scholarly journals Volume of sputum to detect acid-fast bacilli as a measure of quality for the diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis at the Dr George Mukhari Hospital, South Africa

Author(s):  
Iqbal Rashid ◽  
Langalibalele H. Mabuza ◽  
Indiran Govender ◽  
Deidre Pretorius

Background: Optimum sputum results for acid-fast bacilli (AFB) microscopy are linked to a sputum quantity of at least 5.0 mL. This study was aimed at establishing the effect of sputum quantity in the pick-up rate of AFB microscopy by comparing sputum samples of 5.0 mL and 2.0 mL.Methods: An analytical cross-sectional study was carried out at the Dr George Mukhari Hospital (DGMH) in Pretoria, South Africa, from 05 January 2007 to 04 January 2008.Two sputum samples, 5.0 mL and 2.0 mL, were collected from each of the 330 adult PTB (pulmonary tuberculosis) suspects. Fluorescence microscopy was used in the sputum analysis. The yield through microscopy of the 2.0 mL specimen versus the 5.0 mL specimen was compared and analysed, using culture results as the gold standard.Results: From a sample of 330 specimens, 77 tested AFB positive on microscopy. In the 5.0 mL samples, the sensitivity was 76.6% (95% CI, 66.0% – 84.7%), specificity 99.6% (95% CI 97.8% – 99.9%), positive predictive value (PV+) 98.3% (95% CI 91.1% – 99.7%), negative predictive value (PV-) 93.3% (95% CI 89.7% – 95.7%), the likelihood ratio (LR) for a positive microscopy 192 and the LR for a negative test was 0.23. In the 2.0 mL specimens, the sensitivity was 75.3% (95% CI 64.6% – 83.6%), specificity 99.2% (95% CI 97.1% – 99.8%), positive predictive value (PV+) 96.7% (95% CI 88.6% – 99.1%), negative predictive value (PV-) 93.0% (95% CI 89.3% – 95.4%), the LR for a positive microscopy was 94 and 0.25 for a negative microscopy. There was a statistically significant association (p-value < 0.001) between the microscopy and culture tests in both the 5.0 mL and the 2.0 mL specimen categories. The strength of association between the microscopy and culture, as indicated by the kappa test was 0.83 and 0.81 in the 5.0 mL and 2.0 mL categories, respectively.Conclusion: Compared to the 2.0 mL specimen category, the yield for AFB microscopy in the 5.0 mL specimen category was consistently superior, as indicated by the higher sensitivity, specificity, predictive values and the likelihood ratios in the 5.0 mL specimen category. It is recommended that sputum specimen collection for AFB microscopy should aim for a minimum volume of 5.0 mL.

2021 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 196-203
Author(s):  
Elahe Fini ◽  
◽  
Neda Nasirian ◽  
Bahram Hosein Beigy ◽  
◽  
...  

Background and Aim: Ovarian cancer is among the most common cancers in women worldwide. CA125 is the most frequent biomarker used in the screening for ovarian cancer. CA125 has no high sensitivity and specificity as a screening test in the medical community; however, because of being simple and noninvasive, it is almost always requested for evaluation and ruling out cancer. It plays an important role in the treatment and post-treatment process, the prediction of prognosis, and the relapse of the disease. The present study aimed to determine the relationship between a high level of CA125 tumor marker and ovarian cancer by detecting spesivity, sensivity, positive and negative predictive values. Methods & Materials: In this cross-sectional study, all cases undergoing CA125 test in Velayat Hospital in 2017-1028 were evaluated for having ovarian cancer. In addition, the CA125 level was compared between healthy individuals and patients with ovarian cancer. Finally, the obtained data were analyzed using SPSS. Ethical Considerations: The present study was approved by the Qazvin University of Medical Sciences (Ethics Code: IR.QUMS.REC.1396.316). Results: In this study, 35.3% of the study participants received a definite diagnosis of ovarian cancer. Generally, CA125 values were negative in 41.8% and positive in.58.2% of the study subjects. The sensitivity of the test was measured as 80.1%, the specivity as 53.6%, the positive predictive value equaled 48.4%, and the negative predictive value was measured as 83%. There was a significant relationship between age and the presence of ovarian cancer, and serum CA125 levels. Conclusion: The present study suggested that age and the serum level of CA125 were statistically significant. Finally, CA125 levels were significantly related to ovarian cancer. It provided moderate specivity and specivity as well as low positive predictive value and high negative predictive value as a tumor marker; it is valuable for ruling out of tumor but not appropriate as a screening test.


2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (08) ◽  
pp. 1229-1232
Author(s):  
Khadija Kiran ◽  
Amtul Huda ◽  
Zuhair Bhatti

To investigate the role of IL-21 as diagnostic marker in diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis. Study Design: Cross sectional study. Setting: Department of Physiology and Orthopedic Gujranwala Medical College, Gujranwala. Period: October 2017 to October 2018 in one year duration. Materials and Methods: A total of 150 patients were included in the study, main variables assessed in this study were positive predictive value negative predictive value, sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of IL-21 in diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis. SPSS version 23 was used to analyze the data. P value less than or equal to 0.05 was taken as significant. Study was started after permission from hospital ethical committee and patients were informed in detail about disease and procedure to be done. Non probability consecutive sampling was used. Results: The estimated sensitivity was 93.6%. The estimated specificity was 50%. Positive predictive value was 96.3% and negative predictive value was 35.7%. The overall accuracy was 90.6% for diagnosing rheumatoid arthritis. Conclusion: IL-21 induces MMP3 in rheumatoid arthritis patients, identification of IL-21 from synovium of patients indicates the presence of rheumatoid arthritis. We observed 90.6% diagnostic accuracy of IL-21 for rheumatoid patients taking RA factor as gold standard of diagnostic tool.


2017 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 79-88
Author(s):  
Brenda E. Castillo-Silva MSc, PhD ◽  
Nuria Patiño-Marín MSc, PhD ◽  
Gabriel Alejandro Martínez-Castañón MSc, PhD ◽  
Carlo E. Medina-Solís DDS, MS ◽  
Norma Verónica Zavala Alonso MSc, PhD ◽  
...  

A test frequently used to complement endodontic diagnoses is the cold test; however, in the last 20 years, authors have reported incorrect results within pulp sensitivity tests. Specifically, a high frequency of false results in posterior teeth, were found. The aim of this study was to identify the most appropriate site for the cold test in molar teeth with a need for endodontic treatment, calculating predictive values, accuracy and reproducibility. A cross-sectional study was performed, evaluating 390 subjects. A total of 152 subjects of both genders from the ages of 15-65 years old participated. The ideal standard was established by direct pulp inspection, and the cold test agent used was 1,1,1,2-tetrafluoroethane. The patients were divided into four groups in relation to the molar tooth: (1) mandibular first molar, (2) mandibular second molar, (3) maxillary first molar, and (4) maxillary second molar. 169 teeth and 676 sites were studied. (a) The most appropriate sites for cold test were the middle third of the buccal surface and cervical third of the buccal surface in the mandibular molars with the following results: Middle third of the first molar: Accuracy 0.93, positive predictive value 0.90 and negative predictive value 0.96. Middle third of the second molar: Accuracy 0.93, positive predictive value 1.00 and negative predictive value 0.90. In relation to third cervical the results were: First molar: Accuracy 0.93, positive predictive value 0.89 and negative predictive value 0.97 y second molar: Accuracy 0.93, positive predictive value 1.00 and negative predictive value 0.90. (b) The highest reproducibility was observed in the middle third of the buccal surface with cervical third of the buccal surface in the mandibular second molar (1.00). The most appropriate site and reproducibility of the sites are auxiliary to complement endodontic diagnose with the cold test.


Author(s):  
Mujeeb Ahmad ◽  
Muhammad Haroon Stanikzai ◽  
Najeeb Rahimy ◽  
Abdul Wahed Wasiq ◽  
Hadia Sayam

Background: Tuberculosis (TB) is a major global health problem. The early and accurate diagnosis is crucial for disease management and to control disease transmission and the emergence of drug resistance TB. Objectives: This study was carried out to determine the diagnostic accuracy of Ziehl Neelsen (ZN) smear microscopy in comparison with GeneXpert MTB/RIF in pulmonary tuberculosis in Kandahar province, Afghanistan. Methods: This was a facility-based cross-sectional study. We scrutinized TB registers of three health facilities to include patients who had their sputum tested by both ZN smear microscopy and GeneXpert MTB/RIF. We extracted 734 patients’ data registered during January 2019 - June 2020 in a structured form. Kappa value was analyzed using SPSS version 19 software at 95% Confidence Interval (CI). We calculated sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV) of ZN smear microscopy against GeneXpert MTB/RIF. Results: In comparison with GeneXpert as a reference test, ZN smear microscopy has 67.7% (95% CI:63.44%-70.74%) sensitivity and 100% (95% CI:98.74%-100.00%) specificity. The positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) were 100% and 99.89% (95% CI:99.88%-99.90%), respectively. The agreement between ZN smear microscopy and GeneXpert MTB/RIF results was moderate (70.4%) and the Kappa value was 0.45 (95% CI:0.38-0.59). Conclusion: This study has found high specificity but moderate sensitivity for the diagnosis of pulmonary TB using sputum ZN smear microscopy test. Hence, GeneXpert MTB/RIF test is more accurate and reliable for the diagnosis of pulmonary TB.


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.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mannix Imani Masimango ◽  
Michel P. Hermans ◽  
Espoir Bwenge Malembaka ◽  
Pierre Wallemacq ◽  
Ernest Kiswaya Sumaili ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Most studies of chronic kidney disease (CKD) in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) have been conducted in urban settings. They relied on GFR estimated from serum creatinine alone and on the inexpensive, convenient urinary dipstick to assess proteinuria. The dipstick for proteinuria has not been directly compared with the gold standard albumin-to-creatinine ratio (ACR) in a large-sized study in SSA. We hereby assessed the influence of rural versus urban location on the level, interpretation, and diagnostic performance of proteinuria dipstick versus ACR. Methods In a cross-sectional population-based study of CKD in both urban (n = 587) and rural (n = 730) settings in South-Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), we assessed the prevalence, performance (sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value) and determinants of a positive dipstick proteinuria as compared with albuminuria (ACR). Albuminuria was subdivided into: A1 (< 30 mg/g creatinine), A2 (30 to 299 mg/g creatinine) and A3 (≥ 300 mg/g creatinine). Results The overall prevalence of positive dipstick proteinuria (≥ 1+) was 9.6 % (95 % CI, 7.9–11.3) and was higher in rural than in urban residents (13.1 % vs. 4.8 %, p < 0.001), whereas the prevalence of albuminuria (A2 or A3) was similar in both sites (6 % rural vs. 7.6 % urban, p = 0.31). In both sites, dipstick proteinuria ≥ 1 + had a poor sensitivity (< 50 %) and positive predictive value (< 11 %) for the detection of A2 or A3. The negative predictive value was 95 %. Diabetes [aOR 6.12 (1.52–24.53)] was a significant predictor of A3 whereas alkaline [aOR 7.45 (3.28–16.93)] and diluted urine [aOR 2.19 (1.35–3.57)] were the main predictors of positive dipstick proteinuria. Conclusions ACR and dipstick proteinuria have similar positivity rates in the urban site whereas, in the rural site, dipstick was 2-fold more often positive than ACR. The poor sensitivity and positive predictive value of the dipstick as compared with ACR makes it unattractive as a screening tool in community studies of CKD in SSA.


2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (50) ◽  
pp. 3027-3032
Author(s):  
Ruby Elizabeth Elias ◽  
Bindiya Gisuthan ◽  
Sreeganesh A.S

BACKGROUND Helicobacter pylori associated chronic gastritis plays a vital role in the development of majority of gastric adenocarcinomas and most gastric MALT (Mucosa Associated Lymphoid Tissue) lymphomas. Many diagnostic methods are available for the identification of this organism. However, in gastroenterology practice, histopathological examination of biopsy samples provides visual identification of the pathogen and the associated mucosal changes with special stains like Giemsa. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of three stains H & E- (Haematoxylin and Eosin), Giemsa and IHC (Immunohistochemistry) in the identification of H. pylori. Associated histologic changes were noted and the relationship between the degree of colonisation and the activity and chronicity of gastritis were analysed. METHODS 585 gastric biopsies taken from dyspeptic patients were evaluated for gastritis, based on updated Sydney System. In 250 randomly selected cases, three staining methods were used. RESULTS Out of 585 cases, 413 (70.60 %) had features of chronic gastritis. Mild chronic gastritis was the commonest finding and is seen in most cases of mild H. pylori colonisation. When activity was monitored, mild activity was the most frequent finding [225 (38.46 %)]. Majority of the severe activity cases showed severe H. pylori colonisation. 13.16 %, 4.79 % and 7.35 % showed intestinal metaplasia, atrophy and dysplastic changes respectively. Out of 250 cases, H & E and Giemsa stains showed 45.6 % and 57.2 % positivity while IHC demonstrated maximum number of positivity (156 cases - 62.4 %). Sensitivity and specificity of H & E was found to be 77.90 % and 98.95 %, positive predictive value was 99.13 % and negative predictive value was 69.18 %. For Giemsa stain, sensitivity was 91.67 %, specificity was 100 %, positive predictive value was 100 % and negative predictive value was 87.85 %. DISCUSSION H. pylori gastritis was a frequent finding in dyspeptic patients in southern part of India. When chi-square test was done, a significant statistical relationship between the severity of H. pylori colonisation, activity and chronicity of gastritis was noted. P value was < 0.001. With the use of special stain, Giemsa and ancillary techniques like IHC, the detection rate of H. pylori was enhanced considerably. CONCLUSIONS With increasing number of H. pylori in the mucosa, there was increase in the chronicity and activity of gastritis. Although immunohistochemistry revealed more cases of H. pylori, Giemsa can be a cost-effective substitute, because of its high specificity and positive predictive value. KEYWORDS H. pylori Gastritis, Giemsa, Haematoxylin and Eosin Stain, Immunohistochemistry


2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (10) ◽  
pp. 1527
Author(s):  
Somesh Maheshwari

Background: Dysarthria is manifested as a disorder of movement, it is important to recognize that sensori-motor integration (with tactile, proprioceptive, and auditory feed-back representing the crucial sensory components) is essential to speech motor control, from this standpoint, most or all dysarthria localized to the central nervous system should be thought of as sensori-motor rather than simply motor disturbances.Methods: This non-interventional, cross-sectional comparative, observational study, conducted in 100 study subjects (50 cases and 50 controls) from March 2016 to February 2017 at MGM medical college and MY hospital Indore, MP, India.Results: The mean age of normal population was 53 years and that of dysarthric population was 55 years. Among the dysarthric group, there were 10 cases of ataxic dysarthria, 23 cases of spastic dysarthria, and 9 cases of hypo kinetic dysarthria. There were 20 cases of mild dysarthria 19 cases of moderate dysarthria and 10 cases of severe dysarthria. In ataxic dysarthria, pitch break was found in 6 out of 10 subjects. It was found that there is negative predictive value 93.33%, and positive predictive value, 77.14% in spastic dysarthria and negative predictive value, 83.33% and positive predictive value, 90.90% in ataxic, whereas negative predictive value, 85.71% and positive predictive value, 95.34% in hypo kinetic dysarthria.  Conclusions: Different types of dysarthria when analyzed with software tool after extracting pitch and formants showed specific patterns. These patterns correlated with the clinical diagnosis. And Pattern recognition of different dysarthria will help to identify the types of dysarthria in scientific way and prevent inter-subject variability.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shohreh Vojuhi ◽  
Masoud Mohebbi ◽  
Zohreh Mousavi ◽  
Mohammadali Yaghoubi ◽  
Reza Ziaolhagh

Thyroid malignancies are found in 7% to 15% of all thyroid nodules. Immunohistochemical markers, including CK19, HBME-1and TROP2, have shown an effective role in identifying these malignancies. Hence, due to the lack of appropriate diagnostic tests for the identification of thyroid neoplasms, in this study, we aimed to determine the diagnostic value of these biomarkers in the identification of different types of follicular thyroid neoplasms. In this cross-sectional study, paraffin-embedded tissue blocks from the surgical resection of patients with thyroid nodules, referring to Imam Reza and Razavi Hospitals of Mashhad in 2017, were studied. Sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values of these biomarkers for the identification of different types of follicular thyroid neoplasms were also studied. 129 patients with a mean age of 44.65±12.59 years participated in this study, of whom 101 (78.29%) were women. The most common type of follicular thyroid neoplasm was papillary carcinoma (60.47%). The highest sensitivity (94.87%) and positive predictive value (68.51%) in the detection of follicular neoplasms was observed by CK19 in papillary carcinoma. The sensitivity and positive predictive value of TROP2 in the detection of papillary neoplasms was 93.58% and 75.25%, respectively. In addition, HBME-1 had the highest specificity (72.54 %) and positive predictive value (81.57%) in identifying this neoplasm. The results of this study showed that CK19, HBME-1, and TROP2 had high diagnostic value in the detection of papillary thyroid neoplasms. Although these biomarkers had low diagnostic value in identifying follicular adenoma and carcinoma, given the high negative predictive value, they can be considered as powerful markers in identifying negative cases.


2021 ◽  
Vol 71 (11) ◽  
pp. 2559-2562
Author(s):  
Saadia Perwaiz ◽  
Muhammad Waqar Afzal ◽  
Ghulam Fatima

Objective: To compare accuracy of manual muscle testing in detection of strength differences across grade 4 and 5 at different percentage deficits of dynamometric mean in shoulder flexors of young females.  Methods: Cross sectional research design, conducting primary analysis of strength of shoulder flexors measured through manual muscle testing and hand-held dynamometer. Three hundred young healthy females without any ailment of upper extremity or generalized health problem were selected from University of South Asia and Association of Fatima Jinnah Old Graduates, Lahore. Non-probability convenient sampling technique was used. The age group selected was 18-39 years. The strength of shoulder flexors measured through manual muscle testing and hand-held dynamometer was main outcome measure. Results: The overall diagnostic accuracy of manual muscle testing showed better results at 10% dynamometric measures. It was 63.33%(95% CI: 57.74%, 68.59%) in non-dominant shoulder flexors and 61.67% (95% CI: 56.05%, 66.99%) in dominant shoulder flexors. The positive predictive value (PPV) and specificity of manual muscle testing was better at 10% strength deficit in comparison with dynamometric measures, whereas negative predictive value (NPV) and sensitivity was better at 20% strength deficit. Contrasting association was found between positive predictive value (PPV) and sensitivity, negative predictive value and specificity.  Conclusion: The subjective area of grade 4 and 5 showed better, although not ideal, diagnostic worth at 10% deficit of dynamometric measures in shoulder flexors. Further exploration through study of contrasting trends between PPV and sensitivity by subgroup analysis is required. Continuous...


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