(1) Background: In the current context of the COVID-19 crisis, there is a need for fast, easy-to-use, and sensitive diagnostic tools in addition to molecular methods. We have therefore decided to evaluate the performance of newly available antigen detection kits in “real-life” laboratory conditions. (2) Methods: The sensitivity and specificity of two rapid diagnostic tests (RDT)—the COVID-19 Ag Respi-Strip from Coris Bioconcept, Belgium (CoRDT), and the coronavirus antigen rapid test cassette from Healgen Scientific, LLC, USA (HeRDT)—were evaluated on 193 nasopharyngeal samples using RT-PCR as the gold standard. (3) Results: The sensitivity obtained for HeRDT was 88% for all collected samples and 91.1% for samples with Ct ≤ 31. For the CoRDT test, the sensitivity obtained was 62% for all collected samples and 68.9% for samples with Ct ≤ 31. (4) Conclusions: Despite the excellent specificity obtained for both kits, the poor sensitivity of the CoRDT did not allow for its use in the rapid diagnosis of COVID-19. HeRDT satisfied the World Health Organization’s performance criteria for rapid antigen detection tests. Its high sensitivity, quick response, and ease of use allowed for the implementation of HeRDT at the laboratory of the University Hospital of Liège.
Parathyroid carcinoma is a rare endocrine cancer with a poor prognosis. Additionally, diagnostic tools that discriminate parathyroid carcinomas from adenomas are insufficient although essential in the therapeutic scheme. Previous reports have identified, in parathyroid biopsies, several potential biomarkers that are differentially expressed in parathyroid carcinomas compared to adenomas. In this study, we investigate the expression profile of those previously reported miRNAs in sera of patients suffering from parathyroid carcinoma. Our cohort is composed of sera from 10 parathyroid carcinomas, 12 parathyroid adenomas and 11 healthy subjects. 9 miRNAs were selected based on literature namely: miR-222-3p, miR-30b-5p, miR-139-5p, miR-517c-3p, miR-126-5p, miR-26b-5p, miR296-5p, miR-503-5p and miR-30e-5p. miRNA were extracted using miRNeasy Serum/Plasma Advanced Kit and cDNA synthetized with miRCURY LNA RT Kit. miRNA expression profile was quantified by real-time qPCR assays Lightcycler (Roche°) using miRCURY LNA SYBR Green PCR Kit.
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