Laboratory Diagnosis of Infectious Disease: Advances and Challenges

A special issue of Diagnostics (ISSN 2075-4418). This special issue belongs to the section "Diagnostic Microbiology and Infectious Disease".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 November 2024) | Viewed by 3371

Special Issue Editor


E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Pathology, Tri-Service General Hospital, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei, Taiwan
Interests: clinical pathology; molecular diagnosis; genome; epidemiology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue is committed to highlighting the advancements in innovation and progress in infectious disease diagnostics. This edition is set to focus on the latest laboratory techniques and innovative diagnostic methodologies, especially emphasizing their role in the detection and understanding of infectious diseases. Our aim is to provide a comprehensive review of the present trends, the inherent challenges they present and future directions in laboratory diagnostics. Particular focus will be placed on enhancing diagnostic accuracy, speeding up diagnostic processes and improving accessibility. Through a collection of distinguished papers, this Special Issue aspires to deepen our understanding of the dynamic field of infectious disease diagnosis and emphasize its crucial importance in global health.

Dr. Hung-Sheng Shang
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Diagnostics is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • infectious diseases
  • diagnostic techniques
  • laboratory innovation
  • diagnostic accuracy
  • global health
  • disease detection
  • diagnostic challenges
  • medical technology

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.

Published Papers (3 papers)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

Jump to: Other

20 pages, 1075 KiB  
Article
sCD14-ST and Related Osteoimmunological Biomarkers: A New Diagnostic Approach to Osteomyelitis
by Emanuela Galliera, Luca Massaccesi, Virginia Suardi, Elena de Vecchi, Francesca Villa, Zhang Yi, Guorui Suo, Arianna B. Lovati, Nicola Logoluso, Massimiliano M. Corsi Romanelli and Antonio V. Pellegrini
Diagnostics 2024, 14(15), 1588; https://doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics14151588 - 23 Jul 2024
Viewed by 739
Abstract
Osteomyelitis (OM) is a major challenge in orthopedic surgery. The diagnosis of OM is based on imaging and laboratory tests, but it still presents some limitations. Therefore, a deeper comprehension of the pathogenetic mechanisms could enhance diagnostic and treatment approaches. OM pathogenesis is [...] Read more.
Osteomyelitis (OM) is a major challenge in orthopedic surgery. The diagnosis of OM is based on imaging and laboratory tests, but it still presents some limitations. Therefore, a deeper comprehension of the pathogenetic mechanisms could enhance diagnostic and treatment approaches. OM pathogenesis is based on an inflammatory response to pathogen infection, leading to bone loss. The present study aims to investigate the potential diagnostic role of a panel of osteoimmunological serum biomarkers in the clinical approach to OM. The focus is on the emerging infection biomarker sCD14-ST, along with osteoimmunological and inflammatory serum biomarkers, to define a comprehensive biomarker panel for a multifaced approach to OM. The results, to our knowledge, demonstrate for the first time the diagnostic and early prognostic role of sCD14-ST in OM patients, suggesting that this biomarker could address the limitations of current laboratory tests, such as traditional inflammatory markers, in diagnosing OM. In addition, the study highlights a relevant diagnostic role of SuPAR, the chemokine CCL2, the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10, the Wnt inhibitors DKK-1 and Sclerostin, and the RANKL/OPG ratio. Moreover, CCL2 and SuPAR also exhibited early prognostic value. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Laboratory Diagnosis of Infectious Disease: Advances and Challenges)
Show Figures

Figure 1

Other

Jump to: Research

6 pages, 6197 KiB  
Interesting Images
Pulmonary Actinomycosis in a 65-Year-Old Female with Poor Oral Dentition
by Sha Yi, Rabindra Ghimire, Thomas A. Sporn, Ann T. Sutton, Dora A. Lebron Figueroa and John E. Markantonis
Diagnostics 2024, 14(13), 1421; https://doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics14131421 - 3 Jul 2024
Viewed by 841
Abstract
Pulmonary actinomycosis is an uncommon clinical entity that can be challenging to diagnose due to its non-specific symptomatology. Misdiagnosis and delayed treatment may result in invasive procedures and extended antimicrobial treatment courses. We report a case involving a 65-year-old female with poor oral [...] Read more.
Pulmonary actinomycosis is an uncommon clinical entity that can be challenging to diagnose due to its non-specific symptomatology. Misdiagnosis and delayed treatment may result in invasive procedures and extended antimicrobial treatment courses. We report a case involving a 65-year-old female with poor oral dentition admitted for acute respiratory failure subsequently found to have a left-sided pleural effusion and perihepatic abscess formation. Cytopathology examination and microbiology studies confirmed the diagnosis of pulmonary actinomycosis. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Laboratory Diagnosis of Infectious Disease: Advances and Challenges)
Show Figures

Figure 1

11 pages, 2100 KiB  
Brief Report
Comparative Performance of COVID-19 Test Methods in Healthcare Workers during the Omicron Wave
by Emma C. Tornberg, Alexander Tomlinson, Nicholas T. T. Oshiro, Esraa Derfalie, Rabeka A. Ali and Marcel E. Curlin
Diagnostics 2024, 14(10), 986; https://doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics14100986 - 8 May 2024
Viewed by 1093
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic presents unique requirements for accessible, reliable testing, and many testing platforms and sampling techniques have been developed over the course of the pandemic. Not all test methods have been systematically compared to each other or a common gold standard, and [...] Read more.
The COVID-19 pandemic presents unique requirements for accessible, reliable testing, and many testing platforms and sampling techniques have been developed over the course of the pandemic. Not all test methods have been systematically compared to each other or a common gold standard, and the performance of tests developed in the early epidemic have not been consistently re-evaluated in the context of new variants. We conducted a repeated measures study with adult healthcare workers presenting for SARS-CoV-2 testing. Participants were tested using seven testing modalities. Test sensitivity was compared using any positive PCR test as the gold standard. A total of 325 individuals participated in the study. PCR tests were the most sensitive (saliva PCR 0.957 ± 0.048, nasopharyngeal PCR 0.877 ± 0.075, oropharyngeal PCR 0.849 ± 0.082). Standard nasal rapid antigen tests were less sensitive but roughly equivalent (BinaxNOW 0.613 ± 0.110, iHealth 0.627 ± 0.109). Oropharyngeal rapid antigen tests were the least sensitive (BinaxNOW 0.400 ± 0.111, iHealth brands 0.311 ± 0.105). PCR remains the most sensitive testing modality for the diagnosis of COVID-19 and saliva PCR is significantly more sensitive than oropharyngeal PCR and equivalent to nasopharyngeal PCR. Nasal AgRDTs are less sensitive than PCR but have benefits in convenience and accessibility. Saliva-based PCR testing is a viable alternative to traditional swab-based PCR testing for the diagnosis of COVID-19. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Laboratory Diagnosis of Infectious Disease: Advances and Challenges)
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop