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Am J Case Rep 2022 Jun 26;23:e935921. Epub 2022 Jun 26.

Translational Medicine Research Center, Faculty of Medicine, Prince of Songkla University, Hatyai, Songkhla, Thailand.

BACKGROUND Juvenile hyaline fibromatosis is a rare autosomal recessive disorder with unknown prevalence characterized by abnormal development of hyalinized fibrous tissue usually in the skin, mucosa, bone, and often the internal organs. Here, we report the case of a 7-year-old girl from a family with ANTXR2 mutation confirming JHF. CASE REPORT The girl presented with multiple painless soft-tissue swellings affecting the ears, forehead, and scalp. Read More

Biomater Res 2022 Jun 25;26(1):27. Epub 2022 Jun 25.

Department of Biotechnology, The Catholic University of Korea, 43 Jibong-ro, Wonmi-gu, Bucheon-si, Gyeonggi do, 14662, Republic of Korea.

Background: Computed tomography (CT) imaging has been widely used for the diagnosis and surveillance of diseases. Although CT is attracting attention due to its reasonable price, short scan time, and excellent diagnostic ability, there are severe drawbacks of conventional CT contrast agents, such as low sensitivity, serious toxicity, and complicated synthesis process. Herein, we describe iodine-doped carbon dots (IDC) for enhancing the abilities of CT contrast agents. Read More

Best Pract Res Clin Rheumatol 2022 Jun 22:101764. Epub 2022 Jun 22.

Department of Neurology, Amsterdam University Medical Centers, Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Electronic address:

Idiopathic inflammatory myopathies are a heterogeneous set of systemic inflammatory disorders primarily affecting muscle. Signs and symptoms vary greatly between and within subtypes, requiring supportive laboratory and pathologic evidence to confirm the diagnosis. Several studies are typical assessments for patients with suspected inflammatory myopathy, including muscle enzymes, autoimmune markers, imaging, and muscle biopsy. Read More

Neuroimage Clin 2022 Jun 17;35:103090. Epub 2022 Jun 17.

Psychosomatic Medicine, Department of Neurology, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Switzerland. Electronic address:

Background: Patients suffering from functional neurological disorder (FND) experience disabling neurological symptoms not caused by an underlying classical neurological disease (such as stroke or multiple sclerosis). The diagnosis is made based on reliable positive clinical signs, but clinicians often require additional time- and cost consuming medical tests and examinations. Resting-state functional connectivity (RS FC) showed its potential as an imaging-based adjunctive biomarker to help distinguish patients from healthy controls and could represent a "rule-in" procedure to assist in the diagnostic process. Read More

Comput Biol Med 2022 Jul 21;146:105571. Epub 2022 May 21.

Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, Chicago, USA.

Background: COVLIAS 1.0: an automated lung segmentation was designed for COVID-19 diagnosis. It has issues related to storage space and speed. Read More

Malar J 2022 Jun 24;21(1):201. Epub 2022 Jun 24.

Division of Parasitic Diseases and Malaria, Center for Global Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, 30029, USA.

Rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) detecting Plasmodium falciparum histidine-rich protein 2 (HRP2) have been an important tool for malaria diagnosis, especially in resource-limited settings lacking quality microscopy. Plasmodium falciparum parasites with deletion of the pfhrp2 gene encoding this antigen have now been identified in dozens of countries across Asia, Africa, and South America, with new reports revealing a high prevalence of deletions in some selected regions. To determine whether HRP2-based RDTs are appropriate for continued use in a locality, focused surveys and/or surveillance activities of the endemic P. Read More

J Virol Methods 2022 Jun 21;307:114571. Epub 2022 Jun 21.

Pathogen Research Laboratory, Division of Virology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa; Division of Virology, National Health Laboratory Service, Bloemfontein, South Africa. Electronic address:

Serological assays for detection of IgG, IgM or IgA against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) play an important role in surveillance, antibody persistence, vaccine coverage and infection rate. Serological assays, including both ELISA and rapid lateral flow assays, are available commercially but the cost limits their accessibility for low resource countries. Although serological assays based on mammalian-expressed SARS-CoV-2 spike protein have been previously described these assays need to be validated using samples from local populations within the continent, or country, in which they will be used. Read More

Int J Surg Case Rep 2022 Jun 20;96:107328. Epub 2022 Jun 20.

Department of General Surgery, Jendouba Hospital, Tunisia; Faculty of Medicine of Tunis, Tunis El Manar University, Tunis, Tunisia.

Introduction And Importance: Hiatal hernia (HH) contents commonly include stomach, transverse colon, small intestine, and spleen but herniation of the pancreas is an extremely rare phenomenon, even rarer when HH is associated with acute pancreatitis.

Case Presentation: A 56-year-old female with hypertension and gastroesophageal reflux disease presented with abdominal pain, vomiting and chest discomfort evolving for 24 h. Physical examination revealed left-upper quadrant tenderness without guarding. Read More

Cancer Cytopathol 2022 Jun 24. Epub 2022 Jun 24.

Department of Pathology, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.

Background: The burden of the COVID-19 pandemic is often enumerated in lives lost, but the strain on health care resources and mobility limitations contributed to the burden of non-COVID related disease. In this study, we evaluated the impact of the pandemic through a time series review of cytology samples.

Methods: Pathology reports for all cytology specimens received from January 2019 through April 2021 at our institution were reviewed. Read More

Diagn Interv Radiol 2022 May;28(3):275-284

Department of Nuclear Medicine, Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India.

PURPOSE The aim of the study was to radiolabel, characterize, and perform in vitro and in vivo assessment of Technetium-99m (Tc-99m) tamoxifen for screening ER expressing lesions in breast cancer patients. METHODS In this study, tamoxifen has been radiolabeled with Tc-99m via Tc-99m-tricarbonyl core. The characterization and quality control tests of Tc-99m-tamoxifen were performed. Read More

Biomark Med 2022 Jun 24. Epub 2022 Jun 24.

The Department of Internal Medicine, The Division of Endocrinology & Metabolism, Uşak University School of Medicine, Uşak, 64200, Turkey.

To evaluate systemic inflammatory parameters derived from hematological parameters in the diagnosis and prognosis of subacute thyroiditis (SAT). Demographic and laboratory data of 170 patients with SAT and 91 healthy control subjects were analysed retrospectively. The authors compared inflammatory parameters and thyroid function tests between SAT and control groups. Read More

Front Oncol 2022 7;12:915418. Epub 2022 Jun 7.

State Key Laboratory for Biocontrol, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Functional Genes, Key Laboratory of Gene Engineering of the Ministry of Education, Department of Biochemistry, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.

In addition to liquid-based cytology (LBC) and HR HPV testing, p16/ki-67 dual-staining is another method for cervical cancer screening. The combination of any two methods can improve the accuracy of screening, but some cervical lesions are still missed or misdiagnosed. In this retrospective study, the significance of LBC, HR HPV testing and especially p16/ki-67 dual-staining in cervical lesion screening was evaluated with reference to histological diagnosis. Read More

EClinicalMedicine 2022 Jul 4;49:101478. Epub 2022 Jun 4.

Clinical Research Department, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London WC1E 7HT, UK.

Background: Development and evaluation of diagnostics for diseases of epidemic potential are often funded during epidemics, but not afterwards, leaving countries unprepared for the next epidemic. United Nations Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) partnered with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to address this important gap by investing in an advance purchase commitment (APC) mechanism to accelerate the development and evaluation of Zika rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) for case detection and surveillance. This paper describes the performance evaluation of five Zika RDTs eligible for procurement. Read More

Pathogens 2022 Jun 20;11(6). Epub 2022 Jun 20.

DSI-NRF Centre of Excellence for Biomedical Tuberculosis Research, South African Medical Research Council Centre for Tuberculosis Research, Division of Molecular Biology and Human Genetics, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, P.O. Box 241, Cape Town 8000, South Africa.

Since certain complex (MTBC) members, such as , are endemic in specific South African wildlife reserves and zoos, cases of clinically important nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) in wildlife may be neglected. Additionally, due to the inability of tests to differentiate between the host responses to MTBC and NTM, the diagnosis of MTBC may be confounded by the presence of NTMs. This may hinder control efforts. Read More

Pathogens 2022 Jun 8;11(6). Epub 2022 Jun 8.

Parasitology-Mycology, University Hospital and Grenoble-Alpes University, 38043 Grenoble, France.

The high sensitivity of the automated tests used for serology can yield false-positive IgM results due to aspecific reactions. On the other hand, specific therapy can delay IgG production and, therefore, the diagnosis of seroconversion. There is a need for confirmation tests to early detect seroconversions during pregnancy. Read More

Nanomaterials (Basel) 2022 Jun 14;12(12). Epub 2022 Jun 14.

Department of Physics & IUTA, University of Oviedo, Campus de Viesques, 33203 Gijón, Spain.

Lateral flow immunoassays for detecting biomarkers in body fluids are simple, quick, inexpensive point-of-care tests widely used in disease surveillance, such as during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Improvements in sensitivity would increase their utility in healthcare, food safety, and environmental control. Recently, biofunctional magnetic nanoclusters have been used to selectively label target proteins, which allows their detection and quantification with a magneto-inductive sensor. Read More

Nutrients 2022 Jun 18;14(12). Epub 2022 Jun 18.

IRCCS Mondino Foundation, 27100 Pavia, Italy.

Background: SARC-F is a simple sarcopenia screening tool. This study aimed to examine the validity of the Italian version of SARC-F.

Methods: A total of 97 elderly individuals (37/60 males/females, 65 years and older) who met the study's selection criteria were included. Read More

Microorganisms 2022 Jun 9;10(6). Epub 2022 Jun 9.

Clinical Microbiology Laboratory, Arcispedale S. Maria Nuova, IRCCS Azienda Unità Sanitaria Locale, 42122 Reggio Emilia, Italy.

(MC) is an environmental, slowly growing, non-tuberculous mycobacterium (NTM) belonging to complex (MAC), which recently has been linked to severe cardiovascular infections following open heart and vascular surgery. The majority of the diagnostic laboratory tests used in routine are not able to distinguish MC from (MI), because of the great genetic similarity existing between these two species. The Genotype Mycobacterium NTM-DR™ represents a valid method to differentiate between these species, but it is expensive, requiring also specialized personnel. Read More

J Clin Med 2022 Jun 10;11(12). Epub 2022 Jun 10.

Scientific Centre of Excellence for Reproductive and Regenerative Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, Šalata 3, 10 000 Zagreb, Croatia.

Valid data on prenatal cell-free DNA-based screening tests for copy number variations and microdeletions are still insufficient. We aimed to compare different methodological approaches concerning the achieved diagnostic accuracy measurements and positive predictive values. For this systematic review, we searched the Scopus and PubMed databases and backward citations for studies published between 2013 and 4 February 2022 and included articles reporting the analytical and clinical performance of cfDNA screening tests for CNVs and microdeletions. Read More

J Clin Med 2022 Jun 9;11(12). Epub 2022 Jun 9.

Onco-Hematology Research Unit, Romanian Academy of Medical Sciences, Children Emergency Hospital "Louis Turcanu" Timisoara, European Hemophilia Treatment Centre, 300011 Timisoara, Romania.

(1) Background: Mild and moderate hemophilia, synonymous with non-severe hemophilia (NSH), are of constant interest for the clinicians. Bleeding occurs usually after trauma, injury, surgery, or inhibitor development, sometimes leading to a shift of the clinical phenotype from mild to severe, even with life-threatening and unexpected outcomes. (2) Methods: We performed a retrospective observational study conducted on 112 persons with congenital coagulopathies, 26 of them with NSH, admitted to our clinic in the period 2000 to 2022. Read More

Healthcare (Basel) 2022 Jun 14;10(6). Epub 2022 Jun 14.

Department Human Neurosciences, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy.

Background: Lateral elbow pain (LEP) represents a musculoskeletal disorder affecting the epicondyloid region of the elbow. The terminological framework of this problem in literature, to date, is confusing. This systematic review (SR) aims to analyse the panorama of the scientific literature concerning the pathogenetic framework, treatment, and clinical diagnosis of LEP. Read More

Diagnostics (Basel) 2022 Jun 20;12(6). Epub 2022 Jun 20.

Department of Medicine and Surgery, Section of Radiology, University of Parma, Maggiore Hospital, Via Gramsci 14, 43125 Parma, Italy.

Background: Chest Computed Tomography (CT) imaging has played a central role in the diagnosis of interstitial pneumonia in patients affected by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and can be used to obtain the extent of lung involvement in COVID-19 pneumonia patients either qualitatively, via visual inspection, or quantitatively, via AI-based software. This study aims to compare the qualitative/quantitative pathological lung extension data on COVID-19 patients. Secondly, the quantitative data obtained were compared to verify their concordance since they were derived from three different lung segmentation software. Read More

Diagnostics (Basel) 2022 Jun 16;12(6). Epub 2022 Jun 16.

Centro di Riferimento per la Qualità dei Servizi di Medicina di Laboratorio di Regione Lombardia, 20162 Milano, Italy.

For diagnosing SARS-CoV-2 infection and for monitoring its spread, the implementation of external quality assessment (EQA) schemes is mandatory to assess and ensure a standard quality according to national and international guidelines. Here, we present the results of the 2020, 2021, 2022 EQA schemes in Lombardy region for assessing the quality of the diagnostic laboratories involved in SARS-CoV-2 diagnosis. In the framework of the Quality Assurance Programs (QAPs), the routinely EQA schemes are managed by the regional reference centre for diagnostic laboratories quality (RRC-EQA) of the Lombardy region and are carried out by all the diagnostic laboratories. Read More

Diagnostics (Basel) 2022 Jun 13;12(6). Epub 2022 Jun 13.

Institute of Chemistry, Academia Sinica, Taipei 115024, Taiwan.

Leptospirosis is a spirochaetal infection that possesses a broad host range affecting almost all mammals. In the present study, the microscopic agglutination test (MAT) was compared with recombinant LigA/B antigen-based point-of-care diagnostics such as the in-house IgM dot ELISA dipstick test (IgM- DEDT) and the latex agglutination test (LAT) for the serodiagnosis of human leptospirosis. The comparison of the MAT with these two point-of-care diagnostics was performed using the MAT as the gold standard test and using Bayesian latent class modelling (BLCM), which considers all diagnostic tests as imperfect. Read More

Diagnostics (Basel) 2022 Jun 11;12(6). Epub 2022 Jun 11.

Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Buea, Buea P.O. Box 63, Cameroon.

Onchocerciasis is a Neglected Tropical Disease that has a significant socioeconomic impact, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa. Numerous reports indicate that the Expanded Special Project for the Elimination of Neglected Tropical Diseases needs novel diagnostic tools before achieving its goal of successful elimination of onchocerciasis in Africa. The current diagnostic tests are either invasive, insensitive, or not applicable in the field and about 25% of persons infected cannot mount immune responses against the single antigen used in the only approved Ov-16 serological test. Read More

Diagnostics (Basel) 2022 Jun 4;12(6). Epub 2022 Jun 4.

Department of Computer Science and Biomedical Informatics, University of Thessaly, 35131 Lamia, Greece.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) initiated global health care challenges such as the necessity for new diagnostic tests. Diagnosis by real-time PCR remains the gold-standard method, yet economical and technical issues prohibit its use in points of care (POC) or for repetitive tests in populations. A lot of effort has been exerted in developing, using, and validating antigen-based tests (ATs). Read More

Diagnostics (Basel) 2022 May 30;12(6). Epub 2022 May 30.

Dendris SAS, 335 rue du Chêne Vert, F-31670 Labège, France.

Osteoarticular infections are major disabling diseases that can occur after orthopedic implant surgery in patients. The management of these infections is very complex and painful, requiring surgical intervention in combination with long-term antibiotic treatment. Therefore, early and accurate diagnosis of the causal pathogens is essential before formulating chemotherapeutic regimens. Read More

Diagnostics (Basel) 2022 May 24;12(6). Epub 2022 May 24.

Department of Biomedical Informatics, CHA University School of Medicine, CHA University, Seongnam 13488, Korea.

(1) Background: The comparative performance of various diagnostic methods for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate the comparison of the 3 index test performances of rapid antigen diagnostic tests (RDTs), chest computed tomography (CT), and lung point-of-care-ultrasonography (US) with reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), the reference standard, to provide more evidence-based data on the appropriate use of these index tests. (2) Methods: We retrieved data from electronic literature searches of PubMed, Cochrane Library, and EMBASE from 1 January 2020, to 1 April 2021. Read More

Children (Basel) 2022 Jun 19;9(6). Epub 2022 Jun 19.

Developmental Neuro-Ophthalmology Unit, IRCCS Mondino Foundation, 27100 Pavia, Italy.

Cerebral Visual Impairment (CVI) has become the leading cause of children's visual impairment in developed countries. Since CVI may negatively affect neuropsychomotor development, an early diagnosis and characterization become fundamental to define effective habilitation approaches. To date, there is a lack of standardized diagnostic methods to assess CVI in children, and the role of visual functions in children's neuropsychological profiles has been poorly investigated. Read More

Children (Basel) 2022 Jun 8;9(6). Epub 2022 Jun 8.

Department of Epidemiology, Poland Faculty of Medical Sciences in Katowice, Medical University of Silesia in Katowice, 40-752 Katowice, Poland.

(1) Background: The exhaled fractional nitric oxide is a well-recognized biomarker used in clinical settings for controlling and managing asthma. Less is known about the value of Fractional Exhaled Nitric Oxide (FeNO) measurement in epidemiological studies on childhood asthma, although available evidence suggests that an increased FeNO is associated with an increased risk of asthma. (2) Aim: The aim of the study was to assess FeNO accuracy in the identification of children with asthma, participants in a population-based respiratory survey. Read More