Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33820640›Full record

ArticleClinical radiology2021

Optimal diagnostic tool for surveillance of oesophageal varices during COVID-19 pandemic.

D Jothimani, S Danielraj, B Nallathambi, B Pandurangan, S Kalyanasundaram, K Subbiah, H Ramachandran, R Venugopal, D Dhas, M Rela

Open access · bronzeAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Clinical radiology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed
0.8field-weighted citation impact, top 28% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed, 7 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Management of Portal Hypertension in the Older Patient.Current gastroenterology reports · 2024
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

D JothimaniInstitute of Liver Disease and Transplantation, Dr. Rela Institute and Medical Centre, Bharath Institute of Higher Education and Research, Chennai, India. Electronic address: dinesh.jothimani@relainstitute.com.
S DanielrajInstitute of Liver Disease and Transplantation, Dr. Rela Institute and Medical Centre, Bharath Institute of Higher Education and Research, Chennai, India.
B NallathambiInstitute of Liver Disease and Transplantation, Dr. Rela Institute and Medical Centre, Bharath Institute of Higher Education and Research, Chennai, India.
B PanduranganDepartment of Gastroenterology, Dr. Rela Institute and Medical Centre, Bharath Institute of Higher Education and Research, Chennai, India.
S KalyanasundaramInstitute of Diagnostic Radiology, Dr. Rela Institute and Medical Centre, Bharath Institute of Higher Education and Research, Chennai, India.
K SubbiahInstitute of Diagnostic Radiology, Dr. Rela Institute and Medical Centre, Bharath Institute of Higher Education and Research, Chennai, India.
H RamachandranBiostatistics, Dr. Rela Institute and Medical Centre, Bharath Institute of Higher Education and Research, Chennai, India.
R VenugopalInstitute of Liver Disease and Transplantation, Dr. Rela Institute and Medical Centre, Bharath Institute of Higher Education and Research, Chennai, India.
D DhasInstitute of Diagnostic Radiology, Dr. Rela Institute and Medical Centre, Bharath Institute of Higher Education and Research, Chennai, India.
M RelaInstitute of Liver Disease and Transplantation, Dr. Rela Institute and Medical Centre, Bharath Institute of Higher Education and Research, Chennai, India.
Bharath University · IN

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

aimTo study the diagnostic accuracy and utility of triphasic abdominal computed tomography (CT) in the diagnosis and grading of oesophageal varices (OVs) as an alternative to endoscopy during the COVID-19 pandemic. MATERIALS AND

methodsA prospective analysis was undertaken of retrospective data from cirrhotic patients who underwent oesophago-gastro-duodenoscopy (OGD) and a triphasic abdominal CT from January to December 2019. Endoscopists and radiologists provided their respective independent assessment of OV grading after being blinded to the clinical details. Performance of CT grading of OVs was compared with the reference standard endoscopic grading using weighted kappa (k). Non-invasive scores such, as aspartate transaminase (AST)-to-platelet ratio index (APRI), Fibrosis-4 (FIB-4) Index, platelet: spleen (PS) ratio were correlated between the two techniques.

resultsOV grading between endoscopists and radiologists showed 81.73% agreement (85 out of 104 patients) in the comparative analysis of 104 cirrhotic patients, of which no varices (57.1%, n=4), small (85.1%, n=23), medium (72.2%%, n=26), and large varices (94.1%, n=32) with a weighted k score of 0.88 (95% confidence interval 0.82-0.94). Overall, the sensitivity of CT in the diagnosis of no, small, medium, and large OVs was 66.6%, 79.3%, 89.6%, and 94.1%, respectively, with an area under the receiver operating curve (AUROC) score of 0.775, 0.887, 0.839, and 0.914. Performance of APRI, FIB-4, and PS ratio correlated well with the severity of OVs with no difference between OGD and CT grading.

conclusionTriphasic abdominal CT can be an invaluable tool in the diagnosis and grading of OVs during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Indexed as

COVID-19Esophageal and Gastric VaricesFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedPandemicsPredictive Value of TestsProspective StudiesRadiography, AbdominalReproducibility of ResultsRetrospective StudiesSARS-CoV-2Tomography, X-Ray Computed

Identifiers

PMID33820640
PMCPMC7969836
OpenAlexW3138567887

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.