This study aims to evaluate the positive predictive value (PPV) and the negative predictive value (NPV) of Vitek2 in detecting extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) phenotypes when compared to a manual confirmatory test as gold standard. A sample of Escherichia coli, Klebsiella spp and Proteus mirabilis isolates were collected by 5 laboratories in the Emilia-Romagna Region (Italy). Vitek2 app...

results we performed rush on 77 patients. kappa index was 0.71 (p value = 0.000), reflecting acceptable general agreement between initial impression and final diagnosis. for hypovolemic, cardiogenic and obstructive shock, the protocol had an npv above 97% yet it had a lower ppv. for shock with distributive or mixed etiology, rush showed a ppv of 100% but it had low sensitivity. subgroup analysi...

BACKGROUND Respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) is one of the important causes of mortality in neonates. This study was designed to assess the role of the amniotic fluid lamellar body counting in predicting fetal lung maturity. METHOD This study was conducted during 2010, April to 2011, February, at Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran. One hundred and twenty eight amniotic fl...

A new method recently used for measuring the temperature is using tympanic thermometer. The aim of this study was to compare the accuracy of this method with rectal and axillary measurement in children less than 6 years old. A total of 220 pair ears, axillaries, and rectal sites were used to determine the body temperature in patients aged between 3 months to 6 years who referred to Emergency De...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the accuracy of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with lumen distention for rectal cancer staging and circumferential resection margin (CRM) involvement prediction. MATERIALS AND METHODS Seventy-three patients with primary rectal cancer underwent high-resolution MRI with a phased-array coil performed using 60-80 mL room air rectal distention, 1-3 weeks before surgery. MRI...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the diagnostic performance of four different tests in order to differentiate between Cushing's disease (CD) and pseudo-Cushing's syndrome (PCS). METHODS In this prospective study, a total of 73 patients with clinical features of hypercortisolism and insufficient suppression of serum cortisol after 1 mg overnight dexamethasone and/or an elevated excretion of cortisol in 2...

Purpose Parallel imaging allows for a considerable shortening of examination times. Limited data is available about the diagnostic accuracy of an accelerated knee MRI protocol based on parallel imaging evaluating all knee joint compartments in a large patient population compared to arthroscopy. Materials and Methods 162 consecutive patients with a knee MRI (1.5 T, Siemens Aera) and arthroscopy ...

We compared a rapid, point-of-care multimarker protocol with a single and serial troponin I (TnI)-only protocol in 5,244 patients admitted to the emergency department with chest pain. The diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) was based on a doubling myoglobin level accompanied by at least a 50% increase in the creatine kinase (CK)-MB level with no detectable TnI; a doubling of myoglobi...

BACKGROUND Transcranial Doppler ultrasound (TCD) and magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) can identify intracranial atherosclerosis but have not been rigorously validated against the gold standard, catheter angiography. The WASID trial (Warfarin Aspirin Symptomatic Intracranial Disease) required performance of angiography to verify the presence of intracranial stenosis, allowing for prospective...

PURPOSE We evaluated the use of narrow-band imaging (NBI) cystoscopy for the detection of bladder cancer and analyzed its diagnostic efficacy in cases of carcinoma in situ (CIS) and in cases with known urine cytology results. PATIENTS AND METHODS A prospective controlled study of NBI was conducted in 104 consecutive patients with definite or suspected bladder cancer. Transurethral targeted bi...