6 research outputs found
Respiratory symptoms, sleep-disordered breathing and biomarkers in nocturnal gastroesophageal reflux
The future of early disease detection? Applications of electronic nose technology in otolaryngology
Introduction: Recent advances in electronic nose technology, and successful
clinical applications, are facilitating the development of new methods for
rapid, bedside diagnosis of disease. There is a real clinical need for such new
diagnostic tools in otolaryngology.
Materials and methods: We present a critical review of recent advances in
electronic nose technology and current applications in otolaryngology.
Results: The literature reports evidence of accurate diagnosis of common
otolaryngological conditions such as sinusitis (acute and chronic), chronic
suppurative otitis media, otitis externa and nasal vestibulitis. A significant
recent development is the successful identification of biofilm-producing versus
non-biofilm-producing pseudomonas and staphylococcus species.
Conclusion: Electronic nose technology holds significant potential for enabling
rapid, non-invasive, bedside diagnosis of otolaryngological disease
Electronic nose analysis of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid.
BACKGROUND: Electronic nose (E-nose) technology has been successfully used to diagnose a number of microbial infections. We have investigated the potential use of an E-nose for the diagnosis of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) by detecting micro-organisms in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid in a prospective comparative study of E-nose analysis and microbiology. MATERIALS AND METHODS: BAL samples were collected using a blind technique from 44 patients following a minimum of 72 h mechanical ventilation. Control samples were collected from six patients mechanically ventilated on the intensive care unit (ICU) immediately following elective surgery. Quantitative microbiological culture and E-nose headspace analysis of the BAL samples were undertaken. Multivariate analysis was applied to correlate E-nose response with microbiological growth. RESULTS: E-nose fingerprints correctly classified 77% of the BAL samples, with and without microbiological growth from patients not on antibiotics. Inclusion of patients on antibiotics resulted in 68% correct classification. Seventy per cent of isolates, cultured in the laboratory from the clinical samples, were accurately discriminated into four clinically significant groups. CONCLUSIONS: E-nose technology can accurately discriminate between different microbial species in BAL samples from ventilated patients on ICU at risk of developing VAP with accuracy comparable with accepted microbiological techniques
Antiphospholipid Syndrome: A Series of Surgical Emergencies and the Current Evidence for its Management
It is generally accepted that antiphospholipid syndrome remains a major medical problem characterised by hypercoagulability, arterial and venous thrombosis and thrombocytopenia. It is unclear how best to treat these patients should they require emergency surgery. If a lupus anticoagulant is present, hypercoagulability may occur de novo but surgical interventions along with sepsis are two important predisposing factors. We describe three patients with primary antiphospholipid syndrome and discuss the implications for surgery