Journal of Clinical Laboratory Analysis

OBJECTIVE: Glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) is a standard indication for screening type 2 diabetes that also has been widely used in large-scale epidemiological studies. However, its long-term quality (in terms of reproducibility) stored in liquid nitrogen is still unknown. This study is aimed to evaluate the stability and reproducibility of HbA1c measurements from frozen whole blood samples kept at -196°C for more than 7 years. METHODS: A total of 401 whole blood samples with a fresh HbA1c measurement were randomly selected from The Malaysian Cohort's (TMC) biobank...

BACKGROUND: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) represents a primary public health challenge, which is a major source of pain, disability, and socioeconomic effects worldwide. Several factors contribute to its pathogenesis. Infections are an important concern in RA patients, which play a key role in mortality risk. Despite major advances in the clinical treatment of RA, long-term use of disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs can cause serious adverse effects. Therefore, effective strategies for developing novel prevention and RA-modifying therapeutic interventions are sorely needed...

BACKGROUND: Sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL) is a multifactorial disease, and its etiology is still unknown. SSNHL may be caused by environmental factors and genetic changes. PCDH15 is associated with susceptibility to hearing loss. The relationship between PCDH15 and SSNHL remains unknown. METHODS: In this study, the potential association between PCDH15 polymorphism and SSNHL in Chinese population was evaluated. Two single nucleotide polymorphisms PCDH15-rs7095441 and rs11004085 in 195 SSNHL patients and 182 healthy controls were determined by TaqMan technology...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

BACKGROUND: Mucormycosis is a life-threatening invasive fungal infection in immunocompromised and COVID-19 patients. CASE REPORT: Here, we report a fatal rhino-orbito-cerebral mucormycosis caused by Lichtheimia ramosa, in a 79-year-old diabetic female. She was initially admitted to the hospital for COVID-19 infection and received broad-spectrum antibiotics and corticosteroids. After 1 month, she was admitted again because of persistent headaches and decreased right eye movement when the computed tomography scan showed mucosal thickening and opacification of paranasal sinuses...

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate thyroid-stimulating immunoglobulin (TSI) and thyrotropin receptor antibodies (TRAb) diagnostic performance for Graves' disease (GD) and determine clinical cut-off value for diagnosing GD. METHODS: Of 1369 retrospectively enrolled subjects, 1364 had a definitive diagnosis of untreated GD (GD-UT, n = 87); treated GD (GD-T, n = 206); autoimmune thyroid disease (AIT, n = 241); thyroid nodules (TN, n = 677); subacute thyroiditis (ST, n = 28); healthy subjects (HS, n = 125); other diseases with serological hyperthyroidism (n = 5) and were grouped into the following: UT-GD and control groups (AIT, TN, ST, and HS); and UT-GD and non-GD hyperthyroidism groups...

BACKGROUND: It is advised to pretreat the reagent erythrocytes with Dithiothreitol (DTT) to denature the surface CD38 to prevent anti-CD38 monoclonal antibodies (MoAb) from interfering with the blood compatibility test. Anti-CD38 has little impact on the Polybrene test, but it is still unknown how sensitive it is to detect irregular antibodies and how effective it is when compared to the standard DTT-based method. METHODS: Twenty-one patients receiving daratumumab (N = 13) and isatuximab (N = 8) had their serum collected...

BACKGROUND: Among the brain and the other central nervous system, gliomas are the most prevalent malignant primary tumors. Adenylate kinase 2 (AK2) is generally thought to be crucial for energy metabolism and signal transduction. Several disorders are correlated with its aberrant expression. However, it is unclear what functions AK2 might have in gliomas. METHODS: We investigated the relationship between AK2 expression and clinicopathological features of glioma patients using information obtained from public databases and patient tissue microarrays...

BACKGROUND: Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) has been widely used for many pathogen detection. However, PCR technology still suffers from long detection time and insufficient sensitivity. Recombinase-aided amplification (RAA) is a powerful nucleic acid detection tool with high sensitivity and amplification efficiency, but its complex probes and inability of multiplex detection hinder the further application of this technology. METHODS: In this study, we developed and validated the multiplex reverse transcription recombinase-aided PCR (multiplex RT-RAP) assay for human adenovirus 3 (HADV3), human adenovirus 7 (HADV7), and human respiratory syncytial virus (HRSV) within 1 h with Human RNaseP protein as a reference gene to monitor the whole process...

INTRODUCTION: Screening for hepatitis C virus (HCV) is performed by testing for anti-HCV antibodies, which may yield false-positive results leading to additional testing and other downstream consequences for the patient. We report our experience in a low prevalence population (<0.05%) using a two-assay algorithm aimed at testing specimens with borderline or weak positive anti-HCV reactivity in the screening assay by a second anti-HCV assay prior to confirming positive anti-HCV results with RT-PCR...

BACKGROUND: The Protein tyrosine phosphatase receptor Q (PTPRQ) gene encodes a member of the type III receptor-like protein tyrosine phosphatase family found in the stereocilium. Mutations in PTPRQ are mostly associated with deafness, autosomal recessive type 84 (DFNB 84), which usually results in progressive familial hearing loss. METHODS: A 25-year-old woman and her sister, both with postlingual-delayed progressive sensorineural hearing loss, were examined. They were from a nonconsanguineous marriage and had no family history of hearing loss...

BACKGROUND: The fecal occult blood (FOB) test is one of the primary screening methods for colorectal cancer (CRC). In this study, we aimed to investigate the effect of the neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and systemic immune-inflammation index (SII) in predicting CRC and other colorectal pathologies in patients with a positive FOB test. METHODS: This retrospective study included patients with a positive FOB test who underwent colonoscopy for the investigation of the etiology...

BACKGROUND: Candidemia and vaginitis are the most common types of candidiasis mostly caused by Candida albicans species. C. albicans has several genotypes and the potential ability to form different phenotype colonies on specific media. This study aimed to evaluate the genotype distribution of blood and vaginal C. albicans isolates and phenotype characteristics on Spider and yeast peptone dextrose agar medium. METHODS: A total of 40 clinical Candida albicans isolates comprising vagina (20) and blood (20) were used...

INTRODUCTION: The management of hospitalized COVID-19 patients depends largely on controlling the intensified inflammatory response known as the cytokine storm. Candidate inflammatory cytokines can serve as new biomarkers for the management of hospitalized COVID-19 patients. METHODS: Patients (80) were recruited into three groups: room air (RA), oxygen (OX) and mechanical ventilator (MV). Blood analysis was performed for RBC, WBC, Hb, Platelets, serum albumin and creatinine, INR, PTT, and hematocrit...

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to explore the diagnostic and prognostic value of serum tumor M2-pyruvate kinase (TuM2-PK), neuron-specific enolase (NSE), and progastrin-releasing peptide (ProGRP) levels in patients with small cell lung cancer (SCLC). METHODS: The levels of serum TuM2-PK, NSE, and ProGRP in 102 patients with SCLC, 60 patients with benign lung disease (BLD), and 90 healthy controls were detected. RESULTS: The serum TuM2-PK, NSE, and ProGRP levels in the SCLC group were higher than those in BLD group (p < 0...

BACKGROUND: Heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT) is a severe complication of heparin therapy associated with thrombosis that requires a quick diagnosis. Therefore, laboratory assays must provide an accurate and swift answer. This work aims to evaluate the performances of an ELISA assay, especially when combined with 4T risk score, and a functional assay. METHODS: Data were collected for 894 patients treated by heparin who underwent anticoagulant switch because of HIT suspicion and were examined by a multidisciplinary expert team who confirmed or ruled out HIT diagnosis...

Increasing rates of Helicobacter pylori resistance are associated with multiple clinical challenges. Bacterial factors linked to H. pylori resistance are mutations, efflux pumps, and biofilms. Gene mutations such as nucleic acid synthesis-related gene mutations, rRNA coding gene mutations, and cell wall synthesis-related gene mutations are the most important mechanisms by which H. pylori evades bactericidal effects. These mechanisms are also closely related to the biological activity of the efflux pump systems and biofilms...

BACKGROUND: The pandemic the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has created a global health crisis. Although Paxlovid is recommended for the early-stage treatment of mild-to-moderate COVID-19 in patients at increased risk of progression to severe COVID-19, more and more cases are reported a COVID-19 rebound after Paxlovid treatment. Currently, information on the additional treatment for COVID-19 rebound following Paxlovid treatment is limited. CASE REPORT: Here, we present four cases with COVID-19 who were mild on admission...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

BACKGROUND: Mycophenolic acid (MPA) is used to suppress the immune response following organ transplantation; however, complex pharmacokinetic behavior and a large interpersonal variability necessitate therapeutic drug monitoring. To overcome the limitations of current sample preparation techniques, we present a novel thin-film molecularly imprinted polymer (TF-MIP) extraction device as part of a simple, sensitive, and fast method for analysis of MPA from human plasma. METHODS: Mycophenolic acid is extracted from plasma using a tailor-made TF-MIP that is subsequently desorbed into an organic solvent system compatible with mass spectrometry...