Simulation of Clinical Diagnosis: A Comparative Study

IntroductionMaternal psychopathology can have a server effect on the ability of mothers to attach to their children.AimTo ascertain the level of attachment of adults between the ages of 18–25 years of age who were raised by mothers who suffer from schizophrenic disorders and depressive spectrum disorders, then compared to adults who were raised by mothers with no formal clinical diagnosis.MethodThis study used the Adult Attachment Questioner (AAQ), by Simpson Rholes Philips (1996) to ascertain the level of attachment of adults between the ages of 18–25 years of age who were raised by mothers who suffer from schizophrenic disorders (n = 30) and depressive spectrum disorders (n = 30). The findings of these two groups were then compared to adults who were raised by mothers with no formal clinical diagnosis (n = 30).ResultThe findings indicated that there is a significant difference between adults who were raised by mothers with the aforementioned mental disorders (schizophrenic and depression), as compared to those who were raised by mentally healthy mothers.ConclusionThe style of attachment in adults who were raised by mothers with the aforementioned clinical diagnosis (schizophrenic and depression) have insecure attachments, while the children who were raised by mentally healthy mothers have almost secure attachment style.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

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Comparative Evaluation of Six Molecular Assays based on RT-PCR and Cross Primer Isothermal Amplification for SARS-CoV-2 Detection

10.21203/rs.3.rs-30730/v1 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Shuang Wu ◽

Xiaolu Shi ◽

Qiongcheng Chen ◽

Yixiang Jiang ◽

Le Zuo ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Comparative Study ◽

Clinical Diagnosis ◽

Isothermal Amplification ◽

Nucleic Acid Amplification ◽

Clinical Samples ◽

Rt Pcr ◽

Predictive Values ◽

Health Crisis ◽

Pcr Assays ◽

Sensitivity Specificity

Abstract SARS-CoV-2 is a newly emerged coronavirus that was isolated from human infections in recent months. Since drugs and vaccines of Covid-19 are still being developed, accurate pathogen detection plays a crucial role in the current public health crisis. Quantitative real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay has been reliably used for the detection and confirmation of SARS-CoV-2 since the beginning of outbreak, whereas isothermal nucleic acid amplification based point of care automated assays has also been considered as a simpler and rapid alternative. However, since these assays have only been developed and applied for clinical use within a short timeframe, their analytical performance has not been adequately compared to-date. We describe a comparative study between a newly developed cross primer isothermal amplification (CPA) assay (Kit A) and five RT-PCR assays (Kits B to F), using clinical diagnosis as the reference standard to evaluate their sensitivity, specificity, predictive values and accuracy analysis. Clinical samples used (n=52) included throat swabs (n=30), nasal swabs (n=7), nasopharyngeal swabs (n=7) and sputum specimens (n=8), comprised of positive (n=26) and cleared cases (n=26) by clinical diagnosis. For the CPA assay (Kit A), the sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values and accuracy were 100%. Among the five RT-PCR kits, Kits B, C and F had good agreement with clinical diagnosis (Kappa≥0.75), Kits D and E were less congruent (0.4≤Kappa<0.75). Differences between all assays were statistically significant (P<0.001). The reproducibility of RT-PCR assays was determined using a positive sample that was verified by all assays, with standard deviations (SD) between 0.35 and 0.87, and coefficients of variation (CV) between 0.95% and 2.57%, indicating good reproducibility. To further evaluate the CPA assay (Kit A) compared to Kits B and F, throat swabs from close contacts of cases (n=200) were analyzed. All three kits identified the same positive samples and showed total agreement. This is the first comparative study to evaluate a CPA assay and RT-PCR assays for SARS-CoV-2 detection, which could serve as a reference for clinical laboratories and inform testing protocols amid the rapidly evolving COVID-19 pandemic.

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