ORCID Profile
0000-0001-7424-9237
Current Organisation
International Islamic University Malaysia
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Publisher: American Society for Microbiology
Date: 03-2012
DOI: 10.1128/JCM.05067-11
Abstract: Confirmative diagnosis of visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is still a challenge at the primary health care facilities in most of the rural areas of endemicity in the Indian subcontinent. Conventional methods for parasitological confirmation are risky and require skilled personnel, and hence they are unavailable to the poor people in the regions of endemicity. Buffy coat smear microscopy, as a minimally invasive, simple alternative for the parasitological diagnosis of VL, was evaluated in this prospective study. One hundred twelve VL patients were enrolled in this study. The buffy coat was separated from peripheral blood of all enrolled subjects using Histopaque-1119 solution. Leishman-stained buffy coat smears were examined for Leishmania donovani bodies, and buffy coat was also utilized for detection of parasite DNA by Leishmania nested PCR (LnPCR) for all cases. Concomitant splenic smears could be examined for L. donovani bodies in 66 cases, and the parasite load was graded on a scale of 1+ to 6+ for L. donovani -positive smears. All splenic smear-positive cases were also found to be positive by LnPCR. Of 112 enrolled VL cases, 103 (92%) were found to be positive for L. donovani bodies in buffy coat smear microscopy, which is promising as a confirmative diagnosis tool. We have also found a significant association of the buffy coat smear positivity with parasitic burden in the spleen smear. In this preliminary observation in Bangladesh, buffy coat smear microscopy has been found to be very simple, minimally invasive, and risk-free method of parasitological diagnosis of VL with a good diagnostic accuracy and potential for field use.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 04-07-2016
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 02-2021
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 2010
DOI: 10.1016/J.ACTATROPICA.2009.09.005
Abstract: The study evaluated the usefulness of Leishmania-nested polymerase chain reaction (Ln-PCR) for diagnosis of kala-azar and assessed its role as a test of cure among kala-azar patients in Bangladesh. Peripheral blood buffy coat Ln-PCR was done in ninety-seven (97) clinically suspected patients of kala-azar, in forty (40) healthy controls from both endemic and non-endemic areas, and in forty-six (46) patients after completion of treatment with sodium stibogluconate (SSG). The Ln-PCR results were compared with Leishmania donovani parasite load graded by 1+ to 6+ in all smear-positive L. donovani cases. Out of 97 clinically suspected kala-azar patients, 94 were parasitologically confirmed. Ln-PCR was found positive in 91 of 94 parasitologically positive patients of kala-azar at diagnosis, indicating its diagnostic sensitivity as 97%. None of the controls was found positive for Ln-PCR, indicating its diagnostic specificity to be 100%. About 9% of kala-azar patients having been graded 1+ parasitic load had negative Ln-PCR results. After completion of treatment, Ln-PCR was positive in 4 patients (8.4%) out of 46 cases, indicating its role in demonstrating the absence of parasites 30 days after completion of treatment in 91.6% of the treated patients. This limited study suggests that Ln-PCR is a highly sensitive and specific test for the diagnosis of visceral leishmaniasis and can be used as a test of cure. Thus, efforts should be made to establish this useful method at least in the tertiary care hospitals and, if possible, at the district-level hospitals, especially in the endemic areas of Bangladesh.
Location: Saudi Arabia
No related grants have been discovered for Md. Abdus Salam.