New Diagnostic Strategy for Onychomycosis: First-Line Utilization of DermaGenius PCR and Calcofluor Microscopy Combined with Selective Culturing.

Onychomycosis (OM) is a widespread infection requiring prolonged treatment with potential side effects. Diagnostic certainty is therefore essential before initiating antifungal therapy. Molecular biology has already shown benefits in reducing the time to diagnosis, providing technical ease, and increasing sensitivity for the respective species that molecular tests can detect.

The 2023 Belgian clinical guidance on anticoagulation management in hospitalized and ambulatory COVID-19 patients.

COVID-19 is associated with an increased risk for thrombotic complications. The trials investigating the optimal thromboprophylactic dose are performed in challenging times and seemingly produce conflicting evidence. The burdensome circumstances, divergent endpoints, and different analytical approaches hamper comparison and extrapolation of available evidence.

Red blood cell alloimmunisation in sickle cell disease patients in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Objectives: To determine the prevalence of red blood cell (RBC) alloimmunisation and alloantibody specificity in sickle cell disease (SCD) patients in Kisangani, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in comparison with those followed at the Centre Hospitalier Régional (CHR) de la Citadelle of Liège (Belgium).

Background: Data regarding RBC alloimmunisation (immune response of the organism to foreign erythrocyte antigens, antigens that lack on its own RBC) in SCD patients are scarce in sub-Saharan Africa.

Methods: We conducted a multi-site-based cross-sectional study among 125 SCD patients at Kisangani and 136 at the CHR de la Citadelle of Liège.

Relevance of cycle threshold values in mass screening by reverse-transcription-PCR during COVID-19 pandemic in Belgium: a decision-making support?

The Belgium's strategy against COVID-19 was partly based on mass screening. Here, we reported the results observed in a Belgian mass screening center. Between October 2020 and February 2021, 32,089 samples were collected analyzed with reverse-transcription PCR (Thermo Fisher Scientific kits and apparatus).

Investigation of discrepancies obtained during 15 years of non-invasive fetal RHD genotyping in apparent serologic RhD-negative pregnant women.

Objectives: In some European countries, non-invasive fetal RHD genotyping is the first step of anti-D allo-immunized pregnant women management but presence of RHD variant alleles may interfere with the results accuracy. We developed an algorithm allowing solving discordant results (due to the presence of RHD variant) in fetal RHD genotyping assay.

Method: This study gathered the results of fetal RHD genotyping performed between 2006 and 2020 in the Medicine Laboratory of CHR Liège.