Mycobacterium chimaera pulmonary infection complicating cystic fibrosis: a case report

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p><it>Mycobacterium chimaera </it>is a recently described species within the <it>Mycobacterium avium </it>complex. Its pathogenicity in respiratory tract infection remains disputed. It has never been isolated during cystic fibrosis respiratory tract infection.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>An 11-year-old boy of Asian ethnicity who was born on Réunion Island presented to our hospital with cystic fibrosis after a decline in his respiratory function over the course of seven years. We found that the decline in his respiratory function was correlated with the persistent presence of a <it>Mycobacterium avium </it>complex organism further identified as <it>M. chimaera</it>.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Using sequencing-based methods of identification, we observed that <it>M. chimaera </it>organisms contributed equally to respiratory tract infections in patients with cystic fibrosis when compared with <it>M. avium </it>subsp. <it>hominissuis </it>isolates. We believe that <it>M. chimaera </it>should be regarded as an emerging opportunistic respiratory pathogen in patients with cystic fibrosis, including young children, and that its detection warrants long-lasting appropriate anti-mycobacterial treatment to eradicate it.</p

Refraction-Based Speed of Sound Estimation in Layered Media: An Angular Approach.

Speed of sound estimation in ultrasound imaging is a growing modality with several clinical applications such as hepatic steatosis stages quantification. A key challenge for clinically relevant speed of sound estimation is to obtain repeatable values independent of superficial tissues and available in real-time. Recent works have demonstrated the feasibility to achieve quantitative estimations of the local speed of sound in layered media. However, such techniques require high computational power and exhibit instabilities. We present a novel speed of sound estimation technique based on an angular approach of ultrasound imaging in which plane waves are considered in transmit and receive. This change of paradigm allows us to rely on the refraction properties of plane waves to infer the local speed of sound values directly from the angular raw data. The proposed method robustly estimates the local speed of sound with only a few ultrasound emissions and with a low computational complexity which makes it compatible with real-time imaging. Simulations and in vitro experimental results show that the proposed method outperforms state-of-the-art approaches with biases and standard deviations lower than 10 m s-1, eight times fewer emissions, and 1000 times lower computational time. Further in vivo experiments validate its performance for liver imaging

Multicenter analytical performance evaluation of a fully automated anti-Müllerian hormone assay and reference interval determination

Objectives: Anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) is an established biomarker for assessing ovarian reserve and predicting response to controlled ovarian stimulation. Its routine clinical use is hampered by the variability and low-throughput of available enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA). The presented study examined if a fully automated AMH electrochemiluminescence assay (ECLIA; Elecsys® AMH assay, Roche Diagnostics) was suitable for measuring AMH levels in healthy women and in those diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Design andmethods: Five European laboratories evaluated the Elecsys® AMH assay independently under routine conditions over eightmonths. Within-run imprecision, repeatability, intermediate precision, linearity and functional sensitivity were assessed. The Elecsys® AMH assay was compared to a manual ELISA microtiter plate format test (AMH Gen II ELISA,modified version; Beckman Coulter Inc.) using 1729 routine serum samples. AMH reference intervals were determined in 887 healthy women with regularmenstrual cycle aged 20-50 years, and 149 women diagnosed with PCOS. Results: The fully automated Elecsys® AMH assay showed excellent precision, linearity, and functional sensitivity. The coefficient of variationwas 1.8% for repeatability and 4.4% for intermediate precision. Values measured with the Elecsys® AMH assay were highly correlated with the manual ELISA method (modified version) but 24-28% lower. Reference intervals showed the expected AMH decline with age in healthy women and increased AMH levels in women with PCOS. Conclusions: The Elecsys® AMH assay demonstrated good precision under routine conditions, and is suitable for determining AMH levels in serum and lithium-heparin plasma