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Standard and New Laboratory Procedures in Neurobrucellosis

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Neurobrucellosis

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Abstract

The nonspecific and protean presentation of brucellosis and what it can entail from a wide range of differential diagnosis necessitate the resort to Brucella-specific laboratory tests to help in reaching an accurate diagnosis. For this purpose, several test formats are available including culture, agglutination, ELISA, and molecular tests. Knowledge is necessary for the understanding of the usefulness and limitations of the laboratory tests for accurate interpretation of their results as correlates with the clinical stage of the disease. The simultaneous use of test combination that detects agglutinating and non-agglutinating antibodies is recommended to definitively exclude Brucella spp. infection especially in complicated, focal, or chronic presentation. As will be discussed in this chapter, the Brucella-specific laboratory tests are crucial for the diagnosis of brucellosis in humans.

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Abbreviations

CNS:

Central nervous system

CSF:

Cerebrospinal fluid

ELISA:

Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay

IgA:

Immunoglobulin A

IgG:

Immunoglobulin G

IgM:

Immunoglobulin M

PCR:

Polymerase chain reaction

(RT)-PCR:

Real-time PCR

SAT:

Serum agglutination test

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, American University of Beirut Medical Center, 11-0236, Beirut, 1107-2020, Lebanon

    George F. Araj PhD, D(ABMM), FAAM

Authors
  1. George F. Araj PhD, D(ABMM), FAAM
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Correspondence to George F. Araj PhD, D(ABMM), FAAM .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurosurgery, Adnan Menderes University School of Medicine, Aydin, Turkey

    Mehmet Turgut

  2. Department of Surgery, American University of Beirut Medical Center, Beirut, Lebanon

    Fuad Sami Haddad

  3. School of Medicine and Surgery, University of Naples Federico II School of Medicine and Surgery, Naples, Italy

    Oreste de Divitiis

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Araj, G.F. (2016). Standard and New Laboratory Procedures in Neurobrucellosis. In: Turgut, M., Haddad, F., de Divitiis, O. (eds) Neurobrucellosis. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-24639-0_19

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-24639-0_19

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-24637-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-24639-0

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

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