The Fast Track FIT study: diagnostic accuracy of faecal immunochemical test for haemoglobin in patients with suspected colorectal cancer.

Background: The faecal immunochemical test (FIT) is now available to support clinicians in the assessment of patients at low risk of colorectal cancer (CRC) and within the bowel cancer screening programme.

Aim: To determine the diagnostic accuracy of FIT for CRC and clinically significant disease in patients referred as they were judged by their GP to fulfil National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guideline 12 (NG12) criteria for suspected CRC.

Design And Setting: Patients referred from primary care with suspected CRC, meeting NG12 criteria, to 12 secondary care providers in Yorkshire and Humber were asked to complete a FIT before investigation.

Role of the neuroendocrine system in pathogenesis of gastroenteritis.

The concept of neuroendocrine modulation of infectious gastroenteritis adds another dimension to the pathophysiology of diarrhoeal diseases. Furthermore it opens up new avenues for therapeutic intervention. Until now, most interest has been directed at enterotoxin-producing bacteria, notably Vibrio cholerae and the enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli.