Highlights
Childhood epilepsy forms a significant burden on the health-care delivery system.
Telemedicine is a proposed effective alternative in overcoming this burden.
Even simple mobile phones can be used by paramedical professionals like specialty nurses to provide a useful point of care telephonic consultation.
Tele-consultation in childhood epilepsy by pediatric neurology fellow has excellent sensitivity and specificity.
A specialty nurse has also acceptable sensitivity and specificity in comparison with face-to-face consultation.
BACKGROUND: Tuberculosis is considered to be a major cause of death among the infectious diseases prevalent in India. Differentiation of M. tuberculosis from Nontuberculous Mycobacteria (NTM) is very important in the management of the disease. Recently, Standard Diagnostics (SD Yongin Korea) developed a simple and rapid assay using a mouse monoclonal anti-MPT64 antibody to discriminate between M. tuberculosis and NTM by Immunochromatography. These tests were found to have good sensitivity and specificity. METHOD: 200 sputum samples were processed and inoculated on conventional Lowenstein Jensen culture medium. The Mycobacterial isolates were subjected to biochemical tests (Niacin test and Nitrate reduction test) and Immunochromatographic assay. The isolates were also tested by Polymerase chain reaction. H37 RV strain was used as a positive control. RESULT: The culture isolates showed positive in 47 (23.5%) cases. 44 isolates were positive and 3 were negative by both biochemical tests and immunochromatographic assay. Similar results were obtained by PCR. The sensitivity and specificity of Immunochromatography test when compared to biochemical tests and PCR was 100%. Positive predictive value and Negative predictive values were 100%. CONCLUSION: Immunochromatographic assay showed comparable results with biochemical tests and this assay can be used as an alternative to biochemical tests for the confirmation of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex, which avoids use of hazardous chemicals (Cyanogen bromide).
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