Conventional versus molecular diagnostic tests

Molecular Diagnostic Tests for Microsporidia

The Microsporidia are a ubiquitous group of eukaryotic obligate intracellular parasites which were recognized over 100 years ago with the description of Nosema bombycis, a parasite of silkworms. It is now appreciated that these organisms are related to the Fungi. Microsporidia infect all major animal groups most often as gastrointestinal pathogens; however they have been reported from every tis...

Evaluation and Comparison of Molecular and Conventional Diagnostic Tests for Detecting Tuberculosis in Korea, 2013

OBJECTIVES A fast and accurate diagnosis is necessary to control and eliminate tuberculosis (TB). In Korea, TB continues to be a serious public health problem. In this study, diagnostic tests on clinical samples from patients suspected to have TB were performed and the sensitivity and specificity of the various techniques were compared. The main objective of the study was to compare various dia...

Assessing the Validity of Diagnostic Tests

Diagnostic performance of rapid diagnostic tests versus blood smears for malaria in US clinical practice.

BACKGROUND Approximately 4 million US travelers to developing countries are ill enough to seek health care, with 1500 malaria cases reported in the United States annually. The diagnosis of malaria is frequently delayed because of the time required to prepare malaria blood films and lack of technical expertise. An easy, reliable rapid diagnostic test (RDT) with high sensitivity and negative pred...

Diagnostic Ability of Conventional Dry Eye Tests and their Correlation with Ocular Surface Temperature

Objective: To study the diagnostic ability of conventional dry eye tests and their correlation with ocular surface temperature (OST) and derive the best combined objective tests for dry eye. Methods: This was a single visit study included a few conventional dry eye tests on 62 dry eye and 82 control subjects: symptom evaluation, fluorescein break-up time (FBUT), corneal epithelial staining (CES...