Conectar
by Ruo-qiao Wen, Wei Ning, Fang Peng, Miao-miao Wang, Jie-peng Huang, Bin Tian
BackgroundIn post-elimination malaria settings, monitoring asymptomatic low-density infections following Artemisinin-based Combination Therapy (ACT) is critical for interrupting occult transmission and alerting to drug resistance. Real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR) is central to molecular surveillance, yet its sensitivity depends on extracted DNA quality. This study evaluated three DNA extraction methods to provide a basis for optimizing laboratory screening protocols for low-density Plasmodium falciparum (P. falciparum) infections.
MethodsNucleic acids were extracted from P. falciparum-positive whole blood samples using a silica membrane spin column method (M1), a modified red blood cell lysis method (M2), and a magnetic bead-based method (M3). DNA concentration and purity (A260/A280 ratio) were measured, and integrity assessed via agarose gel electrophoresis. Template yield and amplification efficiency were compared by qPCR. Furthermore, the detection sensitivity was compared between M1 and M3 via serial dilution experiments. Clinical performance was validated using 40 microscopy-negative or low-density ( Results
M3 yielded significantly higher DNA concentration (39.0 ± 7.57 ng/µL) than M1 (10.49 ± 2.73 ng/µL) and M2 (7.48 ± 1.76 ng/µL) (P P = 0.0082), with M1 showing a missed detection rate of 22.6% (7/31).
ConclusionThe magnetic bead-based method (M3) exhibits marked advantages in DNA yield, DNA integrity and downstream qPCR sensitivity, which elevates the detection rate of low-density P. falciparum and reduces missed detection risk. For post-elimination surveillance and screening of asymptomatic infections, prioritizing magnetic bead-based nucleic acid extraction can provide more reliable technical support for molecular surveillance in post‑elimination settings.
To translate the Supportive and Palliative Care Indicators Tool (SPICT) into Chinese and conduct preliminarily tests of its performance in hospitalized patients with cancer.
A cross-sectional validation study conducted from January to March 2024.
SPICT 2022 was translated in both directions, following the Brislin translation model, and the Chinese version culturally debugged through expert consultation and pre-testing. Content validity was evaluated by expert scoring. Tool internal consistency was evaluated using KR-20 coefficient, and retest reliability was evaluated using kappa coefficient. The screening performance was evaluated by sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV).
Of 388 hospitalized cancer patients included, approximately one-quarter had potential palliative care needs. Content validity of the Chinese version of SPICT was good, as were internal consistency and test–retest reliability. Accuracy (0.905), sensitivity (0.806), specificity (0.943), PPV (0.845), and NPV (0.926) for the Chinese version of SPICT indicated that it is an acceptable instrument.
The Chinese version of SPICT can be applied for screening of palliative care needs in hospitalized patients with cancer in China.
The Chinese version of SPICT had been adapted to assist clinicians or nurses in quickly identifying hospitalized patients with cancer who may have palliative care needs. This is conducive to help clinical team to start palliative care consultation, care goal discussion and (or) referral for patients in clinical practice. And it probably helps to advance integration between palliative care assessment and routine oncology care assessment.
This study provided a screening tool for palliative care, with good validity and reliability, as well as excellent screening performance to facilitate palliative care need screening in clinical practice, promote palliative care referrals and improve patient quality of life.
This study was reported according to the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) statement.
No patient or public contribution.
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