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Screening Panel (screening + panel)

Distribution by Scientific Domains
Life Sciences50%

Selected Abstracts

Flow cytometry antibody screening using pooled red cells,

CYTOMETRY, Issue 2 2010
Dong Il Won
Abstract Background: For red cell alloantibody screening, the column agglutination technique (CAT) is used extensively, and flow cytometry (FC) screening has recently been demonstrated to be accurate, rapid, and cost effective. We attempted to determine whether the high sensitivity of FC allows pooling of screening red cells, which is generally not an acceptable technique in CAT. Methods: For FC screening, a commercial two-cell screening panel was utilized for the preparation of individual cells (CSi), as well as pooled cells diluted 1 in 2 (CSp), and 1 in 3 (CS1/3). Another panel was pooled from 120 randomly selected group O donors (RSp). Results: Comparing the endpoint titrations of serial dilutions, CS1/3 was found to be one dilution, on the average, less sensitive than CSi. In 33 CAT-positive patient samples, the sensitivities of CSi and CSp did not differ significantly without polyethylene glycol (PEG) (30/33, 26/33, respectively, P = 0.125), although they did differ significantly with PEG (32/33, 25/33, respectively, P = 0.016). The percentages of reactive cells among the total cells from RSp were roughly proportional to the relevant antigen frequencies of the local donors. Conclusions: A trend toward reduced sensitivity was observed using pooled red cells, even via FC. Pooled cells from randomly selected group O donors may be employed as another method by which the characteristics of known antibodies might be assessed. © 2009 Clinical Cytometry Society [source]

Patient advocacy in newborn screening: Continuities and discontinuities,

AMERICAN JOURNAL OF MEDICAL GENETICS, Issue 1 2008
Diane B. Paul
Abstract In the 1960s, patient advocacy groups were instrumental in efforts to mandate state testing of newborns for phenylketonuria (PKU), a recessively inherited disorder of phenylalanine metabolism. Advocacy groups have continued to actively lobby for the expansion of screening to other conditions detectable in newborns and, currently, for states' adoption of a uniform core screening panel. They have also been generally favorable to the offer of fee-based supplemental screening services. In the early years of newborn screening, groups such as the National Association for Retarded Children (NARC) were strongly imbued with a public-health ethic. This ethic has apparently eroded over time as the result of both broad social changes and the increasing entanglement of such groups with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. A history of newborn screening reveals both continuities and discontinuities in the agendas and funding of patient advocacy groups and in their rhetorical strategies. In particular, it demonstrates that there have always been tensions as well as partnerships with medical and other professionals, although the nature and intensity of the former have been affected by advocacy groups' increasing numbers, resources, and cultural authority. It also illuminates differences that have emerged as advocacy groups have informally allied with industry and adopted new rationales in support of access to testing. © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]

Use of Intradermal Dilutional Testing and Skin Prick Testing: Clinical Relevance and Cost Efficiency

THE LARYNGOSCOPE, Issue 9 2006
Dr. Merritt Seshul MD, FAAOA
Abstract Objectives/Hypothesis: The objective was to determine the agreement of the positive results from a multiple skin prick test (SPT) device with the ability to determine a definable endpoint through intradermal dilutional testing (IDT) to compare semiquantitatively the degree of positivity of SPT results with quantitative results from IDT and to analyze the cost of immunotherapy based on SPT compared with IDT guided by SPT. Study Design: Retrospective review of clinical data (random accrual). Methods: One hundred thirty-four patients underwent allergy screening using a multiple SPT device. Antigens testing positive by skin prick device were tested using IDT on a separate day. Antigens testing negative by SPT were not evaluated by IDT. Regional allergy testing practice patterns were determined, and a cost analysis using Medicare rates was performed Results: There was good agreement between an antigen testing positive by SPT and the determination of a definable endpoint (93.33%, n = 1,334 antigens). The degree of positivity from the SPT correlated poorly with the final endpoint concentration (r = 0.40, P < .0001). Blended testing techniques were similar in cost when compared with several commonly used allergy testing protocols. Conclusions: Antigens which show reactivity to a multiple SPT device usually have a treatable endpoint that is independent of the degree of positivity of the SPT result. IDT is an important step in the determination of the strongest starting dose of immunotherapy that may be safely administered. Initiating immunotherapy in this manner may potentially create significant health care savings by shortening the time required for a patient to reach their individual maximally tolerated dose. The use of a relatively large screening panel is cost effective and does not increase the average number of antigens treated by immunotherapy. Blended allergy testing techniques that include IDT in their protocol are comparable in cost with commonly used allergy testing protocols. [source]

Reviewing child deaths,learning from the American experience,

CHILD ABUSE REVIEW, Issue 2 2005
Lisa Bunting
Abstract Current systems for investigating child deaths in England, Wales and Northern Ireland have come under intense scrutiny in recent years and questions have been raised about the accuracy of child death investigations and resulting statistics. Research has highlighted the ways in which multidisciplinary input can contribute to investigative and review processes, a perspective which is further supported by recent UK policy developments. The experience of creating multidisciplinary child death review teams (CDRTs) in America highlights the potential benefits the introduction of a similar system might have. These benefits include improved multi-agency working and communication, more effective identification of suspicious cases, a decrease in inadequate death certification and a broader and more in-depth understanding of the causes of child deaths through the systematic collection and analysis of data. While a lack of funding, regional coordination and evaluation limit the impact of American CDRTs, the positive aspects of this process make it worthwhile, and timely, to consider how such a model might fit within our own context. Current policy developments such as the Home Office review of coroner services, the Children Bill and related Department for Education and Skills (DfES) work on developing screening groups demonstrate that strides have been made in respect of introducing a multidisciplinary process. Similarly, the development of local protocols for the investigation and[sol ]or review of child deaths in England, Wales and Northern Ireland highlights an increased focus on multidisciplinary processes. However, key issues from the American experience, such as the remit of CDRTs[sol ]screening panels, the need for national coordination and the importance of rigorous evaluation, can inform the development of a similar process in the UK. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]