Monitoring nucleic acid contamination and assessing biosecurity risk in temporary 2019-nCoV nucleic acid testing laboratory from designated infectious disease care facilities / 中华检验医学杂志

Objective:To monitor nucleic acid contamination and evaluate the biosecurity risk in a temporary 2019-nCoV nucleic acid testing laboratory situated within designated infectious disease care facilities.Methods:Quantitative real-time PCR technology was used to detect nucleic acid contamination in samples collected from high-risk experimental activity areas and the surface of the laboratory staff′s personal protective equipment. Sampling was conducted every Monday from March 14 to May 16, 2022, both during and after disinfection procedures.Results:A total of 760 samples were collected from 40 sampling sites. A total of 27 out of 100 samples (27%) collected from 8 sampling sites in the sample processing area were positive. Among them, the contaminated area of biological safety cabinet, the outer surface of the sample transport box, and the sample rack were found to have the highest positive detection rates, with rates of 5/10, 4/10, and 6/10, respectively. Ten out of 140 samples (7.1%) obtained from 7 sampling sites in the nucleic acid detection area showed positive results. The inner wall of sample transfer window and the door handle of the nucleic acid detection area had the highest positive detection rates, both at 4/20. The Ct values for the target genes from the positive samples in the sample processing area were significantly higher than those from the nucleic acid detection area. The detection rate for nucleic acid contamination on the surface of the personal protective equipment of the laboratory staff was 20% (16/80), and the positive detection rate of the outer gloves from operator during the experiment reached 9/10. After disinfection, the nucleic acid residues on the surfaces of the various areas of the 2019-nCoV nucleic acid laboratory and the surfaces of the personal protective equipment of the laboratory staff were observed to be effectively removed.Conclusions:During experimental operation, the positive detection rate and nucleic acid contamination intensity of 2019-nCoV are higher in the sample processing area compared to those in the nucleic acid detection area. The laboratory staff are exposed to high biosecurity risk during the experiment. Implementing a scientific disinfection process can significantly reduce the risk of 2019-nCoV residues from the laboratory environment and the surface of the personal protective equipment of the laboratory staff, ensuring the accuracy of inspections and the safety of the laboratory staff.

Residual coronary artery tree description and lesion EvaluaTion (CatLet) score, clinical variables, and their associations with outcome predictions in patients with acute myocardial infarction / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

BACKGROUND@#We have recently developed a new Coronary Artery Tree description and Lesion EvaluaTion (CatLet) angiographic scoring system. Our preliminary studies have demonstrated its superiority over the the Synergy between percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with Taxus and Cardiac Surgery (SYNTAX) score with respect to outcome predictions for acute myocardial infarction (AMI) patients. The current study hypothesized that the residual CatLet (rCatLet) score predicts clinical outcomes for AMI patients and that a combination with the three clinical variables (CVs)-age, creatinine, and ejection fraction, will enhance its predicting values.@*METHODS@#The rCatLet score was calculated retrospectively in 308 consecutively enrolled patients with AMI. Primary endpoint, major adverse cardiac or cerebrovascular events (MACCE) including all-cause mortality, non-fatal AMI, transient ischemic attack/stroke, and ischemia-driven repeat revascularization, was stratified according to rCatLet score tertiles: rCatLet_low ≤3, rCatLet_mid 4-11, and rCatLet_top ≥12, respectively. Cross-validation confirmed a reasonably good agreement between the observed and predicted risks.@*RESULTS@#Of 308 patients analyzed, the rates of MACCE, all-cause death, and cardiac death were 20.8%, 18.2%, and 15.3%, respectively. Kaplan-Meier curves for all endpoints showed increasing outcome events with the increasing tertiles of the rCatLet score, with P values <0.001 on trend test. For MACCE, all-cause death, and cardiac death, the area under the curves (AUCs) of the rCatLet score were 0.70 (95% confidence intervals [CI]: 0.63-0.78), 0.69 (95% CI: 0.61-0.77), and 0.71 (95% CI: 0.63-0.79), respectively; the AUCs of the CVs-adjusted rCatLet score models were 0.83 (95% CI: 0.78-0.89), 0.87 (95% CI: 0.82-0.92), and 0.89 (95% CI: 0.84-0.94), respectively. The performance of CVs-adjusted rCatLet score was significantly better than the stand-alone rCatLet score in terms of outcome predictions.@*CONCLUSION@#The rCatLet score has a predicting value for clinical outcomes for AMI patients and the incorporation of the three CVs into the rCatLet score will enhance its predicting ability.@*TRIAL REGISTRATION@#http://www.chictr.org.cn , ChiCTR-POC-17013536.

Establishing reference intervals of the routine laboratory tests for hepatorenal function in Shanghai by biochemistry / 中华检验医学杂志

Objective To establish reference intervals of nine laboratory projects for hepatorenal function and verify its reliability by indirect method . Methods ALL test results were extracted from physical examinations that were stored in the laboratory information system of Zhongshan Hospital during 2012 to 2014.Using Skewness-Kurtosis test to detect the normality of data , if not the original data were transformed through BOX-COX transformation to obtain an approximatenormal distribution .Outliers were identified and omitted by Turkey method .The indirect reference intervals were taken by applying Hoffmann method.The reference change value ( RCV) was selected to inspect the statistical significance between the calculated and published reference intervals .Results Among those nine laboratory projects ,thedifferences betweenthereference intervalsfor ALT , AST, AKP, GGT, TP, BUNwerelessthan their RCV ( 26.65%,9.92%) ,and there was a significant difference between the calculated reference intervals and the current reference interval in the laboratory for the lower limit of the UA of male (>26.65%).Conclusion This research further proved the reliability of indirect reference intervals and this technique deserved to be promoted and applied by other clinical laboratories.