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Biomedical subjects

K L Herrmann

Publications and source records attributed to K L Herrmann.

63 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

Available rubella serologic tests.

Serologic techniques for the detection of antibodies to rubella virus provide the approach of choice for laboratory diagnosis of acute and congenital rubella infections and for the determination of rubella immunity status. Rubella serodiagnostic tests currently being used in clinical laboratories are described in this review. Advantages, limitations, and relative sensitivities and specificities of these tests are presented. The reactivity and specificity of rubella antibody tests have been shown to vary from laboratory to laboratory and from one manufacturer's kit to another. The need is clearly apparent for a universally accepted reference standard that will allow sensitivities and alternative assays to be compared directly and a meaningful immune cutoff level to be established. Incorporating such standards into the available rubella tests would eliminate much of the diagnostic uncertainty associated with rubella infections during pregnancy.

Antibodies, Viral↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Fetal risk associated with rubella vaccine: an update.

One hundred nineteen women susceptible to rubella received RA27/3 vaccine, 94 received either Cendehill or HPV-77 vaccine, and one received a vaccine of unknown strain in the three months before or after their estimated date of conception. They gave birth to 216 living infants free of abnormalities compatible with the congenital rubella syndrome (CRS). The maximum theoretical risk for CRS for these infants was 1.7%. Four of these infants born to susceptible women had laboratory evidence of subclinical infection (three after receiving Cendehill or HPV-77 vaccines and one after receiving RA27/3 vaccine) but were normal at birth and at subsequent follow-up examinations. Rubella virus was isolated from the products of conception for only 3% (1 of 32) of cases involving susceptible women who received RA27/3 vaccine; the reported rate of virus isolation for Cendehill and HPV-77 vaccine is 20%. The available data indicate that if vaccination occurs within three months of conception, the risk is negligible. However, since the actual risk may not be zero, women known to be pregnant should not be vaccinated, and conception should be avoided for three months after vaccination.

Abortion, Induced↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Measles seroconfirmation using dried capillary blood specimens in filter paper.

Because the incidence of measles has declined in recent years, the potential for confusion of measles with other morbilliform rashes has increased. Routine serologic testing of suspected cases of measles is recommended but it has been hampered, particularly in young infants and children, by the requirement of performing venipuncture. We have compared measles hemagglutination inhibition antibody testing performed on dried capillary whole blood collected on filter paper strips with testing of serum specimens obtained simultaneously by venipuncture. We assessed overall comparability, diagnostic sensitivity and specificity and acceptability and practicality for field use. Of the 125 capillary-venous sets compared, there was a 4-fold difference in hemagglutination inhibition titer between the two types of specimens in only one set (0.8%). Diagnostic sensitivity using capillary blood was 100% and specificity was 96%. Immunoglobulin M assessments on six capillary-venous sets were in complete agreement (three positive in both, three negative in both). In a pilot program of field use, filter paper blood collection was associated with a 97% (36 of 37) success rate in obtaining specimens from individuals with suspected cases of measles. This method of blood collection and testing is an accurate, feasible and acceptable means for seroconfirmation of measles.

Antibodies, Viral↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Sensitivity and specificity of diagnostic tests for genital infection with herpesvirus hominis.

Three smear techniques for diagnosis of Herpesvirus hominis infection were evaluated by study of 168 unselected patients with genital lesions attending a venereal disease clinic. A tissue culture and results of three smear techniques were obtained for each patient in random order. H. hominis was recovered from 101 patients (60%). All three smear tests (immunofluorescence, Papanicolaou, and crystal violet) were highly specific, but the sensitivity of each was smaller than or equal to 40% among patients who had ulcerative lesions. Because H. hominis is a common cause of genital lesions and the clinical manifestations of disease are highly variable, future research must identify accurate diagnostic aids that are suitable for clinic use.

Blister↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Measles in patients suspected of having Rocky Mountain spotted fever.

Diagnostic titer rises of measles antibody were observed in six of 46 paired sera from persons originally suspected of having Rocky Mountain spotted fever and found to be serologically negative for this disease. Atypical or typical measles is now occurring relatively more frequently in adolescents and young adults and should be considered in the differential diagnosis for patients in these age groups who have undiagnosed febrile rash illnesses.

Adolescent↗