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At least 325 records · Page 18Linked to original sources
PubMed1996

Fluorescence photography as a diagnostic method for oral cancer.

This study was carried out to evaluate the diagnostic utility of autofluorescence photography for oral mucosal lesions. The materials consisted of 15 chemically-induced lesions containing carcinomas in 15 hamsters, and 32 oral lesions in 30 patients. In the animal models, orange fluorescence was detected in all squamous cell carcinomas invading the muscle layer, and the intensity of the fluorescence increased with the progress of the lesions. In the clinical application, orange fluorescence was detected in 14 of 16 malignant tumors and in one of 16 benign lesions. These results suggest that fluorescence photography may be useful for the diagnosis of oral cancer, particularly for squamous cell carcinoma.

9,10-Dimethyl-1,2-benzanthracene↗
PubMed2004

[Modern diagnostic methods for suspected glaucoma and glaucoma].

BACKGROUND: Diagnosis of early glaucomatous damage as well as the detection of glaucomatous change are still difficult tasks. During the last years numerous new diagnostic techniques have been investigated and some of them have been introduced to the market. METHODS: This paper reviews the different aims of diagnostic technologies in the field of glaucoma. Methods appearing suitable for a large-scale use by ophthalmologists will be judged according to their suitability to meet the goals of early diagnosis, objective diagnosis, progression analysis and screening. CONCLUSIONS: The new diagnostic techniques have not yet greatly influenced our diagnostic procedure. This is mainly due to the fact that, for the most difficult borderline cases of glaucoma, these methods are of limited value, or have not yet been sufficiently investigated. Nevertheless, the Heidelberg retina tomograph (HRT), the nerve fiber analyzer GDX, short wavelength perimetry (SWAP), and the frequency doubling test (FDT) may play a role in these cases. For follow-up, HRT and GDx have proven valuable, especially in early stages of the disease. The very short testing time of FDT together with good specificity qualifies this test for glaucoma screening.

Diagnostic Techniques, Ophthalmological↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Current research in diagnostic methods for assessing periodontal disease.

The management of chronic periodontal disease is beset with a numbers of diagnostic as well as therapeutic problems. Assessment of periodontal disease progression has been made mainly based on the conventional methods such as clinical parameters and radiographic interpretation. A high level interest in the development of diagnostic tests capable of detecting factors associated with progressing periodontal disease has continued in the past years. Recent research has shown evidence that certain microbial species and specific genetic and related factors are some strong indicators of susceptibility to severe periodontitis. Here an attempt is made to review the current trends and diagnostic tests used to assess the disease activity and predict its progression.

Clinical Enzyme Tests↗
PubMed1999

Clinical presentation, radiographic findings, and diagnostic methods of pulmonary blastomycosis: a review of 100 consecutive cases.

BACKGROUND: We sought to determine the relationship among radiographic findings, clinical presentation, and diagnostic testing of pulmonary blastomycosis. METHODS: We reviewed the medical records of 100 consecutive patients with pulmonary blastomycosis. RESULTS: Air-space infiltrates were the usual radiographic finding of pulmonary blastomycosis. Mass-like infiltrates were associated more with chronic than acute presentations. Air-space and mass-like infiltrate were predominately involved in the upper lobes. Sputum analysis made the initial diagnosis of blastomycosis most often. Acute and chronic presentations were not different between immunosuppressed patients and the remainder of the patients. In addition, infiltrates on chest radiographs in immunosuppressed patients were similar to the other patients. CONCLUSIONS: In an endemic area, pulmonary blastomycosis should be considered for any pulmonary infiltrate, especially in the upper lobes. Sputum analysis in most cases aids in the diagnosis, but bronchoscopy and/or tissue biopsy should be considered if the suspicion of blastomycosis is high and sputum analysis is inconclusive, negative, or not possible. Follow-up with chest radiographs after antifungal therapy is reasonable until complete resolution or fibrotic changes in patients with pulmonary blastomycosis.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed2002

Diagnostic methods current best practices and guidelines for identification of difficult-to-culture pathogens in infective endocarditis.

Culture-negative endocarditis currently represents a diagnostic challenge for physicians. Traditional methods such as histology, serology, and culture have been improved and new molecular techniques have been developed to improve the detection of difficult-to-culture agents. Serologic tests for the two most frequent etiologic agents, Coxiella burnetii and Bartonella spp, should be performed first because they can usually be identified easily in this way. The sensitivity of culture for intracellular bacteria has been improved by inoculation of samples in shell vials and by the use of novel tissue cell lines. Recently, universal and species-specific primers have been designated to amplify bacterial DNA directly from resected valves, allowing positive identification.

Bacteria↗
PubMed1990

[Cerebrospinal fluid cytology--a valuable diagnostic method in various neurologic problems].

Cytological examination of cerebrospinal fluid can provide vital diagnostic information, particularly in inflammatory and neoplastic disorders of the nervous system. Not only can the cause of a pleocytosis be established but cytological abnormalities can also be detected in cases where the cell count is normal. Monoclonal antibodies can be used for the characterisation of leukaemic cells.

Antibodies, Monoclonal↗
PubMed1986

New diagnostic methods in dermatological mycology.

In dermatological mycology, direct microscopy and culture are the main diagnostic procedures. Microscopic examination of a wet KOH preparation is usually satisfactory for the detection of the infecting organism based on the morphological characteristics of the fungal elements. However, examination of the KOH mount requires skill and experience. In order to help the unskilled personnel to recognize fungal elements by microscopic examination, a number of differential strains have been described. Great strides have been made to improve the sensitivity and specificity of direct microscopy for the detection of fungi also on chemical properties of the fungal cell wall. Thus fluorescence microscopy using fluorescent brighteners, e.g. Blancophor BA holds great promise for its wide application in dermatologic mycology. Culture media enjoy considerable application in the isolation and identification of dermatophytes and Candida species from clinical specimens. Some novel media have been formulated recently to assist in the early detection and identification of some fastidious dermatophytes e.g. Trichophyton verrucosum. In dermatological mycology the predictive diagnostic value of the diagnostic tests has to be delineated for each disease state. As an example, direct microscopy is a useful diagnostic procedure for the detection of dermatophytes and Pityrosporum-yeasts in clinical materials, but less valuable for the detection of Candida. Furthermore, considerable attention needs to be focused on the utilization of new and old diagnostic tests from a series of viewpoints including necessity, usefulness, clinical relevance and cost-benefit analysis.

Candida↗
PubMed1986

A diagnostic method that uses causal knowledge and linear programming in the application of Bayes' formula.

Bayes' formula has been applied extensively in computer-based medical diagnostic systems. One assumption that is often made in the application of the formula is that the findings in a case are conditionally independent. This assumption is often invalid and leads to inaccurate posterior probability assignments to the diagnostic hypotheses. This paper discusses a method for using causal knowledge to structure findings according to their probabilistic dependencies. An inference procedure is discussed which propagates probabilities within a network of causally related findings in order to calculate posterior probabilities of diagnostic hypotheses. A linear programming technique is described that bounds the values of the propagated probabilities subject to known probabilistic constraints.

Bayes Theorem↗
PubMed1991

Comparison of sensory nerve conduction in the palmar cutaneous branch and first digital branch of the median nerve: a new diagnostic method for carpal tunnel syndrome.

Comparison of sensory nerve conductions in palmar cutaneous branch (PCB) and digit I nerves was applied in 50 patients suspected of having carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) and 40 healthy persons. The abnormalities were defined as the differences in latencies and sensory nerve conduction velocities (SNCVs) of more than mean plus 2.5 SD of controls. Comparing these 2 sensory nerves, statistical differences were seen in 83.7% (36 of 43 patients) of their sensory latencies and 76.7% (33 of 43 patients) of their SNCVs. This excluded 7 patients who had unobtainable sensory nerve action potentials in digit I nerves. This method may serve as an adjunctive technique in the diagnosis of CTS. Its diagnostic sensitivity was high in comparison with other testing methods.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

[Is the T-scan system a relevant diagnostic method for occlusal control?].

The T-Scan system has recently been introduced to the market as a computer-aided device for direct monitoring and documentation of individual occlusal patterns. To receive first assessments of diagnostic relevance of this method, sensitivity and planar resolution capacities of the T-Scan system was tested in an in-vitro study, that showed a lack in the resolution capacity and an excessive variation in sensor sensitivity. Therefore the clinical use of the system is very limited.

Dental Occlusion, Balanced↗
PubMed1991

[Computed tomographic cholangiography. An alternative non-invasive diagnostic method in ductus choledochus calculi].

Computed tomographic cholangiography has not been mentioned as a diagnostic procedure in the demonstration of common bile duct calculi. Computed tomographic cholangiography demonstrated both calcified and non-calcified common bile duct calculi in two patients. Computed tomographic cholangiography can be employed in investigation of biliary tract disease in selected cases where endoscopic retrograde cholangiography is not possible and ultrasound and ordinary computed tomography fail.

Aged↗
PubMed2005

[Two-photon fluorescence of ocular melanomas. Studies on a new diagnostic method].

Choroidal melanoma is the most frequent form of primary neoplasia among malignant ocular tumors. Since it is presumed that metastasis often occurs before the primary tumor is first diagnosed, early detection is exigent. The aim of the studies described in this report was to develop an objective, noninvasive method for the diagnosis of choroidal melanoma. The underlying new principle of fluorescence excitation is presented. This is based on the observation that melanin, due to its unique absorption characteristics, is selectively excited into fluorescence via stepwise absorption of two photons of a femtosecond laser emitting at 800 nm. In the experiment described, the fluorescence of excised tissue from healthy choroidal pigment epithelium was compared to that of excised choroidal melanoma. The fluorescence of choroidal melanomas exhibited a more reddish appearance and less intensity than that of healthy tissue. This implies that the configuration of melanin apparently changes during the process of malignant degeneration. The method described here could thus serve as an evidentiary objective diagnostic technique before initiating treatment for choroidal melanomas.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

Diagnostic methods for intracellular pathogens.

Diagnosis of infection with Chlamydia pneumoniae is difficult and the optimal diagnostic procedure has yet to be established. C. pneumoniae is more difficult to isolate in tissue culture than C. trachomatis. Attention must be paid to the site from which the specimen is taken, and all specimens should be processed within 24 h or stored at 4 C. Serologic diagnosis largely depends on microimmunofluorescence testing which, despite proposed criteria, still has a large subjective component. Serology has limitations in terms of both sensitivity and specificity and antibodies may be difficult to detect in individuals with positive C. pneumoniae cultures. Non-culture methods include enzyme immunoassays, fluorescent-antibody techniques and DNA probes. The most promising appears to be PCR. Co-infection of C. pneumoniae and other respiratory organisms seem to be common.

Journal Article↗