BACKGROUND Introduction of GeneXpert MTB/RIF (Xpert) assay has constituted a major breakthrough for tuberculosis (TB) diagnostics. Several patient factors may influence diagnostic performance of Xpert including sputum quality. OBJECTIVE We carried out a prospective, observational, cross-sectional study to determine the effect of sputum quality on diagnostic performance of Xpert among presumed...

Throat swab (TS) cultures were performed for 1,011 patients with melioidosis and 3,524 healthy subjects or patients with other diseases. The specificity of TS culture for the diagnosis of melioidosis was 100%, and the overall sensitivity was 36% (24% for sputum-negative patients and 79% for sputum-positive patients). Direct plating of the TS specimen on Ashdown's medium was rapid (colonies were...

The purpose of this study was to assess: 1) the percentage of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients with suspected Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP) but unable to undergo the induced sputum procedure, together with the reasons involved; 2) the sensitivity and specificity of induced sputum procedure, using conventional stains and an immunofluorescence test; and 3) the cost of i...

spirometry has been used as a common diagnostic test in asthma. most of the patients with a mild asthma have a fev1 within normal range. hence, other diagnostic methods are usually used. the aim of this study was to evaluate whether eosinophil cationic protein (ecp) could be an accurate diagnostic marker of mild asthma. in this study diagnosis of asthma was made according to internationally acc...

BACKGROUND : Serum and sputum eosinophil cationic protein (ECP) levels are correlated with asthma disease severity. OBJECTIVE : To establish a diagnostic accuracy of ECP and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) in serum (indirectly) and sputum (directly) as inflammatory markers in asthma. PATIENTS AND METHODS : In a cross sectional study, 76 asthmatic patients with exacerbation were enrolled in the ...

We carried out a follow-up cohort study of 260 smear-positive patients [178 on directly observed treatment, short-course (DOTS); 82 on non-DOTS] over a 2-year period to evaluate the efficacy of the DOTS strategy in treatment of tuberculosis (TB). All the patients had had cough for > 3 weeks; 91.9% had fever, 60.8% of them with sputum; and 27.7% had a positive family history. The rate of treatme...

STUDY OBJECTIVES Neutrophilic inflammation is a major feature of COPD. Induced sputum is increasingly used to monitor inflammatory airway diseases. Although short-term repeatability of selected sputum markers has been extensively studied in several populations, data on the long-term repeatability of induced sputum markers in stable COPD are scant. DESIGN Sputum supernatant of 12 patients with...

INTRODUCTION Sputum colour is associated with neutrophilic inflammation in chronic bronchitis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Neutrophilia and sputum expectoration is notable in asthma, but whether sputum colour is associated with and predicts the presence of neutrophilic inflammation in asthma is unknown. The objective of the study is to assess the ability of sputum colour in...

BACKGROUND Previous studies suggest that bronchoscopy and a single induced sputum sample are equally effective for diagnosing pulmonary tuberculosis. METHODS In a prospective study of subjects with possibly active pulmonary tuberculosis, the diagnostic yield of three induced sputum tests was compared with that of bronchoscopy. Subjects either produced no sputum or (acid fast) smear negative s...