Fecal Immunochemical Test and Helicobacter pylori Stool Antigen Co-Testing

Gastric cancer is a leading cause of cancer death globally. Although endoscopy-based screening has led to a decrease in gastric cancer mortality in Eastern Asian countries with populations at high risk, lack of risk stratification and the cost of health care infrastructure and trained personnel limit its use in most of the world. Availability of noninvasive biomarkers for the identification of high-risk individuals could optimize endoscopy-based screening programs for a more general application, including in regions where gastric cancer rates in the general population are low.

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Novembre 2024

Use of the walking and turning test to accurately discriminate between independently ambulatory community-dwelling older Thai adults with and without a history of falls: a retrospective diagnostic study

Objectives
This study developed and investigated the possibility of using the walking and turning test (WTT) to indicate fall risk in community-dwelling older adults.

Design
Retrospective diagnostic study.

Setting
The study was carried out in a community setting.

Participants
The study focused on community-dwelling older Thai adults.

Primary and secondary outcome measures
The participants were assessed based on demographics, fear of falls using a ‘yes/no’ question and the Short Falls Efficacy Scale International, as well as fall data in the previous 6 months. The participants then performed the WTT, timed up and go test, five times sit-to-stand test and handgrip strength test (HG) in random order.

Results
There were a total of 86 participants with an average age of 69.95±6.10 years (range from 60 to 88 years), most of whom were female (67.44%). 40 participants (46.51%) reported that they had fallen at least once in the previous 6 months. A comparison of various physical ability tests revealed significant differences between faller and non-faller participants (p

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Novembre 2024

Abstract 4141692: Second-by-second monitoring of SpO2 by wearable device during the six-minute walk test identifies patients at risk for worsening heart failure.

Circulation, Volume 150, Issue Suppl_1, Page A4141692-A4141692, November 12, 2024. Background:Assessment of exercise tolerance is crucial for risk stratification in patients with heart failure (HF), and the six-minute walk test (6MWT) is widely used. While the six-minute walk distance (6MWD) is an established metric, it shows significant variability among elderly patients due to numerous comorbidities and potential confounding factors, making relative risk assessment challenging. Therefore, a new comprehensive indicator for evaluating exercise tolerance in elderly patients with HF is required.Objective:This study aimed to evaluate the novel prognostic value of desaturation during the 6MWT, defined as the average decrease in peripheral oxygen saturation (ΔSpO2-Ex), in predicting rehospitalization in patients with HF.Methods:We retrospectively analyzed the data of 55 patients with acute HF aged ≥ 65 years who were prospectively registered at our hospital. The mean SpO2was calculated from data obtained at rest and during the 6MWT using a wearable pulse oximeter designed to record the SpO2value every second. ΔSpO2-Ex was defined as the difference between the highest SpO2at rest and average SpO2during the 6MWT. Patients were followed-up for 1 year for the composite outcome of rehospitalization due to HF exacerbation and cardiovascular death.Results:The mean age was 80.7 years, with 45 % being female. The mean 6MWD was 237.5 m, and the mean ΔSpO2-Ex was 5.8 %. Patients were categorized based on the cut-off values obtained from the ROC curve for both 6MWD and ΔSpO2-Ex. Kaplan-Meier analysis indicated a significantly higher risk of cardiovascular events when ΔSpO2-Ex exceeded 6.7 % compared to when the 6MWD was less than 220 m (HR 6.66, 95 % CI: 2.96-15.01, p

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Novembre 2024

Abstract 4140902: Association Between the Severity of Coronary Artery Stenosis with the Minimum Responsive Dose of Intracoronary Ergonovine Provocation Test

Circulation, Volume 150, Issue Suppl_1, Page A4140902-A4140902, November 12, 2024. BACKGROUND:Coronary artery spasm (CAS) is a cause of variant angina and is typically diagnosed by intracoronary provocation test. Investigations regarding association between the burden of coronary artery stenosis and the minimum responsive dose of ergonovine (ERG) required for provocation is limited.METHODS:In this study, 356 patients who underwent the ergonovine (ERG) provocation test and showed CAS between October 2004 and December 2022 were enrolled. Significant CAS was defined as temporary narrowing of ≥70% during the ERG test. Patients were divided into three groups, based on the minimum responsive dose of ERG: E1 group (20ug, n=13), E2 group (40ug, n=53) and E3 group (80ug, n=290).RESULTS:In patients who were documented with positive intracoronary ERG provocation test, 3.7% responded at the lowest dose (20ug), 14.9% responded at the medium dose (40ug) and 81.5% responded only at the highest dose of ERG (80ug). The baseline characteristics of the patients among the 3 groups were similar, demonstrating no significant difference in the prevalence of hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and dyslipidemia. However, patients who responded at E2 dose showed higher proportion of smokers than E3 dose (E2 34.0% vs. E3 25.9%, p=0.043). E1 group demonstrated the highest proportion of severe stenosis (92.3%), followed by E2 group (90.6%) and E3 group (71.4%) (Figure 1). In addition, incidence of focal CAS and multi-vessel CAS were higher among those who responded to lower doses (focal CAS: 23.1% vs. 20.8% vs. 10.0%; multi-vessel CAS: 61.5% vs.50.9% vs. 36.6%).CONCLUSION:In patients with chest pain with positive intracoronary ERG provocation test, higher burden of stenotic lesions was found to be more frequent and more susceptible in patients who responded at lower doses of ERG.

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Novembre 2024