Methods such as real time (RT)-PCR have not been developed for the rapid detection and diagnosis of Dermatophilus (D.) congolensis infection. In the present study, a D. congolensis-specific SYBR Green RT-PCR assay was evaluated. The detection limit of the RT-PCR assay was 1 pg of DNA per PCR reaction. No cross-reaction with nucleic acids extracted from Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Staphylococcus aureus, or Austwickia chelonae was observed. Finally, the RT-PCR assay was used to evaluate clinical samples collected from naturally infected animals with D. congolensis. The results showed that this assay is a fast and reliable method for diagnosing dermatophilosis.
Actinomycetales/*isolation & purification ; Actinomycetales Infections/diagnosis/microbiology/*veterinary ; Animals ; Cattle ; Cattle Diseases/*diagnosis/microbiology ; Fluorescent Dyes/*diagnostic use ; Horse Diseases/*diagnosis/microbiology ; Horses ; Limit of Detection ; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction/*methods/veterinary ; Reproducibility of Results ; Sheep ; Sheep Diseases/*diagnosis/microbiology

OBJECTIVE: To determine the prognostic value of surgical interventions done among patients with anaplastic thyroid carcinoma (ATC)

METHODS: A five-year retrospective chart review of 25 patients was done and baseline characteristics determined. Patients discharged alive as of the time of last chart entry were followed up by phone interview or personal visit. Overall survival was the main outcome measure which was plotted as Kaplan-Meier estimates and compared via log-rank test. The incidence of complications surrounding tracheostomy and thyroidectomy were also noted.

Methods:

Design: Ambispective Cohort Study

Setting: Tertiary National University Hospital

Participants: All private and public (charity) patients seen at the wards or clinics diagnosed with ATC via fine needle cytology or tissue histopathology.

RESULTS: All patients presented with either stage IV-B or stage IV-C disease. A significant difference in survival curves was noted when comparing between the two stages (p<.05). Subgroup analysis per stage revealed no significant difference in overall survival when comparing patients who did not undergo surgery, those who underwent tracheostomy or those who underwent thyroidectomy for both IV-B (p=.244) or IV-C (p=.165) disease. The incidence of complications for tracheostomy was 60%, the most common being mucus plugging. For thyroidectomy, the incidence of complications was 80% with hypocalcemia being the most common.

CONCLUSION: The current available data fails to demonstrate any significant survival advantage of tracheostomy or thyroidectomy when performed among similarly staged patients.

Human ; Animal ; Male ; Female ; Aged 80 And Over ; Aged (a Person 65 Through 79 Years Of Age) ; Middle Aged (a Person 45-64 Years Of Age) ; Anaplastic Thyroid Cancer ; thyroidectomy ; tracheostomy ; survival

Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) have been associated with multiple entities and several types of cancers. They can be assumed as markers of inflammatory imbalance. The objective of this study is to evaluate the NLR and PLR in Peyronie's disease (PD) and to establish a comparison of its values in the acute and chronic stages. We recruited patients with PD from March 2018 to March 2019. The patients enrolled underwent medical and sexual history as well as a physical examination. The values of blood count of each patient were collected both in the acute and chronic stages. Wilcoxon test was used to compare the acute and chronic stage ratios. Kruskal-Wallis test was carried out to evaluate the impact of treatments on the ratios. To identify cutoff values, we used sensibility and specificity tables and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. A total of 120 patients were enrolled. Their mean age was 55.85 (range: 18-77) years and the mean penile curvature was 48.43° (range: 10°-100°). In the acute stage, the mean NLR was 2.35 and the mean PLR was 111.22. These ratios, in the chronic stage, were 1.57 and 100.00, respectively. Statistically significant differences between acute and stable stages for both indices were found (NLR: P< 0.0001; PLR: P= 0.0202). The optimal cutoff for classification in acute or stable stage was 2 for NLR and 102 for PLR. According to our results, with an ordinary blood count, we could have important indications regarding the disease stage of the patient, and consequently on the most appropriate type of therapy to choose.