Our preliminary data show that BIONOTE technology may be used to reduce false-positive rates resulting from lung cancer screening with low-dose computed tomography in a cost-effective fashion. The model will be tested on a larger number of patients to confirm the reliability of these results.
Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome (OSAS) carries important social and economic implications. Once the suspicion of OSAS has arisen, Polysomnography (PSG) represents the diagnostic gold standard. However, about 45% of people who have undergone PSG are free from OSAS. Thus, efforts should be made to improve the selection of subjects. We verified whether the pattern of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) helps to select patients amenable to PSG. We studied 136 subjects (20 obese non-OSAS, 20 hypoxic OSAS, 20 non-hypoxic OSAS, and 20 non-hypoxic Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) vs 56 healthy controls) without any criteria of exclusion for comorbidity to deal with a real-life population. VOCs patterns were analyzed using electronic-nose (e-nose) technology. A Discriminant Analysis (Partial Least Square-Discriminant Analysis) was performed to predict respiratory functions and PSG parameters. E-nose distinguished controls (100% correct classification) from others and identified 60% of hypoxic, and 35% of non-hypoxic OSAS patients. Similarly, it identified 60% of COPD patients. One-by-one group comparison yielded optimal discrimination of OSAS vs controls and of COPD vs controls (100% correct classification). In conclusion, e-nose technology applied to breath-analysis can discriminate non-respiratory from respiratory diseased populations in real-life multimorbid populations and exclude OSAS. If confirmed, this evidence may become pivotal for screening purposes.
Urinary tract infections (UTIs), which are common among nursing home patients, are associated with adverse outcomes and increased healthcare costs. Antibiotic resistance is an emerging problem, associated with excess morbidity and mortality; it has been suggested that this condition might be more prevalent among subjects with comorbid conditions. The aim of this study was to assess the association, if any, of antibiotic resistance with the burden of comorbidity in elderly with UTIs. This retrospective study enrolled 299 patients with culture-positive UTI consecutively admitted to the nursing home of the "Fondazione San Raffaele Cittadella della Carità", Taranto, Italy, which includes 80 beds under the direction of two geriatricians. The burden of comorbidity was quantified using the Charlson comorbidity score index. Diagnosis of UTI was ascertained by urine culture. Antibiotic resistance was defined according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control expert proposal. Logistic regression was used to assess the adjusted association of the variables of interest with the presence of antibiotic resistance. Antibiotic resistance was detected in 162/299 (54%) patients. In logistic regression, the presence of antibiotic resistance was independently associated with higher Charlson score, after adjusting (odds ratio = 1.06; 95% confidence interval = 1.01-1.10). Antibiotic resistance is highly prevalent among nursing home residents; it is associated with the burden of comorbidity, but not with single diseases. This association and its potential implications should be assessed in dedicated studies.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.