Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33830441›Full record

Observational studyIndian journal of gastroenterology : official journal of the Indian Society of Gastroenterology2021

Diagnostic utility of alarm features in predicting malignancy in patients with dyspeptic symptoms.

Anurag Shetty, Girisha Balaraju, Shiran Shetty, Cannanore Ganesh Pai

Open access · hybridAbstract readObservational Study
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Observational study in Indian journal of gastroenterology : official journal of the Indian Society of Gastroenterology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
2.5field-weighted citation impact, top 11% 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, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 14 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Guideline
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Spectrum of Primary Gastric Lymphoma in India: A Series of 30 Patients.The Turkish journal of gastroenterology : the official journal of Turkish Society of Gastroenterology · 2023
    Article
  5. Dyspepsia with alarm symptoms in patients aged less than 60 years: Is upper gastrointestinal endoscopy justified in Indian scenario?Indian journal of gastroenterology : official journal of the Indian Society of Gastroenterology · 2022
    Observational
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Anurag ShettyDepartment of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Kasturba Medical College, Mangalore, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, 575 003, India. shettyanurag@gmail.com.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3660-0783
Girisha BalarajuDepartment of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Kasturba Medical College, Manipal, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, 576 104, India.
Shiran ShettyDepartment of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Kasturba Medical College, Manipal, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, 576 104, India.
Cannanore Ganesh PaiDepartment of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Kasturba Medical College, Manipal, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, 576 104, India.
Manipal Academy of Higher Education · IN

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundClinical features are of modest benefit in determining the etiology of dyspepsia. Dyspeptic patients with alarm features are suspected to have malignancy; but the proportions of patients and true cutoff values of various quantitative parameters in predicting malignancy are explored to a lesser extent.

methodsThis is a prospective observational study of consecutive patients undergoing esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) for dyspeptic symptoms. Patients' alarm features and clinical details were recorded in a predesigned questionnaire. The diagnostic accuracy of alarm features in predicting malignancy was studied.

resultsNine hundred patients, 678 (75.3%) males, with a mean (standard deviation [SD]) age of 44.6 (13.54) years were enrolled. Commonest indication for EGD was epigastric pain in 614 (68.2%) patients. Dyspepsia was functional in 311 (34.6%) patients. EGD revealed benign lesions in 340 (37.8%) and malignancy in 50 (5.5%) patients. Among the malignant lesions, gastric malignancy was present in 28 (56%) and esophageal malignancy in 20 (40%) patients. Alarm features were present in 206 (22.9%), out of which malignant lesions were seen in 46 (22.3%) patients. Altogether, the alarm features had a sensitivity of 92% and specificity of 81.2% for predicting malignancy. The sensitivity and specificity for weight loss were 76% and 90.8%, while that of abdominal mass were 10% and 99.9% respectively. Based on receiver operating characteristic curve, the optimal age for screening of malignancy was 46.5 years in this population.

conclusionsPatients of age group 40 to 49 years with dyspeptic alarm symptoms (predominant weight loss) need prompt endoscopy to screen for malignancy. The alarm features are inexpensive screening tools, found to be useful in India, and should be utilized in countries with similar healthcare conditions and disease epidemiology.

Indexed as

DyspepsiaGastrointestinal NeoplasmsAbdominal PainAdultEndoscopy, GastrointestinalHumansMaleMiddle AgedSensitivity and SpecificityAbdominal painAlarm symptomsDiagnostic accuracyDyspepsiaEndoscopyEvaluationIndiaManagementRisk factorsSurveillanceUpper gastrointestinal malignancy

Identifiers

PMID33830441
PMCPMC8187202
OpenAlexW3144436296

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

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 Socratic graph.