Linked Life Data

15509421

Source:http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/id/15509421

Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
7
pubmed:dateCreated
2004-10-28
pubmed:abstractText
In the present study, 67 patients suspected to be cases of visceral leishmaniasis (VL) were each checked for leishmanial infection by the microscopical evaluation of various biological specimens, in-vitro culture, serology and an assay based on nested PCR. Most (35) of the subjects were immunocompetent (IC) but 32 were immunodeficient (ID) as the result of HIV infection (18 cases), treatment to prevent transplanted organs being rejected (six) or haematological malignancies (eight). Forty-one (61.2%) of the subjects (19 IC subjects, 12 HIV-positive patients, four transplant patients and six patients with malignancies) were considered true cases of VL. For the IC subjects, only the production and microscopical examination of leucocytoconcentrates and cultures of Buffy coats gave sensitivities of <80%, the results of the other methods showing higher sensitivities and almost perfect agreement with the 'gold-standard' diagnoses. For the ID subjects, however, only the serological tests and the PCR gave reasonable sensitivities (of >80%). For the initial diagnosis of leishmaniasis in ID patients, IFAT and western blots may be useful, as, among the present ID patients, they gave sensitivities (of 80.9% and 88.2%, respectively) that were almost as high as that for the PCR, and specificities of 100%. In the diagnosis of VL in either IC or ID patients, the assay based on a nested PCR appeared to be particularly reliable, with sensitivities of 88.9% and 95.2%, respectively, and a specificity of 100% in both groups of patients. The testing of bone-marrow aspirates by PCR revealed very few VL cases who were not found positive when samples of their peripheral blood were checked in the same assay. For both IC and ID subjects therefore, the use of the PCR-based method to test samples of peripheral blood (which can be collected much more easily than bone-marrow aspirates and with much less pain for the subject) is recommended.
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
Oct
pubmed:issn
0003-4983
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Print
pubmed:volume
98
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
667-76
pubmed:dateRevised
2009-5-18
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed:year
2004
pubmed:articleTitle
Diagnosis of visceral leishmaniasis: the sensitivities and specificities of traditional methods and a nested PCR assay.
pubmed:affiliation
Laboratory of Parasitology, Virology Service, IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo, Viale Taramelli, 5, 27100 Pavia, Italy. s.gatti@smatteo.pv.it
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article, Comparative Study, Evaluation Studies