Evaluation of a rapid stoolantigen test for the diagnosis of Helicobacter pylori infection in Chinese patients

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the accuracy of a rapid assay that wasdeveloped to detect Helicobacter pylori antigen in the stool,using the principle of immunochromatography, in the Chinese population. METHODS: Eligible patients without prior treatment of H.pylori were recruited. An in‐house rapid urease test (RUT) andhistology were used as the gold standard. The results of the rapidstool antigen test were compared with the gold standard. RESULTS: Valid rapid stool antigen test results for interpretationwere obtained from 94 consecutive patients (mean age: 52.5, range:22?82 years). Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictivevalue, negative predictive value and accuracy were, respectively, 77.5%,87.0%, 81.6%, 83.9% and 83.0%.The test was easy to perform and results were available within 15 min. CONCLUSION: The rapid stool antigen test using immunochromatography accuratelydiagnoses H. pylori infection in Chinese patients.     

Induction of the endogenous gonadotrophin surge for oocyte maturation with intra-nasal gonadotrophin-releasing hormone analogue (buserelin): effective minimal dose

From 1985-1987, a total of 34 couples undergoing superovulation for a single in-vitro fertilization (IVF) cycle with clomiphene citrate and purified follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) or human menopausal gonadotrophin (HMG) were randomly allocated doses of intra-nasal buserelin to induce an endogenous gonadotrophin surge, prior to oocyte collection. The doses ranged from a single 25 microg dose to 100 microg every 4 h for 20 h. In three cycles the treatment was abandoned because of a poor ovarian response. In the remaining 31 cycles buserelin was given to induce the endogenous gonadotrophin surge, but there was evidence of premature luteinization in eight cycles and a premature gonadotrophin surge in four cycles. Although a single dose as low as 40 microg induced a surge and resulted in a pregnancy, a single dose of 50 microg proved the most effective minimal dose consistently to induce a gonadotrophin surge and oocyte maturation. Recent reports using gonadotrophin-releasing hormone (GnRH) analogues to induce a gonadotrophin surge has prompted publication of this previously unpublished data.      

Cystic intracranial lesions: magnetic resonance imaging

Thirty-three patients with cystic intracranial lesions were examined with both magnetic resonance (MR) imaging and CT scanning. The abnormalities imaged included 11 arachnoid cysts, 10 cystic tumors, six postoperative cysts, and three colloid cysts. The intensity patterns of the cyst contents as encoded with routine spin-echo imaging sequences enabled subdivision of the cysts into three categories. Arachnoid and postoperative cysts had an intensity pattern identical to cerebrospinal fluid. More proteinaceous cysts, including inflammatory cysts and nonhemorrhagic tumoral cysts, had an intermediate intensity pattern with characteristically low intensity on the short TR sequence (0.5 sec), but had clearly higher intensity than cerebrospinal fluid on the long TR sequences (2 sec). Finally, three cystic tumors with hemorrhagic fluid and three colloid cysts had a distinctly different pattern of high intensity on all four MR sequences through the same section. MR was superior to CT in characterizing intracranial cystic lesions because of its ability to categorize cysts into these three groups on the basis of the intensity pattern of cyst contents, thereby improving diagnostic specificity and patient management.