Clin Lab
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Clinical Trial
Clinical utility of a quantitative Rose Bengal slide agglutination test in the diagnosis of human brucellosis in an endemic region.
Brucellosis currently ranks as the most important zoonotic disease in the world. Brucellosis is difficult to diagnose because patients often have nonspecific clinical symptoms that can be attributed to a number of disease agents prevalent in the area. Thus, this has necessitated the dependency of clinicians on microbiological confirmation, very often by sero diagnostic methods. Early and accurate detection of brucellosis is important if specific antibiotic treatment is to be effective for the patients. The use of RBST as a qualitative means of diagnosis is quiet common. However, to date, there are only a handful of reports of the application of RBST as a quantitative diagnostic method in medical literature. The potential usefulness of quantitative Rose Bengal slide agglutination test (RBST) for suspected brucellosis was evaluated as a simple, inexpensive diagnostic tool to be used in clinical practice in an endemic region. ⋯ This technique has an immense value particularly for use in resource poor settings seen in rural areas. It can deliver definitive diagnosis in < 10 minutes to the clinician, which may in turn result in the early initiation of specific treatment and could be applied thus as a bedside methodology. It is not technically demanding and easy to interpret, does not involve heavy capital outlay, or trained personnel and, thus, is potentially useful in resource poor laboratories, particularly in developing regions. In addition, quantitative RBST demonstrates sensitivity and specificity equivalent to that achievable by performing SAT. It can readily be extended to screen a vast number of blood samples particularly in areas where brucellosis is hyperendemic. Quantitative RBST and 2ME have been noted to be of great value in therapeutic monitoring. Our data suggest that RBST titers in a range of 1:8 and 1:16 can undoubtedly be considered diagnostic of brucellosis in conjunction with compatible clinical and epidemiological evidence for the patients residing in areas endemic for the disease. Quantitative RBST is, therefore, recommended for routine use in clinical microbiology laboratories as an accurate and speedy diagnostic assay.
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Vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) are a serious problem all over the world. The present study was conducted to investigate antimicrobial resistance patterns, genotypes, clonal relationship, and virulence fac- tors of VRE species isolated from rectal swab samples of hospitalized patients, patient's relatives, and medical staff at Istanbul University Cerrahpasa Medical School hospital. ⋯ The identification of VRE strains to the species level and detection of virulence genes will assist in infection control practices.
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Sepsis is one of the most serious and life-threatening clinical conditions of childhood. This study has been designed to evaluate how useful multiplex real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is in the early diagnosis of responsible microorganisms of sepsis and to specify how serial procalcitonin level measurement is helpful to support diagnosis of sepsis. ⋯ In conclusion, multiplex real-time PCR test would be useful in the early diagnosis of sepsis. Studying procalcitonin levels is helpful in the early diagnosis of sepsis but does not have any correlation with the isolation of microorganisms in blood culture and survival.
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The demonstration of the quantitative prevalence of specific cytokines in JIA formed the basis for the introduction of biological anticytokine drugs to treatment. Routine assessment of the concentration of these cytokines in blood serum may enable earlier decision making on the legitimacy of biological treatment (anti-TNF). The aim of the study was to assess the diagnostic value of TNFalpha, IL-6, and IL-1beta in monitoring the course of the disease and effectiveness of treatment with etanercept of children with oligo- and polyarticular JIA. ⋯ We conclude that IL-6 may serve as a biomarker of activity of the disease in children with JIA treated with ETN.