An enzyme immunoassay for determining albumin in human urine samples using an ultra-microanalytical system.

Microalbuminuria is a term to describe a moderate increase in the level of albumin in urine. It is an important prognostic marker for kidney damage in diseases such as diabetes mellitus and hypertension. A simple sandwich-type ultramicroELISA assay (UMELISA) has been developed for the measurement of albumin in human urine samples. Strips coated with a high affinity monoclonal antibody directed against albumin are used as solid phase, to ensure the specificity of the assay. The albumin assay was completed in 1 hr and 30 min, with a measuring range of 1.44-200 ng/mL. The intra- and inter-assay coefficients of variation were 3.98-4.35% and 7.59-8.92%, respectively, depending on the albumin concentrations evaluated. Percentage recovery ranged from 94.26 to 98.50%. Regression analysis showed a good correlation with the commercial quantitative turbidimetric test Microalbumin-turbilatex (n = 240, r = 0.994, p < .01). The analytical performance characteristics of our UMELISA MICROALBUMINA endorse its use for the quantification of albumin in human urine samples. This test will make a cost-effective diagnostic kit accessible to low-income countries such as Latin American countries and is now available in the Cuban Public Health System.

Staphylococcus pseudintermedius and Staphylococcus schleiferi Subspecies coagulans from Canine Pyoderma Cases in Grenada, West Indies, and Their Susceptibility to Beta-Lactam Drugs.

Over a 2-year period 66 cases of canine pyoderma in Grenada, West Indies, were examined by aerobic culture in order to ascertain the bacteria involved and their antimicrobial resistance patterns. Of the 116 total bacterial isolates obtained, the majority belonged to Gram-positive species, and the most common organism identified through biochemical and molecular methods was Staphylococcus pseudintermedius. Additionally, identification of a Staphylococcus schleiferi subspecies coagulans isolate was confirmed by molecular methods. All isolates of staphylococci were susceptible to beta-lactam drugs: amoxicillin-clavulanic acid, cefovecin, cefoxitin, cefpodoxime, and cephalothin. They were also susceptible to chloramphenicol and enrofloxacin. Resistance was highest to tetracycline. Methicillin resistance was not detected in any isolate of S. pseudintermedius or in S. schleiferi. Among the Gram-negative bacteria, the most common species was Klebsiella pneumoniae, followed by Acinetobacter baumannii/calcoaceticus. The only drug to which all Gram-negative isolates were susceptible was enrofloxacin. This report is the first to confirm the presence of S. pseudintermedius and S. schleiferi subspecies coagulans, in dogs with pyoderma in Grenada, and the susceptibility of staphylococcal isolates to the majority of beta-lactam drugs used in veterinary practice.