The aim of this study was to test the sensitivity and specificity of antigen detection for group B streptococcus (GBS) from the urine of neonates with early onset GBS sepsis. GBS sepsis was defined as early (< 48 hours) signs of sepsis in a neonate colonised with GBS. Neonates of 26 weeks' gestation or more, considered at risk for sepsis, were prospectively investigated for one year. Investigat...

OBJECTIVE To develop optimal search strategies in Medline for retrieving sound clinical studies on the diagnosis of health disorders. DESIGN Analytical survey. SETTING Medline, 2000. PARTICIPANTS 170 journals for 2000 of which 161 were indexed in Medline. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES The sensitivity, specificity, precision ("positive predictive value"), and accuracy of 4862 unique terms in 17,...

The performance of a culture based assay, BacLite Rapid MRSA for the rapid detection (5 hours) of methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) from specimens (n = 377) obtained from nares, throat, wounds and perineum was investigated. Compared to culture based reference methods (chromogenic MRSA ID (bioMerieux)), selective enrichment broth, PBP2' latex agglutination (Oxoid) and VITEK 2 id...

The accuracy of five bedside hearing tests was evaluated in 107 consecutive adults, using pure-tone audiometry as the standard reference. Bedside tests had poor sensitivity (< or =0.60), relatively good specificity (> or =0.74), and variable positive predictive value (0.24 to 1.0) for detecting hearing loss. Sensitivity improved when bedside tests were combined with case history. The diagnostic...

Unselected coagulation testing is widely practiced in the process of assessing bleeding risk prior to surgery. This may delay surgery inappropriately and cause unnecessary concern in patients who are found to have 'abnormal' tests. In addition it is associated with a significant cost. This systematic review was performed to determine whether patient bleeding history and unselected coagulation t...

Qualitative and quantitative serum human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) tests are used to diagnose pregnancy. We assessed physicians' perceptions and compared turnaround times (TATs) and performance characteristics of both tests. We surveyed 1,058 physicians about their perceptions of hCG tests. Seven months of TAT data were analyzed. hCG was measured in all qualitative samples. Pregnancy status ...

BACKGROUND Accuracy of diagnosis is the core for malaria control. Although microscopy is the gold standard in malaria diagnosis, its reliability is largely dependent on user skill. We compared performance of Cyscope fluorescence microscope with the Giemsa stained light microscopy for the diagnosis of malaria among pregnant women at Medani Hospital in Central Sudan. The area is characterized by ...

BACKGROUND Unexplained fatigue is frequently encountered in general practice. Because of the low prior probability of underlying somatic pathology, the positive predictive value of abnormal (blood) test results is limited in such patients. AIM The study objectives were to investigate the relationship between established diagnoses and the occurrence of abnormal blood test results among patient...