The performances of the BDProbeTec ET (Becton Dickinson) and COBAS AMPLICOR MTB (Roche) were retrospectively evaluated for detecting Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex in various respiratory specimens. The BACTEC and MGIT liquid culture system (Becton Dickinson) was used as a reference method. A total of 824 respiratory specimens, comprised of sputa, bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, and bronchial ...

Light-emitting diode fluorescence microscopy is being scaled up for tuberculosis control, but fading of auramine-stained slides could compromise external quality assurance. We stored auramine-stained slides and reexamined them over time. Slides stored in all environments faded quickly, with significant changes in the proportion of positive slides in as little as 1 week.

BACKGROUND Direct sputum smear microscopy for tuberculosis (TB) lacks sensitivity for the detection of acid fast bacilli. Sputum pretreatment procedures may enhance sensitivity. We did a pilot study to compare the diagnostic accuracy and incremental yield of two short-duration (<1 hour) sputum pretreatment procedures to optimize direct smears among patients with suspected TB at a referral hospi...

The fluorescence of the cation auramine O was substantially enhanced by the presence of actin monomer. Titrations of this fluorescence enhancement indicated that actin monomer had two auramine O binding sites, each with a dissociation constant of approx. 20 microM. Calcium ions had no effect on the number of actin monomer-bound auramine O molecules or on the dissociation constant for that inter...

SETTING Mawenzi Regional Hospital, northern Tanzania. OBJECTIVE To determine the value of light-emitting diode (LED) microscopy in diagnosing tuberculosis (TB) on bleach-treated and direct sputum smears. DESIGN Sputum samples were collected from patients suspected of pulmonary TB who presented consecutively at the laboratory for smear evaluation between December 2009 and February 2010. Fou...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Cryptosporidium is a protozoan parasite that reproduces within the epithelial cells of several organs of vertebrate hosts. The manifestation of the disease is either self-limiting acute diarrhea in immunocompetent patients, or fatal chronic diarrhea in immunocompromised patients. Common clinical symptoms include watery diarrhea, abdominal pain, and weight loss. METHODS ...

ANALYTICAL METHOD FOR DETERMINATION OF AURAMINE DYES IN ECOTOXICITY TESTS AND SURFACE WATERS. Dyes can be considered important environmental contaminants. Auramine dyes, known commercially as Solvent Yellow 34 and Basic 2, are used in several industrial products, including textile paper. In this study, an analytical method was developed validated using Liquid-Liquid Extraction High-Performance ...

Many laboratory workers prefer the rhodamine-auramine method of staining acid-fast bacilli (AFB) in primary specimen smears rather than carbol fuchsin stains because the stain is more readily interpreted and yields greater sensitivity. The increasing incidence of AFB infections serves as an impetus to optimize the rhodamine-auramine stain. A total of 782 primary smears were evaluated blindly by...