Performance Evaluation of the Beckman Coulter DxN VERIS Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) Assay in Comparison With the Abbott RealTime HBV Assay.

The detection and quantification of hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA plays an important role in diagnosing and monitoring HBV infection as well as in assessing the therapeutic response. We compared the analytical performance of a random access, fully automated HBV assay-DxN VERIS Molecular Diagnostics System (Beckman Coulter, Brea, CA, USA)-with that of Abbott RealTime HBV assay (Abbott Laboratories, Des Plaines, IL, USA). The between-day precision of the VERIS assay ranged from 0.92% (mean 4.68 log IU/mL) to 4.15% (mean 2.09 log IU/mL) for pooled sera from HBV patients. HBV DNA levels measured by the VERIS HBV assay correlated with the calculated HBV DNA levels (r²=0.9994; P<0.0001). The lower limit of quantification was estimated as 8.76 IU/mL (Probit analysis, 95% confidence interval: 7.32-12.00 IU/mL). Passing-Bablok regression analysis showed good concordance between the VERIS and RealTime assays for 187 chronic HBV samples (y=-0.2397+0.9712x; r=0.981), as well as for 20 drug-resistant HBV genotype C positive samples (y=-0.5415+0.9954x; r=0.961). The VERIS assay demonstrated performance similar to the RealTime assay and is suitable for high-throughput HBV DNA monitoring in large hospital laboratories.

Enucleation for benign or low-grade malignant lesions of the pancreas: Single-center experience with 65 consecutive patients.

INTRODUCTION: Standard resection for benign and borderline neoplasms of the pancreas is associated with a substantial risk of postoperative morbidity and long-term functional impairment, whereas enucleation leads to less morbidity and preserves healthy parenchyma as well as pancreatic function. The aim of this study was to evaluate the postoperative clinical outcomes and long-term functional and oncologic results after pancreatic enucleation, and to compare the clinical results of laparoscopic and open enucleation. METHODS: From March 2005 to December 2013, 65 cases of enucleation of benign tumors in the pancreas were identified through a retrospective review of medical records. RESULTS: Most of the patients were women (73.8 %), and the median age was 52.7 years (interquartile range 43.1-60.9 years). Median tumor size was 2.5 cm (interquartile range 1.6-3.8 cm). The most common indication for enucleation was pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor (24, 36.9%). A clinically relevant pancreatic fistula (International Study Group on Pancreatic Fistula grade B, C) was reported in 6 patients (9.2%). The patients with tumors of the pancreatic neck had more complications after enucleation than those with tumors at other locations (3/4, 75%). There were no differences of clinical outcomes between open and laparoscopic enucleation groups. At a median follow-up of 58.7 months there was one case of new-onset diabetes, and there were no recurrences or deaths. CONCLUSION: Enucleation is a safe and effective procedure for the treatment of benign and borderline pancreatic neoplasms. It preserves pancreatic function and is not associated with recurrence. The incidence of postoperative complications, including pancreatic fistula, is acceptable. Laparoscopic enucleation seems to be a feasible and safe approach associated with favorable perioperative outcomes for the selected patients.