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PubMed1995

Diagnostic methods of early detection of endometrial hyperplasia and cancer.

Endometrial carcinoma is the most frequent genital neoplasia in women. Our own experience is based on a group of 3310 patients who were studied between 1985 and April 1994. In 2148 cases, equivalent to 56.4%, hysteroscopy was performed because of the presence of abnormal uterine bleeding (AUB). We found 672 endometrial hyperplasia (601 low risk-71 high risk) and 93 endometrial carcinoma. According to our experience we can assert that: hysteroscopy allows the measurement of the extension of the intracavitary neoplastic pathology and the definition of its topographic map; it is the only method that allows a target biopsy; it facilitates the evaluation of the extension of the neoplasia in the cervical canal, with the help of a deep biopsy into the cervical tissue (as proposed by La Sala) increasing its diagnostic accuracy.

Aged↗
PubMed1987

Q fever laboratory diagnostic methods used in Roumania.

The methods used presently in Roumania for Q fever laboratory diagnosis are presented. They include Coxiella (C.) burnetii isolation procedures, Q fever serologic tests, and the skin test. The diagnosis by isolation procedures is performed by inoculation into guinea pigs and embryonated eggs. Q fever serologic diagnostic tests are the complement fixation (CF), microagglutination (MA), and IgG-IgM ELISA tests. Results obtained by comparing the CF test with MA and ELISA tests in the diagnosis of acute cases and of previously infected patients are presented. Skin test diagnosis using a C. burnetii corpuscular antigen in animals and a soluble antigen in men was compared with the CF test and proved the reliability of the skin test as an alternative method for Q fever diagnosis, especially in epidemiologic investigations.

Agglutination Tests↗
PubMed2003

[Microbiological and serological diagnostic methods to detect intrauterine and perinatal infections].

Due to the revolutional development in sampling devices, transport media, automated equipments, microvolume probes and molecular microbiological techniques in the last decade new possibilities have become available for diagnosing microbiologically congenital infections in both the mother and the foetus and the newborn. This minireview gives an insight into the diagnostic tuls of clinical microbiology and infection serology by showing laboratory diagnostic processes of most frequent protozoal, viral and bacterial infections step-by-step. It exhibit an almost complete list of transplacental, intrauterinal and connatal infections. Attention is also focused to the complexity of the interrelationship between the clinical microbiology and infection serology data concerning the infections of the mother and her offspring.

Antibodies, Bacterial↗
PubMed1975

[Computerised axial tomography of the head (E.M.I. scan). Clinical experience with a new diagnostic method for examining the brain (author's transl)].

Computerised tomography of the head is a unique radiological method with an exceptional ability in demonstrating intracranial lesions. Increasing experience will ensure this method very wide scope in the diagnosis of neurological and neurosurgical diseases; it will make conventional methods, such as angiography, pneumo-encephalography and brain scanning largely superfluous. The frequency of incorrect diagnoses is acceptable and will be further reduced with increasing experience of the method.

Astrocytoma↗
PubMed2006

Diagnostic methods for detection & isolation of dengue viruses from vector mosquitoes.

Dengue is a deadly mosquito-borne infection warranting urgent attention for its containment particularly in the tropical and subtropical countries. In the absence of a vaccine or any specific drug for its treatment, an early diagnosis is considered indispensable to prevent any casualty. Detection of viruses in human sera particularly in endemic areas is cumbersome, difficult and also not desirable. Therefore, as an alternative approach, detection of the dengue virus antigen in mosquitoes has provided a reliable tool to (i) comprehend the types of viruses circulating in nature; and (ii) help in designing vector-specific control strategies. A mélange of diagnostic techniques are currently available with some advantages or disadvantages. Traditionally, cell cultures and suckling mice have been employed for virus isolations. While the virus isolation method in baby mice is time consuming, slow and expensive, the mosquito cell cultures offer a good degree of specificity. Mosquito inoculation techniques have been reported for detection and propagation of flaviviruses. Though this technique is sensitive for routine virological confirmation of dengue fever, it requires large number of infected mosquitoes, besides being time consuming. Insect bioassays (Toxo-IFA) are generally cumbersome requiring special facilities and are not suitable for large-scale epidemiological surveillance. ELISA has been shown to be a rapid and sensitive alternative to insect bioassays for monitoring arboviruses in wild populations. Reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) is a recent molecular diagnostic technology used for detecting virus infections in mosquitoes, which gives rapid results but is expensive and prone to contamination. This review describes the development of various techniques involved in detection and isolation of dengue viruses in mosquitoes. Definite diagnosis of the impending dengue epidemic can be made using ELISA for virological surveillance system on dengue virus antigen in the mosquito vectors. Therefore, ELISA offers a potential tool and a convenient system for quickly screening large number of samples up to the serotype level which can be employed effectively and efficiently for large scale dengue surveillance programmes on wild caught mosquito vectors. ELISA positive samples can be screened further by Toxo-IFA system for virus isolation. On the other hand, techniques like mosquitoes cell culture, mosquito inoculation (Toxo-IFA) and RT-PCR techniques can be employed for dengue virus amplification.

Aedes↗
PubMed2006

Colonoscopy, tumors, and inflammatory bowel disease - new diagnostic methods.

Accurate detection of premalignant lesions and early cancers in the colon is essential for curative endoscopic or surgical therapy, since the prognosis for the affected patients is closely related to the size and stage of the neoplastic lesion. Total colonoscopy is the accepted gold standard for screening and surveillance of colorectal cancer. This review summarizes recently published diagnostic developments and key findings in the areas of colonoscopy, colonic tumors, and inflammatory bowel diseases. Relevant findings have been reported for chromo-endoscopy in the diagnosis of colitis-associated neoplasia, as well as flat and depressed adenomas. Real-time Doppler capabilities have now been added to endoscopic optical coherence tomography; the results of large-scale testing of narrow-band imaging endoscopy in the colon are being awaited; and fluorescence imaging has recently been added to the facilities available in video endoscopy. Most importantly, endomicroscopy now for the first time allows single-cell subsurface imaging during ongoing colonoscopy procedures, opening the way to in-vivo molecular and functional imaging.

Colitis↗
PubMed1992

Hydatid disease of the urinary tract: evaluation of diagnostic methods.

Eight patients with histologically proven hydatid disease of the urinary tract underwent eosinophil count, ultrasonography (US) and computed tomography (CT). The findings were compared with those in 8 age-matched controls with simple renal cysts. Eosinophilia was not significantly different in the 2 groups. Mixed echogenicity on US and multivesicular cyst with mixed density on CT were the diagnostic features of hydatid cysts. Using these factors, both US and CT could diagnose or exclude hydatid disease in a significant number of patients with renal cysts. However, CT was more sensitive (88 vs 50%) and accurate (94 vs 75%) than US in the diagnosis of urinary tract hydatid disease. Retrograde pyelography confirmed communicating renal hydatid cysts in 2 patients. A practical algorithm for the investigation of urinary tract hydatid disease is suggested.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Magnetography--a potential diagnostic method in the 21st century].

Electric currents in human body are generated by variations in membrane and action potentials. These bioelectric currents cause magnetic field which could be detected both inside and outside human body, on a certain distance. Measurements of biomagnetic fields are still at an experimental stage, but soon, with improvements in technology, they will become very important diagnostic tools, like registrations of surface electric potentials already are. Registration of magnetogram is performed without a direct contact of the probe and the surface, which enables measurements on the top of clothes, bandages and casts. Magnetic field probe can be easily moved from one part of the body to another, enabling so tracing of the observed signal. Similar mobility is not possible in electrography.

Humans↗
PubMed1989

The quality management maturity grid: a diagnostic method.

"Quality is free. It's not a gift, but it is free. What costs money are the unquality things--all the actions that involve not doing the job right the first time." Nurse executives can benefit from the challenge of this statement, the basis of Philip Crosby's Quality Management Maturity Grid. The authors discuss the Grid, used successfully in business as a diagnostic tool to assess organizational quality management, and its use in the health care setting.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Molecular diagnosis of leishmaniosis in dogs. Comparative application of traditional diagnostic methods and the proposed assay on clinical samples.

Leishmaniosis is a zoonotic, parasitic disease caused by members of the genus Leishmania. The disadvantages of the traditional methods have currently rendered the polymerase chain reaction (PCR), the most reliable alternative for the laboratory diagnosis of this disease. Several relevant protocols have been described in the past but their application is in most cases limited to research use. The latter combined with the diagnostic problems that can be caused by the genetic variability of the different Leishmania strains or the presence of PCR inhibitors, indicate that an alternative approach should be followed for the development of a standard diagnostic tool for leishmaniosis. In the present study, we have evaluated several PCR-based protocols, in order to identify a primer combination that would allow the reliable detection of Leishmania DNA from clinical material and the verification of its results, in a manner that could be applicable even for routine use. The evaluation consisted of a BLAST verification of the specificity of the previously described primers, PCR testing, and optimisation of the reaction conditions. Our assessment was completed with the comparative evaluation of the results produced by the proposed PCR assay, light microscopy, and indirect fluorescent antibody technique (IFAT), on clinical samples collected from dogs suspected of leishmaniosis. The proposed assay which consists of a combination of two pairs of primers, targeted to different areas of the kinetoplast DNA of Leishmania spp., specific for Leishmania infantum, Leishmania donovani and Leishmania chagasi, showed optimum performance on our test samples, and detected 41.9% Leishmania-positive dogs from our 160 clinical cases. From the same number of cases, 46.25% were positive by IFAT (titre > or =200), and 19% by microscopic examination of lymph node aspirates.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

[The post-thrombotic syndrome. Description and comparison of diagnostic methods: clinical examination, venous return time, phlebography and ultrasonography].

Thirty-one patients with deep vein thrombosis (DVT) confirmed by phlebography 5-11 years previously were examined for the post-thrombotic syndrome (PTS). Where all of the patients were concerned, the examination included crossing-off of their symptoms of PTS on a special chart and clinical examination carried out by four doctors independently of one another, for 29 patients also determination of the venous return time by strain gauge pletysmography and for 29 patients also secondary phlebography (SF) and B-method ultrasonic scanning (UL). The degree of severity of PTS was determined by means of a scoring value which was calculated on the bases of four observers assessment of the clinical symptoms and findings. Significant differences were found for the clinical scores for legs with and without previous DVT, which shows that the method is of value despite a not inconsiderable interobserver variation. In the form employed here, pletysmography was found unsuitable for quantitating of PTS. In 60% of the patients, agreement was present between the clinical assessment, SF and UL. The necessity of agreement both as regards the diagnostic clinical criteria and as a measure for the degree of severity of PTS is emphasized. UL is recommended as a screening investigation for changes after DVT. Phlebography is only considered to be indicated in cases where detailed knowledge of the anatomical conditions is desired e.g. prior to venous surgery.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

[Recent diagnostic methods in herpes simplex].

Monoclonal antibodies do not only allow a rapid identification of herpes simplex viruses (HSV) on smear specimens, but also a differentiation between HSV type 1 and type 2. Their specificity and sensitivity correspond to conventional molecular biologic methods. Newer insights into epidemiology and recurrency mechanisms are gained by restriction enzyme analysis of the viral genome, which allows accurate determination of types and strains. Finally, hybridization techniques are utilized for further investigations concerning the latency and oncogenic potency of HSV. Thus the spectrum of diagnostic possibilities of HSV infections has considerably been broadened during recent years.

Antibodies, Monoclonal↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Prevalence and comparisons of five different diagnostic methods for Helicobacter pylori in diabetic patients.

Helicobacter pylori is now regarded as a major gastroduodenal pathogen that is etiologically linked with duodenal and gastric disease. It has been suggested recently as an important factor for nongastroenterologic conditions such as coronary heart disease and diabetes mellitus. In this study, we planned to investigate the prevalence of H. pylori in diabetic patients and to evaluate five different diagnostic tests. Group I consisted of 67 patients with type II diabetes mellitus and seventy-three aged-matched health people served as control in group II. Group I was divided in two subgroups with good (Group IA) and poor (Group IB) glycemic control. H. pylori was diagnosed by five different tests: 1) biopsy, 2) culture, 3) gram staining, 4) imprint cytology and 5) brushing cytology. The usefulness of each test for each group was statistically compared. There was a higher prevalence for H. pylori in diabetic patients. This study showed that two positive out of five tests was most reliable for predicting the H. pylori in diabetic and nondiabetic patients. In conclusion, the prevalence of H. pylori is high in diabetic patients. Peristaltic activity, and impaired nonspecific immunity must be evaluated as risk factors in diabetics. We recommend that the 'gold standard' should be regarded as two positive out of these five different tests.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Detection of Onchocerca volvulus infection in low prevalence areas: a comparison of three diagnostic methods.

The standard assay for onchocerciasis diagnosis is microscopical detection of microfilariae in skin snips. Skin snipping is painful, requires appropriate sterilization of equipment, and may fail to diagnose light infections. Two alternatives are a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test which detects parasite DNA in pieces or scrapings of skin and a test based on allergic reactions to topical application of diethylcarbamazine (DEC). We compared these 2 diagnostics with standard skin snip microscopy in 313 individuals from 2 villages in Guinea, with low prevalence after over 10 years of control by the Onchocerciasis Control Programme. Lower and upper bounds on sensitivities and specificities of these 3 tests were estimated. In addition, these parameters were estimated using 5 different statistical models. Where prevalence was low, PCR and the DEC patch test appeared to be more sensitive than skin snipping which has low sensitivity. As the DEC test is non-invasive, simple and cheap, it may provide a good alternative to skin snipping alone for surveillance in low prevalence areas.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1984

Herniography--a useful diagnostic method in patients with obscure groin pain.

118 adult patients (45 females, 73 males) with obscure inguinal pain but without clinical signs of hernia were investigated with herniography. The examination revealed inguinal hernia in 37 instances (15 females, 22 males; 31.3%). Thirty out of these 37 patients (12 females, 18 males) have been operated on. Two false positive cases of the herniography examination have been encountered, giving a diagnostic specificity of herniography of 93.3% (95% confidence interval 78-99%). Six patients (5 females, 1 male) with a negative result of herniography have been operated on. One hernia was detected among these, i.e. one false negative result of herniography. The remaining 75 patients (25 females, 50 males) with a negative result of herniography have not yet developed any hernia. We conclude that herniography is a valuable radiological investigation for demonstration of adult preclinical hernia.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1984

[The step toward a specific diagnosis. Evaluation of the value of diagnostic methods in the individual case with special attention to probability].

The preliminary diagnosis based on the patient's history and the results of a physical examination, is considered to be the most probable one. In general, however, differential diagnoses with a smaller degree of probability must also be taken into account. This article shows how--making use of simple probability theory--an assessment can be made as to whether an available diagnostic instrument is capable of increasing the probability of a post-test diagnosis vis-a-vis the pre-test probability level. The terms sensitivity and specificity are explained with the aid of clinical examples, and the possibility of increasing the probability of the diagnosis by iteration is discussed.

Bayes Theorem↗