PURPOSE This meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the performance of diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DWI) in identification of colorectal cancer. METHODS A systematic literature search was performed for studies that evaluated the diagnostic accuracy of DWI in identification of colorectal cancer. Methodological quality was assessed by Quality Assessment for Studies of Diagnostic Accu...

The objective of the present study was to prepare controlled release formulation of Moxifloxacin hydrochloride ocular nanoparticles. The nanoparticles were prepared by solvent displacement method using Eudragit RL 100 as a polymer. Different formulations were prepared by varying the ratios of drug and polymer and varying the ratios of organic and aqueous phase. The formulations were evaluated i...

BACKGROUND The available predictors of spontaneous-breathing-trial (SBT) success/failure lack accuracy. We devised a new index, the CORE index (compliance, oxygenation, respiration, and effort). OBJECTIVE To compare the CORE index to the CROP index (compliance, rate, oxygenation, and pressure), airway-occlusion pressure 0.1 s after the start of inspiratory flow (P(0.1)), and rapid shallow br...

AIMS Heart failure with a preserved ejection fraction (HF-PEF) remains a difficult clinical diagnosis. The aim of this study was to test the utility of established criteria to classify patients with HF-PEF. We prospectively enrolled patients into one of five groups across a spectrum of cardiac disease and applied three different criteria for HF-PEF and calculated diagnostic metrics. METHODS A...

OBJECTIVES To investigate the proportion of sufferers of benign paroxysmal positional vertigo among hospitalised patients in Hong Kong who complained of dizziness, and to determine the predictive values and likelihood ratios of classical presenting symptoms. DESIGN Cross-sectional study. SETTING Convalescence/rehabilitation hospital, Hong Kong. PATIENTS A cohort of 88 newly admitted patie...

Introduction: Two techniques for sonographic evaluation of amniotic fluid are Amniotic Fluid Index (AFI) and Single Deepest Pocket (SDP).  In this study,we aimed to determine the accuracy of AFI and SDP in predicting prolonged pregnancy outcomes. Methods: In this prospective, double-blinded, cohort study, 362 women with more than 40 weeks of gestational age were evaluated. Both AFI and SDP meth...

OBJECTIVES Early identification of patients with blood stream infection (BSI), especially bacteraemia, is important as prompt treatment improves outcome. The initial stages of severe infection may be characterised by increased numbers of neutrophils in the peripheral blood and depression of the lymphocyte count (LC). The neutrophil to LC ratio (NLCR) has previously been compared with convention...

OBJECTIVE To determine the accuracy with which a cervicovaginal fetal fibronectin test predicts spontaneous preterm birth in women with or without symptoms of preterm labour. DESIGN Systematic quantitative review of studies of test accuracy. DATA SOURCES Medline, Embase, PASCAL, Biosis, Cochrane Library, Medion, National Research Register, SCISEARCH, conference papers, manual searching of b...

  Abstract   Background: Regarding the diagnostic errors of the classic criteria including serum ascites   albumin gradient (SAAG), total protein concentration and the adapted Light et al’s criteria   in distinguishing transudate versus exudates, we evaluated the ascitic fluid to serum   bilirubin ratio as a new criteria in this regard. We also evaluated whether the combination of   bilirubin r...