Objectives: The most important disadvantage of rapid antigen tests (RAT) is low sensitivity for the diagnosis of group A beta-hemolytic streptococci (BHS). We determined the sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values of RAT in gargling samples.
Patients And Methods: The study included 106 patients (53 females, 53 males, mean age 22+/-12 years; range 16-65 years) with an initial diagnosis of tonsillopharyngitis. Swab samples were taken from the posterior pharyngeal wall and tonsil surface with a sterile cotton swab. Then, gargle samples were obtained by gargling for 10 seconds with sterile 0.9% NaCl to be examined by the RAT for group A BHS. Throat cultures were processed using standard microbiologic techniques.
Results: Throat cultures were positive in 12 patients (11.3%) and negative in 94 patients (88.6%). Rapid antigen test yielded five positive (4.7%) and 101 negative (95.2%) results. The sensitivity and specificity rates of RAT with throat gargling were 41.7% and 100%, with positive and negative predictive values of 100% and 93.1%, respectively.
Conclusion: Despite satisfactory specificity, positive and negative predictive rates of RAT with throat gargling, its low sensitivity limits its use for the diagnosis of group A BHS.
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Alzheimers Dement
December 2024
PCM Consulting, Pathways Connectivity Maps Inc., Mountain View, CA, USA.
Background: High-throughput assays have attracted significant attention in Alzheimer's Disease (AD) research, especially for enabling rapid diagnostics screening for factors at the molecular level contributing to the disease recurrence. With advances in laboratory automation, there is a growing need for quality pre-clinical data. Assays such as Microarrays, Proteomics, or AI are all dependent on high-quality input data that serve as a starting point.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Prostate cancer is incidentally diagnosed in 6%-11% of benign prostatic hyperplasia surgeries.
Case Presentation: A 79-year-old man was diagnosed with benign prostatic hyperplasia. The prostate volume was 54.
Infect Dis Clin Microbiol
December 2024
Department of Medical Microbiology, Bursa Uludağ University School of Medicine, Bursa, Türkiye.
Objective: The study compared the mö-screen Corona Antigen Test (Qiagen, Germany) with RT-PCR in suspected COVID-19 patients.
Materials And Methods: Two hundred combined oro-nasopharyngeal swabs were collected from patients with suspected COVID-19 to evaluate the analytical performance of the mö-screen Corona Antigen Test compared to qualitative real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) in symptomatic patients.
Results: The mö-screen Corona Antigen Test showed an overall agreement with a sensitivity of 100%, a specificity of 100%, a positive predictive value (PPV) of 100%, and a negative predictive value (NPV) of 100%.
Theranostics
January 2025
Stomatological Hospital, School of Stomatology, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, 510280, Guangdong, China.
T cell receptor-engineered T (TCR-T) cell therapies are at the forefront of cancer immunotherapy, offering a transformative approach that significantly enhances the ability of T cells to recognize and eliminate cancer cells. This innovative method involves genetically modifying TCRs to increase their affinity for tumor-specific antigens. While these enhancements improve the ability of T cells to recognize and bind to antigens on cancer cells, rigorous assessment of specificity remains crucial to ensure safety and targeted responses.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNanotheranostics
January 2025
Translational Research Laboratory, Department of Experimental Medicine and Biotechnology, Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh, India.
Pleural tuberculosis (pTB) is a diagnostic challenge because of its non-specific clinical features, lack of accurate diagnostic tools and paucibacillary nature of the disease. We, here describe the development of a novel magnetic nanoparticle antibody-conjugate and aptamer-based assay (MNp-Ab-Ap assay) targeting 4 different (. ) antigens (GlcB, MPT51, MPT64 and CFP-10) for pTB diagnosis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEnter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!