Publicaties
Diagnostic performance of three rK39 rapid diagnostic tests and two direct agglutination tests for the diagnosis of visceral leishmaniasis in Southern Iran Instituut voor Tropische Geneeskunde
To evaluate the diagnostic performance of five alternative serodiagnostic tests, serum samples from 100 confirmed visceral leishmaniasis (VL) patients, 197 healthy endemic individuals, and 58 non-VL patients living in southern Iran were compared. The VL patients were defined as individuals with a positive result of the immunofluorescent antibody test (IFAT), having clinical signs and symptoms and appropriate response to treatment. The index ...
A phase III diagnostic accuracy study of a rapid diagnostic test for diagnosis of second-stage human African trypanosomiasis in the Democratic Republic of the Congo Instituut voor Tropische Geneeskunde
OBJECTIVES: To estimate the diagnostic accuracy of HAT Sero K-SeT for the field diagnosis of second-stage human African trypanosomiasis (HAT).
DESIGN: A phase III diagnostic accuracy design. Consecutive patients with symptoms clinically suggestive of HAT were prospectively enrolled. We compared results of the index test HAT Sero K-SeT with those of a composite reference standard: demonstration of trypanosomes in cerebrospinal fluid ...
Diagnostic rules and algorithms for the diagnosis of non-acute heart failure in patients 80 years of age and older: a diagnostic accuracy and validation study KU Leuven
Different diagnostic algorithms for non-acute heart failure (HF) exist. Our aim was to compare the ability of these algorithms to identify HF in symptomatic patients aged 80 years and older and identify those patients at highest risk for mortality.
Early diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease (with the announcement of the diagnosis) Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Early diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease (with the announcement of the diagnosis). The number of patients consulting to find out if they have Alzheimer's disease continues to grow. Reasons to consult most often include anxiety about being affected by this disease, confidence in medical and therapeutic advances relayed in the media and the desire to plan for the future, taking into account a possible deterioration. Advances in the knowledge of ...
Early diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease (with the announcement of the diagnosis) Universiteit Antwerpen
Early diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease (with the announcement of the diagnosis). The number of patients consulting to find out if they have Alzheimer's disease continues to grow. Reasons to consult most often include anxiety about being affected by this disease, confidence in medical and therapeutic advances relayed in the media and the desire to plan for the future, taking into account a possible deterioration. Advances in the knowledge of the ...
Improving the diagnosis of rifampicin-resistant tuberculosis: programmatic aspects, diagnostic challenges, and molecular epidemiology Instituut voor Tropische Geneeskunde
Tuberculosis (TB) remains the leading infectious disease cause of mortality globally. Resistance to rifampicin (i.e. the most powerful anti-TB drug) impedes optimal management of patients and TB control. Indeed, the majority of rifampicin-resistant (RR) TB patients remain undiagnosed and untreated, thus spreading resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTB) strains. In Rwanda the first RR-TB patients were diagnosed in 1989. However, ...
Diagnostic value of MIBG cardiac scintigraphy for differential dementia diagnosis Vrije Universiteit Brussel Universiteit Antwerpen
OBJECTIVE: Iodine-123 metaiodobenzylguanidine (MIBG) cardiac scintigraphy has shown the potential to discriminate dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) from Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, these studies did not reflect clinical practice, as patients with ischemic heart disease, heart failure, diabetes mellitus, arterial hypertension, and hyperlipidemia and patients treated with antidepressants like trazodone were excluded.
METHODS: This ...
Highly sensitive assays are mandatory for the differential diagnosis of patients presenting with symptoms of mast cell activation: diagnostic work-up of 38 patients KU Leuven
Mastocytosis is a heterogeneous disease caused by excessive mast cell (MC) proliferation. Diagnosis of systemic mastocytosis (SM) is based on the presence of major and minor criteria defined by the World Health Organization. Symptoms of MC activation can also occur in patients without SM or without allergic or inflammatory disease. These MC activation syndromes (MCAS) can be divided into primary (monoclonal) MCAS (MMAS) vs. secondary and ...
Added Diagnostic Value of Cerebrospinal Fluid Biomarkers for Differential Dementia Diagnosis in an Autopsy-Confirmed Cohort Vrije Universiteit Brussel Universiteit Antwerpen
BACKGROUND: Differential dementia diagnosis remains a challenge due to overlap of clinical profiles, which often results in diagnostic doubt.
OBJECTIVE: Determine the added diagnostic value of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers for differential dementia diagnosis as compared to autopsy-confirmed diagnosis.
METHODS: Seventy-one dementia patients with autopsy-confirmed diagnoses were included in this study. All neuropathological ...