Donor-Specific Antibody Detection by Single-Antigen Bead Assay for Renal Transplantation: A 2-Year Experience from South India.

Introduction: Recipient sensitization against donor human leukocyte antigens (HLA) plays a key role in transplant rejection, and this risk is best minimized by efficient pre transplant antibody detection. Determination of antibody specificity with the highest sensitivity and degree of resolution to the allelic antigen level is achieved by using single-antigen bead (SAB) assay.

Methods: This study evaluated the correlation of Luminex cross match (LXM) with SAB assay for detection of donor-specific antibodies (DSA).

Identification of the novel allele, HLA-B*44:256, in an individual from West Bengal in Eastern India.

Next generation sequencing based HLA typing has led to the identification of a novel allele HLA-B*44:256. The novel allele HLA-B*44:256 differs from B*44:02:01:01 by eight nucleotides in exon 3.

Craniofacial morphology of HIV-infected adolescents undergoing highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART): An original research.

Objectives: To analyze the craniofacial morphology in child patients and adolescents by evaluating the skeletal cephalometric profile of the HIV infected patients in this age group and comparing them with the HIV-negative controls.

Materials And Methods: The present study was a planned case-control study which included 25 HIV-positive adolescent patients aged between 10 and 18 years (the study group) who were compared with 25 age- and sex-matched HIV-negative adolescent controls (the control group). All the patients had been HIV infected via a vertical transmission with positive serology confirmed in two different tests and had been kept on HAART since they were born.

Clinicomicrobiological spectrum of infective endocarditis - from a tertiary care centre in south India.

Background And Objectives: Infective endocarditis (IE) is a microbial infection of the endothelial surface of the cardiac-valves. Rapid diagnosis, effective treatment and prompt recognition of complications are essential, in order to improve the outcome. We retrospectively reviewed and determined the clinical characteristics, microbiological profile and management strategies of IE cases, changing microbial spectrum of pathogens and outcome in Native Valve Endocarditis (NVE) and Prosthetic Valve Endocarditis (PVE) cases.

Risk Factors for Urinary Tract Infections in Renal Allograft Recipients: Experience of a Tertiary Care Center in Hyderabad, South India.

Renal transplantation is an effective and commonly performed procedure for end-stage renal disease. Urinary tract infections are a major cause of morbidity and mortality in renal transplant patients. As data on postrenal transplant urinary tract infections from the Indian subcontinent are limited, the present study was conducted to estimate the burden of urinary tract infections in this vulnerable group of patients.

Utility of Acridine Orange staining for detection of bacteria from positive blood cultures.

The diagnostic performance of AO stain was evaluated for the detection of bacteria and or fungi from positive blood cultures. The sensitivity of Gram stain (GS) was 98.26% while Acridine Orange (AO) stain proved to be more sensitive (100%) with a Positive and Negative Predictive Value of 100% each.

Rapid detection and differentiation of dengue virus serotypes by NS1 specific reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP) assay in patients presenting to a tertiary care hospital in Hyderabad, India.

Early and rapid detection of dengue virus (DENV) infection during the acute phase of illness is crucial for proper patient management and prevention of the spread of the infection. In the present study, the standardization and validation of a one step, four tube reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification assay (RT-LAMP) for rapid detection and serotyping of the DENV targeting NS1 gene using the Genie® II flourometer was carried out. The performance of the RT-LAMP was compared to RT-PCR, CDC 1-4 Real time PCR and the NS1 antigen ELISA, IgM and IgG anti DENV antibodies.

Infective endocarditis due to Granulicatella adiacens: a case report and review.

Infective endocarditis (IE) caused by nutritionally variant Streptococci (NVS) is associated with high bacteriologic and treatment failure and mortality rates compared to endocarditis caused by other Streptococci. With automated blood culture systems, the rates of NVS-associated IE accounts for 5%-6% cases. We report a case of IE caused by NVS in an elderly female patient with no risk factors.

Unusual and rare manifestations of dengue during a dengue outbreak in a tertiary care hospital in South India.

Dengue is the most rapidly spreading mosquito-borne viral disease in the world, and as a larger proportion of the population is being affected, more unusual manifestations are being reported. Very few studies have documented unusual manifestations of dengue in South India. This prospective study was undertaken from July 2011 to June 2013 to document rare manifestations of dengue fever in 175 hospitalized patients.

The clinical, serological and molecular diagnosis of emerging dengue infection at a tertiary care institute in southern, India.

Introduction: Dengue is an acute viral infection which presents as uneventful pyrexia to a fatal complication. This infection is increasingly being recognized as the world's major emerging tropical disease and an important public health problem. This article highlights the clinical manifestations of Dengue virus infection and the various molecular tests that were used for its laboratory diagnosis.

Outcome of Chlamydia pneumoniae associated acute ischemic stroke in elderly patients: a case-control study.

Background: Limited data exists about the role of Chlamydia pneumoniae elderly patients with acute ischemic stroke.

Objective: To study the role of C. pneumoniae in elderly patients (age more than 65 years) with acute ischemic stroke and its impact on stroke out come.

Emergence of dengue virus type 4 (genotype I) in India.

Dengue is an emerging arboviral disease and currently poses the greatest arboviral threat to human health. In recent decades, there has been a substantial increase in dengue outbreaks in many parts of the world including India. We performed an in-depth investigation of a major dengue outbreak in Andhra Pradesh, southern India in 2007 by serology, virus isolation, RT-PCR and genotyping.

Seroprevalence of Chlamydia pneumoniae antibodies in stroke in young.

Background: Younger patients, aged below 45 years, usually lack the conventional risk factors of stroke whereas infections, especially in developing countries, may play a role. There have been many reports in the last decade about the association of Chlamydia pneumoniae (C. pneumoniae) and atherosclerosis involving cerebral vessels.

Antibodies to Chlamydia pneumoniae are associated with increased intima media thickness in asymptomatic Indian individuals.

Chlamydia pneumoniae has been found to be associated with cerebrovascular and cardiovascular diseases in seroepidemiologic studies. The aim of this study was to investigate whether this organism is associated with increased intima media thickness (IMT) of carotid arteries in asymptomatic individuals. Serum titer of antibodies to C pneumoniae antibodies IgA and IgG in 100 asymptomatic individuals older than 40 years was measured by microimmunofluorescence.

Development and evaluation of a 1-step duplex reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction for differential diagnosis of chikungunya and dengue infection.

Dengue (DEN) and chikungunya (CHIK) have emerged as the 2 most important arboviral infections of global significance. The similarities in clinical presentations, their circulation in the same geographic area, and the transmission through the same vector necessitate an urgent need for the differential diagnosis of these 2 infections. So far, no single assay is reported for differential diagnosis of these 2 infections.

Chlamydia pneumoniae antibodies in various subtypes of ischemic stroke in Indian patients.

Background: As infections occur more frequently in developing countries, we carried out this prospective case-control study, to establish the association, if any, between C. pneumoniae antibodies and ischemic stroke particularly in relation to its subtypes.

Design: Antibodies (IgG and IgA) to C.

Clinical features and molecular diagnosis of Chikungunya fever from South India.

An epidemic of Chikungunya fever of unprecedented magnitude occurred in many parts of India in early 2006 after an interval of 33 years, and there has been a resurgence in some parts of South India since June 2007. The article highlights clinical manifestations of infection and various molecular tests that were used for diagnoses of Chikungunya virus infection. Of particular interest is the real-time loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT LAMP) assay, which is rapid and cost-effective and can be adopted at ill-equipped laboratories.

Serodiagnosis of dengue virus infection in patients presenting to a tertiary care hospital.

Dengue is an acute infectious disease of viral etiology. It is probably one of the most important arthropod borne viral disease in terms of human morbidity and mortality. The spectrum of disease ranges from self-limited dengue fever to more severe forms of dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) or dengue shock syndrome (DSS).