Vivax malaria detection using a parasitic red blood cell flag generated by the Sysmex XN-9000 hematology analyzer.

Introduction: A Sysmex XN-series hematology analyzer (Sysmex), the next generation up from the Sysmex XE-series, can provide information regarding malaria infection in the form of a parasitic red blood cell (pRBC) flag. This study aimed to determine the usefulness of the pRBC flag for early detection and follow-up in patients infected with Plasmodium vivax.

Methods: A total of 221 patients with fever for whom CBC and malaria microscopy had been requested were analyzed.

Clinical value of procalcitonin for suspected nosocomial bloodstream infection.

Background/aims: Procalcitonin (PCT) may prove to be a useful marker to exclude or predict bloodstream infection (BSI). However, the ability of PCT levels to differentiate BSI from non-BSI episodes has not been evaluated in nosocomial BSI.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of patients ≥ 18 years of age with suspected BSI that developed more than 48 hours after admission.

Comparison of automated treponemal and nontreponemal test algorithms as first-line syphilis screening assays.

Background: Automated Mediace Treponema pallidum latex agglutination (TPLA) and Mediace rapid plasma reagin (RPR) assays are used by many laboratories for syphilis diagnosis. This study compared the results of the traditional syphilis screening algorithm and a reverse algorithm using automated Mediace RPR or Mediace TPLA as first-line screening assays in subjects undergoing a health checkup.

Methods: Samples from 24,681 persons were included in this study.

Colistin treatment in carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii pneumonia patients: Incidence of nephrotoxicity and outcomes.

Colistimethate sodium (CMS) is increasingly used to treat multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacilli infections. However, the incidence of CMS-associated nephrotoxicity has not been evaluated in patients with carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (CRAB) pneumonia. This retrospective study included 120 patients with CRAB pneumonia treated with intravenous CMS for ≥72 h.

A case of fixed drug eruption due to doxycycline and erythromycin present in food.

A fixed drug eruption (FDE) is not difficult to diagnose, given its clinical characteristics. However, the causative agent can be difficult to identify, particularly when the patient denies ingestion of any drugs. To the best of our knowledge, we present herein the first reported case of an FDE caused by antibiotics taken in food; doxycycline and erythromycin contained in pork and fish.

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in nasal surveillance swabs at an intensive care unit: an evaluation of the LightCycler MRSA advanced test.

Background: We compared the LightCycler MRSA advanced test (Roche Diagnostics, Germany) with enrichment culture methods to evaluate the relative diagnostic performance of the LightCycler MRSA advanced test for active surveillance in a high-prevalence setting.

Methods: A total of 342 nasal swab specimens were obtained from patients in the intensive care unit at admission and on the seventh day for follow-up. The results of LightCycler MRSA advanced test were compared to those of the enrichment culture.

Association between changes in lipid profiles and progression of symptomatic intracranial atherosclerotic stenosis: a prospective multicenter study.

Background And Purpose: Predictors of progression of intracranial atherosclerotic stenosis have not been clearly identified. We investigated whether poststroke changes in lipid profiles would affect the prognosis of symptomatic intracranial atherosclerotic stenosis.

Methods: This is a substudy of Trial of cilOstazol in Symptomatic intracranial Stenosis 2 (TOSS-2).

High levels of remnant lipoprotein cholesterol is a risk factor for large artery atherosclerotic stroke.

Background And Purpose: Remnant lipoproteins (RLPs) are products of partially catabolized chylomicrons and very-low-density lipoprotein, from which some triglycerides have been removed. These particles are smaller and denser than the parent particles and are believed to be strongly atherogenic. We explored the association between RLP cholesterol (RLP-C) and ischemic stroke, including stroke subtypes.

A case of monoclonal gammopathy in extranodal marginal zone B-cell lymphoma of the small intestine.

Monoclonal gammopathy occurs in one-third of the patients with mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma (MALT lymphoma). However, monoclonal gammopathy has been rarely reported in Korea. Paraprotenemia accompanying MALT lymphoma is strongly correlated with involvement of the bone marrow, and this involvement leads to the progression of the disease.

[Current status and proposal of a guideline for manual slide review of automated complete blood cell count and white blood cell differential].

Background: Manual slide review (MSR) is usually triggered by the results of automated hematology analyzers, but each laboratory has different criteria for MSR. This study was carried out to investigate the current status of MSR criteria of automated complete blood cell count (CBC) and white blood cell (WBC) differential results and to propose a basic guideline for MSR.

Methods: Total 111 laboratories were surveyed regarding MSR using questionnaires.

[A case of post-essential thrombocythemia myelofibrosis with severe osteosclerosis].

Essential thrombocythemia (ET) is a chronic myeloproliferative neoplasm that involves primarily the megakaryocytic lineage. After many years, a few patients with ET may develop bone marrow (BM) fibrosis and rarely develop osteosclerosis. A 60-yr-old female was admitted due to severe left upper quadrant abdominal discomfort.

[Effectiveness of sodium fluoride as a glycolysis inhibitor on blood glucose measurement: comparison of blood glucose using specimens from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination survey].

Background: Accurate measurement of blood glucose concentrations is essential for defining diabetes, and the minimization of ex vivo glycolysis has been recommended. Recent guidelines advocate two kinds of methods for sample collection and processing: either the sodium fluoride (NaF) method or immediate refrigeration using a serum separation tube (SST). We investigated the difference between the two methods in measuring subsequent glucose concentrations using blood specimens from participants recruited for the fourth Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

[Evaluation of the BD phoenix automated microbiology system SMIC/ID-2 panel for antimicrobial susceptibility testing of Streptococcus pneumoniae].

Background: With the emergence of antimicrobial resistance among Streptococcus pneumoniae, a more accurate and automated antimicrobial susceptibility testing method is essential. We evaluated the BD Phoenix Automated Microbiology System (Becton Dickinson Diagnostic Systems, USA) SMIC/ID-2 panel for antimicrobial susceptibility testing of S. pneumoniae.

The implementation and effects of a clinical laboratory accreditation program in Korea from 1999 to 2006.

Background: The Korean Laboratory Accreditation Program (KLAP) by the Korean Society of Laboratory Medicine (KSLM) was started in 1999. We summarized history and achievement of KLAP for the last 8 yr.

Methods: We analyzed 8 yr data (1999-2006) of historical events, trends of participating laboratories, and scores according to the impact of the question to the outcome of the tests.

A case of myocarditis associated with Plasmodium vivax malaria.

Cardiac complications in malaria have been infrequently associated with Plasmodium falciparum infections. However, myocarditis associated with Plasmodium vivax malaria has not been reported in the literature. We observed an unusual case of vivax malaria that was complicated by myocarditis.

Standardization of terminology in laboratory medicine II.

Standardization of medical terminology is essential in data transmission between health care institutes and in maximizing the benefits of information technology. The purpose of this study was to standardize medical terms for laboratory observations. During the second year of the study, a standard database of concept names for laboratory terms that covered those used in tertiary health care institutes and reference laboratories was developed.

[Current status of external quality assessment of syphilis test in Korea].

Background: Current status of external quality assessment (EQA) of laboratory tests for syphilis in Korea was analyzed to find out the problems that should be improved in the future.

Methods: Based on the data from the external quality assessment program performed twice a year by the Immunoserology Subcommittee of the Korean Association of Quality Assurance for Clinical Laboratory from the year 2004 to 2006, discordance rates were analyzed according to the test method and commercial kit used.

Results: Among the laboratories participating in the EQA program for syphilis test, about 90% of them used non-treponemal tests and about 55% treponemal tests.

[Evaluation of the Phoenix automated microbiology system for detecting extended-spectrum beta-lactamase in Escherichia coli, Klebsiella species and Proteus mirabilis].

Background: The aim of this study was to compare the BD Phoenix (Beckton Dickinson Diagnostic Systems, USA) extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) test with the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) ESBL phenotypic confirmatory test by disk diffusion (CLSI ESBL test) in Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Klebsiella oxytoca and Proteus mirabilis.

Methods: We tested 224 clinical isolates of E. coli, K.

Malaria detection with the Sysmex XE-2100 hematology analyzer using pseudoeosinophilia and abnormal WBC scattergram.

Recent investigation using the Sysmex XE-2100 hematology analyzer (Sysmex Corporation, Japan) has demonstrated erroneously high eosinophil counts and abnormal white blood cell (WBC) scattergrams in malaria cases. This study was conducted to assess the diagnostic efficiency of the Sysmex XE-2100 analyzer for malaria. One hundred forty-four patients initially diagnosed with Plasmodium vivax infection, 319 patients with febrile illness, and 24 patients who underwent malaria treatment were analyzed.