Five hundred urine samples were tested for cells and bacteria by using a commercial dipstick, a catalase screening device, standard culturing, and chamber counts. The sensitivities of the catalase test were 83% for all samples and 97.6% for specimens containing significant numbers of leukocytes and bacteria. The catalase screening test is simple to perform and should prove useful for the detect...

BACKGROUND Urine protein detection could be underestimated using the conventional dipstick method because of variations in urine aliquots. This study aimed to assess the efficacy of the semi-quantitative urine protein-to-creatinine (P/C) ratio compared with other laboratory methods. METHODS Random urine samples were requested from patients undergoing chronic kidney disease screening. Signific...

The rK39 test is a serologic assay for the rapid diagnosis of visceral leishmaniasis (VL). Serum from a North American cohort of 59 otherwise asymptomatic soldiers with cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) was tested with the rK39 dipstick and ELISA assays, and 10.2% and 28.8% had positive results, respectively. CL is associated with a reactive rK39 assay result in some patients without clinical eviden...

HIV/AIDS-associated visceral leishmaniasis may display the characteristics of an aggressive disease or without specific symptoms at all, thus making diagnosis difficult. The present study describes the results of diagnostic tests applied to a series of suspected VL cases in HIV-infected/AIDS patients admitted in referral hospitals in Pernambuco, Brazil. From a total of 14 eligible patients with...

Asymptomatically infected patients with falciparum malaria may develop symptomatic malaria infection secondary to injury or surgery. This complication increases the risk for postoperative wound infection and adds to the burden of trauma. The aims of the present study were to investigate the preventive effect of early antimalaria treatment of Plasmodium falciparum infected trauma patients, and t...