In the acute phase and in the chronic forms of Chagas disease, the etiological diagnosis may be performed by detection of the parasite using direct or indirect parasitological methods and by the presence of antibodies in the serum by way of serological tests. Several techniques are easily available, ranging from the simplest wet smear preparation to immuno-enzymatic assays with recombinant anti...

Results of Chagas' disease diagnosis show disagreement. The aim of this study was to compare commercial tests for Chagas' disease serodiagnosis in southern Brazil. A total of 161 samples were evaluated. Three enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays, one indirect hemagglutination and one indirect immunofluorescence were assessed. Trypomastigote excreted-secreted antigen-blot was a confirmatory method...

BACKGROUND Many HIV voluntary testing and counselling centres in Africa use rapid antibody tests, in parallel or in sequence, to establish same-day HIV status. The interpretation of indeterminate or discrepant results between different rapid tests on one sample poses a challenge. We investigated the use of an algorithm using three serial rapid HIV tests in cohabiting couples to resolve unclear ...

Clinical criteria for the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease include insidious onset and progressive impairment of memory and other cognitive functions. There are no motor, sensory, or coordination deficits early in the disease. The diagnosis cannot be determined by laboratory tests. These tests are important primarily in identifying other possible causes of dementia that must be excluded before ...

BACKGROUND Commercially available assays to detect antibodies to the herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2)-specific glycoprotein gG-2 have markedly improved serologic diagnosis of HSV-2 infection. However, even tests with high specificity can have low positive predictive values in low prevalence populations. HSV-2 is a chronic, life-long viral infection that requires both medical attention and po...

The purpose of this study was to determine the appropriate antibiotic for extended-spectrum beta-lactamases (ESBLs) screening and confirmatory tests in Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae. The sensitivity of each antibiotic recommended by the National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards (NCCLS) to screen for ESBL production was compared. A total of 271 E. coli and 185 K. pneumoni...

BACKGROUND Laboratory diagnosis of Lyme borreliosis follows a two-step algorithm, starting with a screening assay with maximum sensitivity followed by a confirmatory assay of positive results with respect to specificity. Line immunoassays with single recombinant antigen lines are the established confirmatory test method, although result interpretation is not standardized. The present study eval...

UNLABELLED Determination of the presence of an abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is essential in the management of the symptomatic emergency department (ED) patient. OBJECTIVES To identify whether emergency ultrasound of the abdominal aorta (EUS-AA) by emergency physicians could accurately determine the presence of AAA and guide ED disposition. METHODS This was a prospective, observational st...