In a clinical trial, Strep-A-Chek (a 10-min chromogenic test) was compared with the bacitracin disk susceptibility test for accuracy and turnaround time in the presumptive identification of Streptococcus pyogenes. Among 461 isolates of beta-hemolytic streptococci (344 throat isolates and 117 isolates from other sites), 303 group A S. pyogenes isolates were found. The sensitivities of the Strep-...

Long-term fire retardants are used to prevent the spread of wildland fire, but have inadvertently entered aquatic habitats and resulted in fish kills. We examined the toxicity of two fire retardant products; PHOS-CHEK 259F and LC-95A, on Chinook salmon with two different life histories, ocean-type and stream-type, at different stages of their development. Ocean-type Chinook outmigrate to the oc...

INTRODUCTION The objective of this study was to determine whether people with type 1 diabetes are more likely to self-monitor their blood glucose (SMBG) as recommended by their diabetes health care professional using the Accu-Chek Mobile™ (F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG, Basel, Switzerland) monitoring system compared to the Freestyle Optium™ (Abbott, North Chicago, IL, USA). METHODS Thirty-five part...

OBJECTIVE The goal of this work tries to evaluate the utility of the qualitative determination of NMP-22 in the evaluation of the superficial bladder carcinoma in asymptomatic patients, comparing it with its quantitative determination, the cytology and the cystoscopy. MATERIALS AND METHODS A simple of urine just voided was taken in 88 asymptomatic patient follow-up for superficial bladder cel...

BACKGROUND Clostridium difficile infection is considered the most common cause of nosocomial infectious diarrhea among adults in the developed world. It is responsible for virtually all cases of pseudomembranous colitis. The Tox A/B enzyme immunoassay (EIA) is the most widely used test for the detection of C. difficile toxins A and B. However, it is associated with poor sensitivity and an unacc...

BACKGROUND Self-monitoring of blood glucose plays an important role in the management of diabetes and has been shown to improve metabolic control. The use of blood glucose meters in clinical practice requires sufficient reliability to allow adequate treatment. Direct comparison of different blood glucose meters in clinical practice, independent of the manufactures is scarce. We, therefore, aime...

Two commercially available agar slide blood culture systems, Septi-Chek (Roche Diagnostics, Div. Hoffmann-La Roche Inc., Nutley, N.J.) and VACUTAINER agar slant (Becton Dickinson [BD] Vacutainer Systems, Rutherford, N.J.), were compared in 5,628 paired blood cultures from adult patients. The systems were inoculated with equal volumes (5 ml) of blood. There was no statistically significant diffe...

Equal volumes of blood from 4,112 blood cultures were inoculated into one Bactec Peds Plus bottle and one Roche Septi-Chek bottle. There were no significant differences in the recoveries of bloodstream pathogens. Initial detection occurred earlier with Bactec Peds Plus, while growth on solid media occurred earlier with Roche Septi-Chek.

Wildland fire control chemicals are released into the environment by aerial and ground applications to manage rangeland, grassland, and forest fires. Acute oral 24h median lethal dosages (LD50) for three fire retardants (Fire-Trol GTS-R, Phos-Chek D-75F, and Fire-Trol LCG-R) and two Class A fire suppressant foams (Silv-Ex and Phos-Chek WD881) were estimated for northern bobwhites, Colinus virgi...

OBJECTIVE Implementation of strict glucose control in most intensive care units has resulted in increased use of point-of-care glucose devices in the intensive care unit. The aim of this study was to determine the reliability of point-of-care testing glucose meters among critically ill patients under intensive insulin treatment. DESIGN Prospective observational study. PATIENTS Intensive car...