Multicenter Performance Evaluation of the Revogene® GBS DS Real-Time PCR Assay for Group B Streptococcus Detection During Labor.

PURPOSE: This study aimed to evaluate the performance and ease of use of the Revogene® GBS DS PCR assay for the intrapartum detection of Group B Streptococcus (GBS) colonization, as compared with intrapartum culture and antenatal culture-based screening. METHODS: Between April and August 2019, 398 women who gave birth in one of the three maternities participating in this study agreed to the collection of a vaginal swab when they arrived in the labor ward. The samples were immediately sent to the adjacent laboratory where they were discharged into the buffer provided with the Revogene® GBS DS assay. Part of the buffer was used to perform the Revogene® GBS DS test, and part of the same buffer was used for GBS culture. RESULTS: The Revogene® GBS DS assay provided a valid result in less than 70 min for 356 (89%) women. The sensitivity of the test was 85.7% (66.4-95.3%). The specificity of the test was 99.1% (97.3-99.8%). The positive predictive value was 88.9% (69.7-97.1%). The negative predictive value was 98.9% (96.9-99.6%). CONCLUSION: The easy-to-use Revogene® GBS DS assay provides a valuable tool for the detection of GBS colonization at the beginning of labor. The sensitivity and turn-around time are adequate. The high number of invalid results needs to be addressed before the Revogene® GBS DS test can be expected to replace the current screening-based approach.

A performance comparison of the most commonly used minimally invasive monitors of cardiac output.

BACKGROUND: Shock is common in critically ill and injured patients. Survival during shock is highly dependent on rapid restoration of tissue oxygenation with therapeutic goals based on cardiac output (CO) optimization. Despite the clinical availability of numerous minimally invasive monitors of CO, limited supporting performance data are available. METHODS: Following approval of the University of Saskatchewan Animal Research Ethics Board, we assessed the performance and trending ability of PiCCOplus™, FloTrac™, and CardioQ-ODM™ across a range of CO states in pigs. In addition, we assessed the ability of invasive mean arterial blood pressure (iMAP) to follow changes in CO using a periaortic transit-time flow probe as the reference method. Statistical analysis was performed with function-fail, bias and precision, percent error, and linear regression at all flow, low-flow (> 1 standard deviation [SD] below the mean), and high-flow (> 1 SD above the mean) CO conditions. RESULTS: We made a total of 116,957 paired CO measurements. The non-invasive CO monitors often failed to provide a CO value (CardioQ-ODM: 40.6% failed measurements; 99% confidence interval [CI], 38.5 to 42.6; FloTrac: 9.6% failed measurements; 99% CI, 8.7 to 10.5; PiCCOplus: 4.7% failed measurements; 99% CI, 4.5 to 4.9; all comparisons, P < 0.001). The invasive mean arterial pressure provided zero failures, failing less often than any of the tested CO monitors (all comparisons, P < 0.001). The PiCCOplus was most interchangeable with the flow probe at all flow states: PiCCOplus (20% error; 99% CI, 19 to 22), CardioQ-ODM (25% error; 99% CI, 23 to 27), FloTrac (34% error; 99% CI, 32 to 38) (all comparisons, P < 0.001). At low-flow states, CardioQ-ODM (43% error; 99% CI, 32 to 63) and Flotrac (45% error; 99% CI, 33 to 70) had similar interchangeability (P = 0.07), both superior to PiCCOplus (48% error; 99% CI, 42 to 60) (P < 0.001). Regarding CO trending, the CardioQ-ODM (correlation coefficient, 0.82; 99% CI, 0.81 to 0.83) was statistically superior to other monitors including iMAP, but at low flows iMAP (correlation coefficient, 0.58; 99% CI, 0.58 to 0.60) was superior to all minimally invasive CO monitors (all comparisons P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: None of the minimally invasive monitors of CO performed well at all tested flows. Invasive mean arterial blood pressure most closely tracked CO change at critical flow states.

RéSUMé: CONTEXTE: L'état de choc est fréquent chez les patients blessés et en urgence absolue. La survie pendant le choc dépend fortement de la restauration rapide de l'oxygénation tissulaire avec des objectifs thérapeutiques basés sur l'optimisation du débit cardiaque (DC). Malgré la disponibilité clinique de nombreux moniteurs minimalement invasifs du DC, il n'existe que des données limitées sur leur performance pour appuyer leur utilisation. MéTHODE: À la suite de l'approbation du comité d'éthique de la recherche animale de l'Université de la Saskatchewan, nous avons évalué la performance et la capacité de suivi des tendances des appareils PiCCOplus™, FloTrac™ et CardioQ-ODM™ sur une vaste gamme d'état de DC chez des cochons. Nous avons également évalué la capacité de la tension artérielle moyenne invasive (iMAP) à suivre les changements de DC en utilisant une sonde périaortique de débit basée sur le temps de transit comme méthode de référence. L'analyse statistique a été réalisée avec fonction-échec, biais et précision, pourcentage d'erreur et régression linéaire à des conditions de DC de tous les débits, de faible débit (> 1 écart-type [ET] au-dessous de la moyenne) et de débit élevé (> 1 ET au-dessus de la moyenne). RéSULTATS: Nous avons effectué un total de 116 957 mesures de DC appariées. Les moniteurs non invasifs de la DC n'ont souvent pas réussi à fournir une valeur de DC (CardioQ-ODM : 40,6% de mesures échouées; intervalle de confiance [IC] de 99 %, 38,5 à 42,6; FloTrac : 9,6 % de mesures échouées; IC 99 %, 8,7 à 10,5; PiCCOplus : 4,7 % de mesures échouées; IC 99 %, 4,5 à 4,9; toutes les comparaisons, P < 0,001). La tension artérielle moyenne invasive n'a fourni aucun échec plus souvent que n'importe lequel des moniteurs de DC testés (toutes les comparaisons, P < 0,001). Le PiCCOplus était le plus interchangeable avec la sonde de débit à tous les états de débit : PiCCOplus (erreur de 20 %; IC 99 %, 19 à 22), CardioQ-ODM (erreur de 25 %; IC 99 %, 23 à 27), FloTrac (erreur de 34 %; IC 99 %, 32 à 38) (toutes les comparaisons, P < 0,001). Aux états de débit faible, les moniteurs CardioQ-ODM (erreur de 43 %; IC 99 %, 32 à 63) et FloTrac (erreur de 45 %; IC 99 %, 33 à 70) présentaient une interchangeabilité similaire (P = 0,07), tous deux supérieurs au PiCCOplus (erreur de 48 %; IC 99 %, 42 à 60) (P < 0,001). En ce qui concerne le suivi des tendances de DC, le CardioQ-ODM (coefficient de corrélation, 0,82; IC 99 %, 0,81 à 0,83) était statistiquement supérieur aux autres moniteurs, y compris au iMAP, mais à faibles débits, l'iMAP (coefficient de corrélation, 0,58; IC 99 %, 0,58 à 0,60) était supérieure à tous les moniteurs de DC minimalement invasifs (toutes les comparaisons, P < 0,001). CONCLUSION: Aucun des moniteurs de DC minimalement invasif n'a donné de bons résultats à tous les débits testés. La tension artérielle moyenne invasive était le moniteur qui a suivi de plus près les changements de DC dans des états critiques de débit.

Factores de riesgo asociados a esófago de Barrett en pacientes hospitalizados / Risk Factors Associated With Barrett's Esophagus In Hospitalized Patients

Objetivo: El objetivo de este artículo es realizar una revisión sistemática de artículos científicos que revelen los factores de riesgo asociados a Esófago de Barrett en pacientes hospitalizados. Métodos: La revisión fue efectuada mediante búsqueda electrónica de artículos relacionados a factores de riesgo asociadas a Esófago de Barrett en pacientes hospitalizados. La pregunta PEO fue ¿Cuáles son los factores de riesgo asociados a Esófago de Barret en pacientes hospitalizados? Las fuentes de búsqueda fueron en PUBMED. Los términos de búsqueda fueron: Factores de Riesgo; Esófago de Barrett; pacientes hospitalizados. Para esta revisión se seleccionaron los artículos publicados a partir el año 2010 que tuvieron experiencias investigativas y aspectos teórico-conceptuales. Resultados: De los 389 resultados encontrados con fuentes de indexación, se seleccionaron un total de 25 artículos donde 22 artículos contenían resultados de investigación y 3 fueron considerados para aspectos teórico ­ conceptuales que se relacionan con el propósito del estudio. La búsqueda dio como resultado factores de riesgo asociados a Esófago de Barrett según las características demográficas y rasgos del paciente, presentación y datos clínicos y estilos de vida. Conclusión: Se evidencia una asociación de diversos factores de riesgo con Esófago de Barret en pacientes hospitalizados. Los factores de riesgo asociados a Esófago de Barrett en la revisión que fueron más concordantes son sexo masculino, edad incrementada, síndrome metabólico, hernia hiatal, uso de inhibidores de bomba de protones, reflujo gastroesofágico(RGE), apnea obstructiva del sueño y esofagitis erosiva.

Objective: The objective of this article is to carry out a systematic review of scientific articles that reveal the risk factors associated with Barrett's esophagus in hospitalized patients. Methods: The review was performed by electronic search for articles related to risk factors associated with Barrett's esophagus in hospitalized patients. The PEO question was: What are the risk factors associated with Barrett's esophagus in hospitalized patients? The search sources were in PUBMED. The search terms were: Risk Factors; Barrett's esophagus; hospitalized patients. For this review, articles published from 2010 that had research experiences and theoretical-conceptual aspects were selected. Results: Of the 389 results found with indexing sources, a total of 25 articles were selected where 22 articles contained research results and 3 were considered for theoretical-conceptual aspects that are related to the purpose of the study. The search resulted in risk factors associated with Barrett's esophagus according to demographic characteristics and patient traits, presentation, and clinical data and lifestyles. Conclusion: An association of various risk factors with Barrett's esophagus is evidenced in hospitalized patients. The most concordant risk factors associated with Barrett's esophagus in the review were male sex, increased age, metabolic syndrome, hiatal hernia, use of proton pump inhibitors, gastroesophageal reflux (GER), obstructive sleep apnea, and erosive esophagitis.

Emerging Role of Myeloid-derived Suppressor Cells in the Biology of Transplantation Tolerance.

Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs), a heterogeneous population of myeloid cells, are characterized by their immunosuppressive abilities through the secretion of various cytokines such as inducible nitric oxide synthase, nitric oxide, reactive oxygen species, transforming growth factor-ß, and arginase-1. Accumulating evidence highlights its potential role in maintaining immune tolerance in solid organ and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Mechanistically, MDSCs-induced transplant tolerance is mainly dependent on direct suppression of allogeneic reaction or strengthened cross-talk between MDSCs and Treg or NKT cells. Adopted transfer of in vitro- or in vivo-induced MDSCs by special drugs therefore becomes a potential strategy for maintaining transplantation tolerance. In this review, we will summarize the previously published data about the role of MDSCs in the biology of transplantation tolerance and gain insights into the possible molecular mechanism governing this process.

Shape-based interpolation method in measuring intracranial volume for pre- and post-operative decompressive craniectomy using open source software / Método de interpolación basado en formas para medir el volumen intracraneal en craneotomía descompresiva pre y postoperatoria utilizando un software de código abierto

Introduction: Intracranial volume (ICV) is an important tool in the management of patients undergoing decompressive craniectomy (DC) surgery. The aim of this study was to validate ICV measurement applying the shape-based interpolation (SBI) method using open source software on computed tomography (CT) images. Methods: The pre- and post-operative CT images of 55 patients undergoing DC surgery were analyzed. The ICV was measured by segmenting every slice of the CT images, and compared with estimated ICV calculated using the 1-in-10 sampling strategy and processed using the SBI method. An independent t test was conducted to compare the ICV measurements between the two different methods. The calculation using this method was repeated three times for reliability analysis using the intraclass correlations coefficient (ICC). The Bland-Altman plot was used to measure agreement between the methods for both pre- and post-operative ICV measurements. Results: The mean ICV (±SD) were 1341.1±122.1ml (manual) and 1344.11±122.6ml (SBI) for the preoperative CT data. The mean ICV (±SD) were 1396.4±132.4ml (manual) and 1400.53±132.1ml (SBI) for the post-operative CT data. No significant difference was found in ICV measurements using the manual and the SBI methods (p=.983 for pre-op, and p=.960 for post-op). The intrarater ICC showed a significant correlation; ICC=1.00. The Bland-Altman plot showed good agreement between the manual and the SBI method. Conclusion: The shape-based interpolation method with 1-in-10 sampling strategy gave comparable results in estimating ICV compared to manual segmentation. Thus, this method could be used in clinical settings for rapid, reliable and repeatable ICV estimations

Introducción: El volumen intracraneal (ICV) constituye una importante herramienta para el tratamiento de los pacientes sometidos a craneotomía descompresiva (CD). El objetivo de este estudio fue validar la medición del ICV aplicando el método de interpolación basado en formas (SBI), utilizando software de código abierto en las imágenes de tomografía computarizada (TC). Métodos: Se analizaron las imágenes pre- y postoperatorias de TC de 55 pacientes sometidos a CD. Se midió el ICV segmentando cada corte de las imágenes de TC, comparándose con el ICV estimado calculado utilizando la estrategia de muestreo 1 de 10, y procesándose mediante el método SBI. Se realizó una prueba t independiente para comparar las mediciones de ICV entre los 2 métodos. Se repitió 3 veces el cálculo con este método, para realizar el análisis de fiabilidad, utilizando el coeficiente de correlación intra-clase (ICC). Se utilizó el gráfico de Bland-Altman para medir el acuerdo entre ambos métodos, para las mediciones de ICV pre- y postoperatorias. Resultados: El ICV medio (±DE) fue de 1.341,1ml±122,1 (manual) y 1.344,11ml±122,6 (SBI) para los datos de la TC preoperatoria. El ICV medio (±DE) fue de 1.396,4ml±132,4 (manual) y 1.400,53ml±132,1 (SBI) para los datos de la TC postoperatoria. No se encontró diferencia significativa en cuanto a las mediciones de ICV utilizando los métodos manual y SBI (p=0,983 para preoperatoria, p=0,960 para postoperatoria). El ICC intra-evaluador reflejó una correlación significativa; ICC=1. El gráfico de Bland-Altman reflejó un buen acuerdo entre el método manual y el método SBI. Conclusión: El método de interpolación basado en formas con estrategia de muestreo 1 de 10 proporcionó resultados comparables a la hora de calcular el ICV, en comparación con la segmentación manual. Por tanto, este método podría utilizarse en el entorno clínico para realizar estimaciones del ICV rápidas, fidedignas y repetibles

Paclitaxel induces autophagy in gastric cancer BGC823 cells.

This paper explores the connection between paclitaxel, a chemotherapeutic agent, and gastric cancer cells. In this experiment, it is demonstrated that paclitaxel triggers autophagy and inhibits proliferation of gastric cancer cells. An 3-(4,5-dimethyl-2-thiazolyl)-2,5-diphenyl-2-H-tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay was used to detect cell viability and the IC50 of paclitaxel. Western blot was used to detect the expression levels of P62, and to measure the protein expression of autophagy. Immunofluorescence was used to reveal the appearance of punctate structures in the cytoplasm-this ultrastructure associated with autophagy was observed by microscopy. Electron microscopy revealed the formation of double-membrane autophagosomes, a typical structure of autophagy. In conclusion, our research indicates that paclitaxel may influence gastric cancer BGC823 cells by way of inducing autophagy.