Paper-based diagnostics offer a promising alternative to traditional diagnostic methods for point-of-care use due their low cost, ease of use, portability, rapid results, versatility, and environmental impact. While paper-based serology tests in the form lateral flow assays can provide test results past pathogen exposure, they currently lack accuracy sensitivity offered by molecular such as pol...

The coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19), a nightmare this century, has become an ongoing global health emergency for the entire world. This dreadful is believed to have originated from China and now spread worldwide. To date, more than 170 million people been found affected by virus, namely “severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2” (SARS-CoV-2). With exponential increase in patients ...

OBJECTIVES To examine whether the rapid increase of gonorrhoea notifications in Victoria, Australia, identified by nucleic acid amplification test (NAAT) is supported by similar changes in diagnoses by culture, which has higher specificity, and to determine the proportion of tests positive among women tested. DESIGN, SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS Retrospective analysis of Medicare reporting of dua...

OBJECTIVE To determine the prevalence and risk factors for Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) infection in pregnant women and the rate of transmission of CT to infants. METHODS Pregnant women (≥28 weeks gestation) in Vellore, South India were approached for enrollment from April 2009 to January 2010. After informed consent was obtained, women completed a socio-demographic, prenatal, and sexual histor...

Abstract Background Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) is a spore-forming anaerobic Gram-positive bacillus and the leading cause of nosocomial infectious diarrhea. 2017 IDSA/SHEA C. guidelines recommend multistep algorithm approach for CDI diagnosis. This entails stool testing via enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (EIA) glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH) toxins A/B (Tox). Discordant samples ar...

Nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs) are recommended for the diagnosis of N. gonorrhoeae infections because of their superior sensitivity. Increasing NAAT use causes a decline in crucial antimicrobial resistance (AMR) surveillance data, which rely on culture. We analyzed the suitability of the ESwab system for NAAT diagnostics and deferred targeted N. gonorrhoeae culture to allow selective ...

BACKGROUND Recent studies have shown the public health importance of identifying acute HIV infection (AHI) in the men who have sex with men (MSM) of China, which has a much higher risk of HIV transmission. However, cost-utility analyses to guide policy around AHI screening are lacking. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS An open prospective cohort was recruited among MSM living in Liaoning Provinc...

OBJECTIVES To estimate the costs and benefits of clinical pathways incorporating a point of care (POC) nucleic acid amplification test (NAAT) for chlamydia and gonorrhoea in genitourinary medicine (GUM) clinics compared with standard off-site laboratory testing. METHOD We simulated 1.2 million GUM clinic attendees in England. A simulation in Microsoft Excel was developed to compare existing s...

OBJECTIVES We aimed to explore patient pathways using a chlamydia/gonorrhoea point-of-care (POC) nucleic acid amplification test (NAAT), and estimate and compare the costs of the proposed POC pathways with the current pathways using standard laboratory-based NAAT testing. DESIGN/PARTICIPANTS Workshops were conducted with healthcare professionals at four sexual health clinics representing dive...

BACKGROUND Highly sensitive, commercial nucleic acid amplification tests (NAAT) for Trichomonas vaginalis have only recently been recommended for use in the UK. While testing for T. vaginalis is routine in symptomatic women attending genitourinary medicine (GUM) clinics, it is rare in asymptomatic women or those attending primary care. The aim of this study was to evaluate the positivity of T. ...