BACKGROUND: Tuberculous lymphadenitis is the commonest form of extrapulmonary tuberculosis. The laboratory diagnosis of tuberculous lymphadenitis is based on the traditional method of the acid-fast stain and culture of discharge or lymph node. However, acid-fast stain lack sensitivity and specificity, and culture is time- consuming. Polymerase chain reaction is a rapid, sensitive and specific DNA amplification technique for the detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in sputum, pleural fluid, cerebrospinal fluid, or others. We evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of the polymerase chain reaction assay for the rapid diagnosis of tuberculous lymphadenitis. METHODS: This study included 50 patient with clinically suspected tuberculous lymphadenitis. We performed fine needle aspiration biopsies (FNAB) on head and neck lymph node. The DNA of the sample was purified by phenol/chloroform method. The nested PCR was performed with TB-CR kit (Bioneer, Korea), which an amplified an insertion sequence IS 6110 sequences. The PCR product was analyzed by agarose gel electrophoresis in the presence of ethidium bromide. RESULTS: Forty-five of the 50 clinically suspected specimens were PCR-positive, five specimens were negative. And one of the 10 negative specimens was positive. The sensitivity and specificity of the PCR was 90% and 90%, respectively. CONCLUSION: The polymerase chain reaction is a very sensitive and rapid method for rapid detection of M. tuberculosis in patients with tuberculous lymphadenitis.
Biopsy ; Biopsy, Fine-Needle ; Cerebrospinal Fluid ; Clinical Laboratory Techniques ; Diagnosis* ; DNA ; Electrophoresis, Agar Gel ; Ethidium ; Head ; Humans ; Lymph Nodes ; Lymphadenitis ; Mycobacterium tuberculosis ; Neck ; Nucleic Acid Amplification Techniques ; Polymerase Chain Reaction* ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Sputum ; Tuberculosis ; Tuberculosis, Lymph Node*

No abstract available.
Biopsy* ; Biopsy, Fine-Needle*

BACKGROUND: The results of a particular test can be affected by the techniques used for testing. However, limited data is available on the testing techniques used in blood bank laboratories in Korea. The aim of this study was to evaluate the various testing techniques used in blood bank laboratories using the data obtained during the past six years from the Korean external quality assessment (KEQA) of blood bank laboratories. METHODS: Data was collected from all KEQA respondents via the KEQA website on the testing techniques used in blood bank laboratories from 2008 to 2013. The survey included questions on ABO grouping, D typing, crossmatching tests, direct antiglobulin tests (DAT), antibody (Ab) screening, and Ab identification (ID) tests. RESULTS: Based on the data obtained from 2008 to 2013 (ABO grouping data obtained from 2011 to 2013), the most frequently used techniques are as follows: slide agglutination (60.7% and 60.8%) for ABO cell typing; tube agglutination (78.2% and 81.2%) for ABO serum typing; slide agglutination (50% and 54.6%) for D typing; tube agglutination (91.9% and 83.8%) for crossmatching tests; tube agglutination (63.6% and 52.8%) for DAT; column agglutination technique (CAT; 74.5% and 89.4%) for Ab screen; and CAT (83.9% and 94.2%) for Ab ID. CONCLUSIONS: The findings reveal a steady increase in the use of CAT from 2008 to 2013 for crossmatching tests, DAT, Ab screen, and Ab ID and a decreasing use of the tube agglutination technique for the past six years. Since the slide agglutination technique accounted for a significant percentage of the tests conducted, further education is warranted on the improvement in the techniques used for ABO and D typing.
Agglutination ; Agglutination Tests ; Animals ; Blood Banks* ; Cats ; Clinical Laboratory Techniques ; Coombs Test ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Education ; Korea ; Mass Screening

No abstract available.
Biopsy ; Biopsy, Fine-Needle ; Diagnosis

BACKGROUND: C. difficile-associated diarrhea (CDAD), the most frequently identified cause of nosocomial diarrhea, results from the overgrowth of cytotoxin (toxin B)-producing strains. The aim of this study was to evaluate the quantitative culture of Clostridium difficile to improve the laboratory diagnosis of CDAD. METHODS: The quantitative culture and cytotoxin gene results were evaluated based on the findings of colonoscopy and/or histology of the biopsy specimens. RESULTS: Among the 402 specimens with cytotoxin-positive isolates, 301 (74.9%) contained > or =106 CFU/mL of C. difficile. Nine (60%) of the 15 pseudomembranous colitis patients yielded > or =106 CFU/mL of toxigenic isolate. The proportion of cytotoxin gene-positive isolates was higher in the specimens with > or =106 CFU/mL of C. difficile than in those with 102-<103 CFU/mL (86.5% vs. 66.7%). CONCLUSIONS: Quantitative culture may aid in the interpretation of toxigenic C. difficile culture results, and reduce false positivity, thus avoiding unnecessary treatment.
Biopsy ; Clinical Laboratory Techniques ; Clostridium difficile* ; Clostridium* ; Colonoscopy ; Diagnosis* ; Diarrhea ; Enterocolitis, Pseudomembranous ; Humans

No abstract available.
Biopsy, Fine-Needle*

No abstract available.
Biopsy, Fine-Needle* ; Neck*

No abstract available.
Biopsy, Fine-Needle ; Neck

No abstract available.
Biopsy, Needle* ; Needles*

No abstract available.
Biopsy, Fine-Needle*