Using the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) as the gold standard, the Fast Alcohol Screening Test (FAST) was developed for use in busy medical settings. AUDIT questionnaires were completed by 666 patients in two London accident & emergency (A&E) departments. Using a principal components analysis, as well as sensitivity and specificity indices, a two-stage screening test was deve...

Patients suffering from phaeochromocytomata excrete many times the normal amount of noradrenaline in the urine (Euler, 1951). Determination of the excretion of noradrenaline in thu urine over 24 hours is thus a valuable aid to the diagnosis of this condition. Few clinical laboratories, however, have the facilities for noradrenaline assay, and there is a need for a simple, reliable, and fairly r...

Cervical cancer is the third or fourth most common female malignancy worldwide, causing an approximate 529,828 new cases each year. [1] It occurs much more frequently in developing countries. In the UK it is now the 17th most common female cancer, and accounts for 1% of female deaths from cancer. [2] Age-standardised mortality rate for the UK was 2.2 per 100,000 in 2012 (2.1 in England and Wale...

Worldwide cervical carcinoma is the second most common female malignancy, causing approximately 500,000 new cases each year. [2] The age-standardised (European) annual incidence rate of cervical cancer is 13.2 per 100,000 females. [2] Age-standardised mortality rate for the UK was 2.9 per 100,000 in 2008. [3] 85-90% are squamous cell cancers and approximately 15% are adenocarcinomas, which are ...

In this issue of Blood, Holzhauer et al have determined a novel method of identifying patients with protein C, protein S, and antithrombin deficiency who are at increased risk of developing venous thromboembolism (VTE; see figure). Children with VTE and their relatives were screened for inherited thrombophilia including proteins C and S and antithrombin deficiency; and Factor (F)V G1691A and FI...

The free running asthma screening test (FRAST) was evaluated in 503 Sheffield schoolchildren aged 6 to 12 years and compared with responses to an asthma questionnaire. The FRAST measured peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) before and at 1, 5, and 10 minutes after maximum voluntary running for at least 5 minutes in a standardised environment. A fall in PEFR of greater than 15% in at least two poste...

Ose, L., and Fluge, G. (1974). The D-xylose tolerance test as screening test for malabsorption disorders in infancy and and childhood. Tidsskrift for Den Norske Legeforening, 94, 1192. Rolles, C. J., Anderson, C. M., and McNeish, A. S. (1975). Confirming persistence of gluten intolerance in children diagnosed as having coeliac disease in infancy: usefulness of one-hour blood xylose test. Archiv...