Knowledge Hub
What happens @ PathCare?
Have a look behind the scenes to see how patient specimen
flow is regulated in our laboratory system.
Categories:
- Allergy [1]
- Antimicrobials & infection [3]
- Autoimmune [1]
- Chemical Pathology [13]
- Endocrinology [1]
- Epidemiology [3]
- Gastrointestinal [2]
- Genetic Analysis [12]
- Genitourinary [2]
- Haematology [9]
- HIV/TB [3]
- Infectious Diseases [9]
- Neurology [4]
- Obstetric and Neonatal care [6]
- Oncology [5]
- Ophthalmology [1]
- Respiratory [2]
- Serology [3]
- Virology [18]
Your newborn baby’s screening test brochure
Newborn screening is a process where infants are screened for specific conditions shortly after birth. These conditions may not always be clinically evident in the newborn period.
Newborn Screening: Clinician and Parent support service
Newborn screening (NBS) is a form of preventative health care and entails the process of screening infants for specific genetic conditions in the first few days of their life.
Products of Conception Chromosome screening
Chromosomal aneuploidies (abnormal number of chromosomes) are the most common of first trimester miscarriage, accounting for more than 50% of spontaneous abortions.
Family ancestry in the context of diagnostic genetic testing
Genetics is an evolving field, and even though technology has improved in order to identify more disease-causing genetic variants, current laboratory testing strategies still have significant limitations.
Hepatitis E: Is this Virus Relevant in Southern Africa?
A fairly recent article on the nationwide outbreak of Hepatitis E (HEV) in informal settlements in Namibia as well as the recent academic interest in this previously mostly ignored virus, prompted this EduPath.
Serological assays for SARS-COV-2 vaccine responses
PathCare has introduced an antibody test that is capable of detecting antibodies directed against the SARS-CoV-2 spike (“S”) protein, induced by SARS-CoV-2 vaccines or by natural infection
Update on molecular testing for respiratory pathogens
Testing for respiratory pathogens using comprehensive multiplex molecular panels have become a valuable diagnostic tool to assist in early identification of causative organisms. Appropriate use supports timely and directed antimicrobial therapy, especially for organisms that cannot be routinely cultured (e.g Mycoplasma, Legionella, Chlamydophila, Bordetella, and viruses); decreases in-hospital admission rate, length of hospital stay, and also assists in antimicrobial stewardship by avoiding the use of empiric antimicrobial agents
Diabetes Antibodies
Immune-mediated diabetes is characterized by the presence of circulating specific antibodies against the pancreatic islets such as glutamic acid decarboxylase autoantibodies (GADA), islet antigen-2 autoantibodies (IA-2A), or zinc transporter-8 autoantibodies (ZnT8A).
Retesting after a positive PCR outcome for SARS-CoV-2
The presence of viral RNA in respiratory samples is critical information in the diagnosis of an acute SARS-COV-2 infection. The real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) detects these pieces of RNA. But RT-PCR is a poor test of cure. The presence of RNA does not imply the presence of infectious or replication-competent virus.