Comparing multiplex and multiplex real-time polymerase chain reaction with traditional blood culture in bacterial detection among patients with septicemia

Aims@#This study was aimed to test the specificity of primers and probes with target genes by using multiplex PCR and multiplex real-time PCR methods. These methods were compared with traditional blood culture methods in detecting five bacteria causing sepsis, including Acinetorbacter baumannii, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus.@*Methodology and results@#A total of 587 blood samples from patients diagnosed with sepsis and septic shock were collected at Thanh Nhan Hospital, Hanoi, Vietnam. Each sample was divided into three parts for bacterial culture, multiplex PCR and multiplex real-time PCR to detect the similarity of the two PCR methods with the bacterial culture method. Conditions in multiplex PCR and multiplex real-time PCR were optimized to ensure the successful amplification of target genes. Results showed that the primers and probes were tested completely specific to the target genes and using multiplex PCR and multiplex real-time PCR techniques could detect five pathogens causing sepsis, including A. baumannii, K. pneumoniae, P. aeruginosa, E. coli and S. aureus.@*Conclusion, significance and impact of study@#Both multiplex PCR and multiplex real-time PCR methods have high similarities with the culture method, showing potential in the application of bacteria detection in sepsis.

Concentration of serum Hcy and its relationship with other biochemical indexes in preeclampsia

Background: Preeclampsia is a major cause of maternal and perinatal mortality and morbidity, affecting 5 - 6% of all pregnancies. Recently, homocysteine (Hcy), a metabolite of amino acid methionine has been postulated producing oxidative stress, endothelial cell dysfunction, and alterations associated with preeclampsia. It is unclear whether high concentration of circulating Hcy causes preeclampsia, or whether this is a secondary phenomenon of metabolic alterations resulting from the disorder. Objectives: (1) Determining blood Hcy concentration in pregnancies in various severities of preeclampsia. (2) Discover the relationships between serum Hcy and other biological markers in preeclampsia. Subjects and method: This descriptive cross-sectional study consisted of 3 groups of pregnancies admitted to Thanh Nhan Hospital: 24 normal pregnant women, 28 pregnancies with non-serious preeclampsia, and 27 pregnancies with serious preeclampsia. Concentrations of blood Hcy of all participants were assayed by a competition fluorescence immunoassay (FPIA). Results: The mean concentration of serum Hcy during normal pregnancy was 5.2+/-1.0micromol/L compared with 7.1+/-1.8micromol/L among pregnancies with non-serious preeclampsia, and 11.7+/-2.9micromol/L among pregnancies with serious preeclampsia. Serum Hcy increased in pregnancies with renal dysfunction, elevated serum uric acid, and injuries of liver cells. Conclusion: Concentration of the serum Hcy in pregnancies with serious preeclampsia is significantly higher than that of pregnancies with non-serious preeclampsia, and the serum Hcy in pregnancies with non-serious preeclampsia is significantly higher than that of normal pregnancies. There are relationships between elevated serum Hcy in preeclampsia with level of kidney failure, injury of liver and increased levels of serum uric acid.