The Impact of Point-of-Care Polymerase Chain Reaction Testing on Prescribing Practices in Primary Care for Management of Strep A: A Retrospective Before-After Study.

Background: Rapid antigen detection tests (RADTs) are the standard of care (SOC) for testing in patients with suspected group A β-hemolytic (Strep A) infection. Due to lower sensitivity, guidelines recommend confirmatory microbiological culture following negative RADT results. This process is time-consuming, and adherence is often poor, resulting in high rates of inappropriate antibiotic prescribing.

US cost-effectiveness and budget impact of point-of-care NAAT for streptococcus.

Objectives: In the United States, approximately 12 million individuals seek medical care for pharyngitis each year, accounting for about 2% of ambulatory care visits. Although the gold standard for diagnosing group A streptococcus (GAS) is culture, it is time intensive. Rapid antigen detection tests (RADT) with or without culture confirmation are commonly used instead.

Clinical Performance of the Point-of-Care cobas Liat for Detection of SARS-CoV-2 in 20 Minutes: a Multicenter Study.

Highly accurate testing for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) at the point of care (POC) is an unmet diagnostic need in emergency care and time-sensitive outpatient care settings. Reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR) technology is the gold standard for SARS-CoV-2 diagnostics. We performed a multisite U.

Molecular point-of-care testing for influenza A/B and respiratory syncytial virus: comparison of workflow parameters for the ID Now and cobas Liat systems.

Aims: Point-of-care (POC) tests for influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) offer the potential to improve patient management and antimicrobial stewardship. Studies have focused on performance; however, no workflow assessments have been published comparing POC molecular tests. This study compared the Liat and ID Now systems workflow, to assist end-users in selecting an influenza and/or RSV POC test.

Evaluation of the Liat Cdiff Assay for Direct Detection of Clostridioides difficile Toxin Genes within 20 Minutes.

is the main causative agent of antibiotic-associated diarrhea. Prompt diagnosis is required for initiation of timely infection control measures and appropriate adjustment of antibiotic treatment. The cobas Cdiff assay for use on the cobas Liat system enables a diagnostic result in 20 minutes.

Diagnosis and Management of Group a Streptococcal Pharyngitis in the United States, 2011-2015.

Background: Clinical guidelines for the diagnosis of group A streptococcal (GAS) pharyngitis recommend the use of a rapid antigen detection test (RADT) and/or bacterial culture. This study evaluated the overall diagnosis and treatment of acute pharyngitis in the United States, including predictors of test type and antibiotic prescription.

Methods: A retrospective analysis of pharyngitis events from 2011 through 2015 was conducted using the MarketScan commercial/Medicare databases.

Diagnosis and antibiotic treatment of group a streptococcal pharyngitis in children in a primary care setting: impact of point-of-care polymerase chain reaction.

Background: To compare the sensitivity and specificity of the recommended 2-step rapid antigen detection test (RADT) with confirmatory culture vs the point-of-care (POC) polymerase chain reaction (PCR) Roche cobas® Liat® Strep A test for detection of group A Streptococcus (GAS) in pediatric patients with pharyngitis, and to investigate the impact of these tests on antibiotic use in a large pediatric clinic.

Methods: This prospective, open-label study was conducted at a single site during fall/winter 2016-2017. A total of 275 patients aged 3 to 18 years with symptoms of pharyngitis had a throat-swab specimen analyzed using RADT, POC PCR, and culture.

Performance comparison of the cobas Liat and Cepheid GeneXpert systems for Clostridium difficile detection.

Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) is a high burden and significant cause of healthcare-acquired infectious diarrhea in the United States (US). Timely and accurate diagnosis of CDI enables the rapid initiation of antibiotic therapy and infection control policies to minimize disease transmission. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays have become a preferred modality for diagnosing CDI in the US.

Diagnostic accuracy of the real-time PCR cobas Liat Influenza A/B assay and the Alere i Influenza A&B NEAR isothermal nucleic acid amplification assay for the detection of influenza using adult nasopharyngeal specimens.

Background: Accurate detection of influenza requires diagnostic testing; however, methods such as RADTs and central laboratory-based tests are limited by low sensitivity and time constraints, respectively.

Objective: To compare the performances of the cobas Liat Influenza A/B and Alere™ i Influenza A&B point-of-care (POC) assays for detecting influenza A and B viruses using fresh nasopharyngeal specimens with the GenMark Dx Respiratory Viral Panel as the reference method, a FDA cleared IVD PCR test.

Study Design: A total of 87 samples collected in viral transport medium from adults ≥18 years of age were re-tested on both POC assays (based on the reference PCR method, 29 were influenza A and 18 were influenza B virus positive).

Lab-in-a-tube: Real-time molecular point-of-care diagnostics for influenza A and B using the cobas® Liat® system.

Rapid diagnosis of influenza A and B is important for direct treatment decisions in patient care and for the reduction of in-hospital transmissions. The new real-time PCR based molecular point-of-care (POC) assay, the cobas Influenza A/B test on the cobas Liat System (cobas Liat Influenza A/B assay), generated a PCR result in less than 20 min, was evaluated for the detection of influenza A and B. One hundred twenty-one retrospectively collected respiratory specimens, previously analyzed with a routine influenza A/B test (Diagenode) were tested using the cobas Liat Influenza A/B assay.

Accurate Detection of Streptococcus pyogenes at the Point of Care Using the cobas Liat Strep A Nucleic Acid Test.

The performance of a polymerase chain reaction-based point-of-care assay, the cobas Strep A Nucleic Acid Test for use on the cobas Liat System (cobas Liat Strep A assay), for the detection of group A Streptococcus bacteria was evaluated in primary care settings. Throat swab specimens from 427 patients were tested with the cobas Liat Strep A assay and a rapid antigen detection test (RADT) by existing medical staff at 5 primary care clinics, and results were compared with bacterial culture. The cobas Liat Strep A assay demonstrated equivalent sensitivity (97.

Optimizing antiretroviral product selection: a sample approach to improving patient outcomes, saving money, and scaling-up health services in developing countries.

Over the last decade, increased funding to support HIV treatment programs has enabled millions of new patients in developing countries to access the medications they need. Today, although demand for antiretrovirals continues to grow, the financial crisis has severely constrained funding leaving countries with difficult choices on program prioritization. Product optimization is one solution countries can pursue to continue to improve patient care while also uncovering savings that can be used for further scale up or other health system needs.

Lesbians over sixty: the consistency of findings from twenty years of survey data.

This article reports on a previously unpublished survey of a community of elder lesbians collected in 1984 by Dr. Monika Kehoe and colleagues, which described the social life, family relationships, relationships with women, sexuality, health, and health care services of elder lesbians. We report the findings of this study now not only because they have historical importance, but also because they remain relevant to the current life experiences and needs of elder lesbians.