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“Rapid detection kits for toxin A/B in feces are widely MK 1775 used as a diagnostic tool for Clostridium difficile infection (CDI). Their low sensitivity, however,

has been considered a problem. In this study, we evaluated a new rapid diagnostic kit for simultaneous detection of the glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH) antigen and toxin A/B, C. DIFF QUIK CHEK COMPLETE. A total of 60 stool specimens from 60 patients with antibiotic-associated diarrhea were examined. Using C. difficile culture as the reference method, the GDH portion of this kit indicated a sensitivity, specificity, and negative predictive value of 100, 93.3, and 100%, respectively. The toxin A/B portion showed a sensitivity and specificity of 78.6 and 96.9%, respectively, compared to the culture results of toxin B-positive C. difficile (toxigenic culture). Of the 23 specimens that showed “”dual positives”" for GDH and toxin A/B, 22 were toxigenic culture positive, whereas C. difficile culture was negative in all the 28 specimens that showed “”dual negatives”" for GDH and toxin A/B. Of the nine “”GDH-positive and toxin A/B-negative”" specimens, six exhibited positive results by toxigenic culture. Results showing “”dual positives”" and “”dual negatives”" for GDH

and toxin A/B can be reported as “”true positive”" and “”true negative,”" respectively, whereas additional testing for confirmation, such as toxigenic culture, is required for specimens with discrepant results. Diagnostic algorithms, utilizing the simultaneous SRT2104 cost detection kit for GDH and toxin A/B as an initial screening test, may be useful for accurate and efficient diagnosis of CDI as well as the control of healthcare-associated infections.”
“Metformin is a kind of oral hypoglycemic agents commonly prescribed to patients with diabetes mellitus. Although past

studies had proven its protective effect on cardiovascular risk and related mortality, the evidence of metformin on stroke prevention was still this website insufficient and conflicting. Our study randomly selected 14,856 patients with diabetes from the database provided by the Taiwan National Health Research Institute, and 2 cohorts were formulated according to whether metformin was in the prescription record. All cases were followed up for 4 years to track their stroke incidence. As a result, 701 (17.5%) of 3999 diabetic patients had stroke without metformin use, whereas 994 (9.2%) of 10,857 patients had stroke with metformin use. Cox proportional hazard regressions showed that the stroke hazard ratio (HR) of metformin was .383. After adjustment for the patients’ age, gender, hypertension, atrial fibrillation, hyperlipidemia, coronary artery disease, and medications including antiplate-lets, coumadin, statin, and estrogen use, the HR was still .468. Further stratified analysis revealed that metformin had more protective effect in the patients with higher risk of stroke.