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Journal of Clinical Microbiology logoLink to Journal of Clinical Microbiology
. 1985 Jun;21(6):865–868. doi: 10.1128/jcm.21.6.865-868.1985

Detection of endotoxin in the plasma of patients with gram-negative bacterial sepsis by the Limulus amoebocyte lysate assay.

F C Pearson, J Dubczak, M Weary, G Bruszer, G Donohue
PMCID: PMC271807  PMID: 4008617

Abstract

A total of 120 Limulus amoebocyte lysate (LAL) determinations were made on plasma obtained from normal, healthy human blood donors. Results demonstrated a mean endotoxin level in blood of 0.02 to 1.57 pg/ml. The amount of Escherichia coli endotoxin added to human plasma samples can be quantitated by both nephelometry and turbidimetry. Endotoxin-spiked samples were shown to be significantly different from unspiked samples. When plasma samples were collected from 45 patients hospitalized at three centers, a strong association was demonstrated between a positive Limulus amoebocyte lysate assay and a septic condition. Sensitivity, specificity, and false-positive and false-negative rates for the Limulus amoebocyte lysate assay as a diagnostic test for gram-negative bacteremia were estimated.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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