Comparative analysis of syndromic and PCR-based diagnostic assay reveals misdiagnosis/ overtreatment for trichomoniasis based on subjective judgment in symptomatic patients

Background:Trichomoniasis,a sexually transmitted disease(STD),is caused by Trichomonas vaginalis in both men and women.Screening of trichomoniasis is problematic in resource challenged settings as currently available,inexpensive diagnostic methods are of low sensitivity and/or specificity.In India,National AIDS Control organization(NACO)recommended syndromic case management(SCM)for treatment.The objective of the present study was to compare the utility of the NACO-NACP III Algorithms for STI/RTI treatment used by clinicians with PCR based diagnosis.Methods:Patients visiting Department of Obstetrics&Gynecology,Vardhman Mahavir Medical College and Safdarjung Hospital,New Delhi from January 2011 to June 2014 were enrolled in the study to compare the diagnostic efficiency of PCR-based assays against SCM.Based on SCM,patients(n=820)were treated with antibiotics using pre-packed STI/RTI kits(sexually transmitted infection/reproductive tract infection;procured by National AIDS Control/State AIDS Control Society(NACO/SACS),Ministry of Health and Family Welfare,Govt of India.)under National AIDS Control Programme(NACP III)for syndromic case management(SCM).Ectocervical dry swab samples were also obtained from these patients and out of that 634 samples were tested by PCR.Total genomic DNA was extracted from these samples and used as template for PCR amplification using pfoB,gyrA and orf1 gene specific primers for diagnosis of T.vaginalis(TV),Chlamydia trachomatis(CT)and Neisseria gonorrhoeae(NG)respectively.Results:Out of 6000 patients who visited OPD,820(14%)female patients reported vaginal discharge and were recommended antibiotic treatment for one or more pathogens namely,TV,CT,NG and Candida or for co-infection.On the basis of signs&symptoms and NACO guidelines,the following distribution of various infections was observed:TV(46%),CT(20%),coinfection with TV and CT(12%),coinfection with CT and NG(11%),coinfection with TV,CT and Candida(7%)and coinfection with TV and NG(2%).Others were infected with NG alone(1%),coinfected with TV and Candida(0.4%)and 0.3%were coinfected with CT,NG and Candida.Based on PCR method,110(17%)women tested positive for one or more of these three pathogens while 524(83%)women were negative for any of these three pathogens but could be positive for other STIs not tested in this study.Since all the patients(634)were given antibiotics,we estimate that the over-treatment was 85%while 524(83%)patients were also misdiagnosed by SCM.Conclusions:The over-treatment and inaccurate diagnosis of pathogens due to subjective judgment based on syndromic approach in symptomatic women is a large economic wastage and may also contribute towards increased resistance.The misdiagnosed patients will also serve as a reservoir for transmission of pathogens to their sexual partner.

Cyr61 is a potential prognostic marker for prostate cancer

Cysteine-rich angiogenic inducer 61 （Cyr61） is an extracellular matrix protein involved in the transduction of growth factor and hormone signaling that is frequently altered in expression in several types of cancers. In prostate cancer （PCa）, Cyr61 is highly expressed in organ-confined disease. Further, Cyr61 expression levels are associated with a lower risk of disease recurrence, and can be quantitatively measured in the serum. Considered together, these results indicate that Cyr61 is a potential and clinically useful tissue, as well as serum-based biomarker for differentiating lethal and non-lethal PCa.

Understanding the pathogenesis of hip fracture in the elderly, osteoporotic theory is not reflected in the outcome of prevention programmes

Hip fractures are an acute and worsening public health problem. They mainly affect elderly people, a population group that is highly vulnerable to disease and accidents, and to falls in particular. Although it has been suggested that osteoporosis is the cause of hip fractures, they mainly occur after a fall has been suffered. The underlying causes of a fall are not related to osteoporosis, although pharmaceutical companies have coined the term "osteoporotic fracture" for hip fractures in the elderly. Drug treatments for osteoporosis have not diminished the frequency of these injuries, nor have they prevented the occurrence of a subsequent fracture. Since pharmaceutical interests require osteoporosis to be considered a disease, rather than a normal condition of senescence, they go further by assuming that treatment for osteoporosis is essential, and that this policy will diminish the incidence of hip fractures. On the other hand, the origin and treatment of conditions that may be conducive to provoking falls are very difficult to elucidate. In this paper, we consider some of the medical and social problems that arise in this area, as well as conflicts of interest regarding the aetiopathogenesis and prevention of hip fracture, and propose a new paradigm for the prevention of falls.

Healthcare Overuse： A Literature Review and Taxonomy Proposal

Healthcare overuse is the provision of care in which the benefits do not justify the harms and/or costs. Overuse literature is poorly categorized thus impeding research, practice, and policy to reduce overuse and improve healthcare quality. We developed an overuse taxonomy and searched for and reviewed the healthcare overuse literature in an attempt to better understand and categorize research on overuse practice and patterns. We found that more than two-thirds of articles were observational （70%）, the most prevalent purpose of overuse was treatment/secondary prevention （69%）, the most common type of overuse was overtreatment （73 %）, drivers of and methods to reduce overuse were each discussed in about 40% of abstracts, and the most frequently mentioned clinical area was pharmacy. A high volume of overuse literature exists. However, the majority of overuse research is observational, descriptive, and focuses on overtreatment and overprescribing rather than methods to reduce overuse. Some overuse is not labelled as such. Our taxonomy adequately organized the existing literature and identified areas where additional research efforts are most needed. A common taxonomy, such as ours, could help researchers categorize their work, assist clinicians and policymakers in identifying and implementing findings, and guide future research to improve healthcare quality.