Gut
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Testing for faecal calprotectin (PhiCal) in the Norwegian Colorectal Cancer Prevention trial on flexible sigmoidoscopy screening: comparison with an immunochemical test for occult blood (FlexSure OBT).
Screening for colorectal cancer (CRC) using guaiac based faecal occult blood tests (FOBT) has an estimated programme sensitivity of >60% but <30% for strictly asymptomatic CRC in a single screening round. In search for improved non-invasive tests for screening, we compared a test for faecal calprotectin (PhiCal) with a human haemoglobin immunochemical FOBT (FlexSure OBT). ⋯ In colorectal screening, the performance of the PhiCal test on a single spot from one stool sample was poorer than a single screening round with FlexSure OBT and cannot be recommended for population screening purposes. The findings indicate a place for FlexSure OBT in FOBT screening.
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Gastric cancer is a major health burden worldwide and prevention is the most promising strategy to control the disease. The available scientific evidence indicates that curing Helicobacter pylori infection results in a modest retardation of the precancerous process but does not prevent all cancers. Individuals at the highest risk should be cured of their infection and monitored endoscopically to detect dysplasia and "early" cancer, amenable to successful treatment.
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Multicenter Study
Ultrasound guided fine needle biopsy of early hepatocellular carcinoma complicating liver cirrhosis: a multicentre study.
Because hepatic cirrhosis is a major risk factor for hepatocellular carcinoma, recent guidelines by the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL) on clinical management of hepatocellular carcinoma recommend periodic ultrasound surveillance of cirrhotic patients with immediate workup for nodules >1 cm; an increase in the frequency of screening is considered sufficient for smaller lesions. ⋯ In a screening population, well over half of very small nodules arising in cirrhotic livers may prove to be hepatocellular carcinoma, and approximately 90% of these malignancies can be reliably identified with ultrasound guided-fine needle biopsy.
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Multicenter Study
Persistent organ failure during the first week as a marker of fatal outcome in acute pancreatitis.
In predicted severe acute pancreatitis, many patients develop organ failure and recover without local complications, and mortality is only 14-30%. It has been suggested that half of patients with progressive early organ failure may die, but there are no data to relate death or local complications to duration of early (week 1) organ failure. ⋯ Duration of organ failure during the first week of predicted severe acute pancreatitis is strongly associated with the risk of death or local complications. Resolution of organ failure within 48 hours suggests a good prognosis; persistent organ failure is a marker for subsequent death or local complications.