Characterization of an Enterococcus sp. SMC-9 strain isolated from bile of a patient with cholangitis.

The genus Enterococcus is increasingly recognized for its involvement in various human infections, with several species known to be pathogenic. This study characterized Enterococcus sp. SMC-9, isolated from bile of a patient with cholangitis, and compared its characteristics with those of Enterococcus montenegrensis CoE-012-22T, recently isolated from dried beef sausage.

Comparison of the STANDARD M10 . , Xpert . , and BD MAX Cdiff assays as confirmatory tests in a two-step algorithm for diagnosing infection.

Current guidelines recommend a two-step algorithm rather than relying solely on a single test for diagnosing infection. This algorithm starts with enzyme immunoassay (EIA) for detecting glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH) and toxins A/B, followed by nucleic acid amplification test (NAAT) for GDH-positive but toxin-negative cases. This study compared the performance of three commercial NAATs: the STANDARD M10 , Xpert , and BD MAX Cdiff assays, utilized as confirmatory testing of the two-step algorithm.

Comparative evaluation of the STANDARD M10 and Xpert . assays for detection of toxigenic in stool specimens.

This study compared the performance of two commercial molecular assays, the STANDARD M10 assay (M10) and the Xpert assay (Xpert), for detecting toxigenic in stool specimens. A total of 487 consecutive stool specimens submitted for routine testing between June and November 2023 were included. Following routine testing using C.

Evorpacept-Induced Interference and Application of a Novel Mitigation Agent, Evo-NR, in Pretransfusion Testing.

Introduction: Evorpacept is a CD47-blocking agent currently being developed for the treatment of various cancers. Interference by evorpacept in pretransfusion compatibility testing has been reported at limited plasma concentrations. Although various mitigation strategies have been proposed, none are practical.

Evaluation of the QMAC-dRAST System Version 2.5 for Rapid Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing of Gram-Negative Bacteria From Positive Blood Culture Broth and Subcultured Colony Isolates.

Background: Rapid antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) for bloodstream infections (BSIs) facilitates the optimization of antimicrobial therapy, preventing antimicrobial resistance and improving patient outcomes. QMAC-dRAST (QuantaMatrix Inc., Korea) is a rapid AST platform based on microfluidic chip technology that performs AST directly using positive blood culture broth (PBCB).

Whole-genome sequences reveal zygotic composition in chimeric twins.

While most dizygotic twins have a dichorionic placenta, rare cases of dizygotic twins with a monochorionic placenta have been reported. The monochorionic placenta in dizygotic twins allows in utero exchange of embryonic cells, resulting in chimerism in the twins. In practice, this chimerism is incidentally identified in mixed ABO blood types or in the presence of cells with a discordant sex chromosome.

Antimicrobial activity of ceftazidime-avibactam against KPC-2-producing Enterobacterales: a cross-combination and dose-escalation titration study with relebactam and vaborbactam.

Unlabelled: With the introduction of ceftazidime-avibactam worldwide, the antimicrobial activity of new β-lactam/β-lactamase inhibitors (BL/BLIs) needs to be investigated. From January 2020 to June 2023, carbapenemase (KPC)-producing Enterobacterales were collected. With a broth microdilution test of new BL/BLIs, cross-activity test with nine combinations of BLs and new BLIs and dose-escalation titration test for non-susceptible isolates were conducted to investigate inhibitory activities of new BLIs.

Evaluation of the Humasis COVID-19 Antigen Rapid Diagnostic Test for the Diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 Infection.

Objective: We assessed the performance of the Humasis COVID-19 AgHS Test (Humasis, Korea), a novel antigen rapid diagnostic test (Ag-RDT) based on lateral flow immunoassay.

Methods: 85 SARS-CoV-2-positive and 155 SARS-CoV-2-negative nasopharyngeal swab specimens confirmed by rRT-PCR were tested using the Humasis and PBCheck Ag-RDTs. The analytical specificity of the Humasis Ag-RDT was evaluated using 27 strains of human respiratory pathogens.

Guide to Rho(D) Immune Globulin in Women With Molecularly Defined Asian-type DEL (c.1227G>A).

Rh hemolytic disease of the fetus and newborn is a potential risk for D-negative mothers who produce anti-D during pregnancy, which can lead to morbidity and mortality in subsequent pregnancies. To prevent this hemolytic disease, Rho(D) immune globulin (RhIG) is generally administered to D-negative mothers without anti-D at 28 weeks of gestation and shortly after delivery. However, current guidelines suggest that pregnant mothers with molecularly defined weak D types 1, 2, 3, 4.

Clinical Course of Patients With Mediastinal Lymph Node Tuberculosis and Risk Factors for Paradoxical Responses.

Background: Paradoxical responses (PR) occur more frequently in lymph node tuberculosis (LNTB) than in pulmonary tuberculosis and present difficulties in differential diagnosis of drug resistance, new infection, poor patient compliance, and adverse drug reactions. Although diagnosis of mediastinal LNTB has become much easier with the development of endosonography, limited information is available. The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical course of mediastinal LNTB and the risk factors associated with PR.

Prevalence and molecular basis of null blood group phenotypes in the Korean population: Analysis using a public database.

Background: Null phenotypes are characterized by complete absence of all antigens within a blood group system and caused by null variants (e.g., nonsense, frameshift, initiation codon, and canonical splice site variants) in the genes encoding the antigens.

False-positive galactomannan immunoassay in the glucose component of total parenteral nutrition products.

This manuscript describes an occurrence of false-positive GM tests in patients receiving TPN products from a manufacturer who had recently changed the supplier of the glucose component. We describe the clinical presentation of nine false-positive cases and the results of serologic and microbiological investigations of the TPN products suspected of contamination with GM. Attempts to detect GM in parenteral nutrition products were made since the detection of GM in sodium gluconate-containing solutions in 2007, but none of them identified the source of elevated GM indexes in TPN products.

Performance Evaluation of MolecuTech REBA Myco-ID Using HybREAD480 for Identification of Nontuberculous Mycobacteria.

Background: Rapid and accurate identification of nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) species is essential for the diagnosis and treatment of NTM disease. MolecuTech REBA Myco-ID (YD Diagnostics, Yongin, Korea) is a line probe assay for identification of NTM species and can be performed using HybREAD480, an instrument for automating the post-PCR steps. In this study, we assessed the performance of MolecuTech REBA Myco-ID using HybREAD480.

Evaluation of the AdvanSure One-Stop COVID-19 Plus Kit for SARS-CoV-2 Detection Using a Streamlined RNA Extraction Method.

Real-time reverse transcription (rRT)-PCR, which is the reference standard for the diagnosis of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, generally involves a time-consuming and costly RNA extraction step prior to amplification. We evaluated the performance of the AdvanSure One-Stop COVID-19 Plus Kit (LG Chem, Seoul, Korea), a novel rRT-PCR assay that can detect SARS-CoV-2 within 90 minutes using a streamlined RNA extraction method. In total, 509 nasopharyngeal swab (NPS) specimens (SARS-CoV-2 positive: N=205; SARS-CoV-2 negative: N=304) previously tested using the PowerChek SARS-CoV-2 Real-time PCR Kit (Kogene Biotech, Seoul, Korea) were tested using the AdvanSure assay.

Performance Evaluation of the BACTEC MGIT 960 System for Rifampin Drug-Susceptibility Testing of Mycobacterium tuberculosis Using the Current WHO Critical Concentration.

The World Health Organization recently lowered the rifampin (RIF) critical concentration (CC) for drug-susceptibility testing (DST) of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) using the mycobacterial growth indicator tube (MGIT) 960 system. Here, we evaluated the diagnostic performance of the MGIT system with the revised CC for determining MTBC RIF resistance with 303 clinical MTBC isolates, including 122 isolates with mutations, of which 32 had single borderline-resistance mutations, and 181 wild-type isolates. The phenotypic RIF resistance was determined via the absolute concentration method (AC) and via MGIT using both previous (1 mg/L) and revised (0.

Evaluation of the Kaira COVID-19/Flu/RSV Detection Kit for detection of SARS-CoV-2, influenza A/B, and respiratory syncytial virus: A comparative study with the PowerChek SARS-CoV-2, influenza A&B, RSV Multiplex Real-time PCR Kit.

Background: Co-circulation of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and other respiratory viruses, such as influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), can be a severe threat to public health. The accurate detection and differentiation of these viruses are essential for clinical laboratories. Herein, we comparatively evaluated the performance of the Kaira COVID-19/Flu/RSV Detection Kit (Kaira; Optolane, Seongnam, Korea) for detection of SARS-CoV-2, influenza A and B, and RSV in nasopharyngeal swab (NPS) specimens with that of the PowerChek SARS-CoV-2, Influenza A&B, RSV Multiplex Real-time PCR Kit (PowerChek; Kogene Biotech, Seoul, Korea).

Evolution of Fluconazole Resistance Mechanisms and Clonal Types of Isolates from a Tertiary Care Hospital in South Korea.

We investigated the evolution of fluconazole resistance mechanisms and clonal types of Candida parapsilosis isolates from a tertiary care hospital in South Korea. A total of 45 clinical isolates, including 42 collected between 2017 and 2021 and 3 collected between 2012 and 2013, were subjected to antifungal susceptibility testing, sequencing of fluconazole resistance genes (, , , and ), and microsatellite typing. Twenty-two isolates carried Y132F (=21; fluconazole MIC = 2 to >256 mg/L) or Y132F+R398I (=1; fluconazole MIC = 64 mg/L) in and four isolates harbored N1132D in (fluconazole MIC = 16 to 64 mg/L).

Application of Blood Group Genotyping by Next-Generation Sequencing in Various Immunohaematology Cases.

Background: Next-generation sequencing (NGS) technology has been recently introduced into blood group genotyping; however, there are few studies using NGS-based blood group genotyping in real-world clinical settings. In this study, we applied NGS-based blood group genotyping into various immunohaematology cases encountered in routine clinical practice.

Methods: This study included 4 immunohaematology cases: ABO subgroup, ABO chimerism, antibody to a high-frequency antigen (HFA), and anti-CD47 interference.