Diagnosis of sexually transmitted infections (STI) using self-collected non-invasive specimens

Sexual Health ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 121 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suzanne M. Garland ◽  
Sepehr N. Tabrizi
Keyword(s):  
Sexually Transmitted Infections ◽  
Control Strategies ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Diagnostic Techniques ◽  
Detection Methods ◽  
Molecular Diagnostic ◽  
Molecular Diagnostic Techniques ◽  
Sexually Transmitted ◽  
Diagnostic Assays ◽  
Remote Areas

Paramount in control of transmission of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) is their prompt recognition and appropriate treatment. In countries where definitive diagnoses are difficult, a ‘syndromic approach’ to management of STIs is recommended and practiced, yet many STIs have common symptoms or are asymptomatic and therefore go undetected and untreated. This is of particular concern with the recognition that HIV transmission is increased with co-existent STIs: the attributable risk for each STI varying with the prevalence within a particular population. Hence, HIV public health prevention approaches must include STI preventative strategies to be effective. Even then, microbiological screening is incorporated into STI control strategies; lack of access to appropriate services (especially in rural and remote areas), reluctance of at-risk populations to attend for treatment, fear of invasive genital examinations, and lower sensitivities of conventional diagnostic assays reduces the effectiveness of such programmes. Therefore, accurate, cost-effective, reliable diagnostic assays (preferably those which can be used in the field) are needed to impact on the incidence of the various STIs, as well as HIV. With the advent of molecular technologies, including target and signal amplification methods, diagnoses of STIs have been revolutionised and allow the use of non or minimally invasive sampling techniques, some of which are self-collected by the patient, e.g. first-void urine, cervico-vaginal lavage, low vaginal swabs, and tampons. Most studies evaluating such self-sampling with molecular diagnostic techniques have demonstrated an equivalent or superior detection of STIs as compared to conventional sampling and detection methods. These sampling methods can also be used to determine prevalence of STIs in various populations, but particularly those with difficult access to medical care. In this article, the utility of self-sampling collection devices for detection of various STIs, particularly in women, is reviewed as one step towards formulating appropriate strategies in control of STIs, and which are especially suited for remote areas.

scholarly journals A Recent Update on Advanced Molecular Diagnostic Techniques for COVID-19 Pandemic: An Overview

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Akanksha Roberts ◽  
Raghuraj Singh Chouhan ◽  
Deepshikha Shahdeo ◽  
Narlawar Sagar Shrikrishna ◽  
Veerbhan Kesarwani ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Reverse Transcription ◽  
Electrochemical Sensors ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy ◽  
Diagnostic Techniques ◽  
Diagnostic Methods ◽  
Molecular Diagnostic ◽  
Molecular Diagnostic Techniques ◽  
Rt Pcr ◽  
Ongoing Research

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which started out as an outbreak of pneumonia, has now turned into a pandemic due to its rapid transmission. Besides developing a vaccine, rapid, accurate, and cost-effective diagnosis is essential for monitoring and combating the spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and its related variants on time with precision and accuracy. Currently, the gold standard for detection of SARS-CoV-2 is Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR), but it lacks accuracy, is time-consuming and cumbersome, and fails to detect multi-variant forms of the virus. Herein, we have summarized conventional diagnostic methods such as Chest-CT (Computed Tomography), RT-PCR, Loop Mediated Isothermal Amplification (LAMP), Reverse Transcription-LAMP (RT-LAMP), as well new modern diagnostics such as CRISPR–Cas-based assays, Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS), Lateral Flow Assays (LFA), Graphene-Field Effect Transistor (GraFET), electrochemical sensors, immunosensors, antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs)-based assays, and microarrays for SARS-CoV-2 detection. This review will also provide an insight into an ongoing research and the possibility of developing more economical tools to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic.

scholarly journals Modular development of a prototype point of care molecular diagnostic platform for sexually transmitted infections

2016 ◽  
Vol 38 (8) ◽  
pp. 741-748 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manoharanehru Branavan ◽  
Ruth E. Mackay ◽  
Pascal Craw ◽  
Angel Naveenathayalan ◽  
Jeremy C. Ahern ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sexually Transmitted Infections ◽  
Point Of Care ◽  
Molecular Diagnostic ◽  
Sexually Transmitted

scholarly journals Moraxella catarrhalis: from Emerging to Established Pathogen

2002 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 125-144 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cees M. Verduin ◽  
Cees Hol ◽  
André Fleer ◽  
Hans van Dijk ◽  
Alex van Belkum
Keyword(s):  
Moraxella Catarrhalis ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Bacterial Species ◽  
Bacterial Pathogen ◽  
Diagnostic Techniques ◽  
Human Infection ◽  
Molecular Diagnostic ◽  
Molecular Diagnostic Techniques ◽  
Pathogenic Potential ◽  
The Past

SUMMARY Moraxella catarrhalis (formerly known as Branhamella catarrhalis) has emerged as a significant bacterial pathogen of humans over the past two decades. During this period, microbiological and molecular diagnostic techniques have been developed and improved for M. catarrhalis, allowing the adequate determination and taxonomic positioning of this pathogen. Over the same period, studies have revealed its involvement in respiratory (e.g., sinusitis, otitis media, bronchitis, and pneumonia) and ocular infections in children and in laryngitis, bronchitis, and pneumonia in adults. The development of (molecular) epidemiological tools has enabled the national and international distribution of M. catarrhalis strains to be established, and has allowed the monitoring of nosocomial infections and the dynamics of carriage. Indeed, such monitoring has revealed an increasing number of Β-lactamase-positive M. catarrhalis isolates (now well above 90%), underscoring the pathogenic potential of this organism. Although a number of putative M. catarrhalis virulence factors have been identified and described in detail, their relationship to actual bacterial adhesion, invasion, complement resistance, etc. (and ultimately their role in infection and immunity), has been established in a only few cases. In the past 10 years, various animal models for the study of M. catarrhalis pathogenicity have been described, although not all of these models are equally suitable for the study of human infection. Techniques involving the molecular manipulation of M. catarrhalis genes and antigens are also advancing our knowledge of the host response to and pathogenesis of this bacterial species in humans, as well as providing insights into possible vaccine candidates. This review aims to outline our current knowledge of M. catarrhalis, an organism that has evolved from an emerging to a well-established human pathogen.

scholarly journals Use of Quantitative Molecular Diagnostic Assays to Investigate Fusarium Dry Rot in Potato Stocks and Soil

2005 ◽  
Vol 95 (12) ◽  
pp. 1462-1471 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. W. Cullen ◽  
I. K. Toth ◽  
Y. Pitkin ◽  
N. Boonham ◽  
K. Walsh ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Control Strategies ◽  
Disease Incidence ◽  
Harvest Date ◽  
Molecular Diagnostic ◽  
Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay ◽  
Potato Seed ◽  
Fusarium Spp ◽  
Dry Rot ◽  
Diagnostic Assays ◽  
Final Harvest

Specific and sensitive quantitative diagnostics, based on real-time (TaqMan) polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and PCR enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, were developed to detect dry-rot-causing Fusarium spp. (F. avenaceum, F. coeruleum, F. culmorum, and F. sulphureum). Each assay detected Fusarium spp. on potato seed stocks with equal efficiency. Four potato stocks, sampled over two seed generations from Scottish stores, were contaminated with F. avenaceum, F. sulphureum, F. culmorum, F. coeruleum or a combination of species, and there was a general trend towards increased Fusarium spp. contamination in the second generation of seed sampled. F. sulphureum and F. coeruleum caused significantly (P < 0.05) more disease in storage than the other species when disease-free tubers of potato cvs. Spunta and Morene were inoculated at a range of inoculum concentrations (0, 104, 105, and 106 conidia/ml). Increased DNA levels were correlated with increased disease severity between 8 and 12 weeks of storage. The threshold inoculum levels resulting in significant disease development on both cultivars were estimated to be 104 conidia/ml for F. sulphureum and 105 conidia/ml for F. coeruleum. To study the effect of soil infestation and harvest date on disease incidence, seed tubers of cvs. Morene and Spunta were planted in a field plot artificially infested with the four Fusarium spp. F. culmorum and F. sulphureum were detected in soil taken from these plots at harvest, and F. sulphureum DNA levels increased significantly (P < 0.05) at the final harvest. All four Fusarium spp. were detected in progeny tubers. There was a trend toward higher levels of F. culmorum detected in progeny tubers at the earliest harvest date, and higher levels of F. sulphureum at the final harvest. The use of diagnostic assays to detect fungal storage rot pathogens and implications for disease control strategies are discussed.

Unusual endophytic non-enhancing tumour in the renal pelvis: a diagnostic dilemma

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (9) ◽  
pp. e245037
Author(s):  
Murali Krishna ◽  
Santosh Kumar ◽  
Kalpesh Mahesh Parmar ◽  
Venkatesh Dhana Sekaran
Keyword(s):  
Renal Cell ◽  
Cell Cancer ◽  
Diagnostic Techniques ◽  
Molecular Diagnostic ◽  
Molecular Diagnostic Techniques ◽  
Imaging Features ◽  
Diagnostic Dilemma ◽  
Upper Tract Urothelial Cancer ◽  
Cell Variant ◽  
Clear Cell Variant

Renal cell cancer (RCC) is incidentally detected on imaging in 50%–60% of cases. Among the RCCs, clear cell variant is most common and classically seen as heterogenous enhancing lesion on CT imaging. Hypoenhancing mass presents a diagnostic dilemma with differential diagnosis being urothelial carcinoma, fat poor angiomyolipoma, oncocytoma or rarer variants of RCC. Such cases require further evaluation in form of urine cytology or newer molecular diagnostic techniques. Here, we present a case of renal mass with minimal enhancement on CT scan and imaging features suggestive of upper tract urothelial cancer. Final histopathology revealed the mass to be chromophobe variant of renal cell carcinoma.

Diagnosis of melioidosis: the role of molecular techniques

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 271-288
Author(s):  
Ian Gassiep ◽  
Delaney Burnard ◽  
Michelle J Bauer ◽  
Robert E Norton ◽  
Patrick N Harris
Keyword(s):  
Laboratory Diagnosis ◽  
Diagnostic Techniques ◽  
Molecular Techniques ◽  
Molecular Diagnostic ◽  
Clinical Samples ◽  
Molecular Diagnostic Techniques ◽  
Detection And Identification ◽  
Life Years ◽  
Culture Independent ◽  
Future Utility

Melioidosis is an emerging infectious disease with an estimated global burden of 4.64 million disability-adjusted life years per year. A major determinant related to poor disease outcomes is delay to diagnosis due to the fact that identification of the causative agent Burkholderia pseudomallei may be challenging. Over the last 25 years, advances in molecular diagnostic techniques have resulted in the potential for rapid and accurate organism detection and identification direct from clinical samples. While these methods are not yet routine in clinical practice, laboratory diagnosis of infectious diseases is transitioning to culture-independent techniques. This review article aims to evaluate molecular methods for melioidosis diagnosis direct from clinical samples and discuss current and future utility and limitations.

scholarly journals Bacterial and Fungal Endophthalmitis

2017 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 597-613 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marlene L. Durand
Keyword(s):  
Intravitreal Injection ◽  
Systemic Infection ◽  
Visual Outcome ◽  
Diagnostic Techniques ◽  
Medical Emergency ◽  
Molecular Diagnostic ◽  
Endogenous Endophthalmitis ◽  
Molecular Diagnostic Techniques ◽  
Permanent Loss ◽  
Hematogenous Seeding

SUMMARY Endophthalmitis is a severe eye infection that may result in permanent loss of useful vision in the affected eye. Most cases are exogenous and occur as a complication of cataract surgery, an intravitreal injection, or penetrating ocular trauma. Endogenous endophthalmitis results from hematogenous seeding of the eye by bacteria or fungi, but bacteremia or fungemia may be transient and patients may present without symptoms of systemic infection. Nearly all endophthalmitis patients present with decreased vision, and some also have eye pain. Eye examination usually reveals a hypopyon and intraocular inflammation. Diagnosis is clinical, supported by cultures of the vitreous and/or aqueous or by blood cultures in some endogenous cases. Molecular diagnostic techniques have been used in research laboratories for pathogen identification in endophthalmitis and offer the possibility of rapid diagnosis, including in culture-negative cases. Intravitreal injection of antibiotics is the most important component of treatment; some cases also benefit from surgical debridement of the vitreous by a vitrectomy. The visual outcome depends partly on the pathogen: coagulase-negative staphylococcal endophthalmitis has a better prognosis than does streptococcal endophthalmitis, for example. Endophthalmitis is a medical emergency, and prompt diagnosis and treatment are essential for saving vision.

scholarly journals Syndromic versus Laboratory Diagnosis of Sexually Transmitted Infections in Men in Moshi District of Tanzania

2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-7
Author(s):  
Yuwei Cheng ◽  
Elijah Paintsil ◽  
Musie Ghebremichael
Keyword(s):  
Sexually Transmitted Infections ◽  
Laboratory Testing ◽  
High Specificity ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Laboratory Diagnosis ◽  
Receiver Operating Curve ◽  
Sexually Transmitted ◽  
Resource Limited ◽  
Syndromic Diagnosis ◽  
Low Sensitivity

The syndromic diagnosis of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) is widely recognized as the most practical, feasible, and cost-effective diagnostic tool in resource-limited settings. This study assessed the diagnostic accuracy of syndromic versus laboratory testing of STIs among 794 men randomly selected from the Moshi district of Tanzania. Participants were interviewed with a questionnaire that included questions on history of STIs symptoms. Blood and urine samples were taken from the participants for laboratory testing. Only 7.9% of the men reported any symptoms of STI; however, 46% of them tested positive for at least one STI. There was little agreement between syndromic and laboratory-confirmed diagnoses, with low sensitivity (0.4%–7.4%) and high specificity (96%–100%) observed for each individual symptom. The area under the receiver-operating curve was 0.528 (95% CI: 0.505–0.550), indicating that the syndromic approach has a 52.8% probability of correctly identifying STIs in study participants. In conclusion, whenever possible, laboratory diagnosis of STI should be favored over syndromic diagnosis.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document