PicSafe Medi: a clinical photography app review

Medical photographs are used in many clinical settings; however, there are significant risks associated with using the camera feature on mobile devices, namely, breaches of security. PicSafe Medi is an app that allows healthcare professionals to take clinical photographs using smart devices whilst addressing the concerns of patient confidentiality. We review the app to assess its functionality in a UK clinical setting, taking into account UK guidelines such as those offered by the General Medical Council, UK legislation, the Institute of Medical Illustrators and the Department of Health.     

Diagnostic and predictive performance and standardized threshold of traditional biomarkers for drug‐induced liver injury in rats

Traditional biomarkers such as alanine and aspartate aminotransferase (ALT, AST) and total bilirubin (TBIL) have been widely used for detecting drug‐induced liver injury (DILI). Although the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) proposed standardized thresholds for human as Hy's law, those for animals have not been determined, and predictability of these biomarkers for future onset of hepatic lesions remains unclear. In this study, we investigated these diagnostic and predictive performance of 10 traditional biomarkers for liver injury by receiver‐operating characteristic (ROC) curve, using a free‐access database where 142 hepatotoxic or non‐hepatotoxic compounds were administrated to male rats (n = 5253). Standardization of each biomarker value was achieved by calculating the ratio to control mean value, and the thresholds were determined under the condition of permitting 5% false positive. Of these 10 biomarkers, AST showed the best diagnostic performance. Furthermore, ALT and TBIL also showed high performance under the situation of hepatocellular necrosis and bile duct injury, respectively. Additionally, the availability of the diagnostic thresholds in difference testing facility was confirmed by the application of these thresholds to in‐house prepared dataset. Meanwhile, incorrect diagnosis by the thresholds was also observed. Regarding prediction, all 10 biomarkers showed insufficient performance for future onset of hepatic lesions. In conclusion, the standardized diagnostic thresholds enable consistent evaluation of traditional biomarkers among different facilities, whereas it was suggested that novel biomarker is required for more accurate diagnosis and prediction of DILI. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

荧光PCR熔解曲线法检测耐多药肺结核患者对左氧氟沙星和莫西沙星耐药性的效能研究

目的: 探究荧光PCR熔解曲线法快速检测耐多药肺结核患者对左氧氟沙星(Lfx)和莫西沙星(Mfx)耐药性的临床价值。 方法: 以2018年11月至2019年12月在黑龙江省传染病防治院采用BACTEC MGIT 960全自动分枝杆菌培养及比例法药物敏感性试验(简称“药敏试验”)确诊为耐多药肺结核的195例患者为研究对象,同时经荧光PCR熔解曲线法进行筛查,通过与药敏试验结果进行对比,分析荧光PCR熔解曲线法检测结核分枝杆菌对Lfx和Mfx耐药性的准确性。结果: 195株耐多药结核分枝杆菌经比例法药敏试验检测,对Lfx和Mfx耐药率分别为46.15%(90/195)和48.72%(95/195);以比例法药敏试验结果为标准,荧光PCR熔解曲线法检测结核分枝杆菌对Lfx和Mfx耐药性的敏感度分别为95.56%(86/90)和95.79%(91/95),特异度分别为73.33%(77/105)和77.00%(77/100),一致率分别为83.59%(163/195)和86.15%(168/195),Kappa值分别为0.83和0.85。 结论: 荧光PCR熔解曲线法检测耐多药肺结核患者对Lfx和Mfx耐药的结果与比例法药敏试验结果高度一致,适用于筛查耐多药肺结核患者对Lfx和Mfx的耐药性。     

分子生物学和液体培养方法提高综合医院结核病病原学诊断能力的价值

目的 分析应用分子生物学检测及液体培养法对提升综合医院结核病病原学诊断能力的价值。方法 提取中日友好医院病案系统中2014年3月至2018年12月全院各科室诊断为肺结核且上报传染病卡的1438例住院患者的诊断依据、病原学检测方法及结果、病原学送检时间及结果返回时间、入院时间及出院时间等信息。分析该院2014—2016年仅开展抗酸染色和分枝杆菌固体培养法(罗氏培养法)时与2017—2018年开展分子生物学检测[GeneXpert MTB/RIF检测(简称“GeneXpert检测”)]和液体培养法(BACTEC MGIT 960分枝杆菌快速液体培养)后肺结核患者病原学诊断能力和确诊时间的变化情况。结果 2014年该院肺结核患者病原学检测阳性率仅为19.83%(24/121),2018年升至53.89%(256/475)。分子生物学检测及液体培养法开展前后,肺结核患者病原学检测阳性率分别为22.68%(132/582)和49.65%(425/856),差异有统计学意义(χ²=106.184,P=0.000)。开展GeneXpert检测后(2017—2018年),该院经检测确诊的肺结核患者中利福平耐药比例为7.45%(28/376),而在开展前无耐药结核病诊断能力。开展分子生物学和液体培养法检测后(2017—2018年),肺结核患者确诊时间为7.00(3.00,12.00)d 明显短于开展之前(2014—2016年)的10.00(6.00,14.00)d,差异有统计学意义(Z=-7.815,P=0.000 )。结论 分子生物学和液体培养方法的应用可提高综合医院结核病病原学诊断能力,缩短患者确诊时间。