BACKGROUND Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP) is defined as an ascitic fluid infection without an evident intra-abdominal surgically treatable source. Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP) is one of the severe complications in patients with cirrhosis and ascites. Without early antibiotic treatment, this complication is associated with high mortality rate, so early diagnosis and treatment...

We studied a dipstick assay for the detection of Leptospira-specific immunoglobulin M (IgM) antibodies in human serum samples. A high degree of concordance was observed between the results of the dipstick assay and an IgM enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Application of the dipstick assay for the detection of acute leptospirosis enabled the accurate identification, early in the disease...

We evaluated antigen detection kits for human rotavirus with regard to their usefulness for diagnosing equine rotavirus infection. Limiting dilution analyses showed that of the seven kits investigated the Dipstick `Eiken' Rota (Dipstick) had the highest sensitivity to two serotypes of equine rotavirus. The Dipstick did not cross-react with several equine intestinal pathogens. An investigation u...

Introduction: There is a lack of evidence supporting the routine use of laboratory tests to detect bladder cancer. Identifying a cost-effective and widely available diagnostic aid may improve bladder cancer outcomes. We sought to evaluate the utility of dipstick urinalysis to detect microhematuria and diagnose bladder cancer in a large, diverse, contemporary cohort. Methods: All non-pregnant wo...

Current zoonotic visceral leishmaniasis (ZVL) control programs in Brazil include the culling of Leishmania infantum-infected reservoir dogs, a strategy that has failed to prevent a rise of canine and human ZVL cases over the past decade. One of the main reasons this strategy has failed is because of a long delay between sample collection, sample analysis, and control implementation. A rapid, se...

Culture and serology were performed on blood and serum samples collected at or shortly after admission from 473 patients presented with suspected clinical typhoid. Clinical symptoms at first presentation including confusion, hepatomegaly, splenomegaly, abdominal pain, anemia, and gastrointestinal bleeding were non-specific as they were observed even more often in non-typhoid patients. Culture c...