Journal of infection and chemotherapy : official journal of the Japan Society of Chemotherapy
-
J. Infect. Chemother. · Apr 2021
Clinical validation of quantitative SARS-CoV-2 antigen assays to estimate SARS-CoV-2 viral loads in nasopharyngeal swabs.
Expansion of the testing capacity for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is an important issue to mitigate the pandemic of coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) caused by this virus. Recently, a sensitive quantitative antigen test (SQT), Lumipulse® SARS-CoV-2 Ag, was developed. It is a fully automated chemiluminescent enzyme immunoassay system for SARS-CoV-2. ⋯ Presented results indicate that SQT is highly concordant with RT-PCR and should be useful for the diagnosis of COVID-19 in any clinical setting. Therefore, this fully automated kit will contribute to the expansion of the testing capability for SARS-CoV-2.
-
J. Infect. Chemother. · Apr 2021
No SARS-CoV-2 RNA detected in the convalescent plasma of COVID-19 patients with different disease severity.
Convalescent plasma transfusion (CPT), a potential therapy for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), requires strict quality control of the donor blood. Whether to confirm the disappearance of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) RNA (RNAemia) in convalescent donor blood or not is unclear. Reports recommending the proof of viral disappearance from the blood are controversial. Foreseeing CPT in treating COVID-19 patients in Japan, we investigated RNAemia in 100 convalescent donors with mild, moderate, and severe COVID-19. ⋯ RNAemia was not found in recovered COVID-19 patients at least 21, 27, and 57 days after the onset of mild, moderate, and severe symptoms. Our study may contribute to determining a suitable time for collecting convalescent plasma from COVID-19 patients and to future CPT use.
-
J. Infect. Chemother. · Apr 2021
IL-1RA in the supernatant of QuantiFERON-TB Gold In-Tube and QuantiFERON-TB Gold Plus is useful for discriminating active tuberculosis from latent infection.
The new-generation QuantiFERON (QFT)-TB Gold Plus (QFT-Plus) is expected to be useful because it includes a new peptide that is supposed to induce a CD8+ T cell response. There is a need for a new marker with sensitivity higher than that of the conventional IFN-γ release assays owing to false-negative results in the latter. This study aimed to compare cytokines in QFT-plus and QuantiFERON-Gold In-Tube (QFT-GIT) supernatants to discriminate between active tuberculosis and latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI). ⋯ IL-1RA level in the QFT-GIT supernatant can be a good marker for discriminating active TB from LTBI.