The microbiological diagnosis of periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) is crucial for successful antimicrobial treatment. Cultures have limited sensitivity, especially in patients receiving antibiotics. We evaluated the value of multiplex PCR for detection of microbial DNA in sonication fluid from removed orthopedic prostheses. Cases of PJI in which the prosthesis (or part of it) was removed wer...

Recent advances in the study of networked systems have highlighted that our interconnected world is composed of networks that are coupled to each other through different “layers” that each represent one of many possible subsystems or types of interactions. Nevertheless, it is traditional to aggregate multilayer networks into a single weighted network in order to take advantage of existing tools...

BACKGROUND Control of the global burden of tuberculosis is obstructed due to lack of simple, rapid and cost effective diagnostic techniques that can be used in resource poor-settings. To facilitate the early diagnosis of TB directly from clinical specimens, we have standardized and validated the use of nested multiplex PCR, targeting gene fragments IS6110, MTP40 and 32kD α-antigen encoding gene...

BACKGROUND The aim of this study was to develop and validate a multiplex real-time PCR assay for simultaneous identification and toxigenic type characterization of Clostridium difficile. METHODS The multiplex real-time PCR assay targeted and simultaneously detected triose phosphate isomerase (tpi) and binary toxin (cdtA) genes, and toxin A (tcdA) and B (tcdB) genes in the first and sec tubes,...