Research - Quadscan 4000

Hospital malnutrition is still underestimated among physicians, even in internal medicine settings. This is a cross-sectional study, aiming to estimate the risk, the prevalence and the impact of malnutrition in an Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology Department of a large Italian hospital (Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS, Rome).

Nutritional status can be difficult to assess. Bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA)-derived phase angle (PA), and the plasma markers citrulline and transthyretin (pre-albumin) have the potential to assist, but the protocol of fasting and resting for BIA renders the investigation impractical for routine use, especially so in populations at high risk of malnutrition.

To evaluate the prognostic value of the phase angle (PA) obtained from bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) for mortality prediction in patients with cirrhosis.

Despite expanding use of bio-impedance (BI), little is known about its pathophysiologic significance and biological correlates.

Malignancies of tongue represent one of the greatest management challenges for the head and neck oncologists because of the adverse effects of treatment on oral and pharyngeal functions. Diagnosis at later stages results
in poor treatment outcomes and considerable costs to patients. Bioelectric impedance analysis (BIA)-derived phase angle offers an emerging opportunity to assess prognosis in these malignancies.

Currently, over 50 million people worldwide are diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) and more than 16 million Americans suffer from Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI). Despite unremitting scientific and clinical efforts, there has yet to be therapy that has abated disease progression.

Heart failure (HF) patients with hemodilutional anemia had a worse prognosis than those with true anemia. Volume overload (VO) in anemic patients must be identified in order to select the best treatment.

Atherosclerosis and inflammation have been implicated in the alteration of pulsatile characteristics of blood vessels. Analysis of the arterial waveform can be resolved into an index of elasticity for both large (LAEI) and small (SAEI) arteries. SAEI is a novel marker of endothelial function and reduced SAEI is prognostic for cardiac events. Phase angle derived from bioimpedance analysis (BIA) is presumed to indicate cell membrane health and decreased phase angle correlates with increased mortality in PD patients. We evaluated 18 stable, established PD patients with both BIA (Quadscan 4000, BodyStat) and pulse wave analysis (CR2000, Hypertension Diagnostics Inc). We assayed serum and overnight PD effluent for IL-6 and TNFα by ELISA (R&D Systems). Lipid profile, serum albumin, and CRP were also measured.

Poor nutritional status is associated with declining lung function in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF). Phase angle (PhA), is a direct measure of the integrity of the cellular membrane and has been shown to be an important biomarker of cellular health and nutritional status in numerous clinical diseases. Furthermore, PhA reference values for a healthy population, stratified by body mass index (BMI), gender and age, exist, providing a prognostic potential.

Bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) provides a simple method to assess changes in body composition. Raw BIA variables such as phase angle provide direct information on cellular mass and integrity, without the assumptions inherent in estimating body compartments, e.g. fat-free mass (FFM). Phase angle is a strong functional and prognostic marker in many disease states, but data in COPD are lacking. Our aims were to describe the measurement of phase angle in patients with stable COPD and determine the construct and discriminate validity of phase angle by assessing its relationship with established markers of function, disease severity and prognosis.