2 research outputs found
A COMPARISON OF RAPID DIAGNOSTIC TESTING (BY PLASMODIUM LACTATE DEHYDROGENASE), AND QUANTITATIVE BUFFY COAT TECHNIQUE IN MALARIA DIAGNOSIS IN CHILDREN
Background: The World Health Organization (WHO) considers early and rapid diagnosis as one of the strategies to
control malaria. This study compared the performance of Quantitative Buffy Coat (QBC) test and the Plasmodium lactate
dehydrogenase (pLDH) rapid diagnostic test (RDT) with microscopy as the gold standard.
Materials and Methods: The study involved children ages 0-5 years who presented with a history of fever at the
University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria. Blood was collected from each patient and used for RDT, QBC and Giemsastained
blood films for malaria parasites (MP). Results of QBC and RDT were compared with microscopy results for the
diagnosis of malaria.
Results: A total of 370 cases (194 boys and 176 girls) were studied giving a male: female ratio of 1.1:1. Of the 370 cases
tested using Giemsa-stained thick blood films for MP, 78 (21 %) were positive. For the QBC test, 78 (21%) of the cases
were positive with sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values of 70.5 %, 92.1%, 70.5 % and 92.1 %
respectively. Seventy-six (20%) of the cases were positive by RDT with sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative
predictive values of 84.2 %, 95.2 %, 82.1 %, and 95.9 % respectively. There was no significant difference in the sensitivity
of QBC compared with the RDT.
Conclusion: Both the QBC and the pfLDH (RDT) performed reasonably well in this study Malaria rapid diagnostic tests
are recommended in malaria endemic clinical settings to avoid unnecessary antimalarial treatment
Rubinstein-Taybi syndrome in diverse populations
Rubinstein-Taybi syndrome (RSTS) is an autosomal dominant disorder, caused by loss-of-function variants in CREBBP or EP300. Affected individuals present with distinctive craniofacial features, broad thumbs and/or halluces, and intellectual disability. RSTS phenotype has been well characterized in individuals of European descent but not in other populations. In this study, individuals from diverse populations with RSTS were assessed by clinical examination and facial analysis technology. Clinical data of 38 individuals from 14 different countries were analyzed. The median age was 7 years (age range: 7 months to 47 years), and 63% were females. The most common phenotypic features in all population groups included broad thumbs and/or halluces in 97%, convex nasal ridge in 94%, and arched eyebrows in 92%. Face images of 87 individuals with RSTS (age range: 2 months to 47 years) were collected for evaluation using facial analysis technology. We compared images from 82 individuals with RSTS against 82 age- and sex-matched controls and obtained an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) of 0.99 (p < .001), demonstrating excellent discrimination efficacy. The discrimination was, however, poor in the African group (AUC: 0.79; p = .145). Individuals with EP300 variants were more effectively discriminated (AUC: 0.95) compared with those with CREBBP variants (AUC: 0.93). This study shows that clinical examination combined with facial analysis technology may enable earlier and improved diagnosis of RSTS in diverse populations