Results: The total number of deliveries during specimen time was 3004, out of which 110(3.6%) had serum TORCH screening. The main indication for this test was polyhydramnios 62 (56.36%) followed by obstetric cholestasis 20 (18.18%), Intra-uterine fetal demise 6 (5.45%), fetal anomalies 5(4.54%), and deranged liver function tests (LFTs) 2 (1.8%). 15 (13.6%) women had TORCH screening for other indications such as clinical polyhydramnios, increased nuchal translucency (>2.5 mm). cytomegalovirus (CMV) and toxoplasmosis antibodies were tested
in all cases whereas, parvovirus and herpes simplex virus screen were carried out in 4 (12.7%) Selleckchem AR-13324 and 2 (1.8%) patients, respectively. One woman (0.09%) had infection with CMV selleckchem who had TORCH screening carried out for deranged
LFTs. None of these women had positive TORCH screening giving the p value of <0.0001. These women also did not have any associated perinatal or maternal mortality. Conclusions: While the sample size of this study is small to disregard the significance of TORCH test in polyhydramnios, the statistical evaluation shows that this test is not beneficial in women in whom polyhydramnios is an isolated ultrasound finding, especially when it is diagnosed in third trimester.”
“Anabolic androgenic steroids (AASs) are synthetic substances derived from testosterone, whose use in sports is prohibited. This review underlines the advantages and the drawbacks of different coupled mass spectrometry-based approaches to the identification of MS metabolites. We discuss diverse aspects of the applications in the doping-control field, including sample preparation and instrumental analysis, with special emphasis on the potential scope of each strategy. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.”
“OBJECTIVE:
To evaluate LY2090314 the diagnostic yield and time to diagnosis of fine-needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) vs. routine respiratory specimens collected from children with a palpable peripheral lymph node mass and symptoms suspicious of tuberculosis (TB).
DESIGN: We performed a retrospective review of laboratory records at Tygerberg Hospital over a 4-year period from January 2003 to December 2006. All children (aged <13 years) in whom an FNAB and other mycobacterial specimens were collected as part of their diagnostic workup were included.
RESULTS: In 95 children, the following specimens were collected: FNAB (n = 95), gastric aspirates (n = 142), other respiratory specimens (n = 36), non-respiratory specimens (it = 26). Mycobacterial disease was diagnosed in 70 (73.7%) patients. Children without respiratory specimens (n = 6) and/or with Mycobacterium bovis bacille Calmette-Guerin disease (n = 15) were excluded from comparative analysis. In the remainder, FNAB was positive in 45/74 (60.8%) vs. any respiratory specimen in 29/74 (39.2%, P < 0.001). The mean time to bacteriological diagnosis with FNAB was 7.1 days (95% CI 4.2-10.1) compared to 22.5 days (95% CI 15.8-29.1.