Browsing by Subject "Quality control"

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
  • Thumbnail Image
    Publication
    Open Access
    Assessment of estrogen receptor low positive status in breast cancer: Implications for pathologists and oncologists
    (Universidad de Murcia, Departamento de Biologia Celular e Histiologia, 2021) Fusco, Nicola; Ragazzi, Moira; Sajjadi, Elham; Venetis, Konstantinos; Piciotti, Roberto; Morganti, Stefania; Santandrea, Giacomo; Fanelli, Giuseppe Nicolò; Despini, Luca; Invernizzi, Marco; Cerbelli, Bruna; Scatena, Cristian; Criscitiello, Carmen
    Estrogen receptor (ER) status assessment by immunohistochemistry (IHC) is the gold standard test for the identification of patients with breast cancer who may benefit from endocrine therapy (ET). Whilst most ER+ breast cancers have a high IHC score, about 3% of cases display a low positivity, with 1% to 10% of cells being weakly stained. These tumors are generally classified within the luminal-like category; however, their risk profile seems to be more similar to that of ERnegative breast cancers. The decision on ET for patients with a diagnosis of ER-low breast cancer should be carefully considered in light of the risks and possible benefits of the treatment. Potential pitfalls hinder pathologists and oncologists from establishing an appropriate threshold for "low positivity". Furthermore, several pre-analytical and analytical variables might trouble the pathological identification of these clinically challenging cases. In this review, we sought to discuss the adversities that can be accounted for the pathological identification of ER-low breast cancers in real-world clinical practice, and to provide practical suggestions for the perfect ER testing in light of the most updated recommendations and guidelines.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Publication
    Restricted
    Comprehensive Review on Monitoring, Behavior, and Impact of Pesticide Residues during Beer-Making.
    (ACS Publications, 2023-02-01) Pérez-Lucas, Gabriel; Navarro, Ginés; Navarro, Simón; Química Agrícola, Geología y Edafología
    This paper reviews the impact of beer-making stages (malting, mashing, boiling, and fermentation) on the behavior of pesticide residues. The large use of pesticides on barley and hop could cause the occurrence of their residues in beer. The foremost factors influencing the stability of residues (pH, temperature, and water content) and the physical-chemical properties of pesticides (octanol–water partition coefficient, vapor pressure, and water solubility) are essential to know their final fate. Most pesticides show a decrease in the unhopped wort because they are adsorbed onto the spent grains after mashing. In addition, their concentrations decrease during boiling and fermentation. Generally, maltsters should dedicate particular attention to the residues of hydrophobic pesticides because they can remain on the malt. Contrarily, brewers should control residues of hydrophilic pesticides because they can be carried over into young beer, disturbing the quality and organoleptic properties (flavor, aroma, taste, or color) of the beer.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Publication
    Restricted
    Quality of the information contained in the minimum basic data set: results from an evaluation in eight hospitals
    (Springer, 2000) Calle, J. E.; Saturno, P. J.; Parra, P.; Ródenas, J.; Pérez, M. J.; San Eustaquio, F.; Aguinaga Ontoso, Enrique; Ciencias Sociosanitarias
    To assess the quality of the information included in the minimum basic data set (MBDS) of the eight public hospitals of the Murcia region in order to ascertain what should be improved to be valid and reliable. An external encoder performed a recoding of a random sample of hospital discharges, using the patients hospital records and comparing afterwards the information obtained with the one reflected in the MBDS databases. Quality was assessed using 12 criteria. The reviewed discharges sample consisted at least of 96 cases per hospital (Type I error = 0.05, Type II=0.10, for the most unfavorable case). A total of 796 cases were reviewed. The MBDS disagreement percentages with the patient record data were higher for the clinical data, with 41.6% for the main diagnosis and 33.5% for the main surgical procedure, being in both cases higher in those hospitals that had used to codify just the discharge record with regard to those that did so with the complete patient record. The variation rate in the diagnosis-related group (DRG) assignment was of 29.6%, and there was a decrease in the case-mix index of 1.07397 when reviewing with the patient record to 1.05555 in the MBDS. Within the administrative data, the highest disagreement rate was for the physician that signs the discharge (60.5%) and the patient's address (31.6%). In many of these assessed aspects there are significant differences between hospitals. A reliability problem was identified in the collected data, which mainly affects the clinical variables. It is therefore advisable to carefully assess the use of this information (both the MBDS directly as well as its grouping through the use of patient classification systems), and the indicators derived from it as its quality is not guaranteed. Systematic assessment and quality control of the MBDS production is advised.