Reasons for testing women for genital Chlamydia trachomatis infection in the Calgary region.

Objective: To determine the clinical reason(s) for screening women with varying degrees of risk for genital Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) in the Calgary region.

Design: Women aged 15 to 75 years were enrolled at various patient care locations. Pertinent risk factors for genital CT infection were recorded and a gynecological examination was performed.

Screening for Giardia/Cryptosporidium infections using an enzyme immunoassay in a centralized regional microbiology laboratory.

Context: Stool parasitologic testing for Giardia and Cryptosporidium (G/C) previously relied on staining (ie, modified iron hematoxylin-kinyoun), ethyl acetate concentration procedures, and microscopy (the stool ova and parasite method). In April 1999, a microplate enzyme immunoassay (EIA) (ProSpecT G/C, Remel, Inc, Lenexa, Kan) for routine screening of all stool specimens was implemented.

Objective: To determine the clinical and laboratory impact of this service change.

Evaluation of the Coral UTI Screen system for rapid automated screening of significant bacteriuria in a regional centralized laboratory.

An evaluation of the Coral UTI screen system (Coral Biotechnology, San Diego, CA) compared to urinalysis/urine culture was done to assess its performance for rapidly screening a high volume of urine samples for significant bacteriuria in a regional central microbiology laboratory. A total of 1094 urine samples from ambulatory patients were evaluated. 670 (61.

Clinical and economic evaluation of rapid influenza a virus testing in nursing homes in calgary, Canada.

The incremental benefits and costs of a rapid influenza A virus infection diagnostic service were studied in nursing homes in Calgary, Canada, during a single influenza season. The service was used to test 159 patients with suspected infection in a group of "experimental" nursing homes and results were compared with those for a group of "control" homes. An equal number of cases of influenza were identified in each group.

Evaluation of sequential testing strategies using non-amplified and amplified methods for detection of Chlamydia trachomatis in endocervical and urine specimens from women.

Nucleic acid amplification tests (NAAT) are more sensitive than other methods for the diagnosis of Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) genital infections. Two unique sequential testing strategies that employed two different commercial NAAT methods to detect CT in a population of women with widely varying infection risk were evaluated. Specimens from 504 women aged 15 to 75 years were studied.