Accuracy of transabdominal ultrasound to diagnose functional constipation and fecal impaction in children: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Functional constipation is common in children and accurate diagnostic methods are essential for early diagnosis and effective management. The diagnostic accuracy of transabdominal ultrasound to diagnose functional constipation is unclear.

Objective: To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of transverse rectal diameter measurement via transabdominal ultrasound in diagnosing children with functional constipation and in identifying fecal impaction.

Longitudinal diffusion MRI as surrogate outcome measure for myelopathy in adrenoleukodystrophy.

Objective: To prospectively determine the potential of diffusion MRI (dMRI) of the cervical spinal cord and the corticospinal tracts in brain as surrogate outcome measure for progression of myelopathy in men with adrenoleukodystrophy, as better outcome measures to quantify progression of myelopathy would enable clinical trials with fewer patients and shorter follow-up.

Methods: Clinical assessment of myelopathy included Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS), Severity Scoring System for Progressive Myelopathy (SSPROM), Timed Up-and-Go, and 6-Minute Walk Test. Applied dMRI metrics included fractional anisotropy, mean diffusivity, axial diffusivity, and radial diffusivity.

Progression of myelopathy in males with adrenoleukodystrophy: towards clinical trial readiness.

Males with adrenoleukodystrophy develop progressive myelopathy causing severe disability later in life. No treatment is currently available, but new disease-modifying therapies are under development. Knowledge of the natural history of the myelopathy is of paramount importance for evaluation of these therapies in clinical trials, but prospective data on disease progression are lacking.

Rapid Tests for Influenza, Respiratory Syncytial Virus, and Other Respiratory Viruses: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Rapid diagnosis of respiratory virus infections contributes to patient care. This systematic review evaluates the diagnostic accuracy of rapid tests for the detection of respiratory viruses. We searched Medline and EMBASE for studies evaluating these tests against polymerase chain reaction as the reference standard.