scholarly journals Pancreatin-Cetyl Pyridinium Chloride Digestion and Decontamination Method; A Novel, Sensitive, Cost-Effective Method for Culturing Mycobacterium tuberculosis

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (10) ◽  
pp. 2025
Author(s):  
Pottathil Shinu ◽  
Anroop B. Nair ◽  
Snawar Hussain ◽  
Mohamed A. Morsy ◽  
Wafaa E. Soliman

The present study evaluated the performance of newly developed pancreatin-cetylpyridinium chloride (pancreatin-CPC) digestion and decontamination method (DDM) with N-acetyl L-Cysteine-sodium hydroxide (NALC-NaOH) DDM for isolation of Mycobacteria from clinically suspected pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) patients. For the study, sputum samples (n = 613) obtained from clinically suspected PTB cases were subjected to direct microscopy, pretreatment with NALC-NaOH DDM (reference method), and pancreatin-CPC DDM followed by culture, and the data were analyzed. The direct microscopy illustrated diagnostic accuracies of 60.4% (sensitivity), 99.77% (specificity), 98.9% (positive predictive value) and 88.3% (negative predictive value), respectively (against culture) for the detection of Mycobacterial species. The pancreatin-CPC DDM showed competitive diagnostic accuracies (against NALC-NaOH DDM) of 99.32% (sensitivity), 94.07% (specificity), 85.05% (positive predictive value), and 99.76% (negative predictive value), respectively, for the isolation of Mycobacterial species. In conclusion, pancreatin-CPC DMM was a highly sensitive, technically simple, and cost-effective method, suggesting its competence to substitute the currently used NALC-NaOH DDM.

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-3
Author(s):  
Keshav Bansal ◽  
Dhaval Bhatt ◽  
G.K. Sharma

Objective: To evaluate the utility of NESTROFT as a screening test for Beta Thalassemia Trait. Material and Methods: A Prospective study of total 137 clinically normal siblings of thalassemia major patients registered at thalassemia clinic in department of pediatrics, Govt. medical college, Kota were selected randomly for the study. All cases were investigated for CBC, Mentzer’s index, NESTROFT and HbA2 estimation by HPLC method. Result: Total 137 cases were screened for thalassemia carrier by HbA2 estimation using HPLC technique. Total 67 (48.90%) cases having HbA2 level ≥3.5 % considered as carrier whereas rest 70 (51.10%) cases were normal. In this study 95 cases showed MCV<80. Out of them 59 cases were carrier and 36 cases were normal. The Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value of MCV<80 are 90.12%, 49.71%, 63.78% and 84.68% respectively. The Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value of Mentzer index are 85.25%, 97.16%, 96.45% and 89.19 % respectively. In present study, NESTROFT were done in all cases, the sensitivity of NESTROF test is 94.21%, specificity is 89.72%, Predictive value of positive test is 89.17% and Predictive value of negative test is 93.75%. So NESTROFT is better test for screening for Beta Thalassemia trait. Conclusion: NESTROF test is reliable, cost effective and better screening test for Thalassemia carrier detection. Positive cases can be confirmed by HPLC. NESTROFT can be used as mass screening programme for hemoglobinopathies.


Author(s):  
Prathima A. ◽  
Reddi Rani P.

Background: Hypertensive disorders remain the most common medical complication during pregnancy and contribute greatly to maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality. Several tests have been proposed to identify the women at risk of developing hypertension. Among the various predictors, the placental location by USG at 18-24 weeks is cost effective, non- invasive and has a good positive predictive value. The present study was undertaken to predict the association of placental location with the development of hypertension in pregnancy.Methods: This was a longitudinal cohort study conducted on 380 uncomplicated primigravid women who attended the obstetric OPD of MGMC&RI over a period of 18 months (March 2017-august 2018). A detailed history was taken, and examination done and B.P. was measured. The placental location was determined by ultrasound at 18-24 weeks and the patients were divided into two groups : group A were women with lateral placenta and group B were women with other placental locations. All women were followed up for signs and symptoms of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy and mode of delivery and neonatal outcome were noted.Results: Out of 380 women, 56(14.7%) had lateral placenta and 324(85.3%) had other placental locations. Out of the 57 women who developed hypertensive disorders in pregnancy, 16(28.6%) had lateral placenta and 41(12.7%) had other placental locations. The risk of developing hypertension in pregnancy with lateral placenta was 3.5(odds ratio) with a 95% confidence interval (1.4-8.6). The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value when placental laterality is used as a predictive test was 28.1%, 87.6%, 28.6% and 87.4% respectively.Conclusions: The placental laterality as determined by ultrasound at 18-24 weeks is a simple, non-invasive, cost-effective predictive test to predict women at high risk of developing hypertensive disorders of pregnancy and this test has a high specificity and negative predictive value.


2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 105-110
Author(s):  
P. Getsov ◽  
S. Mitova-Siminkovitch ◽  
S. Dineva ◽  
B. Vladimirov

Background and Objectives: Duodenal diverticula are a common finding in patients with biliary tract disorders. The objective of this study is to assess the diagnostic value of the magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP) in case of periampullary duodenal diverticula (PAD) using endoscopic cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) as a reference method.  Methods: The study population included 350 patients with known or suspected diseases of the biliary tract, liver, and pancreas. Two radiologists interpreted the image quality and the presence of PAD in agreement . Results: In cases with a single PAD, MRCP had sensitivity 81.2%, specificity 98.6%, positive predictive value 90.9%, and negative predictive value 97%, compared to ERCP. In the case with two PAD, MRCP had sensitivity 40%, specificity 99.7%, positive predictive value 66.7% and negative predictive value 98.9%. The average volume of PAD was 3.25 cm3. In this study group patients with PAD were on average 10 years older than those without PAD (< 0.001). There was also found a significant association of PAD with choledocholithiasis (p = 0.009) and cholecystitis (p = 0.002).  Interpretation and Conclusions: In conclusion, MRCP could be used as a non-invasive diagnostic modality with acceptable sensitivity and specificity in patients with suspected PAD and biliary tract diseases.


Author(s):  
Youssriah Yahia Sabri ◽  
Ikram Hamed Mahmoud ◽  
Lamis Tarek El-Gendy ◽  
Mohamed Raafat Abd El-Mageed ◽  
Sally Fouad Tadros

Abstract Background There are many causes of pleural disease including variable benign and malignant etiologies. DWI is a non-enhanced functional MRI technique that allows qualitative and quantitative characterization of tissues based on their water molecules diffusivity. The aim of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic value of DWI-MRI in detection and characterization of pleural diseases and its capability in differentiating benign from malignant pleural lesions. Results Conventional MRI was able to discriminate benign from malignant lesions by using morphological features (contour and thickness) with sensitivity 89.29%, specificity 76%, positive predictive value 89%, negative predictive value 76.92%, and accuracy 85.37%. ADC value as a quantitative parameter of DWI found that ADC values of malignant pleural diseases were significantly lower than that of benign lesions (P < 0.001). Hence, we discovered that using ADC mean value of 1.68 × 10-3 mm2/s as a cutoff value can differentiate malignant from benign pleural diseases with sensitivity 89.3%, specificity 100%, positive predictive value 100%, negative predictive value 81.2%, and accuracy 92.68% (P < 0.001). Conclusion Although DWI-MRI is unable to differentiate between malignant and benign pleural effusion, its combined morphological and functional information provide valid non-invasive method to accurately characterize pleural soft tissue diseases differentiating benign from malignant lesions with higher specificity and accuracy than conventional MRI.


2021 ◽  
pp. 003335492110084
Author(s):  
Kirsten Vannice ◽  
Julia Hood ◽  
Nicole Yarid ◽  
Meagan Kay ◽  
Richard Harruff ◽  
...  

Objectives Up-to-date information on the occurrence of drug overdose is critical to guide public health response. The objective of our study was to evaluate a near–real-time fatal drug overdose surveillance system to improve timeliness of drug overdose monitoring. Methods We analyzed data on deaths in the King County (Washington) Medical Examiner’s Office (KCMEO) jurisdiction that occurred during March 1, 2017–February 28, 2018, and that had routine toxicology test results. Medical examiners (MEs) classified probable drug overdoses on the basis of information obtained through the death investigation and autopsy. We calculated sensitivity, positive predictive value, specificity, and negative predictive value of MEs’ classification by using the final death certificate as the gold standard. Results KCMEO investigated 2480 deaths; 1389 underwent routine toxicology testing, and 361 were toxicologically confirmed drug overdoses from opioid, stimulant, or euphoric drugs. Sensitivity of the probable overdose classification was 83%, positive predictive value was 89%, specificity was 96%, and negative predictive value was 94%. Probable overdoses were classified a median of 1 day after the event, whereas the final death certificate confirming an overdose was received by KCMEO an average of 63 days after the event. Conclusions King County MEs’ probable overdose classification provides a near–real-time indicator of fatal drug overdoses, which can guide rapid local public health responses to the drug overdose epidemic.


2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Abd El-Fattah F. Hanno ◽  
Fatma M. Abd El-Aziz ◽  
Akram A. Deghady ◽  
Ehab H. El-Kholy ◽  
Aborawy I. Aborawy

Abstract Background Liver cancer is the fifth most common cancer and the second most frequent cause of cancer-related death globally. Early stages of hepatocellular carcinoma (0&A) can be treated with curative procedures. The aim of this work was to evaluate the role of annexin A2 and osteopontin for early diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma in hepatitis C virus patients. Methods The study was carried out on 80 patients classified into two groups. Group A had 40 chronic hepatitis C patients without hepatocellular carcinoma, while group B had 40 chronic hepatitis C patients with early hepatocellular carcinoma (stages; 0&A). All patients were subjected to thorough history taking, clinical examination, liver function tests, renal function tests, serum alpha-fetoprotein, serum osteopontin, and serum annexin A2. Results Serum alpha-fetoprotein was found to be statistically significantly higher in patients with the hepatocellular carcinoma group than the chronic hepatitis C group. The ROC curve for alpha-fetoprotein for detection of HCC was significant, its diagnostic performance was 0.818* (p < 0.001*), and the cutoff point for predicting the probability for HCC was 6.0 (ng/ml) with sensitivity of 77.50%, specificity of 82.50%, positive predictive value of 81.60%, negative predictive value of 78.6%, and accuracy of 80%. Serum osteopontin was found to be statistically significantly higher in patients from the hepatocellular carcinoma group than the chronic hepatitis C group. The ROC curve for osteopontin was significant, its diagnostic performance was 0.739* (p < 0.001*), the cutoff point was 13.2 (ng/ml) with sensitivity of 65.0%, specificity of 90.0%, positive predictive value of 86.70%, negative predictive value of 72.0%, and accuracy of 77.0%. Serum annexin A2 was found to be statistically significantly higher in patients from the hepatocellular carcinoma group than the chronic hepatitis C group. The ROC curve for annexin A2 was significant, its diagnostic performance was 0.927* (p < 0.001*), the cutoff point was 10.1(ng/ml) with sensitivity of 85.0%, specificity of 85.0%, positive predictive value of 85.0%, negative predictive value of 85.0%, and accuracy of 85.0%. Conclusions Osteopontin had better specificity but lower sensitivity than serum alpha-fetoprotein for early diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma. Annexin A2 had better diagnostic sensitivity and specificity than alpha-fetoprotein for early diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma.


2021 ◽  
Vol 80 (Suppl 1) ◽  
pp. 602.1-603
Author(s):  
E. S. Torun ◽  
E. Bektaş ◽  
F. Kemik ◽  
M. Bektaş ◽  
C. Cetin ◽  
...  

Background:Recently developed EULAR/ACR classification criteria for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) have important differences compared to the 2012 Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics (SLICC) SLE classification criteria and the revised 1997 American College of Rheumatology (ACR) criteria: The obligatory entry criterion of antinuclear antibody (ANA) positivity is introduced and a “weighted” approach is used1. Sensitivity and specificity of these three criteria have been debated and may vary in different populations and clinical settings.Objectives:We aim to compare the performances of three criteria sets/rules in a large cohort of patients and relevant diseased controls from a reference center with dedicated clinics for SLE and other autoimmune/inflammatory connective tissue diseases from Turkey.Methods:We reviewed the medical records of SLE patients and diseased controls for clinical and laboratory features relevant to all sets of criteria. Criteria sets/rules were analysed based on sensitivity, positive predictive value, specificity and negative predictive value, using clinical diagnosis with at least 6 months of follow-up as the gold standard. A subgroup analysis was performed in ANA positive patients for both SLE patients and diseased controls. SLE patients that did not fulfil 2012 SLICC criteria and 2019 EULAR/ACR criteria and diseased controls that fulfilled these criteria were evaluated.Results:A total of 392 SLE patients and 294 non-SLE diseased controls (48 undifferentiated connective tissue disease, 51 Sjögren’s syndrome, 43 idiopathic inflammatory myopathy, 50 systemic sclerosis, 52 primary antiphospholipid syndrome, 15 rheumatoid arthritis, 15 psoriatic arthritis and 20 ANCA associated vasculitis) were included into the study. Hundred and fourteen patients (16.6%) were ANA negative.Sensitivity was more than 90% for 2012 SLICC criteria and 2019 EULAR/ACR criteria and positive predictive value was more than 90% for all three criteria (Table 1). Specificity was the highest for 1997 ACR criteria. Negative predictive value was 76.9% for ACR criteria, 88.4% for SLICC criteria and 91.7% for EULAR/ACR criteria.In only ANA positive patients, sensitivity was 79.6% for 1997 ACR criteria, 92.2% for 2012 SLICC criteria and 96.1% for 2019 EULAR/ACR criteria. Specificity was 92.6% for ACR criteria, 87.8% for SLICC criteria 85.2% for EULAR/ACR criteria.Eleven clinically diagnosed SLE patients had insufficient number of items for both 2012 SLICC and 2019 EULAR/ACR criteria. Both criteria were fulfilled by 16 diseased controls: 9 with Sjögren’s syndrome, 5 with antiphospholipid syndrome, one with dermatomyositis and one with systemic sclerosis.Table 1.Sensitivity, positive predictive value, specificity and negative predictive value of 1997 ACR, 2012 SLICC and 2019 EULAR/ACR classification criteriaSLE (+)SLE (-)Sensitivity (%)Positive Predictive Value (%)Specificity (%)Negative Predictive Value (%)1997 ACR(+) 308(-) 841527978.695.494.976.92012 SLICC(+) 357(-) 352626891.193.291.288.42019 EULAR/ACR(+) 368(-) 242826693.892.990.591.7Conclusion:In this cohort, although all three criteria have sufficient specificity, sensitivity and negative predictive value of 1997 ACR criteria are the lowest. Overall, 2019 EULAR/ACR and 2012 SLICC criteria have a comparable performance, but if only ANA positive cases and controls are analysed, the specificity of both criteria decrease to less than 90%. Some SLE patients with a clinical diagnosis lacked sufficient number of criteria. Mostly, patients with Sjögren’s syndrome or antiphospholipid syndrome are prone to misclassification by both recent criteria.References:[1]Aringer M, Costenbader K, Daikh D, et al. 2019 European League Against Rheumatism/American College of Rheumatology classification criteria for systemic lupus erythematosus. Ann Rheum Dis 2019;78:1151-1159.Disclosure of Interests:None declared


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
J. W. Brakel ◽  
T. A. Berendsen ◽  
P. M. C. Callenbach ◽  
J. van der Burgh ◽  
R. J. Hissink ◽  
...  

Abstract Introduction Several countries advocate screening for aneurysms of the abdominal aorta (AAA) in selected patients. In the Netherlands, routine screening is currently under review by the National Health Council. In any screening programme, cost-efficiency and accuracy are key. In this study, we evaluate the Aorta Scan (Verathon, Amsterdam, Netherlands), a cost-effective and easy-to-use screening device based on bladder scan technology, which enables untrained personnel to screen for AAA. Methods We subjected 117 patients to an Aorta Scan and compared the results to the gold standard (abdominal ultrasound). We used statistical analysis to determine sensitivity and specificity of the Aorta Scan, as well as the positive and negative predictive values, accuracy, and inter-test agreement (Kappa). Results Sensitivity and specificity were 0.86 and 0.98, respectively. Positive predictive value was 0.98 and negative predictive value was 0.88. Accuracy was determined at 0.92 and the Kappa value was 0.85. When waist–hip circumferences (WHC) of > 115 cm were excluded, sensitivity raised to 0.96, specificity stayed 0.98, positive and negative predictive value were 0.98 and 0.96, respectively, accuracy to 0.97, and Kappa to 0.94. Conclusion Herein, we show that the Aorta Scan is a cost-effective and very accurate screening tool, especially in patients with WHC below 115 cm, which makes it a suitable candidate for implementation into clinical practice, specifically in the setting of screening selected populations for the presence of AAA.


2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (Supplement_2) ◽  
Author(s):  
M Moshage ◽  
S Smolka ◽  
S Achenbach ◽  
F Ammon ◽  
P Ferstl ◽  
...  

Abstract Background The accuracy of CT-derived FFR (FFRCT) has been repeatedly reported. However, the influence of lesion location on accuracy is unknown. Therefore, we evaluated the diagnostic accuracy of FFRCT to detect lesion-specific ischemia and determined the influence of lesion location (proximal vs. distal vessel segments) compared to invasively measured FFR in patients with suspected CAD. Methods A total of 136 vessels in which “Dual-Source”-CT coronary angiography had been performed due to suspected CAD and who were further referred for invasive coronary angiography with invasive FFR measurement within three months of the index CT examination were retrospectively identified and screened for inclusion in this analysis. Patients with either left main coronary artery stenoses, bifurcation or ostial stenoses were excluded. Invasive FFR was measured using a pressure wire (CERTUS®, St. Jude Medical, Minnesota, USA or Verrata®, Volcano, San Diego, USA). FFRCT was calculated using an on-site prototype (cFFR Version 3.0, Siemens Healthineers, Forchheim, Germany). All vessels were analyzed by an experienced observer blinded to the results of invasive FFR. Stenoses with invasively measured FFR ≤0.80 were classified as hemodynamically significant. We evaluated the diagnostic accuracy of FFRCT in proximal vs. non-proximal vessel segments. Proximal lesions included stenoses located in segment one, six, eleven and twelve. All other stenoses were categorized as distal lesions. Results Out of 136 coronary stenoses, 47 (35%) were located in proximal segments and 89 (65%) lesions were located in distal segments. Compared to invasive FFR, the sensitivity of FFRCT to correctly identify/exclude hemodynamically significant stenoses in proximal vessel segments was 93% (95% CI: 68–99.8%) and the specificity was 100% (95% CI: 89–100%), compared to a sensitivity of 72% (95% CI: 46.5–90%) and a specificity of 87% (95% CI: 77–94%) for FFRCT in distal lesions. The positive predictive value was 100% and the negative predictive value was 97% (95% CI: 82.8–99.5%) compared to a positive predictive value of 59% (95% CI: 42–93.9%) and a negative predictive value of 93% (95% CI: 85.4–96.3%) for proximal vs. distal vessel segment, respectively. This corresponds to an accuracy of 98% vs. 84%, respectively (p=0.02). ROC-Curve analysis showed a slightly higher – albeit non-significant – area under the curve for FFRCT to detect hemodynamic relevance in proximal lesions compared to distal lesions (AUC 0.95, p&lt;0.001 vs. AUC: 0.86, p&lt;0.001, respectively, p=0.2). Conclusion FFRCT obtained using an on-site prototype shows overall a high diagnostic accuracy for detecting lesions causing ischemia as compared to invasive FFR with a trend towards better diagnostic performance in proximal vessel segments. Funding Acknowledgement Type of funding source: None


Medicina ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 57 (5) ◽  
pp. 503
Author(s):  
Thomas F. Monaghan ◽  
Syed N. Rahman ◽  
Christina W. Agudelo ◽  
Alan J. Wein ◽  
Jason M. Lazar ◽  
...  

Sensitivity, which denotes the proportion of subjects correctly given a positive assignment out of all subjects who are actually positive for the outcome, indicates how well a test can classify subjects who truly have the outcome of interest. Specificity, which denotes the proportion of subjects correctly given a negative assignment out of all subjects who are actually negative for the outcome, indicates how well a test can classify subjects who truly do not have the outcome of interest. Positive predictive value reflects the proportion of subjects with a positive test result who truly have the outcome of interest. Negative predictive value reflects the proportion of subjects with a negative test result who truly do not have the outcome of interest. Sensitivity and specificity are inversely related, wherein one increases as the other decreases, but are generally considered stable for a given test, whereas positive and negative predictive values do inherently vary with pre-test probability (e.g., changes in population disease prevalence). This article will further detail the concepts of sensitivity, specificity, and predictive values using a recent real-world example from the medical literature.


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