Diagnostics

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Chest CT Indicates Mortality Risk in COPD

Researchers examined correlations between SAT, IMAT, and pectoralis PM areas from chest CT with mortality in individuals with COPD.

NAAT Nasopharyngeal Swabs Still Gold Standard for Diagnosing SARS-CoV-2

By

Jessica Nye, PhD

Researchers systematically reviewed literature to understand the performance and sensitivity of alternative sample types compared with that of nasopharyngeal swabs for the diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2.

FDA Clears Point-of-Care Test for Chlamydia, Gonorrhea

By

Diana Ernst, RPh

The io instrument processes a single-use cartridge that contains all reagents for testing collected vaginal swabs and male urine samples.

Community Exposures Tied to SARS-CoV-2 Seropositivity in Health Care Workers

Researchers conducted a cross-sectional study among HCP at 4 large health care systems in 3 US states to assess the risk factors associated with SARS-CoV-2 seropositivity.

Expansion of SARS-CoV-2 Surveillance Required for Epidemic Prevention

By

Jessica Nye, PhD

Study authors assessed the economic trade-offs of expanding and accelerating testing for SARS-CoV-2 across the United States in different transmission scenarios.

COVID-19 Testing: Saliva NAAT Comparable to Nasopharyngeal Swabs

By

Jessica Nye, PhD

Study authors assessed the diagnostic accuracy of saliva NAAT for COVID-19 due to the increased resources, such as trained personnel, required for nasopharyngeal swab NAAT.

New Test for Diagnosis of Tuberculosis Meningitis in Patients With HIV

By

Brandon May

A new point-of-care lateral flow assay featured the same sensitivity as mycobacterial culture in detecting tuberculosis meningitis in adults with HIV.

COVID-19 Reporting System, CT Severity Score Are Effective Diagnostic Tools

By

Sheila Jacobs

The COVID-19 Reporting and Data System (CO-RADS) in combination with a CT severity score are easy to use diagnostic tools to guide clinicians in diagnosing COVID-19.

Determining the Optimal Level of Neutralizing Antibodies Key for COVID-19 Plasma Therapy

By

Sweta Gupta

Investigators summarized the evidence on the efficacy and adverse effects of antifungal agents in patients with hematological disease or undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

LT-RAMP Provides Accurate and Rapid COVID-19 Detection: A Real World Study

By

Zahra Masoud

Researchers compared a novel reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification method to the gold standard, reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction, and assessed the accuracy in detecting SARS-CoV-2.

COVID-19 Molecular Point-of-Care vs PCR Testing Reduces Time to Results

By

Sheila Jacobs

In hospitalized patients with COVID-19, the routine use of molecular point-of-care testing in emergency department admissions was associated with a large reduction in time to results compared with laboratory PCR testing.

Modified Early Warning Score Predicts Deterioration in COVID-19 Patients

By

Bradley van Paridon

Study authors assessed the specificity and positive predictive value of a customized, institutional, early warning score for predicting decompensation in COVID-19 patients.

Diagnostic Circulating Anodic Antigen Test for Schistosoma haematobium Infections

By

Zahra Masoud

Study authors investigated UCP-LF circulating anodic antigen (CAA) as a potential diagnostic test for Schistosoma haematobium in pregnant women.

Time to Results Faster With Point-of-Care COVID-19 Testing

Point-of-care testing is associated with large reductions in the time to results for patients presenting with suspected COVID-19.

Performance of 5 Immunoassays for SARS-CoV-2 Compared

By

Sweta Gupta

A comparative assessment of 5 immunoassays for SARS-CoV-2 showed that these assays achieved sensitivity and specificity of at least 98%.

Diagnosing Nontuberculous Mycobacteria Pulmonary Disease Via Gastric Aspirate Culture

By

Virginia A. Schad, PharmD, RPh

In settings where acid-fast bacilli pulmonary diseases are suspected, gastric aspirate culture may be helpful for diagnosing Mycobacterium avium complex and M kansasii pulmonary disease.

Point-of-Care COVID-19 Antibody Test Gets Emergency Use Authorization

By

Brian Park, PharmD

The reissued EUA allows for fingerstick blood samples to be tested in point-of-care settings.

Sensitivity of 3 ICT Assays Higher During Intermediate, Late COVID-19 Stages

By

Sweta Gupta

Researchers compared 3 immunochromatographic assays (Sienna™, Wondfo®, and Prometheus™) to detect antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 in serum samples, using RT-qPCR as a reference.

Infection Risk Low in Patients With PJI and Concomitant Asymptomatic Prosthetic Implants

By

Sweta Gupta

There is a low incidence of second PJI in patients with bacteremia or hematogenous periprosthetic joint infection with concomitant prosthetic implants.

Caution Required When Using Supplementary Nucleic Acid Amplification Tests for Gonorrhea

By

Zahra Masoud

Research results highlighted the need for continued supplemental NAATs for oropharyngeal samples being tested for Nisseria gonorrhoeae.