Purpose To evaluate the sensitivity, specificity, and diagnostic odds ratios of US, CT, and MRI as second-line imaging modalities after initial US for assessing acute appendicitis in children and adults. Materials and Methods A literature search was conducted in Medline and Embase to identify articles that used surgery or histopathologic examination alone or in combination with clinical follow-up or chart review to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of second-line imaging modalities. The quality of articles was assessed by using the Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies-2 and the Standards for Reporting of Diagnostic Accuracy tools.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Observational studies have shown a positive association between obesity (body mass index [BMI] ≥ 30 kg/m2) and depression. Around 120 obesity-associated loci have been identified, but genetic variants associated with depression remain elusive. Recently, our team reported that the fat mass and obesity-associated (FTO) gene rs9939609 obesity-risk variant is paradoxically inversely associated with the risk of depression.
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