Validation of the French version of the Global Functioning: Social and Global Functioning: Role Scales in adolescents and young adults seeking help in early intervention clinics.

AIM: Social and role functioning impairments characterize patients along the schizophrenia spectrum, but the existing evaluations tools do not specifically address younger population issues. The Global Functioning Social (GF:S) and Global Functioning Role (GF:R) scales have been specifically designed for that purpose. The aim of this study is to establish the reliability and concurrent validity of the French version of GF:S and GF:R scales. METHODS: The two scales GF: Social (GF:S) and Role (GF:R) have first been translated into French and independently back translated and validated by the original authors. Between March 2021 and March 2022, we enrolled 51 participants (20.3 ± 3.7 years old; female = 22/51) amongst help-seekers referring to two different early mental health services in the Île-de-France. In an ecological design, participants met different diagnoses, 7 (13.7%) met the criteria for Ultra-High Risk of psychosis (UHR) using CAARMS criteria. RESULTS: Inter-rater reliability was excellent for scores related to the past month and to the higher levels of functioning over the past year. Both scales showed good to excellent concurrent validity as measured by correlation with the Social and Occupational Functioning Assessment Scale (SOFAS) and the Personal and Social Performance Scale (PSP). CONCLUSION: Overall, this study confirms the reliability and validity of the French version of the GF:S and GF:R scales. The use of these scales may improve the evaluation of social and occupational functioning in French-speaking young help-seekers, in a transdiagnostic approach, both in clinical and research settings.

Development and performance of a multiplex PCR assay for the detection of bacteria in sterile body fluids.

Aim: To assess the performance characteristics of a lab-developed multiplex PCR assay for the detection of common bacterial pathogens associated with infections in pediatric patients from normally sterile sites, such as cerebrospinal fluid, synovial and pleural fluids. Materials & methods: A total of 272 specimens were tested by PCR and traditional culture methods to assess the presence of Neisseria meningitidis, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Streptococcus pyogenes, methicillin-sensitive and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and Kingella kingae. Results: Compared with culture, the overall positive and negative percentage agreement of the PCR were 95.9% and 74.1%, respectively. Conclusion: This sterile body fluid PCR affords a rapid and sensitive alternative for bacterial detection, allowing for more timely pathogen-directed antimicrobial therapy.

Performance of the Verigene® enteric pathogens test, Biofire FilmArray™ gastrointestinal panel and Luminex xTAG® gastrointestinal pathogen panel for detection of common enteric pathogens.

BACKGROUND: Multiplex syndromic panels have the capability of identifying causes of diarrheal illness. This study evaluated the performance characteristics of three multiplex molecular assays for the detection of common stool pathogens. METHODS: A total of 152 stool specimens were tested using three platforms: Verigene Enteric Pathogens Test (Verigene), Biofire FilmArray Gastrointestinal Panel (Biofire) and Luminex xTAG® Gastrointestinal Pathogen Panel (Luminex). Assays were assessed only for the targets common among all three; namely, Campylobacter, Salmonella, Shigella, Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC), norovirus, and rotavirus. RESULTS: The sensitivities (%) and specificities (%) of the assays were: Campylobacter, Biofire (100,100), Verigene (83.3,99.3), Luminex (91.7,100); Salmonella, Biofire (95.8,100), Verigene (83.3,100), Luminex (79.2,100); Shigella, Biofire (100,100), Verigene (95.4,99.1), Luminex (100,100); STEC, Biofire (100,100), Verigene (91.7,100), Luminex (91.7,100); norovirus, Biofire (94.7,99.3), Verigene (89.0,100), Luminex (89.5,100); and rotavirus, Biofire (100, 98.6), Verigene (71.4,100), Luminex (100,100). CONCLUSIONS: All multiplex panels detected the majority of gastrointestinal pathogens when compared to conventional methods.

DNA pyrosequencing-based bacterial pathogen identification in a pediatric hospital setting.

Sole reliance on biochemical methods can limit the clinical microbiology laboratory's ability to identify bacterial pathogens. This study describes the incorporation of DNA pyrosequencing-based identification for routine pathogen identification of atypical clinical isolates in a large children's hospital. The assay capitalized on the highly conserved nature of 16S rRNA genes by positioning amplification and sequencing primers in conserved target sequences flanking the variable V1 and V3 regions. A total of 414 isolates of 312 pediatric patients were tested by DNA pyrosequencing during the time period from December 2003 to July 2006. Seventy-eight different genera were specified by DNA pyrosequencing, and isolates were derived from diverse specimen types. By integrating DNA sequencing of bacterial pathogens with conventional microbiologic methods, isolates that lacked a definitive identification by biochemical testing yielded genus- or species-level identifications in approximately 90% of cases by pyrosequencing. Improvements incorporated into the assay process during the period of clinical testing included software enhancements, improvements in sequencing reagents, and refinements in database search strategies. Coupled with isolation by bacteriologic culture and biochemical testing, DNA pyrosequencing-based bacterial identification was a valuable tool that markedly improved bacterial pathogen identification in a pediatric hospital setting.