Advances in fluidics, electronics, and instrument design have enabled automation of complex molecular assays. The FilmArray Respiratory Panel (RP) is one such assay; it allows for rapid detection of multiple viral and bacterial respiratory targets via nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR), with all components contained within a single pouch. We performed a detailed comparison of workflow betwe...

BACKGROUND Optimal management of cutaneous herpes simplex virus (HSV) and varicellazoster virus (VZV) infections requires rapid, accurate distinction between these pathogens. OBJECTIVE In a mixed-case series of suspected cutaneous herpesvirus infections, we compared the diagnostic utility of viral culture and direct immunofluorescence (DIF) using a panel of fluoresceinated monoclonal antibodi...

OBJECTIVE To determine whether presenting test performance characteristics influences clinical management. DESIGN Two questionnaire-based, randomized controlled trials. SETTING Mailed surveys with 2 clinical vignettes. PARTICIPANTS Randomly selected US pediatricians (N=1502). INTERVENTION Vignette-specific, randomly assigned test information: no additional information (control), test ch...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate and compare the performance of several different methods available for detection of Chlamydia trachomatis (Ct) infection, and to explore possible testing and treatment strategies incorporating point-of-care testing versus laboratory-based tests. DESIGN Prospective trial and decision analysis. SETTING Large, urban, publicly funded sexually transmitted disease clinic. ...

The performance of a mixture of mink lung and A549 cell lines in shell vials (MSVs) for the detection of respiratory viruses in 159 specimens was evaluated. MSVs, conventional culture, and direct immunofluorescence assay identified 96, 85, and 67% of the influenza A virus-positive specimens, respectively. MSVs provided both a high degree of sensitivity and rapid turnaround times for the detecti...

Chlamydia trachomatis is the most common reportable sexually transmitted disease (STD) in the United States. In the 1980s, rapid diagnostic tests for chlamydia began to replace more cumbersome tissue culture methods. Current data on rapid antigen detection assays demonstrate acceptable sensitivity, specificity, and predictive values in populations with a high prevalence of chlamydia. Few studie...

The Anigen Rapid Rabies Antigen Test Kit (Bionote, Inc, Hwaseong, Korea) was evaluated using 80 clinical samples collected by US military veterinary units. Samples for the study were obtained from brain specimens of domestic and wildlife animals that were submitted to the US Army Public Health Command's Veterinary Laboratory Europe in Landstuhl, Germany, for rabies testing with the direct fluor...

The treatment regimen for diarrhea depends greatly on correct diagnosis of its etiology. Recent diarrhea outbreaks in Bangladesh showed Vibrio cholerae to be the predominant cause, although more than 40% of the suspected cases failed to show cholera etiology by conventional culture methods (CMs). In the present study, suspected cholera stools collected from every 50th patient during an acute di...

We analyzed a shell vial culture assay (SVA), real-time PCR, and a direct fluorescent antibody assay (DFA) for rapid detection of vaccinia virus from vaccination sites of Dryvax vaccine recipients. Of 47 samples assayed, 100% were positive by PCR, 89% were positive by SVA, and 40% were positive by DFA. DFA was limited by the need for adequate numbers of cells, with 32% of samples inadequate for...

Pauci-immune crescentic glomerulonephritis (CrGN) is one of the most common causes of rapidly progressive glomerulonephritis. The majority of patients with pauci-immune CrGN had circulating antineutrophil cytoplasmic autoantibody (ANCA). However, patients with ANCA-negative pauci-immune CrGN were not investigated fully. This study aimed to analyze the characteristics of this subgroup of patient...