PURPOSE To determine if a new, single-sample device (ESwab; Copan Diagnostics, Inc) can simplify the traditional multi-sample approach to specimen collection in infectious keratitis. DESIGN Prospective, diagnostic test evaluation. METHODS In this institutional study, patients with suspected infectious keratitis meeting traditional criteria for diagnostic corneal specimen collection and cult...

BACKGROUND HIV viral load testing as a component of antiretroviral therapy monitoring is costly. Understanding the full costs and the major sources of inefficiency associated with viral load testing is critical for optimizing the systems and technologies that support the testing process. The objective of our study was to estimate the costs associated with viral load testing performed for antire...

There is an increasing need for proper quality control tools in the pre-analytical phase of the molecular diagnostic workflow. The aim of the present study was to identify biomarkers for monitoring pre-analytical mRNA quality variations in two different types of blood collection tubes, K2EDTA (EDTA) tubes and PAXgene Blood RNA Tubes (PAXgene tubes). These tubes are extensively used both in the ...

BACKGROUND Brucellosis is one of the major zoonoses globally with great veterinary and public health importance, particularly in developing countries where people are having frequent contact with livestock and animal products. This cross sectional study was carried out from November 2013 to May 2014 to determine the seroprevalence and assess the potential risk factors of brucellosis in abattoir...

Conventionally, the assessment of adrenal responses to stress relies on blood sample collection. However, blood collection from animals is impossible without restraint or immobilisation that influences results. This study was undertaken to validate recently established enzyme immunoassays that measure faecal glucocorticoid metabolites in elephants, and to perform a preliminary investigation int...

Because of the metabolism of serum glucose in collection tubes containing blood samples, serum glucose levels may be found to decrease over time. Several types of collection tubes have been designed to, at least partially, block glucose metabolism by red blood cells in blood collection tubes that may not be analyzed immediately after blood collection. These include red-top collection tubes with...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) provides an accurate and reliable method to assess the glycemic control in patients with Diabetes. Its measurement is limited by the inconvenience of sample collection that requires venipuncture, sample handling and storage factors. The aim of this study was to assess the feasibility of using a dried capillary blood spot on a filter paper to...

BACKGROUND Few data are available to guide biological sample collection around the time of birth for large-scale birth cohorts. We are designing a large UK birth cohort to investigate the role of infection and the developing immune system in determining future health and disease. We undertook a pilot to develop methodology for the main study, gain practical experience of collecting samples, and...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the accuracy of urine sample collection methods among children suspected of having urinary tract infections. SUBJECTS AND METHODS Four methods for urine sample collection were evaluated in 1,067 children aged 0-16 years with suspected urinary tract infections over 2 months at Dr. Sami Ulus Children's Hospital. Within 30 min of collection, all specimens were sent to the l...

BACKGROUND Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) and Neisseria gonorrhoeae (NG) are the most frequent causes of bacterial sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Management strategies that reduce losses in the clinical pathway from infection to cure might improve STI control and reduce complications resulting from lack of, or inadequate, treatment. OBJECTIVES To assess the effectiveness and safety of ho...