Minoo Adib; Fakhri Navaei; Farzad Oreizi; Fereshteh Saheb-Fosoul; Vajiheh Ostadi
Volume 3, Issue 1 , March 2006, , Pages 9-14
Abstract
Background: Neonatal sepsis is a life-threatening disease with an incidence of 1 to 10 per 1000 live births and a mortality rate of 15% to 50%. The clinical signs are non-specific and indistinguishable from those caused by a variety of neonatal noninfectious disorders. Objective: The aim of this study ...
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Background: Neonatal sepsis is a life-threatening disease with an incidence of 1 to 10 per 1000 live births and a mortality rate of 15% to 50%. The clinical signs are non-specific and indistinguishable from those caused by a variety of neonatal noninfectious disorders. Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the importance of CD64 expression (FcgRI), a neutrophil surface marker, in early diagnosis of neonatal sepsis. Methods: The studied population comprised of 65 neonates with gestational ages of 27 to 38 weeks, suspected of having sepsis in the first 28 days of life and 12 healthy neonates with physiologic hyperbilirubinemia. One ml of whole blood was obtained to determine CD64 expression on peripheral blood neutrophils by flow cytometry. Results: CD64 expression was significantly higher in the group with sepsis than the control groups (P < 0.001). Sensitivity and specificity of CD64 were 92.3% and 100%, respectively. The negative and positive predictive values of CD64 for identifying sepsis were 100% and 88%, respectively. Conclusion: A change in cell surface expression of CD64 on peripheral blood neutrophils may be considered as a sensitive marker for detection of neonatal sepsis if used in combination with other laboratory parameters.
Abbasali Pourazar; Mansoor Salehi; Aabollah Jafarzadeh; Mohammad Kazemi Arababadi; Farzad Oreizi; Keivan Shariatinezhad
Volume 2, Issue 3 , September 2005, , Pages 172-176
Abstract
Background: The risk of infection by transfusion-transmitted viruses has been reduced remarkably. However, a zero-risk blood supply is still desirable. The screening for antibody to HBc (anti-HBc) has been shown as an alternative test for the detection of HBV infection. Objective: The main aim of this ...
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Background: The risk of infection by transfusion-transmitted viruses has been reduced remarkably. However, a zero-risk blood supply is still desirable. The screening for antibody to HBc (anti-HBc) has been shown as an alternative test for the detection of HBV infection. Objective: The main aim of this study was to evaluate HBV infection markers and the potential value of anti-HBc testing of blood donors to detect HBV infection. Methods: In this descriptive cross-sectional study, 545 blood samples were collected and tested for HbsAg using ELISA method. Then all HBsAg negative samples were tested for anti-HBc by the same method. To detect HBV infection, all HBsAg negative and anti-HBc positive samples were tested by PCR for HBV DNA. Results: All blood samples were HBsAg negative of which, 43 (8%) were anti-HBc positive. From those which were positive for anti-HBc, five samples were also positive for HBV DNA. Conclusion: Occult HBV infection is a clinical form of HBV infection in which HBsAg is not expressed by HBV and blood samples cannot be screened by ELISA method, therefore more sensitive techniques are needed. Our results demonstrate that a complementary test such as PCR, for detecting HBV DNA, is essential to ensure safety of blood samples.
