut-off values of preoperative intraperitoneal contamination index that could predict the extent of intraperitoneal contamination. Results Overall, 468 patients were included in this study; 234 in the primary cohort and 234 in the validation cohort. The analyses identified intraperitoneal contamination index of 24.77 and 24.32 as cut-off values for purulent contamination in the primary cohort (area under the curve (AUC): 0.73, P < 0.0001; sensitivity: 84%, specificity: 60%) and validation cohort (AUC: 0.83, P < 0.0001; sensitivity: 91%, specificity: 69%), respectively. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis also identified intraperitoneal contamination index of 33.70 and 33.41 as cut-off values for feculent contamination in the primary cohort (AUC: 0.78, P < 0.0001; sensitivity: 87%, specificity: 64%) and validation cohort (AUC: 0.79, P < 0.0001; sensitivity: 86%, specificity: 73%), respectively. Conclusions As a predictive measure which is derived purely from biomarkers, intraperitoneal contamination index may be accurate enough to predict the extent of intraperitoneal contamination in patients with acute abdominal pathology and to facilitate decision-making together with clinical and radiological findings.


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