Hepatitis type E virus (HEV) infection is a common cause of acute viral hepatitis in China, and its etiological diagnosis relies on laboratory detection. Therefore, this article introduces the HEV RNA, HEV antigen, anti-HEV IgM, and IgG detection methods and their diagnostic application value. In addition, it also discusses the current international diagnostic standard and HEV infection presentation.
Humans ; RNA, Viral ; Hepatitis Antibodies ; Clinical Laboratory Techniques/methods* ; Hepatitis E virus ; Immunoglobulin M ; Hepatitis

The laboratory diagnostic strategy for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a process to accurately detect HIV patients through a combination of available HIV tests. Laboratory tests for HIV infection are mainly serological antibody and antigen testing and HIV RNA testing. With the update of testing reagents, the sensitivity and specificity have improved substantially and the window period of detection has shortened, but there is a risk of false positives. Various guidelines have recommended different diagnostic strategies for different target populations and different prevalence regions to guide patients to confirm the diagnosis and receive standardized antiretroviral therapy as early as possible. How to refer to the diagnostic strategies, reduce false positives and shorten the window period while increasing the detection rate is an urgent issue for laboratories to address. This article describes the characteristics and advantages and disadvantages of testing methods related to HIV infection from the perspective of laboratory diagnostic strategies, as well as the impact of the development of treatments on diagnostic strategies, in order to provide theoretical support for the practical application of HIV diagnostic strategies.
Humans ; HIV ; HIV Infections/diagnosis* ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Clinical Laboratory Techniques/methods* ; Quality Control

Humans ; Child ; Clinical Laboratory Techniques

21 hydroxylase deficiency (21-OHD), the most common form of congenital adrenal hyperplasia, is caused by defects in CYP21A2 gene, which encodes the cytochrome P450 oxidase (P450C21) involved in glucocorticoid and mineralocorticoid synthesis. The diagnosis of 21-OHD is based on the comprehensive evaluation of clinical manifestation, biochemical alteration and molecular genetics results. Due to the complex structure of CYP21A2, special techniques are required to perform delicate analysis to avoid the interference of its pseudogene. Recently, the state-of-the-art diagnostic methods were applied to the clinic gradually, including the steroid hormone profiling and third generation sequencing. To standardize the laboratory diagnosis of 21-OHD, this consensus was drafted on the basis of the extensive knowledge, the updated progress and the published consensuses and guidelines worldwide by expert discussion organized by Rare Diseases Group of Pediatric Branch of Chinese Medical Association, Medical Genetics Branch of Chinese Medical Doctor Association, Birth Defect Prevention and Molecular Genetics Branch of China Maternal and Child Health Association. and Molecular Diagnosis Branch of Shanghai Medical Association.
Child ; Humans ; Adrenal Hyperplasia, Congenital/genetics* ; Steroid 21-Hydroxylase/genetics* ; Consensus ; China ; Clinical Laboratory Techniques ; Mutation

Malaria remains a global health challenge, although an increasing number of countries will enter pre-elimination and elimination stages. The prompt and precise diagnosis of symptomatic and asymptomatic carriers of Plasmodium parasites is the key aspect of malaria elimination. Since the launch of the China Malaria Elimination Action Plan in 2010, China has formulated clear goals for malaria diagnosis and has established a network of malaria diagnostic laboratories within medical and health institutions at all levels. Various external quality assessments were implemented, and a national malaria diagnosis reference laboratory network was established to strengthen the quality assurance in malaria diagnosis. Notably, no indigenous malaria cases have been reported since 2017, but the risk of re-establishment of malaria transmission cannot be ignored. This review summarizes the lessons about malaria diagnosis in the elimination phase, primarily including the establishments of laboratory networks and quality control in China, to better improve malaria diagnosis and maintain a malaria-free status. A reference is also provided for countries experiencing malaria elimination.
China/epidemiology* ; Clinical Laboratory Techniques ; Global Health ; Humans ; Laboratories ; Malaria/prevention & control*

Exploring a new teaching mode of CHB laboratory diagnostics to improve the teaching quality through establishment a teaching model covered the whole process of CHB disease diagnosis and differential diagnosis, treatment, drug selection, the toxicity and side effects prediction, effect monitoring, and prognosis evaluation. According to the CHB clinical diagnosis and treatment guidelines, formulated the laboratory examination and detection strategies related to different stages of CHB, and established CHB clinical laboratory diagnostic pathway. Compared the classroom teaching effect by the questionnaire between the 2016 and 2017 eight-year undergraduates from the First Clinical College of Wuhan University. In this study,the CHB clinical laboratory diagnostic pathway was established and approved by clinicians, which covered the whole process of CHB disease diagnosis and differential diagnosis, treatment, drug selection, the toxicity and side effects prediction, effect monitoring, and prognosis evaluation. The teaching quality evaluation indicators and the scores on the class test had been greatly improved with the clinical diagnostic pathway teaching mode in the classroom teaching of 2017 clinical medicine undergraduates compared with the traditional teaching mode in the 2016 clinical medicine undergraduates. In summary, the medical students not only could realize the organic integration of laboratory diagnostics and clinical medicine, but also improves overall understanding of various laboratory tests in CHB diagnosis and treatment from the teaching model of laboratory diagnostics based on the CHB clinical laboratory diagnostic pathway,and the quality of teaching for CHB has been significantly improved.
Clinical Laboratory Techniques ; Hepatitis B, Chronic ; Humans ; Laboratories ; Laboratories, Clinical ; Records

To investigate the regularity of prescription and clinical syndromes by analyzing the diagnosis and treatment protocols of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) for coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19), so as to provide references for syndrome differentiation and relevant researches. The diagnosis and treatment protocols of COVID-19 published by national and regional health authorities were searched, and information was extracted in regard to disease stages, type of syndromes, and prescriptions, etc. Frequency statistics and relative analysis were used to analyze the rule of syndrome differentiation and prescription with TCM, and further discussion on the pathogenesis and progress of the disease. A total of 26 diagnosis and treatment protocols of TCM for COVID-19 were retrieved after screening(including 1 national scheme and 25 regional ones), among which 16 contained aspects of both prevention and treatment, 7 only involved treatment contents and 3 were prevention schemes. The courses of COVID-19 can be divided into early stage, middle stage, severe stage and recovery stage. The pathogeny of COVID-19 in TCM is damp-toxin, with the core pathogenesis of damp-toxin retention in lung and Qi repression. Its pathological features can be summarized as "damp, toxin, obstruction, deficiency". The location of the disease is lung, always involving spleen and stomach, and may further affect heart and kidney in severe cases. The major treatments for each course are Fanghua Shizuo, Xuanfei Touxie(early stage); Qingre Jiedu, Xuanxie Feire(middle stage); Kaibi Gutuo, Huiyang Jiuni(severe stage); Qingjie Yure, Yiqi Yangyin(recovery stage). There were many diagnosis and treatment protocols for COVID-19 have been published, which generally followed the national edition, through with certain personalities in different regional protocols. There were common features with respect to the disease stage, syndrome differentiation, therapeutic principles and methods, as well as prescriptions; the treatment were generally carried out against the core pathogenesis and progress of the disease. Along with the deepening recognition of COVID-19, the diagnosis and treatment protocols are still need further concretization and standardization. We hope researchers and decision-makers can pay more attention to the treatment of Huayu Tongluo in severe and recovery period.
Betacoronavirus ; COVID-19 ; COVID-19 Testing ; Clinical Laboratory Techniques ; Coronavirus Infections/prevention & control* ; Humans ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Pandemics/prevention & control* ; Pneumonia, Viral/prevention & control* ; SARS-CoV-2 ; COVID-19 Drug Treatment

In December 2019, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), a new de novo infectious disease, was first identified in Wuhan, China and quickly spread across China and around the world. The etiology was a novel betacoronavirus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) (Lu et al., 2020). On Mar. 11, 2020, World Health Organization (WHO) characterized COVID-19 as a global pandemic. As of Mar. 22, 2020, over 292 000 confirmed COVID-19 cases have been reported globally. To date, COVID-19, with its high infectivity, has killed more people than severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) combined (Wu and McGoogan, 2020).
Adult ; Betacoronavirus ; COVID-19 ; COVID-19 Testing ; China ; Clinical Laboratory Techniques ; Coronavirus Infections/diagnostic imaging* ; Female ; Fever/virology* ; Humans ; Lymphocyte Count ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Pandemics ; Pneumonia, Viral/diagnostic imaging* ; Radiography, Thoracic ; SARS-CoV-2 ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed ; Treatment Outcome

In Taiwan, high-risk patients have been identified and tested for preventing community spread of COVID-19. Most sample collection was performed in emergency departments (EDs). Traditional sample collection requires substantial personal protective equipment (PPE), healthcare professionals, sanitation workers, and isolation space. To solve this problem, we established a multifunctional sample collection station (MSCS) for COVID-19 testing in front of our ED. The station is composed of a thick and clear acrylic board (2 cm), which completely separates the patient and medical personnel. Three pairs of gloves (length, 45 cm) are attached and fixed on the outside wall of the MSCS. The gloves are used to conduct sampling of throat/nasal swabs, sputum, and blood from patients. The gap between the board and the building is only 0.2 cm (sealed with silicone sealant). ED personnel communicate with patients using a small two-way broadcast system. Medical waste is put in specific trashcans installed in the table outside the MSCS. With full physical protection, the personnel conducting the sampling procedure need to wear only their N95 mask and gloves. After we activated the station, our PPE, sampling time, and sanitization resources were considerably conserved during the 4-week observation period. The MSCS obviously saved time and PPE. It elevated the efficiency and capacity of the ED for handling potential community infections of COVID-19.
Betacoronavirus ; Clinical Laboratory Techniques ; Coronavirus Infections ; diagnosis ; epidemiology ; Emergency Service, Hospital ; organization & administration ; Humans ; Mass Screening ; methods ; Pandemics ; Personal Protective Equipment ; supply & distribution ; Pneumonia, Viral ; diagnosis ; epidemiology ; Taiwan ; epidemiology

Child ; China ; Clinical Laboratory Techniques ; Consensus ; Humans ; Mycoplasma pneumoniae ; Pneumonia, Mycoplasma ; diagnosis