Laboratory Confirmation of the Stinkpot Turtle,Sternotherus odoratus, as a Host ofPlacobdella ornata(Verrill, 1872) (Hirudinida: Glossiphoniidae)

2017 ◽  
Vol 84 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-17
Author(s):  
Dennis J. Richardson ◽  
William E. Moser
2019 ◽  
pp. 64-68
Author(s):  
O.A. Burka ◽  
◽  
T.M. Tutchenko ◽  

Pathological vaginal discharge is one of the most common complaints in women of all ages. Today, gynecologists are increasingly faced with a problem when, in the absence of laboratory confirmation of vulvovaginal candidiasis, bacterial vaginosis and STIs, women complain of discomfort caused by vaginal secretions. Causes of pathological vaginal discharge can be infectious and non-infectious processes and their combinations. The article analyzes the causes of the difficulties of diagnosing the of pathological vaginal discharge ethiology, demonstrates how the application of adequate volume of modern laboratory diagnostic methods in combination with understanding the multifaceted components of the inflammatory process plays crucial role in finding out the etiology of pathological vaginal secretions and the choice of optimal therapeutic tactics. Key words: pathological vaginal dischurge, vaginal microbiota, vulvovaginal candidiasis, bacterial vaginosis, aerobic vaginitis, cytolytic vaginosis.


Author(s):  
Markku Kuisma ◽  
Heini Harve-Rytsälä ◽  
Jussi Pirneskoski ◽  
James Boyd ◽  
Mitja Lääperi ◽  
...  

Abstract Background There is a lack of knowledge how patients with COVID-19 disease differ from patients with similar signs or symptoms (but who will have a diagnosis other than COVID-19) in the prehospital setting. The aim of this study was to compare the characteristics of these two patient groups met by the emergency medical services. Methods All prehospital patients after the World Health Organisation (WHO) pandemic declaration 11.3.2020 until 30.6.2020 were recruited for the study. The patients were screened using modified WHO criteria for suspected COVID-19. Data from the electronic prehospital patient reporting system were linked with hospital laboratory results to check the laboratory confirmation for COVID-19. For comparison, we divided the patients into two groups: screening- and laboratory-positive patients with a hospital diagnosis of COVID-19 and screening-positive but laboratory-negative patients who eventually received a different diagnosis in hospital. Results A total of 4157 prehospital patients fulfilled the criteria for suspected COVID-19 infection during the study period. Five-hundred-thirty-six (12.9%) of the suspected cases received a laboratory confirmation for COVID-19. The proportion of positive cases in relation to suspected ones peaked during the first 2 weeks after the declaration of the pandemic. In the comparison of laboratory-positive and laboratory-negative cases, there were clinically insignificant differences between the groups in age, tympanic temperature, systolic blood pressure, heart rate, on-scene time, urgency category of the call and mode of transportation. Foreign-language-speakers were overrepresented amongst the positive cases over native language speakers (26,6% vs. 7,4%, p < 0,001). The number of cases in which no signs or symptoms of COVID-19 disease were reported, but patients turned out to have a positive test result was 125 (0,3% of the whole EMS patient population and 11,9% of all verified COVID-19 patients encountered by the EMS). Conclusions In a sample of suspected COVID-19 patients, the laboratory-positive and laboratory-negative patients were clinically indistinguishable from each other during the prehospital assessment. Foreign-language-speakers had a high likelihood of having Covid-19. The modified WHO criteria still form the basis of screening of suspected COVID-19 patients in the prehospital setting.


Author(s):  
Olivier Nsekuye ◽  
Edson Rwagasore ◽  
Marie Aime Muhimpundu ◽  
Ziad El-Khatib ◽  
Daniel Ntabanganyimana ◽  
...  

We reported the findings of the first Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) four clusters identified in Rwanda. Case-investigations included contact elicitation, testing, and isolation/quarantine of confirmed cases. Socio-demographic and clinical data on cases and contacts were collected. A confirmed case was a person with laboratory confirmation of SARS-CoV-2 infection (PCR) while a contact was any person who had contact with a SARS-CoV-2 confirmed case within 72 h prior, to 14 days after symptom onset; or 14 days before collection of the laboratory-positive sample for asymptomatic cases. High risk contacts were those who had come into unprotected face-to-face contact or had been in a closed environment with a SARS-CoV-2 case for >15 min. Forty cases were reported from four clusters by 22 April 2020, accounting for 61% of locally transmitted cases within six weeks. Clusters A, B, C and D were associated with two nightclubs, one house party, and different families or households living in the same compound (multi-family dwelling). Thirty-six of the 1035 contacts tested were positive (secondary attack rate: 3.5%). Positivity rates were highest among the high-risk contacts compared to low-risk contacts (10% vs. 2.2%). Index cases in three of the clusters were imported through international travelling. Fifteen of the 40 cases (38%) were asymptomatic while 13/25 (52%) and 8/25 (32%) of symptomatic cases had a cough and fever respectively. Gatherings in closed spaces were the main early drivers of transmission. Systematic case-investigations contact tracing and testing likely contributed to the early containment of SARS-CoV-2 in Rwanda.


2021 ◽  
Vol 40 ◽  
pp. 103-105
Author(s):  
Philip DiSalvo ◽  
Gail Cooper ◽  
Jessica Tsao ◽  
Michelle Romeo ◽  
Larissa K. Laskowski ◽  
...  

2004 ◽  
Vol 43 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 25-34 ◽  
Author(s):  
Faruk Civan ◽  
Ludy J Alarcon ◽  
Samuel E Campbell

2017 ◽  
Vol 55 (7) ◽  
pp. 636-644 ◽  
Author(s):  
Odd Martin Vallersnes ◽  
Per Sverre Persett ◽  
Elisabeth Leere Øiestad ◽  
Ritva Karinen ◽  
Fridtjof Heyerdahl ◽  
...  

Stroke ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 52 (Suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Farhaan S Vahidy ◽  
Jennifer Meeks ◽  
Alan Pan ◽  
Thomas Potter ◽  
Osman Khan ◽  
...  

Introduction: Overall poor COVID-19 outcomes have been reported among males. We evaluated sex differences in mortality among patients with stroke related to COVID-19. Methods: Utilizing pooled deidentified data from 30 healthcare organizations, we identified COVID-19 patients via ICD-10 diagnosis or documented laboratory confirmation of SARS-CoV-2 RNA or antibodies. Patients with ICD-10 diagnoses of ischemic stroke or intracerebral hemorrhage within 30 days before or after the COVID-19 event were flagged. Male and female patients were propensity score (PS) matched on other demographic and comorbidity variables. Risk Ratio (RR) and 95% Confidence Interval (CI) for association between sex and 90-day mortality is reported. Kaplan-Meier analyses with log rank test (LRT) were conducted for time-to-death. As a sensitivity analysis, we only included a smaller sub-set with first instance of IS or ICH ± 30-days of COVID-19 diagnosis. Results: Among 149,410 COVID-19 patients, 1,618 (1.1%) had a stroke diagnosis ± 30-days of confirmed COVID-19. Of whom, 1,609 patients (847 males and 762 females) were included in primary analyses. Females were older (67.7 vs. 65.7 years) and were more likely to be of black race (34.1% vs. 27.6%). Females had a significantly higher proportion of chronic pulmonary disease (38.8% vs. 28.8%) and obesity (34.2% vs. 24.8%); whereas males had higher proportion of alcohol abuse (8.5% vs. 3.8%). A 1:1 PS algorithm yielded an optimally matched sample of 634 males and females each, balanced on all covariates. In the matched sample, 11.7% of females and 15.8% of males experienced 90-day mortality; RR (CI): 1.35 (1.02 - 1.78), LRT p value 0.04. Higher risk of 90-day mortality among males with COVID-19 and stroke was maintained in the sensitivity analyses, RR (CI): 1.47 (1.06 - 2.00), LRT p value = 0.03 (graphic). Conclusion: Future studies examining the socio-demographic and biological mechanisms for poor stroke outcomes among males with COVID-19 are needed.


2021 ◽  
pp. 004947552110632
Author(s):  
R. Sreekanth ◽  
Lakshmi Venugopal ◽  
B. Arunkrishnan ◽  
Somya chaturvedi ◽  
Shanmugha sundaram

Chikungunya is a tropical viral disease and can present in the new born with perinatal transmission. Presentation usually mimics sepsis and high index of suspicion is needed for diagnosis specially at times of outbreak. Characteristic skin rash and perioral blotchy hyperpigmentation can point to diagnosis along with laboratory confirmation with RTPCR.


Author(s):  
Dominick A. Centurioni ◽  
Christina T. Egan ◽  
Michael J. Perry

Detection of botulinum neurotoxin or isolation of the toxin producing organism is required for the laboratory confirmation of botulism in clinical specimens. In an effort to reduce animal testing required by the gold standard method of botulinum neurotoxin detection, the mouse bioassay, many technologies have been developed to detect and characterize the causative agent of botulism. Recent advancements in these technologies have led to improvements in technical performance of diagnostic assays; however, many emerging assays have not been validated for the detection of all serotypes in complex clinical and environmental matrices. Improvements to culture protocols, endopeptidase-based assays, and a variety of immunological and molecular methods have provided laboratories with a variety of testing options to evaluate and incorporate into their testing algorithms. While significant advances have been made to improve these assays, additional work is necessary to evaluate these methods in various clinical matrices and to establish standardized criteria for data analysis and interpretation.


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