White blood cell differential fluorescence abnormal scattergram: A useful indicator for early detection of malarial parasite

Background & Objective: Undiagnosed malarial infectionis associated with significant mortality and morbidity. Laboratory investigations leading to rapid, accurate and timely diagnosis of malaria is still a challenge. This study was done to assess the utility of abnormal White blood cell differential fluorescence (WDF) scattergram for diagnosis of malaria. Our aim was to study the utility of WDF scattergram for early detection of malarial parasite. Methods: All EDTA anti-coagulated blood samples received in laboratory during a period from Dec 2019 to May 2020 were analyzed on anautomated hematology analyzer, Sysmex XN 1000. All abnormal WDF scattergrams pertaining to plasmodium specie were critically evaluated and recorded. Review of Leishman-stained peripheral smears as well as immune-chromatographic assay by rapid test devices (RTD) was done. Accordingly, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) for detection of malaria by abnormal scattergram were calculated. Results: Out of total 1, 26,000of samples analyzed, abnormal WDF scattergrams were detected in 96 cases. Amongst these, 95.8% (92) were positive for MP on Leishman-stained peripheral smear as well as on ICT with a p-value of 0.05. WDF scattergram abnormalities typical of malaria showed a sensitivity of 80% and specificity of 93.26%. Positive predictive value of 95.8% whereas negative predictive value of 99.9% was detected. Significant findings of hemolysis, platelet clumps, nucleated RBCS (NRBCs) and RBC agglutination were noted in cases (n=4) with abnormal WDF scattergram negative for malaria on peripheral smear. Conclusion: Interpretation of abnormal WDF scattergram not only increases the early detection rate for malarial parasite but isa strong indicator for presence of hemolysis, RBC agglutination, platelet clumps and leucoerythroblastic blood picture as well. doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.38.3.4702 How to cite this:Rehan M, Khalid A, Nasreen F. White blood cell differential fluorescence abnormal scattergram: A useful indicator for early detection of malarial parasite. Pak J Med Sci. 2022;38(3):---------. doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.38.3.4702 This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

ASSOCIATION OF ST ELEVATION IN LEAD AVR WITH LEFT MAIN STEM AND TRIPLE VESSEL DISEASES IN PATIENTS WITH NON-ST ELEVATION MYOCARDIAL INFARCTION

Objectives: To determine frequency of left main stem (LMS) and triple vessel coronary artery disease (3VCAD) in patients of Non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) and to compare the frequency of LMS and 3VCAD in patients with NSTEMI with or without ST elevation in lead aVR. Methodology: Total 346 patients with NSTEMI having age 30-70 years were included in this descriptive cross-sectional study. The data on demographic details was collected. All patients underwent electrocardiography (ECG) and cardiac specific troponin-I assessment. Patients were categorized as NSTEMI with or without ST-elevation in lead aVR. Coronary angiography was performed in all patients and angiographic findings were noted. Results: Mean age of patients was 51.87±10.03 years. There were 218 (63.01%) males and 128 (36.99%) female patients. 182 (52.60%) patients of NSTEMI had ST elevation in aVR. LMS disease was found in 53 (29.10%) patients with ST elevation in aVR. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predive value and negative predictive value of ST elevation in aVR for LMS disease was 62.35%, 50.57%, 29.12% and 80.49% respectively. 3 VCAD was found in 54 (29.70%) with ST elevation in aVR. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predive value and negative predictive value of ST elevation in aVR for 3VCAD was 77.14%, 53.52%, 29.67% and 90.24% respectively. Conclusion: NSTEMI patients with ST elevation in aVR may have higher chances of having LMS disease or 3VCAD. There is high negative predictive value for ST elevation in aVR to predict LMS disease or 3VCAD.

Postoperative CRP Levels Can Rule out Anastomotic Leaks in Crohn’s Disease Patients

Background: In colorectal cancer, C-reactive protein (CRP) levels on postoperative days 3–4 have a strong negative predictive value for an anastomotic leak, with threshold values of ~15 on post-operative day (POD) 3 and ~13 on POD 4. In Crohn’s disease, CRP levels are perceived as unreliable in the postoperative period because of the underlying inflammatory process. The aim of this study was to determine whether postoperative CRP levels can be used to rule out anastomotic leaks in patients with Crohn’s disease and to set CRP threshold values for this population. Methods: This was a retrospective study of a population of Crohn’s disease patients who underwent surgery with bowel anastomoses at a single high-volume center between 1/2012 and 12/2017. The operations were performed by a single colorectal consultant who is an inflammatory bowel disease specialist. Results: Ninety-two operations were performed. A CRP level of 19.56 mg/dL on postoperative day 3 had an area under the curve of 0.865 (sensitivity 88%, specificity 73%) and a negative predictive value (NPV) of 98% for an anastomotic leak. Patients with an anastomotic leak showed a trend towards decreased postoperative albumin levels (p = 0.06). Conclusions: Mean CRP levels and CRP threshold values were indeed higher in the study population compared with those in colorectal cancer patients. Threshold values were set at 20.3 mg/dL on POD 3, 19.5 mg/dL on POD 4 and 16.7 mg/dL on POD 5. These values had high NPVs and can be used to rule out anastomotic leaks in patients with Crohn’s disease after surgery with bowel anastomosis.

Artificial Intelligence Algorithm-Based CTA Imaging for Diagnosing Ischemic Type Biliary Lesions after Orthotopic Liver Transplantation

The study focused on the clinical application value of artificial intelligence-based computed tomography angiography (CTA) in the diagnosis of orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) after ischemic type biliary lesions (ITBL). A total of 66 patients receiving OLT in hospital were selected. Convolutional neural network (CNN) algorithm was used to denoise and detect the edges of CTA images of patients. At the same time, the quality of the processed image was subjectively evaluated and quantified by Hmax, Ur, Cr, and other indicators. Then, the digital subtraction angiography (DSA) diagnosis and CTA diagnosis based on CNN were compared for the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and patient classification results. It was found that CTA can clearly reflect the information of hepatic aorta lesions and thrombosis in patients with ischemic single-duct injury after liver transplantation. After neural network algorithm processing, the image quality is obviously improved, the lesions are more prominent, and the details of lesion parts are also well displayed. ITBL occurred in 40 (71%) of 56 patients with abnormal CTA at early stage. ITBL occurred in only 8 (12.3%) of 65 patients with normal CTA at early stage. Early CTA manifestations had high sensitivity (72.22%), specificity (87.44%), positive predictive value (60.94%), and negative predictive value (92.06%) for the diagnosis of ITBL. It was concluded that artificial intelligence-based CTA had high clinical application value in the diagnosis of ITBL after OLT.

Combined CTP- IGF-1 Score: A New Score for Assessment of Disease Severity in HCV Related Liver Cirrhosis

Background: Liver is the largest endocrine organ in the body. It is a key organ in insulin mediated metabolism, growth hormone and insulin like growth factors (IGF) pathway. Liver cirrhosis is the end result of many chronic diseases including hepatitis C virus infection. Child-Turcotte-Pugh (CTP) score is the standard used in assessment of hepatic reserve but it has its drawbacks in the form of subjective variables, hepatic encephalopathy and ascites. The aim of this work is to assess IGF-1 in patients with liver cirrhosis, correlate it with CTP score and assess value of modified combined CTP-IGF-1 score. Patients and Methods: 170 patients with CLD (liver cirrhosis) and 72 healthy controls in the study groups were enrolled in the study. All patients were subjected to thorough history, clinical examination and laboratory assessment. IGF-1 was measured and all patients were evaluated using CTP and CTP-IGF-1 scores. Results: IGF1 showed highly significant low values in the study group in comparison to controls (42.15 ± 27.976 and 66.31 ± 33.084 ng/ml respectively, p <0.001). It showed also highly significant negative correlation to CTP score in the study group (p < 0.001) with progressive decrements with CTP score stage progression where IGF1 levels were 48.32 ± 28.611, 40.28 ± 25.869 and 18.80 ± 15.953 ng/ml (mean ± standard deviation) in relation to CTP score groups A, B and C respectively (p value < 0.001). The combined CTP-IGF-1 score in comparison to the classic CTP score showed improved area under curve (0.848 and 0.854), sensitivity (71.2% and 88%), negative predictive value (41.7% and 53.7%), false negative results (49 and 19) and accuracy (75.73% and 83.98%) but decreased specificity (97.22% and 61.1%), positive predictive value (99.2% and 91.5%) and higher false positive results (1 and 14) respectively. Conclusion: IGF-1 show progressive decrements with progression of liver cirrhosis and is negatively correlated with CTP score. Addition of IGF-1 to CTP score to formulate combined score improves the AUC, sensitivity, negative predictive value and the accuracy of CTP score and decreases the false negative results.

Evaluation of Liquid Based Cytology (LBC) and Conventional Pap’s Smear Test as Methods of Cervical Cancer Screening

Background: Cervical cancer screening can actually prevent most cervical cancers and also facilitates early detection which allows fruitful treatment.Objective: To evaluate and compare the efficacy of Liquid-based cytology (LBC) with conventional Pap smear test.Methods: This crosssectional study was conducted between March 2015 and June 2017. A total of 72 women participated in this study attending the Out-Patient Department (OPD) of Gynaecology (Colposcopy Clinic) of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU), Dhaka, Bangladesh, for VIA test. The smears prepared by the conventional Pap smear method and Liquid-based cytology method were observed by two independent observers in Department of Pathology of the same institution.Results: The mean age of the patients was 40.22±12.29 years. Considering histopathology as gold standard, in conventional Pap smear preparation our data suggested its sensitivity 87.5%, specificity 92.2%, accuracy 91.7%, positive predictive value 58.3% and negative predictive value 98.3%. In contrast, in Liquid-based cytology, we found its sensitivity 75.0%, specificity 90.6%, accuracy 88.9%, positive predictive value 50.0% and negative predictive value 96.7%.Conclusion: LBC has practical advantages over conventional preparation by producing monolayer of cells, smaller area to screen, reproducibility and availability of doing adjunct molecular techniques from residual sample. However, conventional preparation shows better sensitivity and positive predictive value and almost similar specificity, negative predictive value and accuracy with LBC.International Journal of Human and Health Sciences Vol. 06 No. 01 January’22 Page: 36-40

The Four Prominent Indicators of Diagnostic Testing: Consistency among their Values Reported in Saudi Medical Journals

We provide a novel method for validating any purported set of the four most prominent indicators of diagnostic testing (Sensitivity, Specificity, Positive Predictive Value, and Negative Predictive Value), by observing that these indicators constitute three rather than four independent quantities. This observation has virtually been unheard of in the open medical literature. We defined two functions, which serve as consistency criteria, since each of them checks consistency for any set of four numerical values claimed to be the four basic diagnostic indicators. Most of the data we came across in various Saudi medical journals met our criteria for consistency, but in a few cases, there were obvious unexplained blunders. We relate our present findings to the more general issue of detection and ramifications of flawed, fabricated or wrong data. We observe that the research field handling the detection of flawed data is still in its infancy, and hope that this field will reach maturity very soon.

Validation and modification of HEART score components for patients with chest pain in the emergency department

Objective This study aimed to clarify the relative prognostic value of each History, Electrocardiography, Age, Risk Factors, and Troponin (HEART) score component for major adverse cardiac events (MACE) within 3 months and validate the modified HEART (mHEART) score.Methods This study evaluated the HEART score components for patients with chest symptoms visiting the emergency department from November 19, 2018 to November 19, 2019. All components were evaluated using logistic regression analysis and the scores for HEART, mHEART, and Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction (TIMI) were determined using the receiver operating characteristics curve.Results The patients were divided into a derivation (809 patients) and a validation group (298 patients). In multivariate analysis, age did not show statistical significance in the detection of MACE within 3 months and the mHEART score was calculated after omitting the age component. The areas under the receiver operating characteristics curves for HEART, mHEART and TIMI scores in the prediction of MACE within 3 months were 0.88, 0.91, and 0.83, respectively, in the derivation group; and 0.88, 0.91, and 0.81, respectively, in the validation group. When the cutoff value for each scoring system was determined for the maintenance of a negative predictive value for a MACE rate >99%, the mHEART score showed the highest sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value (97.4%, 54.2%, 23.7%, and 99.3%, respectively).Conclusion Our study showed that the mHEART score better detects short-term MACE in high-risk patients and ensures the safe disposition of low-risk patients than the HEART and TIMI scores.

Prospective study to estimate the role of different infertility factors in prediction of unsuccessful IVF outcome

Research objective: in a prospective controlled study to investigate the role of HSP60, GroEl and other infertility factors as predictors of successful IVF outcome. Materials and methods. 106 female patients were divided into two groups: 54 individuals who received conventional treatment for infertility (using ICSI techniques for IVF) and 52 individuals who received conventional therapy with intravenous IgG, enoxaparin and aspirin. All collected blood samples were tested for HSP60 and GroEl antibodies using immunofluorescence and ELISA techniques at the time of admission, after treatment (and before embryo transfer), and after embryo transfer. We analyzed the factors that can be helpful as prognostic parameters to estimate the risk of implantation failure.Results. The risk of implantation failure is predicted when HSP60 level decreases from the first to the second measurement by less than 0.02 optical density units, with a sensitivity of 62% (95% confidence interval (CI) 47.2–75.3), and a specificity of 87.5% (95% CI 75.9–94.8), the positive predictive value was 81.6% (95% CI 68.2–90.2), the negative predictive value was 72.1% (95% CI 64.1–78.8). The GroEl value for the second dimension was more than 0.411 optical density units, which suggests a risk of treatment failure with a sensitivity of 64% (95% CI 49.2–77.1) and a specificity of 85.6% (95% CI 73.8–93.6), the positive predictive value was 80.0% (95% CI 67.1–88.7), the negative predictive value was 72.7% (95% CI 64.5–79.7). The highest (p < 0.05) value was observed at the beginning of treatment, and the lowest (p < 0.05) – during the third measurement.Treatment of the underlying cause of infertility led to a decrease in HSP60 and GroEl levels, which ensured a positive in vitro fertilization result. It was found that HSP60 and GroEl have a strong association with embryo implantation. The risk of implantation failure was strongly associated with twelve factors, the area under the curve (AUC) was 0.85 (95% CI 0.76–0.91).Conclusions. HSP60 and GroEl are good prognostic factors for predicting a successful IVF outcome in patients undergoing infertility treatment. The measurement of these parameters during the initial infertility examination may help in the immediate diagnosis of autoimmune infertility. Embryo implantation is a multifactorial process. The risk of implantation failure should be evaluated with multiple factors (twelve factors).

Computed Tomography of the Chest as a Screening Tool for Low Bone Mineral Density

ABSTRACT Introduction Computed tomography (CT) Hounsfield units (HU) recently emerged as a promising screening tool for low bone mineral density (BMD). We hypothesized that CT HU measurements of the thoracic spine would significantly and positively correlate with dual X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) BMD scans of the femoral neck. Materials and methods The study included patients with DXA scans and thoracic CT scans at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. One author, blinded to the DXA scans, measured HU from the cancellous bone in T4 vertebrae. Another author statistically compared femoral neck DXA T-scores to the CT HU measurements. Results The study included 145 patients with CT scans and femoral neck DXAs. The osteoporotic and osteopenic groups had a significant difference in HU measurements compared to the normal group within the study (P &lt; .0001 and .002, respectively). A low BMD screening value of 231 HU provided a sensitivity of 90.1% and negative predictive value of 85.7%. Conclusion Thoracic vertebrae HU measurements correlate with a low BMD of the femoral neck as determined by DXA T-scores. A high sensitivity and negative predictive value was achieved with a screening value of 231 HU. Utilization of chest or thoracic spine CT imaging as a screening method provides a quick and available screening tool for assessing low BMD in patients with these scans. Level of Evidence: III (Diagnostic)