BACKGROUND Most quantitative tests do not perfectly discriminate between subjects with and without a given disease and their results do not always allow certainty about disease status for diagnostic or screening purposes. We propose a method to construct a three-zone partition for quantitative tests to avoid the binary constraint of a 'black or white' decision that often does not fit the realit...

We describe the implementation of a mandatory tuberculosis (TB) screening program that uses symptom screening and tuberculin skin testing in homeless shelters. We used the results of DNA fingerprinting of Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates to evaluate the effect of the program on TB incidence and transmission. After the program was implemented, the proportion of cases among homeless persons de...

This investigation examined the theoretical and practical parameters requisite to preparatory istachophoretic separation of blastomycin purified derivative. It resulted in a relatively simple, two-step procedure for preparation of blastomycin antigens in milligram quantitites that exhibited sensitivity and specificity in experimentally infected guinea pigs. Analysis of the nine isotachophoretic...

OBJECTIVE A double-blind, placebo-controlled study was performed with 37 patients to assess the efficacy as well as the safety of short-term pre-seasonal subcutaneous immunotherapy (SCIT) with a six-grass pollen allergoid for one year. RESULTS After one pre-seasonal treatment cycle there are significant differences between the groups in favour of active treatment. On a "1-10" visual rating sc...

BACKGROUND Immediate hypersensitivity to corticosteroids is reported to occur with an incidence of 0.1%. The largest previous case series reporting corticosteroid skin testing has seven patients. METHODS AND PATIENTS We identified 23 patients (mean age 50 years, 65% female) from Auckland City Hospital who underwent skin testing (ST) for suspected corticosteroid hypersensitivity between July 2...

Background Skin Prick Testing has long been considered the standard for detecting sensitization to inhalent Allergens. However, in vitro testing for specific IgE is also common practice. Various studies have shown that these two methods are equal in sensitivity and specificity, while others have indicated that in vitro testing is less sensitive. This study was performed to compare in vitro Immu...

This study supports the conclusion that the described image analysis method is useful in the evaluation of skin roughness.

BACKGROUND Elective penicillin skin testing in advance of acute antibiotic need and amoxicillin challenge in patients with negative skin test responses have not been evaluated. METHODS I reviewed 236 patients previously entered in a study of new penicillin reagents who received at least 1 prescription drug over a 2-year period. Antibiotic use, outpatient visit rate, and adverse reactions to a...