The authors present an original method for the quantitative determination of total urinary porphyrins and an electrophoretic separation technique for the identification and fractional determination of uroporphyrins, of coproporphyrins and of the 7, 6, 5 carboxyl groups porphyrins.
American medical journals, as the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), and the American Journal of Clinical Pathology (AJCP), the Journal of the American Society of Clinical Pathologists (ASCP), are shifting to selected SI (Système International d'Unités) units for reporting measurements. Further discussion by the AMA, the ASCP and other organizations is required before consensus in the US medical community can be reached as to the extent of and time frame for conversion to SI for reporting clinical laboratory measurements: however this decision will certainly greatly speed up the process of conversion in European countries too. Transition to SI units will require the use of different reference ranges, and there will be a potential for serious misinterpretation of laboratory data unless well-planned educational programs are instituted before the change. A simple program written in Microsoft Basic for automatically tracing on one's personal computer (PC) monitor a dual scale, in the conventional and in the SI system of units, is presented here. The program may be easily implemented and run on every PC operating under MS-DOS, equipped with a CGA or an AT&T6300 graphic card: through the operating system the scales may also be printed on a dot-matrix graphic printer. We believe that this, and other tools of this kind, will be useful in the thorough educational process of those reading the reports, and will be an important factor in the success of conversion to SI reporting.
In a previous study, carried out on women at delivery recovered at the obstetric ward of the Pistoia Hospital, we noted a high incidence of group B Streptococci cultured from vaginal site. Because group B streptococcal infection is very serious in neonates we decided to examine the frequence of vertical and horizontal transmission among the mother-neonate couples. We have also compared their rate of colonisation by doing rectal and vaginal swabs on women and rectal, vaginal and external auditory canal swabs on babies. In fact we known that infants moderately to heavily colonised with group B Streptococci at birth, appear to have a significant higher risk of developing serious disease than do infants only lightly colonised. In our work we haven't observed any acute group B streptococcal infection, but we have identified 18 couples mother-neonate colonised by the same group B Streptococci serotype, which is proof of an easy vertical transmission of group B Streptococci whilst horizontal transmission is very rare (only one case).
The antibacterial activity in vitro of Imipenem (N-formimidoyl-thienamycin) was studied on 237 recently-isolated nosocomial bacterial strains and compared with Aztreonam, Cefotaxime, Ceftazidime, Ceftriaxone, Piperacillin, Amikacin and Netilmicin through the determination of susceptibility by the Kirby-Bauer method. Taking into account that 65% bacterial strains, out of the examined ones, came from antibiotic high-pressure departments (45% from bone-marrow transplanted patients in the Hematological Department and 20% from Intensive Care Unit patients), the results obtained in vitro show an activity of Imipenem on Gram-negative bacteria as much as a 92.7% susceptibility and a 75.7% on Gram-positive bacteria; when compared with the activity of the other antibiotics, Imipenem shows a really excellent activity.
The usefulness of detecting specific IgM antibodies in the immunodiagnosis of toxoplasmosis is fraught with false positive and false negative results. For instance false positivity can be obtained when rheumatoid factor is present in the serum while false negativity can occur because competing levels of IgG antibodies. We report the results obtained by the use of a simplified chromatographic method, commercially available in kits, for the separation of IgM from IgG in the immunodiagnosis of toxoplasmosis. The 1564 sera tested by indirect immunofluorescent technique (IFA) showed that 119 (7.6%) were positive if the whole serum was tested and only 7 (0.4%) after the chromatographic separation. This suggests that the use of this method can notably reduce the number of false results in sera with high IFA titer of IgM to toxoplasma.
The concentrations of the IgG and IgM fractions have been determined on thirty whole sera and after treatment with protein A, or after chromatographic separation. The analysis of the differences has been effected with Student's t test. No statistically significant differences have been noted between the two methods of separation as far as IgM fraction is concerned, but, on the contrary, significant differences are present for the separation of IgG fraction.
We analysed, in the period 1984-1986, the serum of 1733 pregnant women. The relation between the positivities and some probable factors of risk, alimentary habits and touch with tame animals has had valued by statistical method. The analysis shows no increase of risk in the group used to eat underdone meats compared with the group in touch tame animals.
The RAST-inhibition potency has been obtained from five extracts prepared by: whole mite culture, mites-enriched culture, faeces-enriched culture, purified mite bodies, commercial extract. The present study demonstrates that extracts of: a) purified bodies, and b) faeces-enriched culture are both potent preparations in RAST-inhibition.
The determination of human serum cholinesterase (EC 3.1.1.8) is frequently requested to detect patients with atypical forms of the enzyme which reacts abnormally with succinylcholine (suxamethonium), employed as a neuromuscular blocking agent. Usually, for biochemical identification of succinylcholine sensitive individuals the standard reaction is run with and without the inhibitors, notably dibucaine. A new test for direct determination of succinylcholine sensitive individuals which use a substrate analogue of succinylcholine was applied to a automated instrument. The linearity, precision, recovery, interference and correlation of the method have been evaluated. We have estimated the reference intervals for a population of 364 healthy subjects subdivided for sex, three atypical homozygotes and two atypical heterozygotes. On the basis of analytical performance we can conclude that this test may offer a further parameter for preoperative screening of individuals with an abnormal response to the muscle relaxant succinylcholine, thus avoiding the determination of genotype by measurement of dibucaine number.
The authors present an interesting case of monoclonal component concerning a 61 years old patient, incorrectly identifiable with the IFE technique only. Moreover they describe the analytic methodology used to identify the monoclonal component which resulted to be secreted in three different ways of polymerization.
A platelets count was performed on 100 subjects using both the electronic counter and a manual method; the results obtained concerning healthy subjects are overlapping. In subjects with structural alterations regarding platelets and red blood cells, the electronic counter method has overestimated the number, yet making note of it.
The morphologic lymphonode features have been reviewed in 11 cases of chronic lymphocytic leukemia and correlated to the clinical staging and survival. It is observed that 3/4 of cases with focal immaturity in the lymphonodes presented a more advanced clinical staging and shorter survival.
The authors have investigated the level of circulating immune complexes (CIC) in 409 patients (some hospitalized) suffering from disease in which the presence of CIC had been suspected. The 10% (forty-one) was positive, and clinical manifestations related have shown, in the majority of patients, a close relation with diseases in which there was, or it was possible to presume, an immunological pathogenic mechanism. Besides the authors examine a case with close association between high level of CIC and leptospirosis.
The authors have examined the total cholesterol, the HDL cholesterol, the LDL cholesterol, triglycerides, and the HDL cholesterol/total cholesterol ratio on 313 men and 305 women divided into groups in relation with age (40 years, 40-60 years, 60 years). Significant differences have emerged comparing these different subgroups as regards the considered parameters. About examined population, we have observed higher value of all principal seric lipids than national media. Implications of these data in the evaluation of cardiovascular disease are discussed.
Circadian rhythm of lymphocyte subsets was investigated in four healthy subjects, males, aged 35-58 years old. After a period of ambiental synchronization, venous blood samples were taken during a span of a day at 0.00 a.m., 4.00 a.m., 8.00 a.m., noon, 4.00 p.m. and 8.00 p.m. Lymphocyte subsets (OKT3, OKT4, OKT8, OKB7, OKJa1) were determined by monoclonal antibodies method, and serum level of cortisol by radioimmunoassay method. The OKT4/OKT8 ratio was also calculated. Data were analyzed by chronograms (mean +/- 1SD) and by cosinor method. Results show a significant circadian rhythm for each lymphocyte subset and for serum cortisol levels. The lowest levels of all circulating subsets were seen between noon and 4.00 p.m. and the highest levels around midnight, inversely related with the circadian rhythm of serum cortisol. The OKT4/OKT8 ratio, on the contrary, was relatively constant during the day, without a significant circadian rhythm. These observations have laboratoristic, clinical, and therapeutic implications and should be considered in the course of immunological studies.
This paper reports the results of a study carried out on 4614 samples of urine from inpatients and outpatients according to the sex. The positive monomicrobic urine specimens were examined and isolated strains were tested against various antimicrobial drugs. Our findings showed that 43.1% of urine specimens examined from inpatients and 38.4% from outpatients proved to be positive. Among the bacterial species more frequently isolated, significant differences among Enterobacter spp. in males and coagulase-negative Staphylococcus spp. in females from general practice, and Pseudomonas spp. in females from the hospital were observed. Statistical analysis reveals that: a) no significant differences were found in antibiotic-resistance among Escherichia coli, Proteus rettgeri, Streptococcus faecalis, Enterobacter spp. and Pseudomonas spp., isolated from inpatients and outpatients as regards males and females; b) Klebsiella spp., Proteus rettgeri and coagulase-negative Staphylococcus strains isolated from females inpatients are more chemo-resistant than those from females outpatients.
The simple Sclavo test based on succinyldicholine hydrolysis and on the following reaction with 5,5'-dithio-bis-2-nitrobenzoic acid for detection of the atypical patterns of serum cholinesterase has been investigated. A yellow staining appears but in presence of the atypical forms of the enzyme. Analysis of 4055 serum samples by the 430 Selective Analyzer Sclavo allowed the identification of one atypical homozygous patient. Prolonged apnoea induced by use of succinyldicholine as a neuromuscular blocking agent during anaesthesia may be avoided by use of this test.
