PCR testing and Cat's Claw

[Guest guest]

I have a question on PCR testing. In Burrascano's guide (per below) he suggests

people should allow 6 weeks antibiotic free before the test. Does anyone know

if any herbals should be stopped for this length of time also? I am on Cat's

Claw, Smilax, Androgophis & Reservetorol.

PCR tests are now available, and although they are very specific, sensitivity

remains poor, possibly less than 30%. This is because Bb causes a deep tissue

infection and is only transiently found in body humors.

Therefore, just as in routine blood culturing, multiple specimens must be

collected to increase yield; a negative result does not rule out infection, but

a positive one is significant. You can test whole blood, buffy coat, serum,

urine, spinal and other body fluids, and tissue biopsies. Several blood PCRs can

be done, or you can run PCRs on whole blood, serum and urine simultaneously at a

time of active symptoms. **The patient should be antibiotic free

for at least six weeks before testing to obtain the highest yield.**

[Guest guest]

>

> I have a question on PCR testing. In Burrascano's guide (per below) he

suggests people should allow 6 weeks antibiotic free before the test. Does

anyone know if any herbals should be stopped for this length of time also? I am

on Cat's Claw, Smilax, Androgophis & Reservetorol.

I don't see any reason to stop the herbs.

Regarding abx, in Europe opinion vary regarding stopping abx before PCR testing.

Some suggest taking some abx (again) a few days before PCR test improves the

chance of positive outcome. It probably varies on the procedure that the lab

uses for processing the sample, so I suggest asking the lab that will do your

test.

> PCR tests are now available, and although they are very specific, sensitivity

remains poor, possibly less than 30%. This is because Bb causes a deep tissue

infection and is only transiently found in body humors.

yes, PCR sensitivity is high (70-90%) for tissue samples and joint fluid. It is

poor for blood (5-20% or so) and opinions regarding PCR urine testing vary

strongly. According to one of our local labs (with a lot of PCR experience),

sensitivity is around 50%. But again, it strongly depends on the lab procedures

and technology is improving quickly.

The advantage of PCR urine testing is that it is more convenient to collect

multiple samples (don't store them, they have to be processed quickly).

The major problem with PCR tests is that there are hardly any independent

comparison tests between testkits/probes/labs etc., so you don't know how

sensitive YÖUR test will be. (Thanks to IDSA, who claim serology is nearly

perfect and PCR is very unreliable etc.).

If all goes well I have a discussion with the lab this week about the current

status of urine PCR. If there is any news I will report back.