Search results for "Clinical Laboratory Technique"
showing 10 items of 49 documents
Administration of Triclabendazole Is Safe and Effective in Controlling Fascioliasis in an Endemic Community of the Bolivian Altiplano
2012
Background Emergence of human fascioliasis prompted a worldwide control initiative including a pilot study in a few countries. Two hyperendemic areas were chosen: Huacullani, Northern Altiplano, Bolivia, representing the Altiplanic transmission pattern with high prevalences and intensities; Cajamarca valley, Peru, representing the valley pattern with high prevalences but low intensities. Coprological sample collection, transport and study procedures were analyzed to improve individual diagnosis and subsequent treatments and surveillance activities. Therefore, a coproantigen-detection technique (MM3-COPRO ELISA) was evaluated, using classical techniques for egg detection for comparison. Meth…
Utility of lateral flow tests in SARS-CoV-2 infection monitorization
2020
Introduction. The diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection is crucial for medical and public health reasons, to allow the best treatment of cases and the best control of the pandemic. Serology testing allows for the detection of asymptomatic infections and 19-COVID cases once the virus has been cleared. We analyzed the usefulness of the SARS-CoV-2 rapid test of Autobio and tried to correlate its pattern with the severity of COVID19 infection. Material and methods. We analyzed the accuracy and clinical usefulness of a point-of-care IgM and/or IgG test for SARS-CoV-2 in 35 COVID-19 patients [12 (34.3%) mild-moderate and 23 (65.7%) severe-critical] admitted to a field hospital in Madrid, as well as i…
Assessment of Acute Acral Lesions in a Case Series of Children and Adolescents During the COVID-19 Pandemic
2020
Importance A novel coronavirus named severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has recently been identified as the cause of a pandemic called coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). In this context, some associated skin diseases have been described. Cutaneous lesions referred to as acute acro-ischemia have been reported as a possible sign of COVID-19 in adolescents and children. Objective To evaluate the pathogenesis of these newly described acute acral lesions. Design, Setting, and Participants This prospective case series was conducted at La Fe University Hospital, a tertiary referral hospital in Valencia, Spain, between April 9 and April 15, 2020. Among 32 referred patien…
Testing the water before swimming: satisfying the need for clinical trials of devices, media, and instruments before their use in assisted reproducti…
2011
The old and new tests for celiac disease: which is the best test combination to diagnose celiac disease in pediatric patients?
2011
BACKGROUND In the diagnosis of celiac disease (CD), serum assays for anti-endomysium (EMA) and anti-transglutaminase (anti-tTG) antibodies have excellent diagnostic accuracy. However, these assays are less sensitive in young pediatric patients. Recently, a new ELISA test using deamidated gliadin peptides (DGP) as antigen has proved to be very sensitive and specific even in pediatric patients. In addition, anti-actin IgA antibodies (AAA) is another test that can be used in CD patients because antibody concentrations correlate with the degree of villous atrophy. This study evaluated the clinical accuracy of anti-tTG, EMA, AGA, anti-DGP and AAA and the effectiveness of these in different combi…
PROGNOSTIC VALUE OF LUNG ULTRASOUND IN OLDER NURSING HOME RESIDENTS AFFECTED BY COVID-19
2020
Objectives: Lung ultrasonographic (LUS) imaging may play an important role in the management of patients with COVID-19–associated lung injury, particularly in some special populations. However, data regarding the prognostic role of the LUS in nursing home residents, one of the populations most affected by COVID-19, are not still available. Design: Retrospective. Settings and Participants: Nursing home residents affected by COVID-19 were followed up with an LUS from April 8 to May 14, 2020, in Chioggia, Venice. Methods: COVID-19 was diagnosed through a nasopharyngeal swab. LUS results were scored using a 12-zone method. For each of the 12 zones (2 posterior, 2 anterior, 2 lateral, for both l…
Epidemiological cutoff values for fluconazole, itraconazole, posaconazole, and voriconazole for six Candida species as determined by the colorimetric…
2013
ABSTRACT In the absence of clinical breakpoints (CBP), epidemiological cutoff values (ECVs) are useful to separate wild-type (WT) isolates (without mechanisms of resistance) from non-WT isolates (those that can harbor some resistance mechanisms), which is the goal of susceptibility tests. Sensititre YeastOne (SYO) is a widely used method to determine susceptibility of Candida spp. to antifungal agents. The CLSI CBP have been established, but not for the SYO method. The ECVs for four azoles, obtained using MIC distributions determined by the SYO method, were calculated via five methods (three statistical methods and based on the MIC 50 and modal MIC). Respectively, the median ECVs (in mg/lit…
Analytical and mineralogical studies of ore and impurities from a chromite mineral using X-ray analysis, electrochemical and microscopy techniques
2007
A wide analytical study of South African chromite ore, material with high interest in ceramic industry, has been carried out. With this purpose, an accurate chemical identification and mineralogical characterization of the mineral and the gangue have been performed using X-ray fluorescence (XRF), voltammetry, X-ray diffraction (XRD), light microscopy (LM), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM/EDX). The elemental composition of the sample (ore and gangue) has been obtained by XRF. The voltammetric analysis has allowed to demonstrate that iron in the sample was as Fe(II). The main compound of the chromite ore was a spinel (magnesiochromite ferroan), identified by XRD from the sample, which c…
Methods for a prompt and reliable laboratory diagnosis of Pompe disease : report from an international consensus meeting
2008
Pompe disease is an autosomal recessive disorder of glycogen metabolism caused by a deficiency of the lysosomal enzyme acid alpha-glucosidase (GAA). It presents at any age, with variable rates of progression ranging from a rapidly progressive course, often fatal by one-year of age, to a more slowly, but nevertheless relentlessly progressive course, resulting in significant morbidity and premature mortality. In infants, early initiation of enzyme replacement therapy is needed to gain the maximum therapeutic benefit, underscoring the need for early diagnosis. Several new methods for measuring GAA activity have been developed. The Pompe Disease Diagnostic Working Group met to review data gener…
Differential diagnosis of illness in patients under investigation for the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), Italy, February 2020
2020
A novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) has been identified as the causative pathogen of an ongoing outbreak of respiratory disease, now named COVID-19. Most cases and sustained transmission occurred in China, but travel-associated cases have been reported in other countries, including Europe and Italy. Since the symptoms are similar to other respiratory infections, differential diagnosis in travellers arriving from countries with wide-spread COVID-19 must include other more common infections such as influenza and other respiratory tract diseases.