Major Discrepancies of HCV Viral Loads Determined by Real Time Polymerase Chain Reaction Caused by Use of Collection Tubes that Differ Only with the Presence or Absence of Serum Separator.

BACKGROUND: For viral load (VL) analysis of hepatitis C virus (HCV) by Real Time PCR, approved collection tubes were lavender top (LTT) and plasma processing (PPT) tubes, that differ in that PPTs include plasma separator. Using a Real Time PCR method, we investigated how the results correlated for the two tube types. METHODS: The plasma fractions of blood samples from each of 202 patients were collected in LTT and PPT tubes at the same time and were assayed for HCV VL by the Abbott m2000 Real Time PCR System; the results were analyzed statistically. RESULTS: VLs for 103 samples for both tubes were negative. Positive results were obtained for another 79 tube pairs, including six with VLs for LTTs but values below linearity for the corresponding PPTs. For the 73 samples for which quantitative results were obtained for both tube types, VLs were statistically higher in LTTs (means 1,817,821.8 in LTTs and 1,083,669.1 in PPTs, p=0.006, alpha=0.05) using the paired t-test and confirmed by the Chi Square and McNemars tests. CONCLUSIONS: VLs in LTTs are significantly higher and more sensitive than in PPTs, suggesting the necessity of standardization of collection tubes for HCV VLs.

Short Communication: False Recent Ratio of the Limiting-Antigen Avidity Assay and Viral Load Testing Algorithm Among Cameroonians with Long-Term HIV Infection.

Current serological assays that are used for cross-sectional HIV incidence estimation have been shown to misclassify individuals with chronic infection. Limited information exists on the performance of cross-sectional incidence assays in Central Africa. HIV-positive individuals from Cameroon who were infected for at least 1 or 2 years were evaluated to determine the false recent ratio (FRR) of a two-assay algorithm, which includes the Limiting Antigen Avidity (LAg-Avidity) assay (normalized optical density units, ODn <1.5) and HIV viral load (>1000 copies/ml). The subject-level FRR was 5.3% (95% confidence interval [CI], 2.1-10.5) for individuals infected for ≥1 year and 3.9% (95% CI, 0.8-11.0) for individuals infected for ≥2 years. These data suggest that the LAg-Avidity plus viral load incidence algorithm may overestimate HIV incidence rates in Central Africa.

Parotid gland abscess caused by Haemophilus paraphrophilus: a case report.

Human diseases caused by Haemophilus paraphrophilus (H.paraphrophilus) are unusual. The following case report describes a 67-year-old man who presented with pain and swelling of the right side of the face. Fine needle aspiration suggested a parotid gland abscess. Microbiological studies identified H.paraphrophilus. This is the first time a parotid abscess has been found to be caused by this organism.

Antimicrobial activity of acrylic intraocular lenses soaked in fourth generation fluoroquinolones.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to determine whether a commercially available brand of intraocular lenses (IOLs) soaked in moxifloxacin or gatifloxacin for 1 or 60 min have antimicrobial properties. METHODS: The IOLs (N = 8-10/group) were soaked in saline, physiologic-strength moxifloxacin (1.8 microg/mL), or gatifloxacin (0.48 microg/mL) for 60 min or commercial-strength moxifloxacin (5 mg/mL) or gatifloxacin (3 mg/mL) for 1 or 60 min. Presoaked IOLs and gatifloxacin antibiotic disks were plated on agar with quality-controlled ATCC 25923 Staphylococcus aureus overlay. Bacterial kill zones were measured after 24 h. RESULTS: IOLs soaked in physiologic-strength gatifloxacin or saline for 60 min produced no measurable bacterial kill zone, and the mean bacterial kill zone for IOLs soaked in physiologic-strength moxifloxacin was significantly greater (P = 0.011, 0 vs. 3.88 +/- 3.18 mm, respectively). Soaking the IOLs in commercial-strength moxifloxacin or gatifloxacin for 1 or 60 min produced significantly larger bacterial kill zones (P < 0.0001, mean: > or =33 mm for all groups). Soaking for 1 min produced a significantly larger mean bacterial kill zone by moxifloxacinthan gatifloxacin-treated IOLs (P = 0.002, 38.80 +/- 3.74 mm, 34.30 +/- 1.34 mm, respectively). The mean bacterial kill zone was significantly larger for IOLs soaked in commercial-strength moxifloxacin for 1 versus 60 min (P = 0.002, 38.80 +/- 3.74 mm, 33.56 +/- 1.42 mm, respectively). There was no significant difference in the mean bacterial kill zone between IOLs soaked for 1 or 60 min in commercial-strength gatifloxacin (34.30 +/- 1.34 mm, 33.67 +/- 0.50 mm, respectively).