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Quality assurance in cervical screening of a high risk population: a study of 65,753 reviewed cases in Parana Screening Program, Brazil.

Epidemiological data from the Quality Assurance Unit (QAU) of the Cervical Cancer Screening Program of Paraná is discussed. Slides (65,753) reviewed by the QAU, from October 1997 to July 1999, were analyzed. Relations between agreement rate, diagnostic categories, and age groups were tested. The overall agreement rate was 97.04% (kappa +/- 95%, confidence interval = 0.888 +/- 0.003). Low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (LSIL) showed its peak prevalence in patients < or = 19 yr (8.3%). High-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (HSIL) was more common in women between 40 and 49 yr (5.0%). Squamous-cell carcinoma (SCC) was almost exclusively seen in women > or = 40 yr. The lowest agreement rates were seen in adenocarcinoma (54.5%; kappa = 0.667) and LSIL cases (76.3%, kappa = 0.822), and in women < or = 19 yr (95.8%). It was concluded that constant monitoring to assess specific errors allows directed measures. The 10% rescreening model of quality assurance proved to be effective in a low resources setting with a positive overall financial impact.

Adolescent↗

PSA doubling time predicts the outcome after active surveillance in screening-detected prostate cancer: results from the European randomized study of screening for prostate cancer, Sweden section.

This study reports the outcome of active surveillance in men with PSA screening-detected prostate cancer (PC), and PSA doubling time (PSADT) was evaluated as a predictor of selecting patients to active treatment or surveillance. On December 31, 1994, 10,000 men were randomized to biennial PSA testing. Through to December 2004, a total of 660 men were diagnosed with PC, of whom 270 managed with initial surveillance. Of these 270 patients, 104 (39%) received active treatment during follow-up, 70 radical prostatectomy, 24 radiation and 10 endocrine treatment. Those who received active treatment during follow-up (mean 63 months) were significantly younger (62.6 vs. 65.5 years, p < 0.0001) and had a shorter PSADT (3.7 vs. 12 years, p < 0.0001). PSA relapse was observed in 9 of 70 patients who received RRP during a mean follow-up of 37 months. Seven of these nine PSA relapses were in the patients with preoperative PSADT < 2 years. None of the 37 operated patients with a PSADT > 4 years had a PSA relapse. In a Cox regression analysis adjusted for PSA, ratio-free PSA and amount of cancer in biopsy, only the preoperative PSADT was statistically significant predictor of PSA relapse in p = 0.031. The optimal candidate for surveillance is a man with early, low-grade, low-stage PC and a PSADT > 4 years. In younger men with a PSADT of less than 4 years, surveillance does not seem to be a justified alternative, and patient should be informed about the risk with such an approach.

Aged↗

Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test (MAST)--its possibilities and shortcomings as a screening device in a pre-selected non-clinical population.

A statistical analysis of the MAST scores obtained by its administration to industrial workers, hospitalized alcoholics and persons arrested driving while intoxicated has been performed. The author discusses the modalities and possibilities of improving the test reliability which will increase its efficiency in the screening of alcohol related disabilities. A further study of the inconsistencies in the administration of the MAST along with its validation is planned.

Adult↗

Lung cancer screening by spiral CT. What is the optimal target population for screening trials?

The purpose of this document is to provide recommendations for the selection of the optimal target population for lung cancer screening trials with Spiral Computer Tomography based on an analysis of risk factors and high-risk populations. Our recommendations are to include current or ex-smokers (<5 years) with a smoking history of at least 30 years and an average consumption of at least 20 cigarettes a day. When these selection criteria are applied there is no need for a lower age cut-off. Elderly people can be included as long as their life expectancy is more than 10 years. Participants should be fit enough to undergo thoracic surgery. They may have a history of previous cancer, provided that the cancer has been curatively treated at least 5 years ago without evidence of relapse, except for breast cancer, melanoma and hypernephroma. People with an inability to lie flat, who are unable to hold their breath for 20 s, with a body weight above 140 kg, a chest CT scan within 1 year before enrolment or a previous pneumonectomy should not be invited. The inadequacy of the unit 'Pack-Years' (PY) to estimate the individual lung cancer risk is recognised, and future initiatives to develop an appropriate lung cancer risk model are encouraged.

Adult↗

Screening for depression in the elderly: a study on misclassification by screening instruments and improvement of scale performance.

1. The study compares the psychometric performance of the CES-D and the GHQ-12 in a sample of elderly community residents. Misclassification rates of the questionnaires were analyzed and suggestions for improvement of scale performance are made. 2. 287 subjects out of the general population aged 60-99 years were personally interviewed with standardized diagnostic tools and completed both the GHQ-12 and the CES-D. Best-estimate diagnoses served as standards for receiver operating characteristics (ROC) analysis. 3. Both the GHQ-12 and the CES-D discriminated well between depressive and nondepressive subjects (AUROC = 0.794 and AUROC = 0.782, respectively). The amount of false positive results was high for both questionnaires (GHQ-12: 80.6%, CES-D: 90.1%). Increasing age led to more false positive results on the GHQ-12, whereas the CES-D yielded more false positive results in subjects living in an old age residence or together with family members when compared to those living together with their spouse. 4. The GHQ-12 and the CES-D were valid screening instruments for depression in a community sample of elderly subjects. However, both questionnaires yielded a considerable proportion of false positive results. Elevation of the cut-off score may reduce the misclassification rate of the GHQ-12 but not that of the CES-D.

Aged↗

Fine-needle aspiration cytology in nonpalpable mammographic abnormalities in breast cancer screening: results from the breast cancer screening programme in Oslo 1996-2001.

Fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) of nonpalpable mammographic lesions has been under attack from two sides for some years. There has been much discussion and controversy as to the ability to differentiate between in situ and invasive carcinomas in cytological material. A further issue is that of optimal sampling to obtain adequate cell material in sufficient quantity. We present the results of FNAC from 832 nonpalpable mammographic abnormalities detected in the course of the breast cancer screening programme in Oslo during 1996-2001. In 11.6% of cases the smears were inadequate, and there were 7% false negatives (FN) and 1.3% false positives. Of the FN, 64% represented microcalcifications and 86% were due to sampling errors. Absolute sensitivity was 74%, complete sensitivity 88% and specificity 88%. In 255 carcinomas a cytological diagnosis of them as in situ or invasive was made. In 93% of the invasive cases (190/205) these had been correctly identified as invasive on FNAC. In 78% of cases proper follow-up could be resolved by cytology/radiology alone. Suboptimal sampling and localization remains the main cause of FN FNAC results. Problems in differentiating between in situ and invasive breast carcinomas can be significantly reduced by applying strict criteria for in situ lesions.

Adult↗

'Should a mammographic screening programme carry the warning: screening can damage your health!'?

The balanced presentation afforded by convening a Citizens' Jury when considering a major question such as the introduction of a breast screening programme is advocated. This method would enable account to be taken of all the costs, both human and financial, to all those affected, both participating and organizing, as well as the benefits. Provision of such a democratic opportunity enables consideration to be given to a broad range of factors, by selection of an appropriate range of witnesses, with the advantage of involving the lay public in this decision-making process. Attendance by health correspondents, medical journalists and other media representatives enables publicization of a democracy in action whilst helping to inform the wider debate. Such an exercise could inform whether the NHS BSP should continue in its current form.

Adult↗

Screening for psychiatric illness with a combined screening and diagnostic instrument.

OBJECTIVE: To determine 1) if the PRIME-MD, a two-step screening and diagnostic instrument for psychiatric disorders, increases diagnosis and intervention when actively implemented in a busy general medicine clinic, and 2) the type of staff support required to achieve sufficient implementation to realize gains in diagnosis and treatment. DESIGN: We introduced the PRIME-MD into a large general medicine clinic with repeated rotation of four support conditions for implementation: (1) no support, (2) nonclinical staff support (NCSS), (3) nursing staff (RN) support, and (4) a written "Prompt" condition. SETTING AND PATIENTS: Patients (N = 2,263) attending a general medicine clinic at a Veterans Affairs Medical Center. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Outcome measures were (1) PRIME-MD questionnaire and interview use, (2) overall psychiatric diagnosis, (3) new psychiatric diagnosis, and (4) provider intervention for psychiatric conditions. The NCSS, RN support, and prompt conditions resulted in similar rates of questionnaire use but significantly different rates of structured interview use. The NCSS condition was associated with significant increases in new diagnosis, and the RN support and Prompt condition were associated with significant increases in new diagnosis and intervention compared with no support. CONCLUSIONS: Nursing staff support resulted in sufficient PRIME-MD implementation to achieve gains in both new diagnosis and provider intervention compared with no support. These gains occurred in a busy primary care clinic with nonselected providers and customary visit lengths. This level of support should be achievable in most clinical settings.

Adult↗

[Screening of diabetes in pregnancy. Standard value criteria for 50g-oGTT and fasting blood sugar as simple screening parameter with high accuracy].

Standard value criteria are presented on the basis of 1313 50g-oGTT for assessing carbohydrate metabolism in pregnancy (after the 26th week). The causes of the pregnancy-specific low levels are discussed. The difficulties in comparing these values with those reported by other authors, are pointed out. The authors deal extensively with the various load doses, conditions determining the decrease and glucose determination methods, and attempt to correlate the results with other data. The authors recommend fasting blood sugar values as a simple screening parameter for selecting those pregnant women on whom oGTT would be performed. This results in almost 90% coverage for pathological carbohydrate tolerance, i.e. a result which is superior to the results obtained with all other methods communicated so far. With this method, every 15th pregnant woman is required to undergo a costly and time-consuming test.

Berlin↗

Mouse models incorporating alterations in the major tumor suppressor genes P53 and P16: their use in screening for potential carcinogens, developing further relevant mouse models, and screening for potential chemopreventive and chemotherapetutic agents.

This review is primarily a follow up to an initial review on this subject that the authors published 4 years ago [Lubet et al., Exp Lung Res. 2000; 581-593]. The present review gives a brief discussion of certain background points and rationale for development of these specific models, which had been presented in greater detail in the earlier article. In that initial article the authors identified the potential use of mutant mice in screening for carcinogens as well as preventive or therapeutic agents, discussed the relevance of the dominant-negative P53 mutation, as contrasted with knockout P53 mice, and briefly discussed the pros and cons of mice with a germline mutation in tumor suppressor genes in developing mouse models. The primary objective of the present review is to describe more recent studies using mice the dominant-negative P53 mutation as well as to introduce studies with mice with a heterozygous knockout of the P16/Ink4A ARF locus.

Adenocarcinoma↗

Screening for "substance abuse" among school-based youth in Mexico using the Problem Oriented Screening Instrument (POSIT) for Teenagers.

Indices of classification accuracy of the Substance Use/Abuse scale of a Spanish-language version of the Problem Oriented Screening Instrument for Teenagers (POSIT) were evaluated among school-based youth in Mexico. Participants were 1203 youth attending one middle school (N = 619) and one high school (N = 584) in the third largest city of Coahuila, a northern border state in Mexico in May 1998. More than 94% of youth enrolled in the participating middle school and 89% of youth enrolled in the participating high school completed the International Longitudinal Survey of Adolescent Health. Indices of classification accuracy of the POSIT Substance Use/Abuse scale were evaluated against a "drug abuse" problem severity criterion that combined youth meeting DSM-IV criteria for alcohol abuse/dependence disorders with youth having used other illicit drugs five or more times in their lifetime. The present study findings suggest that using a cut score of one or two on the POSIT Substance Use/Abuse scale generally yields optimal classification accuracy indices that vary somewhat by gender and school subgroups. Further, classification accuracy indices of the POSIT Substance Use/Abuse scale are slightly better when used among high school males due, in part, to the higher base rate of serious involvement among this group compared to others.

Adolescent↗

Can pregnant women obtain their own specimens for group B streptococcus? A comparison of maternal versus physician screening. The Mount Sinai GBS Screening Group.

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to compare the Group B Streptococcus (GBS) detection rate when pregnant women performed their own vaginal/anorectal swabs with that from the standard practice of physician-performed swabs. METHOD: The research involved a comparison of maternally obtained swabs for GBS with the current gold standard of physician-obtained swabs performed on the same patient. The women were surveyed about who they would prefer to do their swabs. This research was carried out in the offices of five family physicians and eight obstetricians at Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto--a tertiary-care teaching hospital--between 1 November 1995 and 31 March 1996. The patients were consecutive pregnant women presenting for their 26-28 weeks antenatal visit. Patients were given a questionnaire and instructions describing how to perform a vaginal/anorectal swab. After each patient completed the survey and obtained her own GBS culture, the physician collected a GBS specimen in their usual manner. The main outcome measures were the results of self-performed and physician-obtained combined vaginal/anorectal culture specimens. RESULTS: Sixty-three matched pairs of GBS swab results and 161 patient surveys were collected. Using any positive result as the gold standard, the prevalence of GBS was 39 out of 163 (24%). Patients detected 38 cases for a sensitivity of 97% (lower 95% confidence limit 92), while physicians identified 32 cases for a sensitivity of 82% (95% confidence limit 70-94). Twenty-five per cent of the women preferred that the physician take the swab, while 75% were indifferent or preferred to self-swab. CONCLUSIONS: Patient-collected vaginal/anorectal swabs for GBS are at least as sensitive as the current practice of physician-performed swabs. The majority of participating patients were interested or willing to perform their own swab. Self-swabbing involves women more actively in their obstetrical care and may improve physician compliance with screening guidelines.

Adolescent↗

Screening standards in assisted reproduction technologies: the screening of semen donors--where do we draw the line?

The most recent British Andrology Society guidelines have certainly stirred up much debate about the exclusion of donors that are seropositive for cytomegalovirus (CMV). Arguments will inevitably go back and forth regarding the statistical risk of donors passing on infection and the point at which that risk becomes unacceptable. As with many of these debates, a number of different opinions will be offered but a consensus will be almost impossible. However, the case of CMV highlights difficulties common to the screening of donors for many infectious and genetic disorders.

Antibodies, Viral↗

Screening for skin cancer: experience of an occupational health screening programme.

A skin cancer screening programme involving 2150 employees based at the head office of a large UK retailer resulted in the detection of four melanomas at an early curable stage. In addition, three other malignant and three potentially malignant tumours were discovered, and individuals at greater risk of developing melanoma were identified and counselled accordingly.

Adolescent↗

Screening for yellow flags in first-time acute low back pain: reliability and validity of a Norwegian version of the Acute Low Back Pain Screening Questionnaire.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the reliability and construct and predictive validity of the Norwegian version of the Acute Low Back Pain Screening Questionnnaire (ALBPSQ). METHODS: A prospective study with a 12-month follow-up was conducted on 123 patients with acute low back pain (LBP) seeking help in primary health care for the first time and 50 patients with chronic LBP for more than 3 months. RESULTS: Test-retest reliability was high with intraclass correlation coefficients of 0.90, minimal detectable change of 12 points (of a total score of 210), and coefficient of variation of 4%. Internal consistency was 0.95. Principal-components analysis revealed 3 factors explaining 49% of the variance. The ALBPSQ score correlated highly (r> or =0.60) with disability variables, moderately (0.30<r<0.60) with age, pain intensity, and psychologic, questionnaires, and weakly (r< or =0.30) with most sociodemographic and clinical variables. The ALBPSQ were significantly lower in acute compared with chronic LBP at all follow-up visits (P<0.001). Significant associations were found between high-risk and low-risk subgroups on the ALBPSQ and pain and disability variables during follow-up. Different cut-off points on the accuracy of predicting outcomes at 6 and 12 months' follow-up showed high specificity and low sensitivity with a best cut-off of 90 points. DISCUSSION: The findings of this study provide further evidence of the utility of the ALBPSQ in clinical studies and in primary care settings (general practitioners, chiropractors, and physiotherapists) to help identify patients at risk of developing chronic LBP and disability.

Adolescent↗

Human papillomavirus testing as an optional screening tool in low-resource settings of Latin America: experience from the Latin American Screening study.

Hybrid capture II (HC II) test for oncogenic human papillomaviruses (HPV) was carried out in a cohort of 4284 women at their first clinical visit. Overall prevalence of HPV was 17.1%, decreasing with age from 33.9% among women below 20 years to only 11.0% among those older than 41 years. HPV prevalence was significantly higher among current smokers (odds ratio [OR] = 1.31; 95% CI 1.1-1.6), in women with two or more lifetime sexual partners (OR = 1.9; 95% CI 1.6-2.4), and those women with two or more sexual partners during the past 12 months prior to examination (OR = 1.6; 95% CI 1.2-2.2). HPV detection increased in parallel with increasing cytologic abnormality, being highest in women with high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (P= 0.001). Specificity of the HPV test in detecting histologically confirmed cervical disease was 85% (95% CI 83.9-86.1). Sensitivity of the HPV test in detecting histologic abnormalities increased in parallel with disease severity, ranging from 51.5% for cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) 1 to 96.5% for CIN 3 and 100.0% for cancer, with respective decline of positive predictive value. These data suggest that HPV testing with HC II assay might be a viable screening tool among this population with relatively high prevalence of cervical disease.

Adult↗

Psychological consequences of neonatal screening for alpha 1 antitrypsin deficiency (ATD). Parental attitudes toward "ATD-check-ups" and parental recommendations regarding future screening.

The parents of 61 children with ATD typically attended repeated doctor's appointments concerning the child's ATD during the first years of life. Many (30-40%) of the parents felt somewhat relieved about the ATD after the first appointment. Parental attitudes toward the appointments varied considerably within the sample, being related to the physician's reported knowledgeability-understandability regarding ATD and emotional supportiveness (toward mothers). Most parents were positive and few were negative toward the child's ATD having been identified at this age. Repeated blood tests for the child's liver function were experienced negatively by most parents. The parents' recommendations concerning screening and follow-up of ATD in children are presented.

Attitude↗