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Archives of Razi Institute Feb 2023Brucellosis is endemic in Iraq, and annual surveys using advanced diagnostic assays are needed. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of human brucellosis in...
Brucellosis is endemic in Iraq, and annual surveys using advanced diagnostic assays are needed. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of human brucellosis in rural areas in Wasit province using ELISA and PCR. A total of 276 serum samples were randomly obtained from participants from rural areas in the Wasit province. The results showed that out of 276 serum samples tested by ELISA, 30.07% were positive. Significantly, mild infection was increased compared to moderate, severe and highly severe infections. To confirm the species of , seropositive samples were tested by PCR assay targeting the gene for spp. and the gene for and . Molecular findings confirmed 30.12% positive samples to spp., including 28% and 44% positives to and , respectively, whereas 28% positive samples to other undifferentiated species of . Association between seropositivity and demographic risk factors, age and gender, were reported to be significantly higher among individuals aged 21-40 (41.91%) and lowered among those aged ≤20 years (13.56%). For gender, a high nominal positivity rate was detected in females (36.07%) than in males (28.37%). Association between the degree of severity of the infection and demographic risk factors recorded that mild infection (75%) was increased among individuals of ≤20 years, while moderate and severe infections were elevated significantly in groups of 21-40 and 41-60 years. The highly severe infections appeared in those aged 21-40 years (15.91%). Regarding gender, mild and moderate infections were elevated significantly in males; whereas severe and highly severe infections were increased significantly in females. In conclusion, this study is the first random epidemiological study investigating the prevalence of human brucellosis in rural areas in Iraq. Undifferentiated species of were detected in PCR-positive results. The incorporation of molecular techniques for the diagnosis will help resolve the genus and detection the primary sources that play roles in the transmission of infection.
Topics: Female; Humans; Male; Brucellosis; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; Iraq; Polymerase Chain Reaction; Young Adult; Adult
PubMed: 37312709
DOI: 10.22092/ARI.2022.359002.2352 -
Frontiers in Immunology 2022The aim of this study is to investigate the clinical significance of myeloperoxidase (MPO)-antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA) on eosinophilic granulomatosis with...
OBJECTIVES
The aim of this study is to investigate the clinical significance of myeloperoxidase (MPO)-antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA) on eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (EGPA) from a longitudinal Chinese cohort.
METHODS
A total of 120 patients with EGPA were consecutively enrolled and followed up. Two patients with PR3 ANCA was excluded and our analysis focused on the 118 patients with EGPA. On the basis of MPO-ANCA status, baseline clinical manifestations, treatment, and outcomes were analyzed. Logistic regression analysis was performed to analyze the independently associated factors for renal involvement.
RESULTS
ANCA positivity was observed in 24.2% of patients with EGPA. Patients with MPO-ANCA accounted for 20.8%. Patients with positive MPO-ANCA had higher levels of erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), C-reactive protein, Birmingham Vasculitis Activity Score (BVAS), higher ratios of fever, myalgia, renal involvement, and biopsy-proven vasculitis. Heart manifestations and asthma were more common in patients with negative ANCA. Baseline MPO-ANCA titers positively correlated with ESR, eosinophil count, and BVAS and were higher in patients with methylprednisolone pulse. Among patients with renal involvement, patients with positive MPO-ANCA had higher proportions of female, fever, biopsy-proven vasculitis, and faster ESR; patients with negative ANCA developed more skin and cardiac involvement. MPO-ANCA positivity, male, and ear involvement were the independent factors associated with renal involvement. Intravenous cyclophosphamide and immunoglobulins were prescribed more frequently in patients with positive MPO-ANCA.
CONCLUSION
In this cohort, patients with positive MPO-ANCA and negative ANCA displayed distinct clinical features, suggesting that MPO-ANCA might be a valuable biomarker for EGPA stratification. Baseline MPO-ANCA level correlated positively with disease activity of EGPA. MPO-ANCA was a significant independent factor associated with renal involvement.
Topics: Antibodies, Antineutrophil Cytoplasmic; China; Churg-Strauss Syndrome; Female; Granulomatosis with Polyangiitis; Humans; Male; Peroxidase
PubMed: 35833130
DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.885198 -
Psychology Research and Behavior... 2018Positivity refers to "a general tendency to view life and experiences with a positive outlook". Enhanced positivity has been linked with decreased negative affect and...
BACKGROUND
Positivity refers to "a general tendency to view life and experiences with a positive outlook". Enhanced positivity has been linked with decreased negative affect and increased positive affect, but rather little is known about the factors that mediate these relationships. One potential such factor is perceived stress, which refers to how one appraises life situations as stressful. This study examined the mediating effects of perceived stress on the associations of positivity with negative and positive affect. Two hypotheses were tested: 1) positivity is negatively associated with perceived stress, which in turn is positively associated with negative affect, and 2) positivity is negatively associated with perceived stress, which in turn is negatively associated with positive affect.
METHODS
An online survey was conducted with 100 Japanese men and 100 Japanese women who were members of a survey company in January 2018. They completed questionnaires on positivity, perceived stress, and negative and positive affect. All survey procedures were managed and conducted by a web-survey company.
RESULTS
Mediation analyses indicated that perceived stress was a mediator in the relationship between positivity and negative affect. Perceived stress was also found to be a mediator in the relationship between positivity and positive affect.
CONCLUSION
Positivity was found to be associated with negative affect and positive affect via perceived stress.
PubMed: 30123012
DOI: 10.2147/PRBM.S164761 -
Oral Diseases Nov 2022To evaluate the proportion of COVID-19 infections among a population of Italian Dental workers across different geographical area of Italy and to analyze the impact of...
OBJECTIVES
To evaluate the proportion of COVID-19 infections among a population of Italian Dental workers across different geographical area of Italy and to analyze the impact of both the preventive measures/strategies adopted and the psychological influences.
SUBJECTS AND METHODS
The current cross-sectional survey was administered with a web-based form. To be eligible for the study, participants had to be 18 years and being dentists or dental hygienists members of the Italian Society of Periodontology and Implantology (SIdP). A 23-item questionnaire concerning positiveness to COVID-19, clinical strategies and psychological attitude within the pandemic was administered. Sub-group analysis was conducted according to geographical macro-area.
RESULTS
A total of 790 dentists and dental hygienists were included. A total of 4.7% participants developed a positive diagnosis to COVID-19. The Northwest of Italy experienced almost double of COVID-19-positive participants (p < 0.05). Preoperatory mouthwashes together with natural air change/ventilation were the most frequent approaches used to prevent COVID-19 outbreak. Positive and proactive attitudes were predominant among participants. Only a reduced proportion feels some concerns for the future.
CONCLUSIONS
Prevalence of positive COVID-19 among dental workers in Italy was double in Northwest area in comparison with the whole country proportion. Preventive strategies comprise mainly ultrasound reduction and preoperative mouthwashes.
Topics: Humans; COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; Cross-Sectional Studies; Mouthwashes; Surveys and Questionnaires; Italy
PubMed: 34553812
DOI: 10.1111/odi.14027 -
African Journal of Laboratory Medicine 2015In order to scale up access to HIV counselling and testing in Nigeria, an HIV diagnostic algorithm based on rapid testing was adopted. However, there was the need to...
BACKGROUND
In order to scale up access to HIV counselling and testing in Nigeria, an HIV diagnostic algorithm based on rapid testing was adopted. However, there was the need to further evaluate the testing strategy in order to better assess its performance, because of the potential for false positivity.
OBJECTIVES
The objective of this study was to compare positive HIV test results obtained from the approved rapid testing algorithm with results from western blot tests performed on samples from the same patient.
METHODOLOGY
A retrospective review was conducted of HIV screening and confirmatory results for patients seen between 2007 and 2008. Rapid test and western blot results were extracted and compared for concordance. Discordant results were further reviewed using a combination of HIV-1 RNA viral load and CD4+ cell count test results and clinical presentation from medical records.
RESULTS
Analysis of 2228 western blot results showed that 98.3% ( = 2191) were positive for HIV-1, 0.4% ( = 8) were positive for HIV-2 and 0.3% ( = 7) were dual infections (positive for both HIV-1 and HIV-2); 0.6% ( = 13) were indeterminate and 0.4% ( = 9) were negative. Further investigation of the 13 indeterminate results showed nine to be HIV-1 positive and four to be HIV-negative, for a total of 13 negative results. The positive predictive value of the HIV counselling and testing algorithm was 99.4%.
CONCLUSION
Using the rapid testing algorithm alone, false positives were detected. Therefore, effective measures such as training and retraining of staff should be prioritised in order to minimise false-positive diagnoses and the associated potential for long-term psychological and financial impact on the patients.
PubMed: 38440311
DOI: 10.4102/ajlm.v4i1.178 -
PloS One 2019Whether mindfulness and emotional intelligence may counteract psychological symptoms and whether brooding and worry may be linked to decreased psychological well-being...
BACKGROUND
Whether mindfulness and emotional intelligence may counteract psychological symptoms and whether brooding and worry may be linked to decreased psychological well-being (PWB) in individuals with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is still an issue.
METHODS
The study used a cross-sectional design on a sample of 66 consecutive individuals with a diagnosis of GAD. Two hierarchical multiple regressions were conducted to determine whether PWB and anxiety symptoms were accounted for by mindfulness and emotional intelligence skills, brooding, and worry.
RESULTS
Worry was negatively related to PWB and showed a tendency to be positively associated with anxiety symptoms after controlling for the other variables. Brooding was uniquely and positively related to anxiety symptoms. Different mindfulness (i.e., describing and nonjudging) and emotional intelligence (i.e., attention and repair) skills were particularly important for PWB. Repair was also negatively related to anxiety symptoms.
CONCLUSIONS
Repair was the variable that played a key role in the association with both PWB and GAD symptoms. Worry was the second most important variable, although it approached significance in the relationship with anxiety symptoms. Brooding was more strongly positively associated with anxiety than worry. In sum, the results suggest that an integrated and balanced focus on both positive and negative functioning will be useful in future clinical psychology research to predict, understand, and treat anxiety as well as to examine the antecedents and characteristics of positivity in individuals with GAD and promote their PWB.
Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Anxiety Disorders; Attention; Cross-Sectional Studies; Depression; Female; Humans; Intelligence; Male; Middle Aged; Mindfulness; Psychometrics; Young Adult
PubMed: 31774860
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0225646 -
European Radiology Dec 2021To analyze the association between radiologists' performance and image position within a batch in screen reading of mammograms in Norway.
OBJECTIVE
To analyze the association between radiologists' performance and image position within a batch in screen reading of mammograms in Norway.
METHOD
We described true and false positives and true and false negatives by groups of image positions and batch sizes for 2,937,312 screen readings performed from 2012 to 2018. Mixed-effects models were used to obtain adjusted proportions of true and false positive, true and false negative, sensitivity, and specificity for different image positions. We adjusted for time of day and weekday and included the individual variation between the radiologists as random effects. Time spent reading was included in an additional model to explore a possible mediation effect.
RESULT
True and false positives were negatively associated with image position within the batch, while the rates of true and false negatives were positively associated. In the adjusted analyses, the rate of true positives was 4.0 per 1000 (95% CI: 3.8-4.2) readings for image position 10 and 3.9 (95% CI: 3.7-4.1) for image position 60. The rate of true negatives was 94.4% (95% CI: 94.0-94.8) for image position 10 and 94.8% (95% CI: 94.4-95.2) for image position 60. Per 1000 readings, the rate of false negative was 0.60 (95% CI: 0.53-0.67) for image position 10 and 0.62 (95% CI: 0.55-0.69) for image position 60.
CONCLUSION
There was a decrease in the radiologists' sensitivity throughout the batch, and although this effect was small, our results may be clinically relevant at a population level or when multiplying the differences with the number of screen readings for the individual radiologists.
KEY POINTS
• True and false positive reading scores were negatively associated with image position within a batch. • A decreasing trend of positive scores indicated a beneficial effect of a certain number of screen readings within a batch. • False negative scores increased throughout the batch but the association was not statistically significant.
Topics: Breast Neoplasms; Early Detection of Cancer; Female; Humans; Mammography; Mass Screening; Norway; Radiologists; Sensitivity and Specificity
PubMed: 34110427
DOI: 10.1007/s00330-021-08010-9 -
China CDC Weekly Feb 2022Repeat positive severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) following COVID-19 initial viral clearance (re-positivity) poses a public health management...
INTRODUCTION
Repeat positive severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) following COVID-19 initial viral clearance (re-positivity) poses a public health management challenge. The objective was to determine factors associated with neutralizing antibody (Nab) level and re-positivity among patients infected with a single strain SARS-CoV-2.
METHODS
During a single strain SARS-CoV-2 cluster in Beijing, China, longitudinal individual clinical, virological, and immunological data were collected from 368 infections from June 13 to September 22, 2020. Factors associated with Nab level and re-positivity were analyzed using generalized estimating equations.
RESULTS
A total of 353 (96%) SARS-CoV-2 infections had demographic, clinical, and laboratory data available. Among the 353 infections, 55 (15.5%) were re-positive, and blood draws were taken from 346 individuals (98.0%) during hospitalization and/or during the follow-up period. Symptoms were milder for the second-time admission for the re-positives, although 36.4% of re-positives presented with radiographic appearance of pneumonia manifestation. Compared to non-re-positive patients, NAb titers were lower among re-positives; NAb was positively associated with clinical severity. Samples from the lower respiratory tract manifested higher viral load than that from the upper respiratory tract. Multivariable analysis showed re-positivity was positively associated with being female [odd ratio (OR)=1.7, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.1-2.8] and being aged <18 years (OR=5.2, 95% CI 1.5-18.1); having initially asymptomatic infection (OR=13.7, 95% CI 1.6-116.3); and negatively associated with a higher NAb level (OR=0.9, 95% CI 0.5-1.7).
CONCLUSIONS
NAb may be important for sustained viral clearance. Lower respiratory tract infection was associated with higher viral load among all infections when compared to upper respiratory tract infection. Continuous lower respiratory and intermittent upper respiratory viral shedding among COVID-19 infections may occur.
PubMed: 35186376
DOI: 10.46234/ccdcw2022.017 -
BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine 2022Provide a robust framework to provide a safe environment for return to training and competition of the US national soccer teams following domestic and international...
OBJECTIVES
Provide a robust framework to provide a safe environment for return to training and competition of the US national soccer teams following domestic and international travel.
METHODS
US Soccer COVID-19 working group created a return to play manual for its national teams, prescribing discrete phases to return to training and competition. This was underpinned by strict health and safety and travel protocols for specific venues and persons. This was complemented by an aggressive testing cadence and isolation policies for delegations (players, internal and external support staff). Between September 2020 and April 2021, there were nine events for males and females at the youth, senior and Paralympic level, with international opponents hosted domestically.
RESULTS
In total, 6590 point of care (POC) (n=1810) and PCR (n=4780) tests combined were run. Overall positivity rate for players and staff in male events of 0.10% (n=2) and 0.00% (n=0) for females were recorded. Staff positivity rate was 0.14% overall, and external vendors 0.10%. Total POC and PCR positives in male events (n=2) occurred either the day of arrival or the following day.
CONCLUSION
The implementation of strictly adhered to protocols and testing cadences yielded low positivity rates within team delegations. By comparison, initial league-wide COVID-19 testing in mid-2020 in other sports reported league-wide positivity rates of 2.9% (National Football League), 2.7% (Major League Soccer) and 5.3% (National Basketball Association). The English Premier League reported an increase in positivity rate in early 2021 from 1.22% to 1.74%.With the implementation of regimented protocols and stringent testing, it is possible to hold elite-level international sporting competitions involving long-haul travel while ensuring continued safety during a global pandemic.
PubMed: 35441037
DOI: 10.1136/bmjsem-2021-001295 -
Open Forum Infectious Diseases Feb 2021is the leading health care-associated pathogen, but clinicians lack a test that can reliably differentiate colonization from infection. Health care costs attributed to...
BACKGROUND
is the leading health care-associated pathogen, but clinicians lack a test that can reliably differentiate colonization from infection. Health care costs attributed to are substantial, but the economic burden associated with false positives is poorly understood.
METHODS
A propensity score matching model for cost per hospitalization was developed to estimate the costs of both true infection and false positives. Predictors of positivity used to estimate the propensity score were age, Charlson comorbidity index, white cell count, and creatinine. We used polymerase chain reaction (PCR) cycle threshold to identify and compare 3 groups: (1) true infection, (2) colonization, and (3) negative.
RESULTS
A positive test was associated with $3018 higher unadjusted hospital cost. Among the 3 comparisons made with propensity-matched negative controls (all positives [+$179; = .934], true positives [-$1892; = .100], and colonized positives), only colonization was associated with significantly increased (+$3418; = .012) cost. Differences in lengths of stay (all positives 0 days, = .126; true 0 days, = .919; colonized 1 day, = .019) appeared to underly cost differences.
CONCLUSIONS
In the first cost analysis to utilize PCR cycle threshold to differentiate colonization, we found high propensity-matched hospital costs associated with colonized but not true positives. This unexpected finding may be due to misdiagnosis of non- diarrhea or unadjusted factors associated with colonization.
PubMed: 33575420
DOI: 10.1093/ofid/ofaa630