Feasibility and repeatability of ultrasound-guided surface electroenterography to measure colonic slow wave motility in healthy adults.

Surface electroenterography is a potential non-invasive alternative to current diagnostics of colonic motility disorders. However, electrode positioning in electroenterography is often based on general anatomy and may lack generalizability. Furthermore, the repeatability of electroenterography measurements is unknown. This study aimed to evaluate ultrasound-guided electrode positioning for electroenterography measurements and to determine the repeatability of those measurements. In ten healthy adults, two electroenterography procedures were performed, consisting of fasting, ultrasound-guided electrode localization and two 20-minute electroenterography recordings separated by a meal. The dominant frequency, the mean power density (magnitude of colonic motility) and the power percent difference (relative pre- to postprandial increase in magnitude) were determined. Repeatability was determined by Lin's concordance correlation coefficient. The results demonstrated that the dominant frequency did not differ between pre- and postprandial recordings and was 3 cpm, characteristic of colonic motility. The mean power density increased between the pre- and postprandial measurements, with an average difference of over 200%. The repeatability of both the dominant frequency and power density was poor to moderate, whereas the correlation coefficient of the power percent difference was poor. Concluding, ultrasound-guided surface electroenterography seems able to measure the gastrocolic reflex, but the dissatisfactory repeatability necessitates optimization of the measurement protocol.

Additional predictive value of optic nerve sheath diameter for neurological prognosis after cardiac arrest: a prospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: The goal is to estimate the additional value of ultrasonographic optic nerve sheath diameter (ONSD) measurement on days 1-3, on top of electroencephalography (EEG), pupillary light reflexes (PLR), and somatosensory evoked potentials (SSEP), for neurological outcome prediction of comatose cardiac arrest patients. We performed a prospective longitudinal cohort study in adult comatose patients after cardiac arrest. ONSD was measured on days 1-3 using ultrasound. Continuous EEG, PLR, and SSEP were acquired as standard care. Poor outcome was defined as cerebral performance categories 3-5 at 3-6 months. Logistic regression models were created for outcome prediction based on the established predictors with and without ONSD. Additional predictive value was assessed by increase in sensitivity for poor (at 100% specificity) and good outcome (at 90% specificity). RESULTS: We included 100 patients, 54 with poor outcome. Mean ONSD did not differ significantly between patients with good and poor outcome. Sensitivity for predicting poor outcome increased by adding ONSD to EEG and SSEP from 25% to 41% in all patients and from 27% to 50% after exclusion of patients with non-neurological death. CONCLUSIONS: ONSD on days 1-3 after cardiac arrest holds potential to add to neurological outcome prediction. TRIAL REGISTRATION: clinicaltrials.gov, NCT04084054. Registered 10 September 2019, https://www. CLINICALTRIALS: gov/study/NCT04084054 .

Central and local arterial stiffness in White Europeans compared to age-, sex-, and BMI-matched South Asians.

BACKGROUND: Ethnicity impacts cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk, and South Asians demonstrate a higher risk than White Europeans. Arterial stiffness is known to contribute to CVD, and differences in arterial stiffness between ethnicities could explain the disparity in CVD risk. We compared central and local arterial stiffness between White Europeans and South Asians and investigated which factors are associated with arterial stiffness. METHODS: Data were collected from cohorts of White Europeans (the Netherlands) and South Asians (India). We matched cohorts on individual level using age, sex, and body mass index (BMI). Arterial stiffness was measured with ARTSENS® Plus. Central stiffness was expressed as carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cf-PWV, m/s), and local carotid stiffness was quantified using the carotid stiffness index (Beta) and pressure-strain elastic modulus (Epsilon, kPa). We compared arterial stiffness between cohorts and used multivariable linear regression to identify factors related to stiffness. RESULTS: We included n = 121 participants per cohort (age 53±10 years, 55% male, BMI 24 kg/m2). Cf-PWV was lower in White Europeans compared to South Asians (6.8±1.9 vs. 8.2±1.8 m/s, p<0.001), but no differences were found for local stiffness parameters Beta (5.4±2.4 vs. 5.8±2.3, p = 0.17) and Epsilon (72±35 vs. 70±31 kPa, p = 0.56). Age (standardized ß, 95% confidence interval: 0.28, 0.17-0.39), systolic blood pressure (0.32, 0.21-0.43), and South Asian ethnicity (0.46, 0.35-0.57) were associated with cf-PWV; associations were similar between cohorts (p>0.05 for interaction). Systolic blood pressure was associated with carotid stiffness in both cohorts, whereas age was associated to carotid stiffness only in South Asians and BMI only in White Europeans. CONCLUSION: Ethnicity is associated with central but not local arterial stiffness. Conversely, ethnicity seems to modify associations between CVD risk factors and local but not central arterial stiffness. This suggests that ethnicity interacts with arterial stiffness measures and the association of these measures with CVD risk factors.