Diagnosis and subtyping of idiopathic inflammatory myopathies: caution required in the use of myositis autoantibodies.

Detection of myositis autoantibodies (MAs) has utility in both the diagnosis and subtyping of idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IIMs). Multiplex assays such as the Euroimmun line immunoassay (LIA) have significant limitations in rare diseases like IIM. A retrospective cohort study was performed on positive MA detected on LIA in 171 patients using the manufacturer's recommended cut-off.

Choosing wisely in infectious serology: the merits of triaging send-away tests.

Over-utilisation of pathology requests can incur unnecessary costs and be detrimental to patient care. The choosing wisely campaign has helped to reduce the use of tests with limited or no value. This report describes the estimated benefits and costs of implementing a triage process of infectious serology requests in a single mixed hospital and community laboratory.

Mucus digestion improves the detection of Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae on the cobas 4800.

We compared the performance of cobas 4800 PCR for Neisseria gonorrhoeae with culture and found an association between pipetting errors and positive culture, caused by mucopurulent discharge. The problem may be resolved by pretreating samples with Sputasol, thus improving detection of both Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae.