T2Candida Assay in the Diagnosis of Intraabdominal Candidiasis: A Prospective Multicenter Study

The T2Candida magnetic resonance assay is a direct-from-blood pathogen detection assay that delivers a result within 3–5 h, targeting the most clinically relevant Candida species. Between February 2019 and March 2021, the study included consecutive patients aged >18 years admitted to an intensive care unit or surgical high-dependency unit due to gastrointestinal surgery or necrotizing pancreatitis and from whom diagnostic blood cultures were obtained. Blood samples were tested in parallel with T2Candida and 1,3-β-D-glucan. Of 134 evaluable patients, 13 (10%) were classified as having proven intraabdominal candidiasis (IAC) according to the EORTC/MSG criteria. Two of the thirteen patients (15%) had concurrent candidemia. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value, respectively, were 46%, 97%, 61%, and 94% for T2Candida and 85%, 83%, 36%, and 98% for 1,3-β-D-glucan. All positive T2Candida results were consistent with the culture results at the species level, except for one case of dual infection. The performance of T2Candida was comparable with that of 1,3-β-D-glucan for candidemic IAC but had a lower sensitivity for non-candidemic IAC (36% vs. 82%). In conclusion, T2Candida may be a valuable complement to 1,3-β-D-glucan in the clinical management of high-risk surgical patients because of its rapid results and ease of use.

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Comparison of CTA to DSA in Determining the Etiology of Spontaneous ICH

Canadian Journal of Neurological Sciences / Journal Canadien des Sciences Neurologiques ◽

10.1017/s0317167100006533 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 36 (2) ◽

pp. 176-180 ◽

Cited By ~ 39

Author(s):

Robert Yeung ◽

Tabassum Ahmad ◽

Richard I. Aviv ◽

Lyne Noel de Tilly ◽

Allan J. Fox ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Intracerebral Hemorrhage ◽

Predictive Value ◽

Computed Tomographic Angiography ◽

Lower Sensitivity ◽

Study Cohort ◽

Computed Tomographic ◽

Arteriovenous Fistulas ◽

Kappa Value ◽

Sensitivity Specificity ◽

Tomographic Angiography

Background and Purpose:To compare the efficacy of computed tomographic angiography (CTA) to that of digital subtraction angiography (DSA) in the detection of secondary causes of intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH).Methods:Between January 2001 and February 2007 there were 286 patients that had both CTA and DSA for intracranial hemorrhage of all types. Those with primarily subarachnoid hemorrhage or recent trauma were excluded. Fifty-five patients formed the study cohort. Three reviewers independently analyzed the CTAs in a blinded protocol and classified them based on presence or absence of a secondary etiology. Results were compared with the reference standard DSA and kappa values determined for interobserver variability.Results:The overall sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value and accuracy of CTA were 89%, 92%, 91%, 91% and 91%, respectively. Kappa value for interobserver agreement ranged from 0.78 to 0.89. Two of four dural arteriovenous fistulas (dAVF) were missed on CTA by all three reviewers.Conclusion:CTA is nearly as effective as DSA at determining the cause of secondary intracerebral hemorrhage, but with a lower sensitivity for dAVFs. This supports the use of CTA as the first screening test in patients presenting with spontaneous ICH.

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Factors Impacting the Performance Characteristics of Bile Duct Brushings: A Clinico-Cytopathologic Analysis of 253 Patients

Archives of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine ◽

10.5858/arpa.2017-0150-oa ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 142 (7) ◽

pp. 863-870 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Ezgi Hacihasanoglu ◽

Bahar Memis ◽

Burcin Pehlivanoglu ◽

Vaidehi Avadhani ◽

Alexa A. Freedman, ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Bile Duct ◽

Predictive Value ◽

High Specificity ◽

Daily Practice ◽

Performance Characteristics ◽

Lower Sensitivity ◽

Current State ◽

Risk Of Malignancy ◽

Low Sensitivity ◽

Sensitivity Specificity

Context.— Literature on factors impacting bile duct brushings (BDBs) performance characteristics remain limited. Objective.— To capture the current state of daily practice with BDB sign-out. Design.— Two hundred fifty-three of 444 BDBs signed out by more than 7 cytopathologists, with histopathologic and/or clinical follow-up of at least 18 months, were examined. Results.— One hundred thirty-five of 253 BDBs (53%) had histologically confirmed malignancies, 22 (9%) had cancer-related deaths, and 96 (38%) were benign. Cytologic diagnoses in the 444 BDBs were nondiagnostic (11 [2.5%]), negative (284 [64%]), atypical (62 [13.9%]), suspicious (34 [7.7%]), and malignant (53 [11.9%]). Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV), and accuracy of malignancy detection were 35%, 100%, 100%, 58%, and 66%, respectively. When atypical, suspicious, and malignant (ASM) categories were combined, sensitivity increased (58%), specificity and PPV dropped (97%), and accuracy increased (73%). Carcinoma type (bile-duct versus pancreatic-ductal) had no effect on accuracy (P = .60) or diagnostic class (P = .84), nor did time of performance (first 7.5 versus latter 7.5 years, P = .13). Interestingly, ThinPrep + cell block (n = 41) had higher sensitivity (61%) and lower specificity (80%) than ThinPrep only (versus 51% and 100%, respectively). Sensitivity and specificity were higher (47% and 100%) in nonstented than stented specimens (59% and 97%). Relative risk of malignancy for “suspicious” (2.30) and “atypical” (2.28) categories was lower but not very different from that of “malignant” category (2.41). Conclusions.— Bile duct brushings had fairly low sensitivity but high specificity and PPV with no false positives. Sensitivity almost doubled and specificity dipped minimally when ASM categories were combined, highlighting the need for better classification criteria for atypical/suspicious cases. Higher specificity, PPV, NPV, and accuracy but lower sensitivity in stented BDBs suggest that they be called malignant only when evidence is overwhelmingly convincing.

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Performance of LED Fluorescence Microscopy for the Diagnosis of Pulmonary Tuberculosis in HIV Positive Individuals in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Tuberculosis Research and Treatment ◽

10.1155/2015/794064 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 2015 ◽

pp. 1-6 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Konjit Getachew ◽

Tamrat Abebe ◽

Abebaw Kebede ◽

Adane Mihret ◽

Getachew Melkamu

Keyword(s):

Pulmonary Tuberculosis ◽

Predictive Value ◽

Addis Ababa ◽

Sputum Sample ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Hiv Positive ◽

Smear Microscopy ◽

Lower Sensitivity ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Sensitivity Specificity

Background. Despite its lower sensitivity, smear microscopy remains the main diagnostic method for pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) in resource-limited countries as TB culturing methods like LJ (Lowenstein-Jensen) are expensive to use as a routine base. This study aimed to evaluate the performance of LED-FM for the diagnosis of PTB in HIV positive individuals.Methods. Cross-sectional study was conducted in Zewditu Memorial Hospital and Teklehaimanot Health Center HIV/ART clinics in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Each sample was stained with ZN and Auramine O staining and examined with bright-field microscope and LED-FM microscope, respectively. LJ culture was used as a reference.Results. Out of 178 study participants, twenty-four (13.5%) patients were confirmed as positive for MTB with LJ culture. The yield of ZN microscopy and LED-FM in direct and concentrated sample was 3.9%, 8.4%, 6.2%, and 8.4%, respectively. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) of direct ZN microscopy were 29.2%, 100%, 100%, and 90.1%, respectively, and of LED-FM microscopy in direct sputum sample were 62.5%, 100%, 100%, and 94.5%, respectively.Conclusion. LED-FM has better sensitivity for the diagnosis of PTB in HIV positive individuals as compared to conventional ZN microscopy. LED-FM can be used as an alternative to conventional ZN microscopy.

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Anti-HCV antibody titer highly predicts HCV viremia in patients with hepatitis B virus dual-infection

PLoS ONE ◽

10.1371/journal.pone.0254028 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 16 (7) ◽

pp. e0254028

Author(s):

Hung-Yin Liu ◽

Yi-Hung Lin ◽

Pei-Ju Lin ◽

Pei-Chien Tsai ◽

Shu-Fen Liu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Hepatitis B Virus ◽

Hepatitis B ◽

Predictive Value ◽

Dual Infection ◽

Hcv Rna ◽

Entire Cohort ◽

B Virus ◽

Treatment Naïve ◽

Hcv Antibody ◽

Sensitivity Specificity

Background/Aims Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) infection is diagnosed by the presence of antibody to HCV and/or HCV RNA. This study aimed to evaluate the accuracy of anti-HCV titer (S/CO ratio) in predicting HCV viremia in patients with or without hepatitis B virus (HBV) dual infection. Methods Anti-HCV seropositive patients who were treatment-naïve consecutively enrolled. Anti-HCV antibodies were detected using a commercially chemiluminescent microparticle immunoassay. HCV RNA was detected by real-time PCR method. Results A total of 1321 including1196 mono-infected and 125 HBV dually infected patients were analyzed. The best cut-off value of anti-HCV titer in predicting HCV viremia was 9.95 (AUROC 0.99, P<0.0001). Of the entire cohort, the anti-HCV cut-off value of 10 provided the best accuracy, 96.8%, with the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) of 96.3%, 98.9%, 99.7% and 87.3% respectively. The best cut-off value of anti-HCV titer in predicting HCV viremia was 9.95 (AUROC 0.99, P<0.0001) and 9.36 (AUROC 1.00, P<0.0001) in patients with HCV mono-infection and HBV dual-infection respectively. Among the HBV dually infected patients, the accuracy of anti-HCV titer in predicting HCV viremia reached up to 100% with the cut-off value of 9. All the patients were HCV-viremic if their anti-HCV titer was greater than 9 (PPV 100%). On the other hand, all the patients were HCV non-viremic if their anti-HCV titer was less than 9 (NPV 100%). Conclusions Anti-HCV titer strongly predicted HCV viremia. This excellent performance could be generalized to either HCV mono-infected or HBV dually infected patients.

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Diagnostic Indexes of a Rapid IgG/IgM Combined Antibody Test for SARS-CoV-2

10.1101/2020.03.26.20044883 ◽

2020 ◽

Cited By ~ 17

Author(s):

Liu Ying ◽

Liu Yue-ping ◽

Diao Bo ◽

Ren Feifei ◽

Wang Yue ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Predictive Value ◽

Antibody Test ◽

Turnaround Time ◽

Ease Of Use ◽

Sample Collection ◽

Rt Pcr ◽

Illness Onset ◽

Test Kit ◽

Combined Test ◽

Sensitivity Specificity

[Abstract]ObjectiveCoronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has become pandemic in the world. The need for IgG-IgM combined antibody test is booming, but data on diagnostic indexes evaluation was inadequate. The aim of this study was to evaluate diagnostic indexes of a rapid IgG-IgM combined antibody test for SARS-CoV-2.MethodsA total of 179 patients were enrolled. Serum were collected for IgG-IgM combined antibody test and corresponding nasal and pharyngeal swab specimens were collected for SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR. According to SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR results, patients under study were categorized as PCR positive group in 90 patients and PCR negative group in 89 patients.Results1. Of the 90 PCR positive samples, 77 were tested positive by SARS-CoV-2 IgG-IgM test kit, yielding a sensitivity of 85.6%. Meanwhile, of the 89 PCR negative sample, 8 samples were detected positive, resulting in a specificity of 91%. Positive predictive value, negative predictive value and accuracy of this test kit was 95.1%, 82.7%, and 88.3%, respectively. Kappa efficiency between IgG/IgM test kit and RT-PCR were 0.75. 2. Accuracy in mild/common and severe/critical subgroup were 73.9% and 97.7%, respectively. Accuracy in clinical confirmed, suspected cases and other disease subgroups were 70%, 60%, and 100%, respectively. 3. Patients were further divided into ‘0 - 7’, ‘8 - 15’ and ‘>= 16’ groups according to the time from illness onset to sample collection. Sensitivity, specificity and accuracy in these three groups were 18.8%, 77.8% and 40%; 100%, 50% and 87.5%; 100%, 64.3%, and 93.9, respectively.ConclusionThe sensitivity and specificity of this ease-of-use IgG/IgM combined test kit were adequate, plus short turnaround time, no specific requirements for additional equipment or skilled technicians, all of these collectively contributed to its competence for mass testing. At the current stage, it cannot take the place of SARA-CoV-2 nucleic acid RT-PCR, but can be served as a complementary option for RT-PCR. The combination of RT-PCR and IgG-IgM combined test kit could provide further insight into SARS-CoV-2 infection diagnosis.

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Field Evaluation of Calypte’s AWARETM Blood Serum Plasma (BSP) and Oral Mucosal Transudate (OMT) Rapid Tests for Detecting Antibodies to HIV-1 and 2 in Plasma and Oral Fluid

The Open AIDS Journal ◽

10.2174/1874613600903010014 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 3 (1) ◽

pp. 14-18 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

George A Alemnji ◽

Gisele A Ngulefac ◽

Peter M Ndumbe ◽

Tazoacha Asonganyi

Keyword(s):

Blood Serum ◽

Predictive Value ◽

Rapid Test ◽

Field Evaluation ◽

Ease Of Use ◽

Test Kit ◽

Rapid Tests ◽

Sensitivity Specificity ◽

Mean Cost ◽

Hiv 1

As programs to prevent and care for HIV-infected persons are scaled-up in Africa, there is the need for continuous evaluation of the performance of test kits that could best support these programs. The present study evaluated the sensitivity, specificity, ease of use, and cost of AWARE TM Blood Serum Plasma (BSP) and Oral Mucosal Transudate (OMT) Rapid HIV-1/2 test kits using real-time and archived samples of HIV-infected persons from Cameroon. Matched whole blood and OMT specimens were collected prospectively from HIV-positive and HIV-negative persons from different regions of Cameroon and tested using the AWARE TM BSP and OMT test kits, respectively. These results were compared to the gold standard that included a combination of Determine HIV-1/2 and Enzygnost HIV-1/2. The BSP Rapid test kit was further evaluated using well characterized panels of HIV-2 and HIV-1 group O samples. Cost and end-user analysis of the OMT test kit was done by comparing its actual cost, consumables, safety, bench time and manipulation with other test kits. Of the 732 matched samples, 412 (56.3%) and 320 (43.7%) were from females and males, respectively. Of these samples, 23 (3.1%) gave discordant results between Determine HIV-1/2 and Enzygnost HIV1/2 and were excluded from the analysis. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) of the AWARETM BSP were 100%. The AWARETM OMT had 98.8% sensitivity, 98.9% specificity, 98.0% PPV and 99.4% NPV. The results of a well-characterized archived panel of HIV-2 (n=7) and HIV-1 group O (n=3) samples using the AWARETM BSP Rapid test kit gave 100% concordance. Total per patient cost of the AWARE OMT rapid test kit was US$4.72 compared to a mean cost of US $7.33 + 0.11 for the other test kits. Both the AWARETM BSP and OMT Rapid test kits demonstrated high sensitivities and specificities on all samples tested and were well adapted for use in resource-constrained settings with high HIV heterogeneity such as Cameroon. The AWARE TM HIV-1/2 OMT Rapid test kit appears to be the cheapest, safest and easiest to use compared with other available test kits.

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Factors affecting sensitivity and specificity of head-turning sign in the studies

International Psychogeriatrics ◽

10.1017/s1041610218000133 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 30 (10) ◽

pp. 1571-1572 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Pinar Soysal ◽

Ahmet Turan Isik

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Cognitive Impairment ◽

Positive Predictive Value ◽

Cultural Differences ◽

Predictive Value ◽

Lower Sensitivity ◽

Clinical Markers ◽

Head Turning ◽

Factors Affecting ◽

Sensitivity Specificity

We read with interest the comment by Williamson and Larner on our recent study titled “Attended With and Head-Turning Sign can be clinical markers of cognitive impairment in older adults” (Soysal et al., 2017). After the authors read the study, they re-examined their data according to the presence of Attended With (AW) and Head-Turning Sign (HTS), and compared their results with ours (Larner, 2014). Then, they found that while the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of AW in detecting cognitive impairment were similar to ours, HTS had lower sensitivity (80.95% vs. 65.0%) and higher specificity (64.7% vs. 95.0%) than our results (Larner, 2014; Soysal et al., 2017). We think that some methodological and cultural differences may explain these discrepancies between the two.

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Diagnosis of endometriotic lesions by sonovaginography with ultrasound gel

Medical Ultrasonography ◽

10.11152/mu-875 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 18 (4) ◽

pp. 469 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Elvira Brătilă ◽

Diana Elena Comandaşu ◽

Ciprian Coroleucă ◽

Monica Mihaela Cîrstoiu ◽

Costin Berceanu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Laparoscopic Surgery ◽

Predictive Value ◽

Transvaginal Sonography ◽

Lower Sensitivity ◽

Rectovaginal Septum ◽

Diagnostic Ability ◽

Uterosacral Ligaments ◽

Sensitivity Specificity ◽

Multicentre Prospective Study ◽

Douglas Pouch

Aims: The aim of the study was to evaluate the diagnostic ability of sonovaginography (SVG) with ultrasound gel in patients with endometriosis. Material and methods: We conducted a multicentre prospective study, which included 193 patients with symptoms highly suggestive for endometriosis. All patients were investigated by transvaginal sonography and SVG with gel and afterwards underwent laparoscopic surgery. For each category of endometriotic lesions investigated, we calculated and compared the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value of the imagisticinvestigations used. Results: In the case of endometriotic lesions of the uterosacral ligaments, SVG with gel had a sensitivity of 78.5% and a specificity of 96% (p=ns). The lesions of the vagina and rectovaginal septum were diagnosed with a sensitivity of 79%, respectively 94% (p=ns), obtaining a specificity of 99%, respectively of 97% (p=0.007). The lesions of the Douglas pouch were identified with a sensitivity of 81% (p=0.015), and those of the rectosigmoid with a 94% sensitivity (p=0.010). We obtained lower sensitivity (67%) in detecting the lesions of the urinary bladder (p=ns). Conclusions: SGV with ultrasound gel represents a useful investigation tool for the evaluation of endometriotic lesions in the posterior pelvic compartment.

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D-Dimer Test and Diagnosis of Deep Vein Thrombosis: A Comparative Study of 7 Assays

Thrombosis and Haemostasis ◽

10.1055/s-0038-1650615 ◽

1996 ◽

Vol 76 (04) ◽

pp. 518-522 ◽

Cited By ~ 44

Author(s):

A Elias ◽

I Aptel ◽

B Huc ◽

J J Chale ◽

F Nguyen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Deep Vein Thrombosis ◽

Negative Predictive Value ◽

Predictive Value ◽

Latex Agglutination ◽

Lower Limbs ◽

First Episode ◽

Lower Sensitivity ◽

Vein Thrombosis ◽

Deep Vein ◽

D Dimer

SummaryThe current D-Dimer ELISA methods provide high sensitivity and negative predictive value for the diagnosis of deep vein thrombosis but these methods are not suitable for emergency or for individual determination. We have evaluated the performance of 3 newly available fast D-Dimer assays (Vidas D-Di, BioMerieux; Instant IA D-Di, Stago; Nycocard D-Dimer, Nycomed) in comparison with 3 classic ELISA methods (Stago, Organon, Behring) and a Latex agglutination technique (Stago). One-hundred-and-seventy-one patients suspected of presenting a first episode of deep vein thrombosis were investigated. A deep vein thrombosis was detected in 75 patients (43.8%) by ultrasonic duplex scanning of the lower limbs; in 11 of them the thrombi were distal and very limited in size (<2 cm). We compared the performance of the tests by calculating their sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive value for different cut-off levels and by calculating the area under ROC curves. The concordance of the different methods was evaluated by calculating the kappa coefficient. The performances of the 3 classic ELISA and of the Vidas D-Di were comparable and kappa coefficients indicated a good concordance between the results provided by these assays. Their sensitivity slightly declined for detection of the very small thrombi. Instant IA D-Di had a non-significantly lower sensitivity and negative predictive value than the 4 previous assays; however its performance was excellent for out-patients. As expected, the Latex assay had too low a sensitivity and negative predictive value to be recommended. In our hands, Nycocard D-Dimer also exhibited low sensitivity and negative predictive value, which were significantly improved when the plasma samples were tested by the manufacturer. Thus significant progress has been made, allowing clinical studies to be planned to compare the safety and cost-effectiveness of D-Dimer strategy to those of the conventional methods for the diagnosis of venous thrombosis.

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Noninvasive Evaluation of Coronary Artery Bypass Grafts with 16-Slice Multidetector Computed Tomography

The Heart Surgery Forum ◽

10.1532/hsf98.20111075 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 15 (1) ◽

pp. 12 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Levent Sahiner ◽

Ali Oto ◽

Kudret Aytemir ◽

Tuncay Hazirolan ◽

Musturay Karcaaltincaba ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Computed Tomography ◽

Coronary Artery ◽

Diagnostic Accuracy ◽

Multidetector Computed Tomography ◽

Coronary Artery Bypass ◽

Predictive Value ◽

Artery Bypass ◽

Time Interval ◽

Mdct Angiography ◽

Sensitivity Specificity

Background: The aim of this study was to investigate the diagnostic accuracy of 16-slice multislice, multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) angiography for the evaluation of grafts in patients with coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG).Methods: Fifty-eight consecutive patients with CABG who underwent both MDCT and conventional invasive coronary angiography were included. The median time interval between the 2 procedures was 10 days (range, 1-32 days). The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) of MDCT for the detection of occluded grafts were calculated. The accuracy of MDCT angiography for detecting significant stenoses in patent grafts and the evaluability of proximal and distal anastomoses were also investigated.Results: Optimal diagnostic images could not be obtained for only 3 (2%) of 153 grafts. Evaluation of the remaining 150 grafts revealed values for sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV, and diagnostic accuracy of the MDCT angiography procedure for the diagnosis of occluded grafts of 87%, 97%, 94%, 93%, and 92%, respectively. All of the proximal anastomoses were optimally visualized. In 4 (8%) of 50 patent arterial grafts, however, the distal anastomotic region could not be evaluated because of motion and surgical-clip artifacts. The accuracy of MDCT angiography for the detection of significant stenotic lesions was relatively low (the sensitivity, specificity, PPV, and NPV were 67%, 98%, 50%, and 99%, respectively). The number of significant lesions was insufficient to reach a reliable conclusion, however.Conclusion: Our study showed that MDCT angiography with 16-slice systems has acceptable diagnostic performance for the evaluation of coronary artery bypass graft patency.

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