Journal of clinical microbiology
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J. Clin. Microbiol. · Apr 2005
Comment Letter Comparative StudyComparison of two real-time PCR methods for diagnosis of norovirus infection in outbreak and community settings.
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J. Clin. Microbiol. · Dec 2004
Aspergillus galactomannan enzyme immunoassay and quantitative PCR for diagnosis of invasive aspergillosis with bronchoalveolar lavage fluid.
Invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (IPA) is frequent and often fatal in hematopoietic stem cell transplant patients. Diagnosis requires microbiological or histopathologic demonstration of the organism in tissues; however, cultivation of Aspergillus species from respiratory secretions has low diagnostic sensitivity. Assays to detect Aspergillus antigen or DNA in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid could facilitate earlier diagnosis, thereby guiding optimal therapy and obviating the need for additional costly and potentially morbid diagnostic evaluation. ⋯ GM EIA indices and DNA quantities corresponded to BAL fungal burdens, with culture-positive samples having larger amounts of antigen and DNA compared to culture-negative samples. GM EIA and qPCR assay add to the sensitivity of BAL for diagnosing IPA in high-risk patients, with excellent specificity. Adjunctive use of these tests may reduce dependence on invasive diagnostic procedures.
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J. Clin. Microbiol. · Nov 2004
Case ReportsGenetic confirmation of quinine-resistant Plasmodium falciparum malaria followed by postmalaria neurological syndrome in a traveler from Mozambique.
A case of quinine-resistant Plasmodium falciparum malaria, followed by a postmalaria neurological syndrome and a recurrence episode, is described. Genetic characterization of the P. falciparum isolate obtained by analysis of msp1 and msp2 amplicons revealed the coexistence of two genotypes causing the first malaria episode and the presence of a unique isolate responsible for the recurrence.
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J. Clin. Microbiol. · Nov 2004
Comparative StudyEvaluation of a multiplexed bead assay for assessment of Epstein-Barr virus immunologic status.
Currently, serological assays using either indirect immunofluorescence assay or enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) are performed to evaluate the status of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection in humans. Although these methods are reliable, they are limited to testing an antibody response to a single viral antigen per reaction, thus necessitating a panel of assays to complete the evaluation. In contrast, a new bead-based method (BioPlex 2200; Bio-Rad Laboratories, Hercules, Calif.) can analyze the humoral response to multiple antigens in a single tube. ⋯ Agreement between the BioPlex 2200 system and conventional testing was 92% with respect to categorization of acute versus nonacute EBV disease. The correlation between these two systems with regard to assignment into one of four categories of EBV status was also good (82%). In summary, there is excellent correlation between contemporary EBV serologic testing and the BioPlex 2200 system.
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J. Clin. Microbiol. · Nov 2004
False-positive Aspergillus galactomannan enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay results in vivo during amoxicillin-clavulanic acid treatment.
Positive Platelia Aspergillus test results were observed in consecutive serum samples from an immunocompromised host during amoxicillin-clavulanic acid treatment, and a correlation between plasmatic amoxicillin concentration and galactomannan optical density index was observed. Amoxicillin-clavulanic acid vials tested positive for galactomannan but were negative for Aspergillus DNA.