Abstract
Although it is known that ambient temperature can affect the diagnostic performance of the fecal immunochemical test (FIT), the impact of other weather parameters, including humidity, on the sensitivity of FIT remains to be further investigated. We aimed to evaluate the impact of ambient temperature and humidity on the performance of FIT for screening for advanced colorectal neoplasia (ACRN). We included asymptomatic individuals who had undergone both screening colonoscopy and FIT. The diagnostic performance of FIT, including its sensitivity, was analyzed according to the ambient temperature and humidity on the day that FIT was performed. Temperature and humidity were divided into five levels. Among 35,461 participants, 589 (1.7%) had ACRN. The positivity rate of FIT was lower at ≥24 °C (3.1%) than at <0 °C (3.9%), 0–8 °C (4.3%), and 8–16 °C (3.9%). It was also lower at 80–90% humidity (3.1%) than at < 60% humidity (3.9%). Multivariable analysis showed that high ambient temperature (≥24 °C) with high ambient humidity (≥80%) was associated with a low positivity rate of FIT (odds ratio [OR] 0.62, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.44–0.86). Sensitivity tended to decrease at high ambient temperature (<24 °C vs. ≥24 °C; 20.8% vs. 14.6%, P = 0.110) and was significantly lower at high ambient humidity (<80% vs. ≥80%; 21.0% vs. 12.5%, P = 0.044). The multivariable analysis also showed that high ambient humidity was independently associated with low sensitivity of FIT (OR 0.54, 95% CI 0.28–0.96). In conclusion, high ambient humidity decreased the sensitivity, while high ambient temperature along with high ambient humidity decreased the positivity rate of FIT.
Highlights
Nam Hee Kim[3], Mi Yeon Lee[4], Jung Ho Park[5], it is known that ambient temperature can affect the diagnostic performance of the fecal immunochemical test (FIT), the impact of other weather parameters, including humidity, on the sensitivity of FIT remains to be further investigated
We aimed to evaluate the impact of weather parameters, including ambient humidity as well as ambient temperature, on the performance of FIT using a large cohort of asymptomatic individuals who underwent both colonoscopy and FIT
The sensitivity and specificity of FIT are unaffected by the characteristics of the individuals undergoing screening
Summary
Nam Hee Kim[3], Mi Yeon Lee[4], Jung Ho Park[5], it is known that ambient temperature can affect the diagnostic performance of the fecal immunochemical test (FIT), the impact of other weather parameters, including humidity, on the sensitivity of FIT remains to be further investigated. We aimed to evaluate the impact of ambient temperature and humidity on the performance of FIT for screening for advanced colorectal neoplasia (ACRN). The US Multi-Society Task Force strongly recommends colonoscopy every 10 years or an annual fecal immunochemical test (FIT) as first-tier options for screening individuals at average risk of colorectal neoplasia (CRN)[3]. High ambient temperature is suggested as a possible factor that lowers the positivity rate of FIT14,17. This is an important issue, because the exposure of fecal samples to a high ambient temperature may be unavoidable in population-based screening[13]
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