Gut microbiome composition and risk factors in a large cross-sectional IBS cohort.

Objective: Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a common gastrointestinal disorder that is difficult to diagnose and treat due to its inherent heterogeneity and unclear aetiology. Although there is evidence suggesting the importance of the microbiome in IBS, this association remains poorly defined. In the current study, we aimed to characterise a large cross-sectional cohort of patients with self-reported IBS in terms of microbiome composition, demographics, and risk factors. Design: Individuals who had previously submitted a stool sample for 16S microbiome sequencing were sent a comprehensive survey regarding IBS diagnosis, demographics, health history, comorbidities, family history, and symptoms. Log ratio-transformed abundances of microbial taxa were compared between individuals reporting a diagnosis of IBS without any comorbidities and individuals reporting no health conditions. Univariable testing was followed by a multivariable logistic regression model controlling for relevant confounders. Results: Out of 6386 respondents, 1692 reported a diagnosis of IBS without comorbidities and 1124 reported no health conditions. We identified 3 phyla, 15 genera, and 19 species as significantly associated with IBS after adjustment for confounding factors. Demographic risk factors include a family history of gut disorders and reported use of antibiotics in the last year. Conclusion: The results of this study confirm important IBS risk factors in a large cohort and support a connection for microbiome compositional changes in IBS pathogenesis. The results also suggest clinical relevance in monitoring and investigating the microbiome in patients with IBS. Further, the exploratory models described here provide a foundation for future studies.

The role of a sequencing-based clinical intestinal screening test in patients at high-risk for Clostridium difficile and other pathogens: a case report.

BACKGROUND: Hospitalization and antibiotic treatment can put patients at high risk for Clostridium difficile infection, where a disturbance of the gut microbiome allows for Clostridium difficile proliferation and associated symptoms, including mild, moderate, or severe diarrhea. Clostridium difficile infection is challenging to treat, often recurrent, and leads to almost 30,000 annual deaths in the USA alone. Here we present a case where SmartGut™, an at-home, self-administered sequencing-based clinical intestinal screening test, was used to identify the presence of Clostridium difficile in a patient with worsening diarrhea. Identification of this pathogen and subsequent treatment led to a significant improvement in symptoms. CASE PRESENTATION: The patient is a 29-year-old white woman with a history of severe irritable bowel syndrome with diarrhea, hemorrhoidectomy, and anal sphincterotomy complicated by a perianal fistula and perirectal abscesses that required extended courses of broad-spectrum antibiotics. In June 2016, she developed intermittent Clostridium difficile infections, which required continued antibiotic use. Months later she used an at-home, self-administered, intestinal microbial test, the first of which was negative for the presence of Clostridium difficile, but it detected the relative abundance of microbes associated with irritable bowel syndrome outside the healthy reference ranges. In the subsequent 2 months after the negative Clostridium difficile result, her gastrointestinal symptoms worsened dramatically. A second microbiome test resulted in a positive Clostridium difficile finding and continued abnormal microbial parameters, which led the treating physician to refer her to a gastroenterologist. Additional testing confirmed the presence of Clostridium difficile with a toxin-positive strain. She received treatment immediately and her gastrointestinal symptoms improved significantly over the next week. CONCLUSIONS: This case report suggests that more frequent DNA testing for Clostridium difficile infections may be indicated in patients that are at high-risk for Clostridium difficile infection, especially for patients with irritable bowel syndrome, and those who undergo gastrointestinal surgery and/or an extended antibiotic treatment. This report also shows that such testing could be effectively performed using at-home, self-administered sequencing-based clinical intestinal microbial screening tests. Further research is needed to investigate whether the observations reported here extrapolate to a larger cohort of patients.

The benefits of health information technology: a review of the recent literature shows predominantly positive results.

An unprecedented federal effort is under way to boost the adoption of electronic health records and spur innovation in health care delivery. We reviewed the recent literature on health information technology to determine its effect on outcomes, including quality, efficiency, and provider satisfaction. We found that 92 percent of the recent articles on health information technology reached conclusions that were positive overall. We also found that the benefits of the technology are beginning to emerge in smaller practices and organizations, as well as in large organizations that were early adopters. However, dissatisfaction with electronic health records among some providers remains a problem and a barrier to achieving the potential of health information technology. These realities highlight the need for studies that document the challenging aspects of implementing health information technology more specifically and how these challenges might be addressed.

Diffusion lung capacity for carbon monoxide (DLCO) is an independent prognostic factor for long-term survival after curative lung resection for cancer.

INTRODUCTION: We examined the early and late prognostic significance of DLCO and forced expiratory volume in 1 sec (FEV1) in patients who underwent surgical resection of lung cancer. METHODS: From 1997 to 2004, 462 patients underwent successful complete resection of their lung cancer and had full pulmonary function testing including DLCO performed. Mean follow-up was over 5 years (64.8 months--range: 0-158 months). RESULTS: Postoperative 90-day mortality was 2.6% (12/462). At last follow-up, of the remaining 450 patients, 182 patients were alive, 130 had died of cancer, and 138 have died of other causes and did not have recurrent cancer. Mean DLCO values were 69.4%, 66.8%, and 53.9%, respectively. Mean FEV1 values were 81.3%, 78.1%, and 71.5%, respectively. Mean DLCOs and FEV1s between patients who died of cancer versus other causes were significantly different (P < 0.0001 and P = 0.0157). When cause-specific survival was analyzed for both DLCO and FEV1 simultaneously, DLCO had a very significant effect on survival from other causes (HR 0.966, P < 0.0001) when adjusted for FEV1. However, when adjusted by DLCO, FEV1 had no significant effect. A DLCO <40% best predicted decreased survival from causes other than cancer within stage I lung cancers (stage IA HR 0.953, P < 0.0001; stage IB HR 0.968, P < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: DLCO was found to be a significant prognostic factor for long-term survival after lung cancer surgery. This may serve as a surrogate for competing morbidities with declining values predicting a higher risk of late non-cancer-related death.